State Resources
Arizona
Arizona publishes a free statewide case lookup, and it deliberately excludes the two biggest counties’ superior courts — which is most of the state. Once you know that, Arizona is straightforward.
At a glance
| Record | Held by | Cost | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business and entity search | Corporation Commission | Free to search | Yes |
| UCC filings | Secretary of State — UCC | Free to search | Yes |
| Professional licenses | Registrar of Contractors and individual boards | Free | Yes |
| Property and land records | County recorder and county assessor | Free online in most counties | By county |
| Court records | Arizona Judicial Branch — public case lookup | Free | Yes |
| Criminal records | Department of Public Safety, Criminal History Records | Fee; consent required | Consent required |
| Vital records | Department of Health Services, Vital Records | Certified copies carry a fee | Yes |
| Unclaimed property | Department of Revenue | Free | Yes |
| Voter and resident records | Secretary of State | Free | Yes |
Worth knowing about Arizona
The statewide lookup excludes Maricopa and Pima superior courts
This is the Arizona gotcha and it’s a big one.
The Judicial Branch publishes a free public case lookup covering a large number of Arizona courts. It does not include the superior courts in Maricopa and Pima counties — Phoenix and Tucson. Those two counties hold roughly three quarters of Arizona’s population, and their superior courts run their own separate public access systems.
So an Arizona search is three searches: the statewide lookup, then Maricopa County Superior Court, then Pima County Superior Court. Running only the first and calling it statewide is the standard mistake.
The statewide lookup does cover justice courts and municipal courts in those counties, which is where evictions, misdemeanors and small claims live. So the split is by court level, not purely by geography.
Arizona is a community property state with a big transient population
Two structural facts that change how an Arizona file runs.
Community property. Property and debt acquired during a marriage generally belong to both spouses regardless of whose name is on the title. On an asset search, a spouse’s holdings are potentially relevant, and on a judgment file community property can be reachable.
Seasonal residents. Arizona has an unusually large population of people who live there part of the year and maintain a domicile elsewhere. That produces two real addresses, two sets of records, and a genuine ambiguity about residence that isn’t evasion. Check the property assessment records for the owner-occupancy classification — it’s the county’s own record of which one the owner claims.
Record by record
Business and entity search
Open entity search →- Held by
- Corporation Commission
- Cost
- Free to search
Free entity search returning status, formation date, statutory agent, and — usefully — officers, directors, members and managers with their addresses.
Arizona regulates entities through the Corporation Commission rather than the Secretary of State, which catches people out. The principal disclosure is considerably better than Nevada or Delaware.
UCC filings
Open UCC search →- Held by
- Secretary of State — UCC
- Cost
- Free to search
UCC financing statements are filed with the Secretary of State even though business entities are at the Corporation Commission. Two different agencies for two related records.
A UCC-1 names the debtor, the secured party and the collateral, and the secured party is usually a lender.
Professional licenses
Open Registrar of Contractors →- Held by
- Registrar of Contractors and individual boards
- Cost
- Free
No single statewide lookup for all professions. The Registrar of Contractors is the one worth knowing — it publishes license status, bond details, the qualifying party by name, and complaint history free.
The qualifying party is a real person legally responsible for the license, and naming them is a straight route from a construction company to an individual.
Property and land records
- Held by
- County recorder and county assessor
- Cost
- Free online in most counties
No statewide property search, but Arizona has only 15 counties and Maricopa and Pima cover most of the population — two searches gets you a long way.
Maricopa County Recorder and Assessor are both free, deep and easy to use. Check the owner-occupancy classification on the assessment record; it’s the county’s own note on whether the owner claims to live there.
Court records
Open case lookup →- Held by
- Arizona Judicial Branch — public case lookup
- Cost
- Free
Free statewide case lookup covering most Arizona courts — but see above, Maricopa and Pima superior courts are excluded and run their own systems.
Justice and municipal courts are covered, including in those two counties, so evictions and misdemeanors are reachable through the statewide lookup even where the superior court isn’t.
Criminal records
Open DPS records →- Held by
- Department of Public Safety, Criminal History Records
- Cost
- Fee; consent required
Arizona doesn’t sell a name-based criminal history to the general public. The state check is fingerprint-based and a review of your own record is available to you personally.
Court records are the practical route — free, and covering both the statewide lookup and the two big county systems.
Vital records
Open vital records →- Held by
- Department of Health Services, Vital Records
- Cost
- Certified copies carry a fee
Births and deaths from the state office, with county offices also issuing. Arizona restricts certified copies to people with a direct interest. Marriage and divorce records are held by the county, not the state.
Unclaimed property
Open unclaimed property →- Held by
- Department of Revenue
- Cost
- Free
Free name search. The holder named on a reported item is a confirmed bank, insurer or employer relationship with a last known address.
Voter and resident records
Open voter portal →- Held by
- Secretary of State
- Cost
- Free
Individual registration lookup confirming status and county. Arizona restricts the voter list to political purposes and prohibits commercial use.
Public records requests in Arizona
- Statute
- Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 39-121 et seq. (Public Records Law)
- Response deadline
- Promptly; no fixed number
- Appeal to
- Superior court (special action)
- Appeal window
- No fixed deadline
Arizona’s law is old, short and strongly worded — public records are open to inspection by any person during office hours, and the presumption of openness is heavy.
There’s no numeric deadline. Records must be produced promptly, and courts have read that strictly against agencies that sit on requests.
No ombudsman. The remedy is a special action in superior court, and a requester who prevails may recover attorney fees where the denial was arbitrary or capricious.
One Arizona quirk: a commercial purpose request is treated differently. You may be required to state the purpose and pay more, and the Governor can deny a commercial request in some circumstances. A request for an investigation isn’t automatically commercial, but be ready to explain if asked.
What Arizona will not give you
- Maricopa and Pima superior court records. Not in the statewide lookup. Search those two counties separately.
- Name-based criminal history. Not sold to the public. The state check is fingerprint-based.
- Driver and vehicle records. Closed under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
- Juvenile records. Not public.
- Records requested for commercial purposes. Handled under a separate provision with extra requirements.
Course
Investigating with PACER and Court Records
State courts are only half of it. Federal court records carry bankruptcies, judgments and civil suits that no state search will ever show you — and most people overpay for them or never look at all.
See the court records courseRelated
- Nevada — two counties cover the whole state
- New Mexico — one search covers three court tiers
- California — the other big western state
- Tracing an LLC to a human being
- Property records: finding the owner
Fees and procedures verified August 2026. Clerks change their counter rules more often than the statutes change — call before you drive.