With so many rules about who can and cannot get their criminal record cleared in Arizona, it’s easy to get lost in the details of qualifications, exclusions, and statutes. But one of the most common reasons people are denied is also one of the simplest: if you still owe legal fines, fees, or restitution, you cannot clear anything from your record until those legal financial obligations are paid. This barrier is found in section 13-911 of the Arizona sealing statute. These debts are difficult to get waived or forgiven, and they often stand in the way of a fresh start.

Fines and Fees and Restitution

Before we see how legal financial obligations affect record clearance, we need to understand what fines, fees, and restitution are. These costs are common for almost everyone who goes through the criminal legal system, and they can add up quickly.

What Are Fines, Fees, and Restitution?

Fines are monetary penalties that judges order as part of a sentence. They are meant to punish someone for breaking the law. 

Fees are charges the court system adds for providing services. This might include things like probation, electronic monitoring, drug testing, incarceration, or public defense. 

Restitution is money a person must pay to victims or the state to cover losses or harms caused by a crime or the legal process. 

At various points in the legal process, courts can issue something called a Criminal Restitution Order (CRO). A CRO is a court order that makes sure payments to victims and the state are completed. CROs outline clear expectations and consequences tied to restitution. They also give courts different tools to collect legal debts, like placing liens on property or garnishing wages.

What Happens After a Court Imposes Restitution

Nearly everyone who goes through the criminal legal system ends up with some type of financial obligation. These costs can come from many different parts of the process, including:

• Probation or supervision fees 
• Public defense fees 
• Incarceration fees 
• Clerk and administrative fees
• Penalties for a crime
• Restitution owed to the victim of a crime or the state

Unpaid fines, fees, and restitution gain interest over time. Even if the court places liens on property or garnishes wages to repay legal debts, those actions often only cover a portion of the balance. The interest owed on restitution/restitution orders can grow by up to 10% a year.

The legal system also treats willful nonpayment of these legal debts differently from inability to pay. People who have the ability to pay but choose not to could face serious consequences, including imprisonment. Those who cannot pay can ask the court for relief or modified payment terms, but the debt itself doesn’t go away. Not only does the debt remain, it also affects other parts of people’s lives and the legal process.

Effects of Fines, Fees, and Restitution

Unpaid fines, fees, and restitution create more than just financial stress; they have real and lasting effects on a person’s life. One of the largest impacts these debts have is how they block people from clearing their criminal records, even after a person has completed their sentence. These limits create a catch-22 that worsens the debt and its legal effects. 

Record Clearance Limits

In Arizona there are many forms of record clearance, including sealing, expungement, and set-asides. These clearance options require or review payment of all fines, fees, and restitution before the process moves forward. In many cases, courts will not grant any of these forms of relief if there are unpaid legal debts tied to a person’s cases. 

This requirement is a major roadblock for many people seeking a second chance. About 40% of otherwise eligible individuals who use Rasa’s tool cannot move forward because of unpaid legal financial obligations. That means that many people who apply for record clearance are ineligible because of money they owe to the court or other parties, not by the charges on their record.

Because the law ties record clearance to repaying legal debts, unpaid fines and fees can hold someone back long after they’ve completed every other part of their sentence.

Further Burdens

Unpaid fines and fees also create a catch-22 that keeps people stuck. If someone can’t clear their record, they often struggle to find stable housing or employment. But without a steady income, paying off fines, fees, or restitution becomes extremely difficult. Employment difficulties and legal debts feed into each other, and make the problem much harder to solve.

As time passes, interest on legal debts continues to grow and the total debt increases. The state can impose wage garnishment and liens on property that make it even harder to regain financial stability. Meanwhile, the unresolved debt continues to block access to record clearance, trapping many people in a cycle that is hard to escape.

Moving Forward and Clearing Your Record

Unpaid fines, fees, and restitution are among the most common and significant barriers to clearing a criminal record in Arizona. Even after someone has completed their sentence, these financial obligations can keep them from moving forward with their life. But they don’t have to remain a permanent obstacle.

If you are ineligible for clearing because of fines, fees, or restitution, the first step toward clearing your record is to address any outstanding legal debts. You can check the money owed on a case, and begin paying that balance through the courts or in person. You may also be able to negotiate debt amounts down or talk to FARE about getting on a repayment plan. Once those obligations are taken care of, you’ll be in a much stronger position to pursue record clearance.

After you’ve resolved your fines, fees, or restitution, you can use our eligibility tool to check your options. It’s an easy way to find out what forms of record clearance you may qualify for and start taking the next steps toward a fresh start.