Legislative Update

SB 1639 (2024): What Changed for Arizona Record Sealing

On September 13, 2024, Arizona's Senate Bill 1639 took effect, modernizing record sealing under A.R.S. § 13-911. The change was substantial — and most petitioners benefit.

What SB 1639 actually changed

Two major statutory shifts:

• Removed the prior-felony 5-year extension. Before SB 1639, a petitioner with any prior felony conviction had their waiting period extended by 5 years. After SB 1639, the prior-felony extension is gone. Only the offense class of the offense being sealed determines the waiting period.
• Expanded the prosecutor objection window from 30 to 60 days. Prosecutors now have twice the time to review and object to sealing petitions. The trade-off: longer total timeline, but the same procedural fairness for the prosecutor.

Who benefits the most

Petitioners with multiple convictions are the biggest winners. Before SB 1639, someone with two unrelated felonies — say, a 2012 burglary and a 2016 drug possession — would face a 10-year wait to seal the 2016 case under the prior law (5-year base + 5-year prior-felony extension). Now, the wait is just the base 5-year period for a Class 4-6 felony.

For petitioners with no priors, SB 1639 is mostly procedural — the 60-day prosecutor window adds about a month to total timeline, but the eligibility math is unchanged.

What didn't change

SB 1639 left key § 13-911 provisions intact:

• The (O)-list exclusions (sex offenses, victims under 15, certain dangerous offenses)
• The 3-year refile bar after any sealing denial under (L)
• Base waiting periods by offense class (2-3 yr misdemeanors, 5 yr Class 4-6 felonies, 10 yr Class 2-3 felonies)
• The $0 court filing fee

Practical implications for petitioners

If you tried to seal a record before September 2024 and were told you had to wait extra years because of a prior felony, that calculation may no longer apply. The 5-year extension is gone — recalculate using just your offense class and the absolute discharge date.

If you're mid-petition and the prosecutor asks for the new 60-day window, that's now standard. Don't panic — most petitions are still uncontested.

If you were denied sealing within the last 3 years, the 3-year refile bar still applies. SB 1639 didn't change that. You still need to wait the full 3 years.

For more detail

See our full Arizona Record Sealing Guide for a complete walkthrough of § 13-911 as amended by SB 1639.