Arizona Criminal Court Records

Start with the docket, then choose the document route

Arizona Public Access Case Lookup and eAccess serve different jobs. Public Access provides case information from participating courts; it currently lists 177 of 184 courts and links to the unavailable-courts list. eAccess provides eligible Superior Court document images. Record the court and case number from a docket before buying a document so that you do not mistake a charge listing for the judgment or sentence.

The Public Access site warns that its display is not the official court record and can be incomplete or outdated. It says case information is updated on Fridays through the preceding Wednesday. That delay matters when checking a recent dismissal, hearing or change in status. Verify consequential details with the court of record rather than treating a missing update as a new legal conclusion.

Check the court, filing date and confidentiality limits

eAccess generally covers Superior Court civil and criminal cases filed on or after July 1, 2010. For Pima County criminal cases, the start date is July 1, 2015. Justice and municipal court documents are not included; request those from the relevant court. Older Superior Court documents may require a request to the filing county’s Superior Court clerk.

Sealed, confidential or otherwise restricted documents are not opened by buying access. eAccess also excludes probate, juvenile and family/domestic-relations case categories. Public Access has its own exclusions, including sealed cases, protection-order cases, mental-health and probate matters, victim and witness information, and juvenile incorrigibility/delinquency information. A missing record can reflect these limits or a nonparticipating court rather than the absence of a case.

Preview and price the particular filing

eAccess is available around the clock and requires registration with a valid email address. Preview the first page without charge to check the case caption, filing date and document title. Pay-as-you-go access to all pages is $10 per document. That unit matters: several filings in one case can produce several document charges, so list the records needed before opening a paid order.

Recurring plans are optional. For example, the published plan for 20 documents per month costs $80, while pay-as-you-go has no monthly subscription fee. Compare the number you actually need rather than assuming a subscription is necessary for one judgment. Cancelling a recurring plan does not produce a refund; its document allowance remains available to the end of that billing cycle.

Electronic certification adds $45 per document for pay-as-you-go accounts, or $35 with a recurring monthly subscription. Ask the recipient whether it accepts electronic certification before paying. Some organizations require a court-raised-seal copy, which must be obtained from the appropriate clerk. A downloaded ordinary image, an electronically certified copy and a raised-seal copy are different deliverables.

Save the document within the purchase window

A purchased document remains accessible in the eAccess account for 24 hours. Download or print it in that period. The published retrieval path is Account Settings, View Payment History, the document’s View Receipt icon, then the download icon. Open the saved file immediately to confirm that all pages are readable and that the case and document are the ones you intended to buy.

Keep the receipt and certification information with the file. Do not rely on the portal account as long-term storage. For a technical issue, the AOC Support Center lists 602-452-3519 or 800-720-7743, Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–6 p.m., excluding state holidays. Describe the purchase, case and error without sending payment-card information in an ordinary message.

Use the clerk for missing records, corrections and special copies

If the document is unavailable, use the eAccess FAQ’s Superior Court clerk directory, or the Arizona Courts Locator for a justice or municipal court. Supply the case number, party name, document title and filing date; say whether you need inspection, ordinary copies or certification. Ask for the local search, page-copy, certification and mailing total and the anticipated fulfillment method. Those clerk costs are separate from eAccess pricing.

When identifiers conflict or the docket lacks an outcome, request the actual disposition and ask the clerk to verify the entry. An online court search is not a statewide fingerprint criminal-history review, and the Public Access website expressly says it should not replace a thorough search of official public records. Preserve the court’s response, including any restriction or unavailable-record explanation, rather than converting a no-hit into a clean-history certificate.