HB 2658 Arizona House · 57th Legislature - First Regular Session

expungement of misdemeanor convictions

HB 2658 creates a new process for individuals convicted of misdemeanors in Arizona to petition courts to expunge their criminal records. To qualify, petitioners must wait three years after completing their sentence or probation, have no pending cases or new convictions, and pay all fines and restitution. If approved, courts will seal all related records, including arrests and convictions, so they no longer appear in background checks or public records, and individuals may legally state they were never convicted. The bill excludes certain offenses, such as violent misdemeanors under §13-3601 or related felony charges. It passed the Arizona House in February 2025 and is now pending in the Senate, with an effective date of December 31, 2025.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Jan 2025

Committee Review

House Passage

Feb 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Jan 27, 2025 Last action Mar 4, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced Version → House Engrossed Version · 8 edits · Feb 26, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was reorganized and expanded to cover more than just convicted misdemeanors, now including individuals arrested but not charged, charged with dismissed charges, or found not guilty. The process now allows petitions for all case records in one location rather than multiple courts, adds victim notification rights, and clarifies that expunged records cannot be used in future prosecutions.

Scope change

Expanded from only convicted misdemeanors to include arrested individuals with no charges filed, dismissed charges, or not guilty verdicts, and consolidated petition filing locations.

ELIGIBILITY

Expanded eligibility to include individuals arrested but not charged, charged with dismissed charges, or found not guilty, in addition to convicted misdemeanors.

Expanded exclusions to include violent crimes as defined in section 13-901.03 in addition to specific misdemeanor sections.

REQUIREMENT

Added requirement to include whether the petitioner has obtained a prior expungement under this section.

Added requirement to file petition in one consolidated location rather than multiple courts depending on the case status.

TIMELINE

Changed waiting period from three years to five years for violations of section 13-1805, and added a 60-day waiting period for all petitions unless no objections are received.

ENFORCEMENT

Added victim notification rights and the ability for victims to request a hearing on expungement petitions.

Added prohibition on using expunged records in future prosecutions for any purpose.

SCOPE

Added exception allowing law enforcement agencies to access sealed records when hiring peace officers, with requirement to destroy records after hiring process.

Floor votes · House Feb 26, 2025

How they voted

56–1

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 60

Feb 26, 2025

D Democratic27

27 Yea

100% Yea

R Republican33

29 Yea 1 Nay 3

87% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 26, 2025

Lower · Passed

PASSED

lower

Feb 25, 2025

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

Feb 12, 2025

Lower · Passed

DPA

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors