How Long Do Accidents Stay on Your Record in Arizona?

In Arizona, a traffic conviction tied to an accident stays on your MVD driving record for five years from the conviction date. MVD releases the last 39 months of convictions to insurance companies. Most insurers apply a lookback period of three to five years when they set your rates.

Key Takeaways

State retention limits: Arizona MVD keeps a conviction on your driving record for five years from the conviction date. The report it releases to insurers covers only the last 39 months.
Insurance impact: Insurers run their own clock, and most look back three to five years at an at fault accident. Arizona law still bars them from surcharging a crash you did not cause.
Points expiration: MVD counts points over a rolling 12 month window, plus a 36 month window. Passing those marks stops points counting toward suspension, though the conviction remains.

18 sept 2026

Legalbid.io

Arizona MVD Driving Record Timeline

The Arizona Motor Vehicle Division does not track accidents the way most drivers assume. It tracks convictions.

If an officer cites you for a moving violation and a court convicts you, that conviction posts to your record. If nobody cites you, or the court dismisses it, MVD has nothing to post.

Arizona keeps that conviction five years from the conviction date, not the accident date. Those dates can sit months apart.

The motor vehicle department releases two versions. The uncertified report you pull online covers 39 months. The certification covers five years.

Several factors change how long an accident stays visible:

Whether an officer issued a citation, since points follow convictions rather than crashes
The date the court entered the conviction, which starts the five year clock
Whether you used defensive driving school, which keeps the violation off your record
Whether the case triggered a suspension, which posts as its own entry
Which version someone requests, since the 39 month report hides entries the five year report shows

Driving Record Duration vs. Insurance Lookback Period

Drivers often assume a clean MVD record means clean insurance rates. It does not.

Your driving record and your insurance file sit in separate systems on separate timelines. MVD follows state rules. Your insurer follows its own guidelines.

That gap matters most after a crash where nobody cited you. Your state record may show nothing, while your insurer sees the claim.

Arizona limits what your insurer can do with that claim. Under A.R.S. § 20-263, no insurer may raise your premium over an accident you did not cause or significantly contribute to. If it raises your rate, it must tell you why.

What gets tracked: Conviction on your MVD driving record

Who controls it: Arizona Motor Vehicle Division
How long it lasts: Five years from the conviction date

What gets tracked: Record released to insurance companies

Who controls it: Arizona Motor Vehicle Division
How long it lasts: Most recent 39 months of convictions

What gets tracked: Points counted toward license suspension

Who controls it: Arizona Motor Vehicle Division
How long it lasts: Rolling 12 month window, plus a 36 month window

What gets tracked: Accident and claim history used for rating

Who controls it: Your insurance company
How long it lasts: Typically three to five years, set by the carrier

How Citations and Points Affect Your Record

Arizona's traffic points system assigns points only after a conviction or civil judgment on a moving violation. The accident itself carries no points.

Most moving violations add two points. Speeding adds three. A DUI adds eight, which alone can trigger action against your license.

Reach eight or more points in any rolling 12 month period and MVD steps in. It usually orders Traffic Survival School, though higher totals or a recent course bring suspensions of three months to a full year.

Passing the 12 month mark stops points from counting toward suspension, but it does not erase the conviction. That entry stays five years.

Ways to Manage or Minimize the Impact on Your Record

You have more control than you might expect, especially right after a crash.

Ask the court about defensive driving school. Arizona lets you dismiss one eligible civil traffic moving violation this way once every 12 months, and the violation never reaches your record (A.R.S. § 28-3392). It closes if your citation came from a collision that seriously injured or killed someone.

Check whether your rate increase was even legal. If you did not cause the crash, your insurer cannot surcharge you, and the state regulator can order a refund.

Shop your policy once the lookback period ends. Carriers rarely lower your rate on their own, and a fresh quote forces a new review.

Pull your own motor vehicle record. Order it through AZ MVD Now and see what posted. You cannot dispute an entry you never read.

Talk to a lawyer before you pay the citation. Paying a civil traffic ticket admits responsibility, and MVD assesses points on that judgment just as it does on a conviction. Fighting it may keep your record clean.

An accident on your Arizona record is not permanent. Two clocks start after a crash, one at MVD and one at your insurer, and they rarely stop together. Pull your record, question any rate increase for a crash you did not cause, and get legal advice before you pay a citation.

REVIEWER CREDIT:

"This post was legally reviewed and approved by Philippe Martinet, Esq., founder of Martinet Law and one of the most formidable personal injury litigators practicing in Arizona today. Mr. Martinet is not an employee or representative of Legalbid.io, he is an independent attorney and one of the distinguished legal professionals available on the platform to bid on your case directly. What makes Philippe uniquely effective in personal injury cases is a combination most attorneys simply don't have, fifteen-plus years of criminal defense experience, including deep knowledge of law enforcement procedures, traffic cases, and accident reconstruction, combined with a civil litigation career that has taken him to the Arizona Supreme Court and the U.S. Ninth and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals. He doesn't wait for a settlement offer. He builds the kind of case that forces one. He stands behind Legalbid.io because he believes every injured person deserves a fighting chance, and a platform where the best attorney for their case finds them, not the other way around. Learn more at martinetlaw.com"