Arizona-specific procedural guides for small claims, traffic, landlord-tenant, and other legal procedures.
Arizona judgments, including small claims awards, last ten years from the date of entry. A creditor renews by filing an affidavit during the 90 days before that ten-year mark, which extends collection rights for another decade.
Two writs do the work of collecting on an unpaid Arizona small claims judgment: garnishment to reach a bank account and execution to seize personal property. Statutory exemptions and a ten-year window shape how either tool is used.
Arizona limits wage garnishment on a small claims judgment to 10% of disposable earnings per workweek. The writ runs as a continuing lien on future paychecks until the judgment is satisfied.
An Arizona small claims judgment is enforced by the prevailing party, not the court. Writs of execution, wage and bank garnishment, recorded judgment liens, and debtor’s examinations are the post-judgment tools justice courts make available, and a ten-year window governs every one of them.
Under Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 22-519, small claims decisions in Arizona are final and binding with no right of appeal. A pre-hearing transfer to justice court under § 22-504 is the only mechanism that preserves appellate review.
Arizona small claims allows only certified mail or personal service under A.R.S. § 22-513. When the defendant cannot be located, the plaintiff’s options include skip tracing through a licensed process server, transferring the case to the regular justice court civil division to unlock service by publication, or dismissing without prejudice and refiling once a current address is known.
Arizona small claims accepts two forms of proof of service: a signed return receipt for certified-mail service, or an affidavit for personal delivery.
Arizona small claims requires the defendant to receive the complaint and summons before the court can proceed. The plaintiff can use certified mail through the clerk or personal service by a constable, sheriff, or registered process server.
Conduct expectations for an Arizona small claims hearing, how to dress, when to stand, what to call the judge, and what to avoid in justice court.
A subpoena compels a non-party to testify at an Arizona small claims hearing or to bring records to it. The clerk issues subpoenas after a party requests one, identifies the witness, and prepays the statutory witness fee.
Under A.R.S. § 22-516, an Arizona justice of the peace or hearing officer may admit any material, relevant, and competent evidence at a small claims hearing, with one statutory exception for privileged communications.
A walk-through of how Arizona small claims hearings actually run, what evidence and witnesses to line up, and the pre-hearing deadlines that decide whether the judgment is appealable.