How to search Arizona court records

Arizona's statewide portal reaches most, but not all, courts. A few jurisdictions run their own separate systems — see the additional lookups below. There's no charge and no account required — results are visible to anyone who searches.

partial free criminal data

Open the official Arizona portal →

What's actually there

Public Access Case Lookup covers 177 of 184 courts. Maricopa County Superior Court shows only criminal cases there (civil, family and probate are on its own docket site), and Pima County Superior Court shows only delinquent cases.

Other official lookups for Arizona

How Arizona's courts are organized

Arizona's courts come in three tiers. Limited-jurisdiction courts are the justice courts, organized by county precinct and led by elected justices of the peace who hear civil claims of $10,000 or less, and the municipal (city or magistrate) courts, which hear misdemeanors, petty offenses, traffic cases and city ordinance violations inside city limits but no civil lawsuits between citizens. The superior court is the general-jurisdiction court, a single entity with at least one location in every county; it hears felonies, family and probate matters and appeals from the justice and municipal courts. At the top, the Court of Appeals (Division One and Division Two) hears most appeals from superior court, and the Supreme Court chooses most of the cases it reviews and supervises every court in the state.

The statewide Public Access Case Lookup, run by the Arizona Judicial Branch, says it covers 177 of Arizona's 184 courts. The courts it leaves out, or only partly shows, are listed on its Unavailable Courts page.

Using Public Access Case Lookup

The lookup is free to search, though each search asks you to type verification words first. It shows case information, not documents. The site warns that the information is not the official court record, may not be current or complete, and that not every case from a participating court is included. Data is refreshed weekly: each Friday it reflects case activity through that Wednesday.

Excluded from the site: sealed cases, orders of protection, mental health and probate cases, victim and witness data, juvenile incorrigible and delinquency cases, and charges from local ordinance violations.

The Unavailable Courts page lists what is missing. The Supreme Court and both divisions of the Court of Appeals have their own record search sites. Maricopa County Superior Court shows only criminal cases; its civil, family and probate dockets are on the Maricopa County Superior Court's own docket site. Pima County Superior Court and Pima Consolidated Justice Court show only delinquent cases, as do the Maricopa County justice courts and the Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Paradise Valley and Tempe municipal courts.

For superior court documents, the Judicial Branch runs a separate service called eAccess. It covers civil and criminal cases filed on or after July 1, 2010 (Pima County criminal cases only from July 1, 2015). You need an account, and documents are bought one at a time or through a monthly subscription, with an added fee for electronically certified copies. Approved government agencies are not charged. Sealed or restricted documents are not available.

Getting copies and certified copies

Superior court files are kept by the Clerk of the Superior Court in each county; justice and municipal court files are kept by the court that heard the case. The statewide superior court fee schedule lists $0.50 per page for copies, $35.00 for a certificate of correctness of a copy, $70.00 for an exemplification, $105.00 for an authentication, and $35.00 per year or source for research to locate a document. Individual courts can add local fees, so check with the court before sending a request.

Each court level has its own fee schedule, posted on the Judicial Branch's Court Filing Fees page along with information on fee waivers and deferrals.

Records that are not public: sealing, set-asides and marijuana expungement

Since December 31, 2022, A.R.S. 13-911 lets an eligible person petition to seal case records of an arrest with no charges, a dismissed charge, a not-guilty verdict, or a conviction once every term of the sentence, including fines and restitution, is complete. The Self-Service Center lists waiting periods from discharge of 10 years for a class 2 or 3 felony, 5 years for a class 4, 5 or 6 felony, 3 years for a class 1 misdemeanor and 2 years for a class 2 or 3 misdemeanor, plus five more years with a prior historical felony. Dangerous offenses, serious, violent or aggravated felonies and some other offenses cannot be sealed. Sealed records are withheld from the public but remain available to listed agencies, and anything published before sealing may still circulate. Statewide mandatory forms are posted by the Self-Service Center.

Two other laws matter. A.R.S. 13-905 lets a person who has finished probation or a sentence ask the court to set aside a judgment of guilt, which dismisses the charge and releases most penalties but does not erase the record; no filing fee may be charged. A.R.S. 36-2862 allows expungement of certain past marijuana possession, cultivation and paraphernalia offenses, with petitions accepted since July 12, 2021; expunged court records are sealed. This is a factual summary, not legal advice; talk to a lawyer or use the Arizona Judicial Branch Self-Service Center.

Arizona tips

A Maricopa County case often needs two searches: the statewide lookup for criminal cases and the Maricopa County Superior Court docket for civil, family and probate cases.
The Maricopa docket site is down Tuesday through Saturday from 3:00 to 4:00 a.m., and new entries can change for up to 24 hours while they are audited.
The statewide site also has a Minute Entry Search for criminal minute entries from participating superior courts.
If a city or town court is not in the lookup, use the AZ Courts locator on azcourts.gov to find that court's own records contact.

Sources

Checked against the official sources above in October 2026. Court rules and fees change; the court's own site is the final word. This is general information, not legal advice.

Federal cases filed in Arizona

State portals don't cover federal court. If the case you're looking for might be a federal criminal prosecution, civil suit, or bankruptcy, use CourtRecordsFree's live federal search — it queries CourtListener/RECAP directly and isn't limited to any one state.

Largest counties in Arizona

Maricopa County — Arizona's most populous county runs its own case-search portal separate from the statewide Public Access Case Lookup, which excludes Maricopa Superior Court.

Search tips

Try both "Last, First" and "First Last" — courts index names inconsistently.
Middle initials and suffixes (Jr., III) often matter for common names.
A date of birth or case number is the only reliable way to confirm you found the right person.
An arrest or charge shown in a docket is not a conviction — read the disposition.

Frequently asked questions

Is it free to search Arizona court records online?

Yes. Arizona's statewide search is free to use, with no account or subscription required.

Does this include criminal records?

Yes. Arizona's portal includes criminal case records alongside civil cases, though sealed and expunged cases are not shown.

Does one search cover the whole state?

Mostly. Arizona's statewide portal covers most courts, but a few jurisdictions maintain separate systems — worth checking the additional lookups above if your court isn't listed.

Links move. If the Arizona portal link above is dead, tell us on the corrections page.