Arizona One-Party

Licensing & Regulation

Arizona requires PI licensure through the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS), Licensing Unit, under A.R.S. §32-2401 et seq. To qualify as an agency license-holder, an applicant must demonstrate 6,000 hours (approximately three years) of investigative experience, pass a background check, pass a written examination, and pay licensing fees. Employee-level investigators ("registrants") must also be registered with DPS but face less stringent experience requirements. Renewal is biennial. Attorneys, in-house corporate investigators, and accountants performing audits are exempt.

Physical Surveillance

Public surveillance is permitted. Arizona allows trespass to a limited extent only — investigators must remain on public rights-of-way or have implicit permission to be on commercial premises. GPS tracking is addressed under Arizona's stalking statute (A.R.S. §13-2923); placing a tracker on a vehicle owned by another person without consent is a felony, with narrow exceptions for fleet vehicles and parental tracking of minors.

Audio & Video Recording Consent

Arizona is a one-party-consent state under A.R.S. §13-3005. A party to the communication may record. Video-only recording in places without an expectation of privacy is generally permitted; A.R.S. §13-1424 prohibits surreptitious recording in restrooms, bedrooms, and other private areas (felony if for sexual gratification).

Domestic, Marital & Infidelity Investigations

Arizona is a community-property state and a no-fault divorce jurisdiction; infidelity does not typically affect property division but may bear on custody. PIs document public conduct and pattern evidence. Accessing a spouse's accounts is governed by the Arizona Computer Tampering statute (A.R.S. §13-2316). Joint accounts present a gray area — even with shared credentials, intent and current ownership matter.

Cybersecurity, Hacking & Digital Investigations

A.R.S. §13-2316 (computer tampering) is among the most aggressive state computer-crime statutes. The CFAA applies. Arizona's data-broker industry is large; investigators have ready access to commercial aggregators but must observe DPPA, FCRA, and GLBA. Pretexting to obtain telecom records is prohibited by federal law.

Missing Persons, Skip Tracing & Harassment

Arizona's proximity to the Mexican border creates frequent cross-jurisdictional skip-tracing scenarios; PIs should not cross into Mexico in any investigative capacity without local counsel. The Arizona stalking statute is broad; persistent surveillance of a subject who is aware of and objects to the surveillance can be charged.