Case Law Update

State v. Begay (2026): Why the Discharge Date Matters

In 2026, the Arizona Supreme Court resolved an ambiguity that had been confusing petitioners and probation departments alike. State v. Begay clarified what counts as your "discharge date" for civil rights and record-relief purposes.

The question

Several Arizona statutes — A.R.S. §§ 13-905, 13-907, 13-910, 13-911 — reference the petitioner's "absolute discharge" or "discharge from probation" as a trigger date. For sealing, it starts the waiting period. For civil rights auto-restoration under HB2119, it triggers the restoration. For firearm rights, it starts the 2-year clock.

But what is the "discharge date" exactly?

The pre-Begay confusion

Before Begay, courts split. Some treated the discharge date as the actual end of probation. Others required a formal Order of Discharge to be issued, sometimes months later. Some lower courts even pointed to the date a Certificate of Restoration was filed.

For petitioners, this meant timing uncertainty. A 5-year sealing wait could start in 2019 (end of probation) or 2020 (formal order of discharge) depending on which judge you drew.

What Begay decided

The Arizona Supreme Court in State v. Begay (2026) settled the question: the discharge date is the actual end of probation, not any later paperwork. If your probation was scheduled to end on December 15, 2019, that's the trigger date — even if the formal Order of Discharge wasn't filed until February 2020.

Practical implications

For sealing under § 13-911, this often shifts your eligibility forward by a few months. Recalculate using the actual end-of-probation date.

For civil rights restoration, if your probation ended after September 24, 2022, you're auto-restored under HB2119 — even if you never received a formal certificate.

For firearm rights under § 13-910, the 2-year wait starts on the actual probation end date, not any later document date.

How to verify your discharge date

Three sources, in order of authority:

1. Your probation department — they have your actual end-of-probation date. Call your assigned probation officer or the supervising county's adult probation department.
2. Your sentencing minute entry — the original sentencing document specifies the probation length. Discharge date = sentencing date + probation term (subject to early termination).
3. Court records — the case docket shows any Order of Discharge filings, but per Begay, the actual end of probation governs.

If your discharge was for a prison sentence rather than probation, the trigger date is the date of release from custody plus any post-release supervision period.