Set Aside
Set Aside in Arizona ARS 13-905
If you’re not yet eligible for Sealing Records under ARS 13-911 because not enough time has passed since completing your sentence, filing a Set Aside under ARS 13-905 is the most effective alternative. A Set Aside applies only to criminal convictions—not to dismissed charges, arrests without conviction, or civil matters. Those should instead be addressed through Sealing Records or, for eligible marijuana offenses, Expungement under ARS 36-2862.
Once all sentencing requirements are fulfilled—including probation, incarceration, and payment of fines—you may qualify to have the judgment of guilt set aside, penalties lifted, and a Certificate of Second Chance issued. This process can restore certain civil rights and improve opportunities related to employment, housing, and occupational licensing. While the case remains on your record, a granted Set Aside demonstrates rehabilitation and may reduce the need to disclose the conviction in some private-sector contexts.
However, Set Asides are not available for all cases. Ineligible offenses include those involving a victim under age 15, dangerous or serious felonies, and sex-related crimes. If your conviction qualifies, pursuing a Set Aside is a legally recognized step toward improving your future prospects.
Minimum Required Information:
(Please fill in these answers before purchasing.)
- Court Name:
- Case Number:
- Charges:
- Month/Day/Year of Crime:
- Anything Else We Should Know:
- Attachments: (Please attach any supporting documentation.)
- Customer’s Full Legal Name (Also, list any prior names if different at the time of the case.):
- Date of Birth:
- Customer’s Phone Number:
- Customer’s Email:
- Customer’s Mailing Address:
Legal Benefits:
- Sets aside judgment of guilt (aka no longer guilty)
- Released from ALL penalties that came with the conviction
- Certificate of Second Chance
- Great first step to getting Sealing Records approved and will speed up the process. Set Aside is not required before Sealing Records. If you are eligible for Sealing Records, then Set Aside is not needed. If Sealing Records is denied, then Set Aside is a good alternative.
- Most useful for employment and housing applications because once approved you do not have to disclose
- If the employer or housing company finds your prior conviction, then you can present them with the approved set aside order, and the conviction should be disregarded.
- DPS must update criminal background information (Doesn’t help with fingerprint clearance card)
- Restore Gun Rights included with Set Aside for felony cases (judge can approve Set Aside but specifically deny Gun Rights if the judge decides to)
- Restore Civil Rights (not firearm rights) automatically for 1st-time felony convictions once the case is completed (does not apply for serious offenses) 13-907
Eligible:
- Criminal convictions only
- Accepted guilty plea or found guilty at trial
- Must have completed all sentence requirements (including fines)
Approval Process:
- Typically, it takes more than 90 days from the time the application is submitted. Felony Set Asides commonly take closer to six months to be approved or denied by the judge.
- Applications are typically reviewed multiple times for accuracy before submission and filed in under 30 days from the time the firm is hired.
- The judge holds a huge amount of power and discretion to approve or deny.
Legal Factors:
- Nature and circumstances of the offense
- Completion of probation without issues
- Prior criminal history and/or new cases
- Victim input
- Length of time that has elapsed since completion of sentence (usually the one the judge relies on to deny a case)
- Age of defendant at the time of the offense
- Any other relevant factor (mitigation)
- Prosecutor commonly objects to any of the above reasons
Limitations:
- Does not remove from driving records or insurance
- Does not delete anything from the internet
- Does not delete old things on gov sites that background companies have already saved to their systems
- Doesn’t legally remove it as a prior felony or prior DUI
Not Eligible Cases:
- Civil cases
- Dismissed cases; including:
- Diversions that led to a dismissal (use Sealing Record)
- Defensive Driving School for criminal speeding cases (use Sealing Record)
- Victims under the age of 15
- Common in DV cases, but we can usually still get these approved
- Serious injury cases (aggravated assault, manslaughter, etc.)
- Dangerous Offense (check sentencing order but commonly require a weapon)
- Serious Offenses (must wait 10 years after absolute discharge):
- Murder
- Manslaughter
- Aggravated Assault
- Arson of an Occupied Structure
- Armed Robbery
- Burglary of an Occupied Residence
- Kidnapping
- Assault by Prisoner
- Riot
- Drive-By Shooting
- Shooting at Occupied Structures
- Gangs
- Terrorism
- Sex-related cases
- Weapon offenses are not automatically denied but it is hard to get a judge to approve Set Aside if a weapon was used.
