Arizona earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Higher bar to forfeit: Moderate conviction provision requires conviction of the owner, but not if forfeiture is uncontested. Once the conviction provision is satisfied, prosecutors must show that the property is subject to forfeiture by clear and convincing evidence.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Arizona’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Arizona?
Under Arizona law, prosecutors’, owners’, and court deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 390 days, but any criminal proceedings may add to the wait. While you wait, the government has your property, but you can try to get it back while the case continues by requesting a preliminary hearing or by posting a bond equal to the property’s fair market value.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $729 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Arizona Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $9,367,318 | $1,943,015 | $1,090,000 | $12,400,333 |
| 2001 | $9,649,223 | $3,639,423 | $1,160,000 | $14,448,646 |
| 2002 | $11,362,721 | $2,226,222 | $59,000 | $13,647,943 |
| 2003 | $12,414,334 | $2,223,797 | $2,672,000 | $17,310,131 |
| 2004 | $13,807,823 | $2,161,873 | $2,621,000 | $18,590,696 |
| 2005 | $21,989,987 | $2,021,896 | $6,259,000 | $30,270,883 |
| 2006 | $20,606,950 | $8,930,498 | $326,000 | $29,863,448 |
| 2007 | $45,345,605 | $6,763,897 | $613,000 | $52,722,502 |
| 2008 | $19,836,896 | $6,001,689 | $2,991,000 | $28,829,585 |
| 2009 | $27,491,830 | $4,102,987 | $1,004,000 | $32,598,817 |
| 2010 | $55,904,231 | $8,156,382 | $298,000 | $64,358,613 |
| 2011 | $42,683,282 | $10,752,998 | $667,000 | $54,103,280 |
| 2012 | $43,035,740 | $4,121,802 | $2,454,000 | $49,611,542 |
| 2013 | $41,791,870 | $5,403,803 | $1,017,000 | $48,212,673 |
| 2014 | $36,281,210 | $3,360,894 | $1,163,000 | $40,805,104 |
| 2015 | $37,583,124 | $3,636,810 | $1,838,000 | $43,057,934 |
| 2016 | $20,383,757 | $1,855,317 | $1,332,000 | $23,571,074 |
| 2017 | $22,013,701 | $1,168,904 | $240,000 | $23,422,605 |
| 2018 | $14,762,916 | $3,638,606 | $622,000 | $19,023,522 |
| 2019 | $23,936,669 | $2,142,819 | $698,000 | $26,777,488 |
| 2020 | $19,976,825 | $595,284 | $451,000 | $21,023,109 |
| 2021 | $25,310,979 | $1,280,787 | $1,841,000 | $28,432,766 |
| 2022 | $20,843,254 | $1,468,075 | $1,500,000 | $23,811,329 |
| 2023 | $9,694,918 | $2,069,338 | $369,000 | $12,133,256 |
| Totals | $606,075,163 | $89,667,116 | $33,285,000 | $729,027,279 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Since July 2017, Arizona has prohibited transferring property worth up to $75,000 to a federal agency for equitable sharing unless there is federal involvement in the seizure or only a violation of federal law is alleged. IJ’s analysis (see “Evaluating Efforts to Reform Equitable Sharing”) found that, relative to non-reform states, the reform resulted in immediate reductions in the sharing of below-threshold assets and assets overall. However, below-threshold sharing and sharing overall increased in the long run. From 2018 to 2023, Arizona law enforcement agencies generated nearly $17 million in equitable sharing proceeds. And on average from 2019 to 2023, 53 Arizona agencies, or an estimated 42% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Arizona Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$1,271
From 2019 through June 2023, half of Arizona’s currency forfeitures were less than $1,271.
Property Types
From 2019 through June 2023, nearly two-thirds of Arizona’s forfeitures were currency.
Proceeding Types
From 2019 through June 2023, nearly all of Arizona’s forfeitures were processed under civil, not criminal, forfeiture law.
Claims
From 2019 to June 2023, only 13% of Arizona’s forfeitures were contested via a claim.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
A+Statewide Forfeiture Reports
APenalties for Failure to File a Report
BAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
AAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
BFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
AFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Forfeiture records were obtained from the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission via download from its website and public records requests. Revenues for 2000–2023 are from statewide reports with agency-level data and represent the value of forfeited currency and property sold in a fiscal year, with revenues for 2018–2019 also including the value of property retained or destroyed. Median, property type, and proceeding type figures are based on calendar year and derived from statewide reports with property-level data. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. See Appendix C, available online at ij.org/report/policing-for-profit-4/appendix-c-equitable-sharing-methods/, for details of the equitable sharing reform analysis. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Moderate conviction provision requires conviction of the owner, but not if forfeiture is uncontested. After the conviction provision is satisfied, prosecutors must show that the property is subject to forfeiture by clear and convincing evidence.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-4304(A)–(F), -4308, -4314(A).
Innocent owner burden: Government.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-4304(H)–(J).
Financial incentive: 100%.
Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 13-2314.01(D), .03(D), 13-4315.
Process: Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 13-4301 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); Ariz. R. Civ. P. 4(i) (service of complaint).