Sealing vs set-aside for a DUI: what each actually does

An old DUI can shadow you for years, surfacing on job screenings, apartment applications, and license reviews long after probation ended. Arizona finally gives you a way to close that record, but the value of doing it depends entirely on what you are trying to fix. This is a decision guide to one narrow question: can you seal a DUI, and should you? It is not a rundown of DUI penalties. For the underlying charge, BAC tiers, and sentencing, see our page on Arizona DUI criminal charges.

Sealing is only one of several ways to clean up a record, and it is not always the best or the first step. Before you file anything, it helps to see how sealing compares with a set-aside and where each one falls short. Our guide to clearing an Arizona criminal record lays out the full menu; this page zooms in on how those tools apply to a DUI specifically.

For a DUI, sealing and set-aside are not interchangeable, and choosing the wrong one wastes months. Both are court orders you petition for after your case is over, but they do very different things to your record.

Sealing under A.R.S. 13-911

Sealing closes the record. Under A.R.S. 13-911, once a judge grants your petition, the arrest, charge, and conviction are removed from public view, and in most situations you may lawfully state that you were never arrested, charged, or convicted. That is what stops a DUI from showing up on an ordinary employment or housing background check.

What sealing does not do is erase the case. The statute keeps sealed records open to a law enforcement agency, a prosecuting agency, and the courts for their official duties. It also says a sealed DUI can still be used to enhance the sentence on a later DUI, and it carves out an exception for driving-related jobs. So a sealed DUI is private from most of the world, but not from a prosecutor, a judge, or certain employers.

Set-aside under A.R.S. 13-905

A set-aside is weaker for privacy but often easier and faster to get. Under A.R.S. 13-905, the court sets aside the judgment of guilt and releases you from most penalties and disabilities of the conviction, which can help with licensing and civil rights. But it leaves the DUI visible. The statute directs the Department of Public Safety to add an annotation that the conviction was set aside while expressly forbidding it from redacting or removing the record. Anyone who pulls your history still sees the DUI, now marked “set aside.”

A set-aside also does not shield you from the state. The judgment can still be used by the Department of Transportation as if it had not been set aside, and it can still be counted as a prior conviction. Many people pursue a set-aside first, because it has been available in Arizona far longer, then seal the record once they qualify. Our page on how to set aside a conviction in Arizona walks through when that sequence makes sense.

How long is the wait, and when does the clock start?

The wait to seal a DUI is set by the offense class, and for a DUI the clock does not start on your conviction date. Under A.R.S. 13-911, the waiting period begins after you complete the nonmonetary terms of your sentence, meaning jail and probation, and it runs only if you pick up no new convictions in the meantime.

For a typical first-offense misdemeanor DUI, that means you become eligible about three years after you finish probation, assuming a clean record since. Unpaid restitution can still block the court from granting the petition even after three years, so paying everything off matters. For the mechanics of the petition itself across any offense, our guide on how to seal an Arizona criminal record covers the process step by step.

Is sealing a DUI worth it? Jobs, licenses, and the MVD reality

For most people the answer is yes, but only if you understand what sealing reaches and what it leaves untouched. The value is concentrated in a few specific places.

Employment and housing. This is where sealing pays off. A private employer or landlord running a standard background check will not see a sealed DUI, and in most cases you can answer “no” when asked whether you have been arrested or convicted. For anyone whose job search stalls at the background stage, that alone is often reason enough.

Professional licenses. Sealing helps, but do not assume it makes you invisible to a licensing board. A set-aside is frequently the tool that matters for licensing, because it lifts many of the disabilities tied to the conviction, and some boards can still reach records that ordinary employers cannot. If you hold or are seeking a nursing, real estate, teaching, or similar license, the right move depends on the board’s rules, not on sealing alone.

The MVD and insurance reality. This is the misconception that trips up nearly everyone: sealing your criminal record does not clean your driving record. Your DUI stays on your Motor Vehicle Division history, and because a set-aside can still be used by the Department of Transportation as if it never happened, neither remedy resets your license points or your motor vehicle record. Insurers rate you off that MVD record, so sealing a DUI will not lower a DUI surcharge or erase an SR-22 history. If your goal is cheaper insurance, sealing is not the tool.

How a sealed DUI affects a CDL or driving job

If you drive for a living, a sealed DUI gives you less protection than it gives everyone else. A.R.S. 13-911 contains a specific exception: when you apply for a job that involves the commercial or private operation of a motor vehicle, boat, or airplane, a sealed DUI can still be disclosed. The statute names DUI offenses under sections 28-1381, 28-1382, and 28-1383 by reference in that carve-out.

In plain terms, a trucking company hiring a commercial driver, or any employer hiring you to operate a vehicle, boat, or aircraft, may still learn about a sealed DUI. Sealing can clear the DUI from a general background check for an office job, yet the same conviction may resurface the moment you apply for a driving position. CDL holders should also remember that a DUI triggers separate federal and MVD commercial-license consequences that sealing does not touch. If your livelihood depends on a CDL, weigh that exception carefully before assuming a seal solves the problem.

What disqualifies you from sealing a DUI

Several things can take sealing off the table or push it further out. Before you count on a seal, check yourself against these common disqualifiers.

• You are still within the waiting period. Three years for a misdemeanor DUI, measured from completion of probation and jail, not from your conviction or arrest date.
• You have a new conviction. Picking up another offense during the waiting period restarts or blocks your eligibility.
• You have not finished the sentence. If you are still on probation, still owe restitution, or have an open term, the court will not seal the case yet.
• The offense is excluded by statute. A.R.S. 13-911 excludes certain serious and dangerous offenses. A felony aggravated DUI that involved serious physical injury may fall outside sealing entirely.
• You have other convictions that overlap. Sealing generally looks at your full record, so additional cases can complicate or delay a DUI seal.

Because the felony line is where eligibility gets murky, any felony DUI, and especially one involving injury, should be reviewed individually rather than assumed eligible.

How to petition to seal a DUI: steps and timeline

Sealing a DUI is a petition process in the court that handled your case, and getting the details right the first time avoids denials. The path generally looks like this:

1. Confirm eligibility. Verify the offense class and the exact date you completed probation and jail, then confirm the waiting period has run and no new convictions exist.
2. Clear outstanding obligations. Pay any remaining fines or restitution, since unpaid amounts can stop the court from granting the petition.
3. File the petition to seal. Submit the petition in the convicting court, identifying the case, the statute of conviction, and your eligibility dates.
4. Notice to the prosecutor and any victim. The prosecuting agency and any victim receive notice and a window to object, commonly around 30 days.
5. Hearing, if needed. If there is an objection, the judge may set a hearing; if not, the court can rule on the paperwork.
6. The order. If granted, the record is sealed and, in most situations, you may state you were never arrested, charged, or convicted.

Timelines vary by court and by whether the prosecutor objects, but many uncontested petitions resolve within a couple of months. A contested petition, or one filed with the wrong dates or class, takes longer or gets denied. If you also want to rebuild broader rights, ask about a certificate of second chance, which can accompany relief in the right case.

Why “DUI expungement” does not exist in Arizona

There is no DUI expungement in Arizona, and using the wrong word can send you down the wrong path. True expungement, which destroys the record as if the arrest never happened, exists in Arizona only for certain marijuana offenses under Proposition 207. It does not apply to DUIs. When people search for “getting a DUI expunged in Arizona,” what they can actually get is a set-aside under A.R.S. 13-905 or a sealing under A.R.S. 13-911.

The distinction is not just semantics. Expungement, if it applied, would erase the record; sealing only closes it from public view while leaving it intact for law enforcement and for enhancing a future DUI. Anyone promising to “expunge” your Arizona DUI for a flat fee is describing a remedy that does not exist here. Insist on the correct term, because the eligibility rules and the real-world effect are completely different.

How Tamou Law Group helps

Deciding whether to seal a DUI is really a strategy question: which remedy fixes your actual problem, and when are you eligible. We start by confirming the offense class and the precise dates your sentence and probation ended, then tell you whether sealing, a set-aside, or both is the smarter sequence for your goal, whether that is passing a background check, protecting a license, or simply closing an old chapter.

Our attorneys, who include former prosecutors and public defenders, handle these petitions throughout Maricopa County courts and know what local judges and prosecutors expect to see filed. We prepare the petition so it states the correct class, dates, and eligibility, and we respond if the prosecutor objects. For the underlying charge and how a DUI is sentenced in the first place, our Arizona DUI charges page has the full breakdown.