Misdemeanor Statute of Limitations in AZ: How Long? ARS 13-107

What Is the Statute of Limitations on a Misdemeanor in Arizona?

One year. Under A.R.S. § 13-107(B)(2), a prosecution for a misdemeanor must be commenced within one year after the State’s actual discovery of the offense, or the date it should have discovered it with reasonable diligence, whichever comes first. A petty offense has six months. “Commenced” means, under subsection (C), that a complaint, information, or indictment has been filed; the State does not have to try or convict within the year, only file. The rule applies to every class of misdemeanor, from Class 1 (assault, DUI, shoplifting, disorderly conduct, most domestic violence offenses) to Class 3.

Two exceptions and two extensions matter. The exceptions: a DUI involving a collision with serious injury or death has a two-year period under A.R.S. § 28-1381(Q), and a Class 6 felony that is later designated a misdemeanor keeps the seven-year felony period under subsection (F). The extensions: the clock stops while the accused is out of state, and a dismissed complaint can be refiled for six months.

When Does the One Year Start?

At discovery: the date the State or the political subdivision with jurisdiction actually learned of the offense, or should have with reasonable diligence. For a misdemeanor that begins with a stop, an arrest, or a police report, that is the incident date. For an offense reported later, a theft discovered on a later audit or an assault reported weeks afterward, the year runs from the report or from when a diligent agency would have known. The defense can contest the State’s claimed discovery date, and the State bears the burden of showing a timely filing.

When the Clock Stops or Restarts

• Absence from Arizona. Under A.R.S. § 13-107(D), the period does not run during any time the accused is absent from the state or has no reasonably ascertainable place of residence in it. A misdemeanor from a visit to Arizona may remain chargeable for as long as the person lives elsewhere.
• Dismissal and refiling. Under subsection (G), a complaint filed within the period and later dismissed for any reason can be refiled within six months after the dismissal becomes final, even if the year has expired. An early dismissal is not the end.
• Unknown identity. Subsection (E) tolls the period for serious offenses while the offender’s identity is unknown; it does not apply to ordinary misdemeanors.
• Filing satisfies the statute. Once a complaint is filed, later delay is governed by the speedy-trial rules in the Arizona Rules of Criminal Procedure, not by 13-107.

What Happens After the Year Passes?

If no charging document was filed within the period and no tolling applies, the prosecution is barred. The bar is raised by the defense in a motion to dismiss; a court will not catch it on its own, and a late complaint proceeds until someone points out the defect. An arrest or citation that never became a charge remains on the record until sealed, and A.R.S. § 13-911(A)(3) allows a petition to seal an arrest where no charges were filed. Uncharged DUI arrests have their own two-clock problem, covered in the DUI statute of limitations guide and arrested for DUI but not charged.

How Tamou Law Group Uses the Limitation Period

On an uncharged citation or arrest we calendar the period, confirm the State’s discovery date, and track every court that could receive the case. On a late-filed misdemeanor we move to dismiss and make the State prove a timely filing or a tolling event. When the period runs with no filing, we petition to seal the arrest under 13-911. Former prosecutors on the team know how charging deadlines are tracked on the other side. In every Maricopa County court.

Related guides: the statute of limitations for a DUI, the statute of limitations for sex crimes, arrested but not charged, and our Arizona criminal defense hub. Call 623-321-4699, 24/7.