Arizona People Search

Three places cover most Arizona searches: the Judicial Branch public access case search, the Arizona Corporation Commission eCorp business search, and the Maricopa County offices, since Maricopa holds about 60 percent of the state's people. The state prison, sex offender and vital records offices complete the list.

• Arizona Judicial Branch public access case searchCases from participating superior, justice and municipal courts
• Arizona Corporation Commission eCorp business searchCorporations, LLCs and partnerships with statutory agents and officers
• Maricopa County RecorderDeeds, mortgages, liens and other recorded documents for the Phoenix area
• ADCRR inmate data searchCurrent and past state inmates with ADC number and release date
• Arizona DPS sex offender compliance and registryLevel 2 and Level 3 sex offenders and community notification
• ADHS Bureau of Vital RecordsCertified birth and death certificates for eligible requesters

• Arizona Secretary of StateElections, trademarks, notaries, lobbyists and the Address Confidentiality Program
• Arizona Department of RevenueIncome, transaction privilege and property tax administration
• ADOT Motor Vehicle DivisionVehicle and driver records, released only for purposes federal law allows

Arizona's trial courts include Superior Courts (general jurisdiction in each county), Justice Courts (limited jurisdiction, misdemeanors and small civil), and Municipal Courts (city ordinance and misdemeanor). The Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court handle appellate matters.

Maricopa vs. Pima vs. statewide portal

Maricopa and Pima counties run their own case search systems apart from the statewide public access portal, and the other counties take part in the statewide portal to different degrees.

• Maricopa County Superior Court docket searchPhoenix area felony, civil, family and probate cases by name
• Pima County Clerk of the Superior Court case recordsTucson area civil, criminal, family and probate case records
• U.S. District Court for the District of ArizonaFederal civil and criminal cases, with documents through PACER

Arizona property ownership is documented through County Recorders (deeds, mortgages, liens) and valued by County Assessors. County Treasurers collect property taxes. Maricopa and Pima offer extensive free online search tools; smaller counties may require in-person or subscription access.

• Maricopa County AssessorParcel search with owner, assessed value and parcel maps
• Pima County RecorderTucson area deeds, mortgages, liens and other recorded documents
• Pima County AssessorParcel ownership and valuation search for Pima County
• Pinal County Recorder document searchRecorded documents for Casa Grande, Florence and San Tan Valley

• Arizona Corporation CommissionThe agency that keeps corporate and LLC filings in Arizona
• Arizona Registrar of ContractorsContractor license status and complaint history
• Arizona Medical BoardPhysician license status and disciplinary history
• State Bar of Arizona member directoryBar number, admission date and public discipline for Arizona lawyers
• Arizona Department of Real EstateLicense records for real estate brokers and salespeople

• Maricopa County Sheriff's Office inmate informationPeople held in Maricopa County jails before trial or on jail sentences

The ADHS Bureau of Vital Records issues birth and death certificates, and only to the person named, close family or a legal representative. Marriage licenses and divorce decrees are kept by the clerk of the superior court in each county.

• Arizona Genealogy Birth and Death Certificate IndexBirths over 75 years old and deaths over 50 years old

• Arizona Voter Information PortalCheck your own registration, polling place and early ballot

• Arizona State Library, Archives and Public RecordsState and territorial records, maps, photographs and genealogy
• Chronicling America, Arizona newspapersDigitized historic Arizona newspapers at the Library of Congress
• Arizona Memory ProjectDigital collections from Arizona libraries, archives and museums

Maricopa County (Phoenix Metro)

Approximately 4.5 million residents, roughly 62% of Arizona's population. The Superior Court in Maricopa is the fourth largest trial court in the United States by volume; it handles hundreds of thousands of new filings per year across downtown Phoenix, Southeast, Northwest, and Northeast regional court facilities. Key research resources: Maricopa County Superior Court (docket search), Maricopa County Recorder, Maricopa County Assessor, MCSO (Sheriff), and the 26 Justice Courts across the county.

Pima County (Tucson)

Second most populous county (~1 million); contains Tucson and covers much of southeastern AZ including Davis-Monthan AFB and the Tohono O'odham Nation (which has its own sovereign government). Pima County Superior Court, Recorder, Assessor, and Sheriff all maintain separate online systems.

Pinal County (Florence / Casa Grande)

Arizona's fastest-growing county, tracking Phoenix-metro expansion. Superior Court is in Florence; major population centers are Casa Grande, Maricopa city (confusingly different from the county), San Tan Valley, Apache Junction, and Queen Creek.

Yavapai County (Prescott)

Historic central AZ county including Prescott, Prescott Valley, Cottonwood, and Sedona. Yavapai Superior Court, Recorder, and Assessor provide online search.

Mohave County (Kingman)

Third largest AZ county by area; covers Kingman, Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City. Border with Nevada and California.

Other populous counties

Other counties include Apache (St. Johns, much of it Navajo Nation land), Gila (Globe), Santa Cruz (Nogales, on the border with Sonora, Mexico), Graham (Safford), La Paz (Parker) and Greenlee (Clifton, the least populous county).

Researcher Tip: Tribal Jurisdictions. Arizona contains 22 federally recognized tribes with sovereign tribal courts, including the Navajo Nation (largest reservation in the U.S., extending into NM and UT), Tohono O'odham Nation, Hopi Tribe, San Carlos Apache, White Mountain Apache, Gila River Indian Community, Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Pascua Yaqui, Ak-Chin, Hualapai, Havasupai, Fort McDowell Yavapai, Yavapai-Prescott, Yavapai-Apache, Tonto Apache, Kaibab, Fort Mojave, Quechan, Cocopah, Colorado River Indian Tribes, and Fort Yuma. Cases involving tribal members on tribal land may fall under tribal or federal jurisdiction, not state court.

Check Maricopa and Pima separately. These two counties do not fully feed into the statewide judicial portal; always run direct searches in their dedicated case search systems.

Use the ACC, not the Secretary of State, for corporations. In Arizona the Corporation Commission keeps corporate and LLC records.

Remember the Justice Court tier. Misdemeanors, small civil, and evictions are handled in Justice Courts (precincts within each county), they do not appear in Superior Court case search.

Tribal research requires direct contact. There is no aggregate public search of tribal court records; each sovereign nation operates independently.

Use the Maricopa assessor's parcel search as a second identifier check. Parcel ownership is public and often confirms identity when other records are ambiguous.

Common Mistake: Searching the Wrong Portal. The Arizona Judicial Branch public access portal, Maricopa Superior Court docket, and Pima County case search are three different systems with different coverage. A "no results" in one does not mean the person has no AZ court history. Always check all three for any significant background check.

Arizona's public records law (A.R.S. § 39-121 et seq.) establishes a strong presumption of openness, requiring disclosure unless a specific statutory or common-law exemption applies. Arizona courts apply a balancing test weighing public interest against privacy, confidentiality, and best interests of the state.

Arizona has no general consumer data privacy law. State law requires breach notices (A.R.S. § 18-552), and motor vehicle records fall under the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act. Marijuana offenses can be expunged under Proposition 207 (2020), and since 2023 A.R.S. § 13-911 lets people petition to seal many other criminal records.

Privacy Note: Address Confidentiality. Arizona's Address Confidentiality Program (ACP), administered by the Secretary of State, assigns participants a substitute address for use in public records. It serves survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and similar threats.