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ARS 13-3001: Definitions

ARS 13-3001: Definitions

Michael Tamou, Arizona criminal defense attorney

Michael Tamou

Founding Attorney · Criminal Defense

5.0 · Criminal Defense

The complete text of A.R.S. § 13-3001 on definitions, and how this section is used in Arizona criminal cases. It defines terms and procedure rather than creating an offense.

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Michael Tamou, Arizona criminal defense attorney

Michael Tamou

Founding Attorney · Criminal Defense

★★★★★ 5.0 · Criminal Defense

Written and legally reviewed by Michael Tamou, Founding Attorney of Tamou Law Group, PLLC. Last updated September 4, 2026.

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Full Text of A.R.S. § 13-3001

A.R.S. § 13-3001 is the Arizona statute on definitions. It defines terms used throughout the criminal code, so no offense class or sentence attaches to this section on its own.

In this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

1. “Aural transfer” means a communication containing the human voice at any point between and including the point of origin and the point of reception.

2. “Child monitoring device” means a device that is capable of transmitting an audio or audiovisual signal and that is installed or used in a residence for child supervision or safety monitoring by any parent, guardian or other responsible person in the person’s own residence.

3. “Communication service provider” means any person who is engaged in providing a service that allows its users to send or receive oral, wire or electronic communications or computer services.

4. “Electronic communication” means any transfer of signs, signals, writing, images, sounds, data or intelligence of any nature that is transmitted in whole or in part by a wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic or photooptical system but that does not include any of the following:

(a) Any wire or oral communication.

(b) Any communication made through a tone-only paging device.

(c) Any communication from a tracking device.

5. “Electronic communication system” means any communication or computer facilities or related electronic equipment for the transmission, processing or electronic storage of electronic communications.

6. “Electronic storage” means either of the following:

(a) Any temporary, intermediate storage of a wire or electronic communication incidental to the electronic transmission.

(b) Any storage of the communication by an electronic communication service provider for purposes of backup protection of the communication.

7. “Intercept” means the aural or other acquisition of the contents of any wire, electronic or oral communication through the use of any electronic, mechanical or other device.

8. “Oral communication” means a spoken communication that is uttered by a person who exhibits an expectation that the communication is not subject to interception under circumstances justifying the expectation but does not include any electronic communication.

9. “Pen register” means a device or process that records or decodes electronic or other impulses that identify the numbers dialed or otherwise transmitted on the telephone line or communication facility to which the device is attached or the dialing, routing, addressing or signaling information that is transmitted by an instrument or facility from which a wire or electronic communication is transmitted but does not include the contents of any communication, except when used in connection with a court order issued pursuant to section 13-3010 or 13-3012. A pen register does not include a publicly available device or process that is otherwise not unlawful.

10. “Person” means any individual, enterprise, public or private corporation, unincorporated association, partnership, firm, society, governmental authority or entity, including the subscriber to the communication service involved, and any law enforcement officer.

11. “Readily accessible to the general public” means a radio communication that is not:

(a) Scrambled or encrypted.

(b) Transmitted using modulation techniques with essential parameters that have been withheld from the public to preserve the privacy of the communication.

(c) Carried on a subcarrier or other signal subsidiary to a radio transmission.

(d) Transmitted over a communication system provided by a common carrier, unless the communication is a tone-only paging system communication.

(e) Transmitted on frequencies allocated under part 25, subpart D, E or F or part 74 or part 94 of the rules of the federal communications commission. If a communication transmitted on a frequency allocated under part 74 is not exclusively allocated to broadcast auxiliary services, the communication is a two-way voice communication system by radio.

12. “Remote computing service” means providing to the public any computer storage or processing services by means of an electronic communication system.

13. “Trap and trace device” means a device or process that captures the incoming electronic or other impulses that identify the originating number of an instrument or device from which a wire or electronic communication was transmitted or the dialing, routing, addressing and signaling information that is reasonably likely to identify the source of a wire or electronic communication but does not include the content of any communication, except when used in connection with a court order issued pursuant to section 13-3010 or 13-3012. A trap and trace device does not include a publicly available device or process that is otherwise not unlawful.

14. “Wire communication” means any aural transfer that is made in whole or in part through the use of facilities for the transmission of communications by the aid of any wire, cable or other like connection between the point of origin and the point of reception, including the use of a connection in a switching station, and that is furnished or operated by any person who is engaged in providing or operating the facilities for the transmission of communications.

Source: Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-3001, Arizona Legislative Council revision of 09/19/25. Read the official text on azleg.gov. Statutes change; verify the current version before relying on it.

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How § 13-3001 Affects an Arizona Case

§ 13-3001 usually matters because of how it interacts with the charge someone is actually facing. We read it alongside the charging statute, because a definition or a procedural rule frequently decides what the State must prove, what a judge may impose, or what relief is available afterward.

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Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is A.R.S. § 13-3001?

A.R.S. § 13-3001 is the Arizona statute on definitions. It sets out rules that apply across Arizona criminal cases rather than defining a single offense.

Where can I read the official text of § 13-3001?

The Arizona Legislature publishes it at azleg.gov, in the revision dated 09/19/25. The complete text is reproduced on this page, and every Arizona criminal statute is searchable on our Arizona Criminal Code index.

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