Statute of Limitations for Class C / Petty Misdemeanor in Arizona

5 min read

Published March 22, 2026 • By DocketMath Team

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change frequently — verify all citations with current official sources.

Overview

In Arizona, the statute of limitations (SOL) sets a deadline for when the state can file a criminal charge after an alleged offense. For a Class C misdemeanor / petty misdemeanor style charge, the deadline is generally governed by the default (general) criminal limitations rule in Arizona, not by a shorter charge-specific rule—because no claim-type-specific sub-rule was found in the jurisdiction data you provided.

DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator helps you convert the legal rule into a practical “latest possible filing date” based on the date of the alleged conduct.

Note: This article explains Arizona’s general criminal SOL framework for petty / Class C misdemeanor-type charges using the general rule in A.R.S. § 13-107(A). It’s designed for orientation—not legal advice.

Limitation period

General rule: 2 years (default for misdemeanors charged as petty/Class C)

Arizona’s general statute of limitations for most criminal offenses is:

2 years for offenses covered by the general misdemeanor rule.

Based on your provided jurisdiction data:

General SOL Period: 2 years
General Statute: **A.R.S. § 13-107(A)

So, when you’re working with a Class C / petty misdemeanor-like scenario, you typically start counting from the date the offense occurred (more precisely, from the “commission” of the offense as framed by the statute).

How to think about the timeline (practical framing)

When you use a calculator like DocketMath, you’re essentially answering:

“If the alleged offense happened on [Date of alleged conduct], what is the last day the prosecution can file (or commence) the charge under the general 2-year rule?”

Two practical tips help interpret the output:

Use the offense date, not the discovery date. Arizona’s general SOL is keyed to when the offense was “committed,” not when someone later learned about it.
Treat the output as a filing deadline window. Even if the “latest date” is clear, real-world case dates can include additional procedural events (for example, arrests, charging paperwork, and court filing dates). DocketMath calculates the SOL deadline as a baseline.

Quick example (how the calculator changes results)

If the alleged offense occurred:

January 15, 2024 → SOL generally ends January 15, 2026 (with the caveat that the exact “latest filing date” can hinge on how the calculator handles day counting conventions).
January 15, 2025 → SOL generally ends January 15, 2027.

Change the offense date, and the deadline shifts forward or backward in a straightforward way.

Key exceptions

Arizona’s SOL rules can involve exceptions and tolling doctrines. Your provided jurisdiction data flags no claim-type-specific sub-rule for this category—so the baseline is the general 2-year rule—but exceptions may still apply depending on case facts.

Below are the categories of exceptions you should look for when applying Arizona SOL rules to a specific situation:

Tolling (pauses in the SOL clock): Certain events can delay the running of the limitation period. The fact pattern matters.
Jurisdictional complications: Changes in whereabouts, service issues, or other procedural conditions can affect how SOL is litigated.
Statutory carve-outs: Some offenses have special limitations periods. For your scenario, the jurisdiction data indicates you should begin with the general rule, but the case may still involve a charge whose limitations period differs from the default.

Warning: SOL exceptions can be fact-dependent and can change the outcome of a deadline calculation. DocketMath provides a baseline based on the general statute; it does not replace case-specific legal review.

What this means for a “Class C / petty misdemeanor” workflow

Because you’re using the default 2-year rule (A.R.S. § 13-107(A)), your starting step should be:

Identify the date the alleged offense was committed.
Apply 2 years under the general rule.
Then verify whether any tolling/exception arguments are plausibly implicated by the timeline.

If you’re building a case checklist or reviewing charging timing, this order keeps the math clean before you tackle exceptions.

Statute citation

Arizona’s general statute of limitations for criminal offenses is:

A.R.S. § 13-107(A) — 2-year limitation period under the general rule for offenses covered by that subsection.

Source for the general SOL summary you provided:

https://www.findlaw.com/state/arizona-law/arizona-criminal-statute-of-limitations-laws.html?utm_source=openai

Use the calculator

To get an actionable deadline, use DocketMath’s statute-of-limitations calculator here: /tools/statute-of-limitations.

Inline link: DocketMath Statute of Limitations Calculator

Inputs to enter (and why they matter)

A typical SOL calculator workflow requires these inputs:

Date of alleged conduct (offense date): This drives the “start” of the limitations period.
Jurisdiction: Choose Arizona (US-AZ) to apply A.R.S. § 13-107(A).
Charge category (if offered): For your scenario, the relevant rule is the general default period (2 years) since no charge-type-specific sub-rule was found in the provided jurisdiction data.

Output you should expect

DocketMath will output a computed SOL deadline date—the practical “latest point” to file under the general rule.

How outputs change when dates change

The rule is straightforward:

Move the offense date forward by 1 month → the SOL deadline shifts forward by 1 month.
Move it forward by 1 year → the SOL deadline shifts forward by 1 year (still anchored to the 2-year period).

This makes the tool useful for deadline triage, early case screening, and timeline comparison.

Pitfall: If you enter a “date discovered” or “date reported” instead of the offense/commission date, your SOL deadline will likely be wrong. SOL calculations focus on the statute’s measurement point, which is tied to commission for the general rule.