Setting Aside a Conviction in Arizona: Eligibility, Filing, and Limits

In Arizona, you can set aside a conviction by filing a free motion in the court that sentenced you, as long as you have completed every condition of your sentence and the offense isn’t one of the four categories the statute permanently excludes. A granted set aside under A.R.S. § 13-905 vacates the guilty judgment and dismisses the charge, but it does not erase the record. The conviction remains visible on background checks with a notation that it has been set aside.

What a Set Aside Actually Does

When a judge grants the motion, the court formally withdraws the judgment of guilt and dismisses the underlying charge. The Department of Public Safety then updates your criminal history to show the conviction was set aside. It cannot remove any part of the record itself.¹

This is not expungement. In states that offer expungement, the record disappears. Arizona’s set aside leaves the record publicly accessible; the practical value is the court’s formal recognition that you finished your sentence and earned dismissal. Arizona does have a separate record-sealing process that goes further, discussed at the end of this article.

Who Qualifies

The baseline rule is simple. You must have completed all conditions of your probation or sentence and received a final discharge from the court.¹ Probation is finished, any prison time is served, fines are addressed, and conditions the court imposed are satisfied. Restitution does not have to be paid in full before you file, but the court will weigh the status of what you owe.

Offenses That Cannot Be Set Aside

Four categories of convictions are permanently ineligible:

Dangerous offenses, meaning any crime involving a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument.
Any conviction that required sex offender registration under A.R.S. § 13-3821.
Any offense where the court made a finding of sexual motivation under A.R.S. § 13-118.
Any felony where the victim was younger than 15.

Those four are the only categorical bars. A common misconception is that DUI, driving on a suspended license, and similar traffic offenses are excluded. They aren’t. They can be set aside, though some driving penalties survive the court’s order (see below).

What the Court Considers

Even when you meet the threshold, the judge has discretion. The statute requires the court to weigh seven factors:

The nature and circumstances of the offense.
Your compliance with probation, sentence terms, and any Department of Corrections rules.
Any prior or subsequent convictions.
Victim input and the status of restitution.
Time elapsed since you completed the sentence.
Your age at the time of the conviction.
Any other relevant factor, which lets the court consider rehabilitation, community ties, or anything else.

Restitution deserves attention. The statute doesn’t demand a zero balance to file, but a large unpaid amount with no clear plan to pay it will weigh against you.¹

How to File

Pull Your Case Information

Before filling out any form, collect the case number, date of conviction, the court where you were sentenced, and the prosecuting agency. If you don’t have these details, the clerk’s office at the sentencing court can help you look them up.

Complete the Motion

The filing is called a Motion to Set Aside Judgment and Dismiss Case. Most Arizona superior courts and justice courts provide a standardized form. It asks for your identifying details, the case information, and a statement explaining why the set aside is warranted. Use that statement to describe what has changed since the conviction: steady employment, schooling, treatment completed, community involvement, or anything else that speaks to the seven factors.

File and Serve

File the completed motion with the clerk of the court that entered the original conviction. There is no filing fee. Serve a copy on the prosecuting attorney’s office that handled the case. The prosecutor and any victims then have 30 days to object.¹

After You File

If no one objects within 30 days, the judge will usually rule on the paperwork alone. If the prosecutor or a victim objects, the court may set a hearing. Bring documentation that supports the seven factors: pay stubs, transcripts, letters from employers or community organizations, and proof of any restitution payments.

If the court denies the application, the judge must put the reasons in writing and on the record.¹ You are not barred from filing again. A second motion that directly addresses the court’s stated concerns, after more time has passed or more restitution has been paid, can succeed where the first did not.

What a Set Aside Won’t Fix

A granted set aside releases you from most penalties and disabilities tied to the conviction. For job applications, you can say the conviction was set aside and dismissed. But three categories of consequences survive:

Department of Transportation penalties, including license suspensions and revocations imposed under motor vehicle statutes.
Game and Fish Commission sanctions, such as hunting or fishing license revocations.
Lifetime injunctions issued under A.R.S. § 13-719.

The conviction also remains usable in future criminal cases. It can be alleged as a prior to enhance sentencing, used as an element of a subsequent charge, or introduced the same way it could have been before the set aside.¹

Certificate of Second Chance

When the court grants a set aside, it must also issue a certificate of second chance if the conviction fits one of these categories:

Any misdemeanor.
A Class 4, 5, or 6 felony where at least two years have passed since you completed your sentence.
A Class 2 or 3 felony where at least five years have passed since you completed your sentence.

If the time requirement isn’t met when the set aside is granted, you can apply separately for the certificate once enough time has passed. One restriction: you can only receive a certificate of second chance on one felony conviction, or one group of felonies from the same incident, in your lifetime.¹

The certificate adds real benefits. It removes barriers to occupational licenses under Arizona Title 32, which covers fields from nursing and real estate to cosmetology and contracting. It also gives employers and landlords legal protection: if someone hires or rents to you knowing about the certificate, that decision cannot easily be used against them in a civil liability claim.¹

Civil Rights and Firearms Are a Separate Process

A set aside is not a civil rights restoration. If you have only one felony conviction and have completed probation or your prison term, Arizona automatically restores your civil rights once all victim restitution is paid. You don’t need to apply, though you can file for a court order confirming it under A.R.S. § 13-908.² If you have multiple felonies or still owe restitution, you can apply through the superior court; there is no filing fee, and restoration is at the judge’s discretion.³

Firearm rights are stricter. A dangerous offense permanently bars firearm restoration. A serious offense under A.R.S. § 13-706 cannot be the basis for a restoration application until ten years after absolute discharge from prison. For other felonies, firearm restoration is possible but discretionary.⁴

Immigration: A Set Aside Won’t Help

If you aren’t a U.S. citizen, an Arizona set aside will not change your immigration situation. Federal immigration law uses its own definition of “conviction,” and USCIS treats a judgment vacated for rehabilitative reasons, rather than for a legal or constitutional defect in the original case, as still a conviction for immigration purposes.⁵ A set aside doesn’t meet that standard. If you have any immigration exposure, talk with an immigration attorney before relying on a set aside to solve it.

Record Sealing Goes Further Than a Set Aside

Arizona’s record-sealing law, A.R.S. § 13-911, does what a set aside doesn’t: it removes the record from public view. With a sealed record, you can legally say you were never arrested, charged, or convicted of the crime in most situations, including on job and housing applications.⁶

Eligibility is tighter. You must complete all sentence conditions and pay all fines, fees, and restitution before filing, and a waiting period runs from the completion of your sentence:

Class 2 or 3 felony: 10 years.
Class 4, 5, or 6 felony: 5 years.
Class 1 misdemeanor: 3 years.
Class 2 or 3 misdemeanor: 2 years.

Some offenses cannot be sealed at all, including dangerous offenses, dangerous crimes against children, serious or violent felonies, offenses involving a deadly weapon or serious physical injury, sex trafficking, and certain sexual offenses.⁶

Even a sealed record isn’t invisible. Law enforcement can still see it, it can still enhance sentencing in a later case or be alleged as a prior, and some employers, including law enforcement agencies and employers requiring a fingerprint clearance card, retain access. If you qualify for both, filing the set aside first and petitioning to seal once the waiting period runs is usually the right order, because the set aside is available immediately while the sealing clock continues to tick.

1
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-905 – Setting Aside Judgment of Convicted Person on Discharge
2
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-907 – Automatic Restoration of Civil Rights for First Offenders; Firearm Rights
3
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-908 – Restoration of Civil Rights; Application; Firearm Rights; Definition
4
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-910 – Restoration of Right to Possess a Firearm
5
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Adjudicative Factors
6
Arizona Legislature. Arizona Code 13-911 – Sealing of Arrest, Conviction and Sentencing Records