Arizona
Every law and rule change USCLI tracks for Arizona, across the professions, on one page. Each entry links to its full write-up and official sources.
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Licensing Law Tracker
Arizona licenses private investigator agencies, and registers the investigators they employ, through the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Since 2023 the Legislature has moved agency licenses to four-year terms and let registered investigators fingerprint unidentified hospital patients, and DPS has changed how fingerprints and applications are filed.
Full Arizona page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (4 entries).
Fingerprint affidavit required; electronic filing suspended
DPS says fingerprints received on or after July 8, 2026 must come with a completed Fingerprint Affidavit, sealed in one envelope with the fingerprint card, or the packet is rejected. Forms signed and received after October 3, 2026 that are not the newest…
Agency licenses move to four-year terms
Amends A.R.S. 32-2425(A) so agency licenses are issued for four years instead of two; employee registrations already run with the agency license. It deleted the sentence in 32-2407(B) that barred renewing a license or registration more than 90 days after…
Rule on registration certificate renewals expired
R13-2-303 (Renewal of Registration Certificate), which had the agency licensee submit associate and employee registration renewals up to 60 days before expiration, and allowed those renewals only as part of an agency license renewal, expired under A.R.S.…
Investigators may fingerprint unidentified hospital patients
A licensed hospital may ask a criminal justice agency to identify an incapacitated or deceased unidentified patient through fingerprints or biometrics. A private investigator registered under Chapter 24 may take the fingerprints or biometric information…
Officer Certification Tracker
Arizona’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Board (AZPOST) certifies all peace officers, including deputies. By rule it must revoke certification on a felony conviction and may act on 12 other grounds. Since 2023 the State has shortened the marijuana and juvenile-conduct look-backs for applicants, created a certification path for military police veterans that starts in 2027, and added procedural protections for officers in discipline cases.
Full Arizona page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (10 entries).
Employer pays an officer’s fees when a firing is twice found without just cause and the officer is not reinstated
New A.R.S. 38-1106(J) applies when two things happen. A hearing officer, administrative law judge, or appeals board finds a termination was without just cause and the employer does not reinstate the officer. Then a superior court action under 38-1107 also…
No retaliation or obstruction against employees who testify in discipline appeals
An agency, employer, or political subdivision “may not” retaliate against an employee for testifying in an in-camera disclosure proceeding under 38-1106(E). It also “may not prohibit or obstruct” an employee, including a designated subject matter expert,…
Military Police to Peace Officer Pathway Act: an alternative route for military police veterans, starting 2027
New A.R.S. 41-1822(A)(8): “beginning January 1, 2027” the Board “shall” set up an alternative certification pathway for honorably discharged veterans who served as military police. The pathway must accept existing military police training and experience…
Investigation materials due at least 24 hours before an administrative interview
The employer already had to give relevant, readily available materials, including complaints, with the written notice of an interview. Now it “shall” give them “at least twenty-four hours before the interview.” There are three exceptions: the officer…
Promoted officers who fail probation can be demoted, not fired
New 38-1104(E): an employer “may not” terminate an officer who is promoted above their current rank and placed on probation for failing that probation, but “may” demote them. An employer may still terminate any officer with just cause. The section does not…
Forensic Science Tracker
Arizona has no forensic science commission or analyst license, and it requires lab accreditation only for labs that share in a state forensics fund. Since 2023 the Supreme Court has amended Rule 702 to match the 2023 federal change and added commentary on suspect altered or generated evidence to a lawyer ethics rule. The Legislature has tied the forensics fund to accreditation and now lets a physician trained, not board certified, in forensic pathology supervise autopsies by trainees.
Full Arizona page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (4 entries).
Trainee autopsies may be supervised by a physician trained, not board certified, in forensic pathology
A county medical examiner may authorize medical students, and residents and fellows in pathology training, to perform autopsies under a licensed physician “trained” in forensic pathology. The words “board certified” were struck (11-594(B)(2)). Pathologist…
Ethics comment on evidence a lawyer suspects is altered or generated
A new passage in Comment [8] to ER 3.3 addresses evidence a lawyer reasonably believes “has been materially altered or generated with the intent to deceive the court.” The comment calls for a reasonable inquiry before the lawyer offers it. Factors in how…
Rule 702 amended to match the 2023 federal change
The opening clause now requires that “the proponent demonstrates to the court that it is more likely than not that” elements (a) to (d) are met. Element (d) changed from “the expert has reliably applied” to “the expert’s opinion reflects a reliable…
State forensics fund limited to accredited full-service crime labs
The act struck the fixed shares of the DPS forensics fund: DPS kept 55 percent, and 22, 12, 7 and 4 percent went to the Phoenix, Tucson, Mesa and Scottsdale police departments. Money now goes each quarter to each “full-service crime laboratory,” in…
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & Investigation