Arizona ban-the-box rules: private employers, sealed records and recruiters

Arizona has no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers, as of October 2026: we found no Arizona statute that restricts when a private company may ask about criminal history, so the employer's own policy and federal law set the timing. Two state laws still shape the question. Under A.R.S. 13-911, a person whose record is sealed may answer most job applications as if the arrest, charge or conviction never happened, and under A.R.S. 12-558.03 an employer is generally not liable for hiring someone with a past conviction. We did not confirm any city ordinance that reaches private employers.

Does Arizona have a ban-the-box law for private employers?

No. We found no section of the Arizona Revised Statutes that sets a stage of hiring before which a private employer may not ask about criminal history, and none that requires an individualized assessment or a pre-rejection notice. An Arizona employer may ask about convictions on an application without breaking a state timing rule. What Arizona law does is decide what the candidate has to tell you and how much legal risk you carry, and our Arizona background check laws guide covers those rules in depth.

What can Arizona candidates with sealed records say?

Under A.R.S. 13-911, a person whose records are sealed "may state, in all instances," that they have never been arrested for, charged with or convicted of the crime, "including in response to questions on employment, housing, financial aid or loan applications." The statute lists exceptions where the person may not deny the record, including:

• applications that require a fingerprint clearance card;
• jobs with law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, probation, child welfare or juvenile corrections agencies, or state corrections;
• jobs supervising, educating or caring for minors, for child abuse or aggravated assault cases, and jobs caring for vulnerable adults or people 65 or older, for vulnerable adult abuse cases;
• jobs entering and working inside homes, for certain burglary and theft cases; driving or piloting jobs, for listed vehicle offenses; and jobs handling other people's money, for listed financial offenses;
• disclosures required by state or federal law, or for Medicare, Medicaid and other federal health care program integrity.

The practical point for an application: a broad "have you ever been convicted?" question will get a truthful "no" from someone with a sealed record, and you cannot hold that against them unless one of the exceptions applies. A safer application adds a line telling applicants they need not disclose sealed matters except for the listed job categories. Set-aside convictions and certificates of second chance are covered in the background check guide.

Does Arizona protect employers who hire people with records?

Yes, and that changes the risk calculation that often drives early screening. A.R.S. 12-558.03 says "an employer is not liable for hiring an employee or contracting with an independent contractor" who has previously been convicted of a criminal offense, and in other negligent hiring actions the prior conviction "may not be introduced into evidence." The protection has exceptions: some inadequate supervision claims where the employer knew of a directly related conviction, money and property offenses by people hired into fiduciary roles, attorneys' misappropriation, and violent offenses or excessive force by law enforcement officers or security guards hired in that role. A.R.S. 13-911 also says the employer of a person with a sealed record "is not liable for hiring or contracting with the person as prescribed in section 12-558.03."

What applies to Arizona state and local government jobs?

We could not confirm on the Governor's site whether an executive order currently removes criminal history questions from state agency applications, so we do not describe one here. The Governor's current reentry order, Executive Order 2025-08 (April 22, 2025), directs state agencies to assess what they can do toward Reentry 2030 goals, including increasing the share of people employed one year after release by twenty percent; we did not find in it a rule on state job applications. If your client is a state agency, city, county or school district, ask for its written policy on when it asks about and checks criminal history.

Many public jobs carry required fingerprint checks or clearance cards whatever the hiring policy, for example child care personnel and direct care staff at residential care and nursing care institutions and home health agencies; the background check guide lists the statutes.

Can Arizona cities pass their own rules?

Arizona's main state preemption statute for employment, A.R.S. 23-204, makes the regulation of employee benefits, nonwage compensation, paid and unpaid leave, meal breaks and rest periods "of statewide concern" and not subject to further city regulation. It does not mention hiring practices, applications or criminal history. We did not confirm any Arizona city ordinance that limits private employers' criminal history questions. A search of the Mesa, Tempe and Chandler codes on Municode turned up no such rule, and we could not reach the Phoenix and Tucson codes to check, so if a job is in one of those cities, ask the client whether it is a city contractor with hiring terms in its contract.

When can you ask about criminal history in Arizona?

What federal rules still apply?

Title VII still applies to how a record is used, including its disparate impact provision in 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-2(k). The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, but a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still the safe practice, and in a state with no assessment rule of its own it is the main thing standing between a record and a disparate impact claim. Reports from a screening company trigger the FCRA's disclosure, authorization and adverse action steps; see the FCRA background check process. Federal contractors also have the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, which bars requesting criminal history for contract-related positions before a conditional offer; see ban-the-box laws and interview questions.

Are any Arizona ban-the-box bills pending?

We did not identify a bill in the 57th Legislature (2025–2026) that would create a statewide timing rule for private employers. Check the Arizona Legislature's site before relying on this.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Arizona?

With no state timing rule, the risk for an agency is inconsistency: one desk asks on the phone screen, another waits for an offer, and notes start to drive decisions. Agree one practice with each client. Agency licensing is a separate question, covered in staffing agency licensing in Arizona.

Questions to settle at intake

• Does the job require a fingerprint clearance card, or fall into one of the A.R.S. 13-911 categories where a sealed record must still be disclosed?
• Is the client a public employer or a city contractor with its own fair chance terms?
• At what stage does the client want criminal history raised, and who asks?
• Who orders the check, who reviews it against the job, and who sends the FCRA notices?

A short script

Candidate volunteers a record: "Thanks for telling me. Criminal history isn't part of my screen, so I won't note it. If the employer runs a check, that's a separate step, and you'd see anything they rely on."

Candidate asks about a sealed case: "Arizona generally lets people answer as if a sealed case didn't happen, with some exceptions for certain jobs. I'm not asking about it, and your lawyer can tell you whether an exception applies to this role."

An Arizona checklist

1. Word any application question so it does not require disclosure of sealed or set-aside matters, except for the listed job categories.
2. Move criminal history to the post-offer stage as a consistent practice across clients.
3. Keep volunteered information out of notes and submittals; see what not to write in interview notes.
4. Use a written, job-related review for any record that comes back; our fair chance hiring policy template is a starting point.
5. For the full state hiring checklist, see hiring employees in Arizona; for a neighbor with a city ordinance, see Texas.

Arizona ban-the-box rules at a glance