Arizona Injunction Against Harassment: Issued Without a Hearing, Running a Full Year From Service
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Arizona · Last updated October 22, 2026
Arizona's injunction against harassment is unusual in how it moves: a judge can issue it on your petition alone, with no hearing and no notice to the other side, and it then runs a full year from the day it is served (A.R.S. 12-1809(E), (J)). It is a court order directing someone you are not related to, and not in a domestic relationship with, to stop harassing or contacting you. The statute asks for a series of acts directed at you that would seriously alarm, annoy or harass a reasonable person, actually do so, and serve no legitimate purpose; one act of sexual violence is enough on its own (A.R.S. 12-1809(T)). Nothing in the statute requires a relationship or a crime. If the person harassing you is a spouse, former spouse, partner or family or household member, this is the wrong order and you want an order of protection under A.R.S. 13-3602 instead, because section 12-1809 does not apply to protective orders against domestic violence (A.R.S. 12-1809(R)). Filing the petition costs nothing, but service is usually your responsibility and your expense. The other side may ask for one hearing, which must be held within ten days of the request. This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and no order can guarantee your safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Arizona
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Does Arizona require a relationship with the person for an injunction against harassment?
No. A.R.S. 12-1809 sets no relationship requirement between the plaintiff and the defendant. It is the residual route for people who do not fit the domestic violence categories. Someone who is a spouse, partner or family or household member is routed to an order of protection under A.R.S. 13-3602 instead.
How many incidents does an Arizona injunction against harassment need?
Ordinary harassment is a series of acts over any period of time, so more than one act. The petition must show reasonable evidence of harassment during the year before filing. The exception is sexual violence as defined in A.R.S. 23-371, where one act is enough (A.R.S. 12-1809(T), (E)).
How long does an Arizona injunction against harassment last?
One year after it is served on the defendant. If it is never served within one year of being issued, it expires. A modified injunction does not restart the clock, because it expires one year after service of the initial injunction and petition (A.R.S. 12-1809(J)).
Is there a fee to file for an injunction against harassment in Arizona?
No fee may be charged for filing the petition. Service of process is different: its fees may be deferred or waived, and may not be charged at all where the petition arises out of sexual violence as defined in A.R.S. 23-371 (A.R.S. 12-1809(D)). Otherwise the plaintiff generally covers service.
Arizona injunction against harassment rules at a glance
Arizona calls this order an Injunction Against Harassment, and under A.R.S. 12-1809 it is built around speed and a single hearing the defendant controls. The court reviews your verified petition and, on reasonable evidence of harassment in the preceding year, issues the injunction ex parte, with no short temporary stage and no scheduled return date. Any court in the state may issue or enforce it, wherever the two of you live, and a justice court or municipal court can hear it. It reaches a series of acts that seriously alarm or annoy you and serve no legitimate purpose, or a single act of sexual violence. What sets Arizona apart is the division of cost: filing is free, yet unlike an order of protection, you generally arrange and pay for service.
A Yavapai County bookshop owner and the former customer who would not leave
A Yavapai County bookshop owner banned a regular customer after a dispute over a special order. Over four months the man posts the owner's home street on a neighbourhood forum, turns up outside the shop at closing, and sends repeated late messages through the store's website. They have never lived together or dated, so section 12-1809 is the track. He is not a relative, and no domestic relationship exists. She files the statewide petition at the justice court, lists each dated act, and asks the court to consider issuing the injunction without a hearing. The step her plan turns on is service: she has to arrange it herself and pay for it, or ask for the fee to be deferred. Whether the court issues an order is its decision.
Relevant Laws
A.R.S. 12-1809 (injunction against harassment)
The governing statute. Subsection (A) lets a person file a verified petition with a magistrate, justice of the peace or superior court judge, and lets any court in the state issue or enforce the injunction. Subsection (E) sets the issuance test of reasonable evidence of harassment during the year preceding filing. Subsection (T) defines harassment as a series of acts that would seriously alarm, annoy or harass a reasonable person and serve no legitimate purpose, or one or more acts of sexual violence.
A.R.S. 12-1809(D) (no filing fee and service of process)
Provides that a fee shall not be charged for filing a petition, that service fees may be deferred or waived, and that service fees shall not be charged where the petition arises out of sexual violence as defined in section 23-371. A law enforcement agency or constable may not require advance payment of service fees.
A.R.S. 12-1809(E), (H) and (J) (ex parte issuance, the defendant's hearing, and duration)
Subsection (E) lets the court issue the injunction ex parte on reasonable evidence. Subsection (H) gives the defendant one hearing on written request, held within ten days, free of charge. Subsection (J) provides that an injunction expires if not served within one year of issuance and otherwise expires one year after service on the defendant.
A.R.S. 12-1809(R) (the domestic violence carve-out)
States that the section does not apply to preliminary injunctions issued in an action for dissolution of marriage or legal separation, or to protective orders against domestic violence. This is the statutory basis for routing a spouse, partner or household member to the order of protection instead.
A.R.S. 13-3602 (order of protection, the domestic violence order)
The domestic violence instrument. A person may seek an order of protection against a defendant who has committed an act of domestic violence, which is the separate track a petitioner in a listed relationship uses. Its standard and protections differ from the injunction against harassment.
A.R.S. 13-3601 (domestic violence defined)
Defines domestic violence as the commission of one of a listed set of offences where the relationship between the parties is one of the enumerated domestic relationships. A petitioner inside that list uses the order of protection; a petitioner outside it uses an injunction against harassment.
A.R.S. 12-1810 (injunction against workplace harassment)
A separate employer-side instrument. An employer or the owner of a business or operation petitions on behalf of employees, invitees and persons performing official work duties. A person who wants an injunction in their own name uses section 12-1809 rather than this section.
Arizona Supreme Court plaintiff's guide sheet for protective orders (effective April 23, 2025)
The judiciary's own guide, which routes petitioners by relationship: those who share a listed relationship seek an order of protection, and those who do not may ask for an Injunction Against Harassment. It describes the series of acts of harassment within the last year, or one act of sexual violence, that the petition must set out.
Regional Variances
Arizona injunction against harassment rules at a glance
Instrument name
Injunction Against Harassment, often shortened to IAH, under A.R.S. 12-1809. The employer-side sibling is the Injunction Against Workplace Harassment under A.R.S. 12-1810. The domestic violence instrument is the order of protection under A.R.S. 13-3602.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
No relationship is required. A.R.S. 12-1809 does not apply to protective orders against domestic violence (A.R.S. 12-1809(R)), so someone in a relationship listed in A.R.S. 13-3601(A) is routed to the order of protection.
The standard
Harassment: a series of acts directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to be seriously alarmed, annoyed or harassed, that in fact do so, and that serve no legitimate purpose, or one or more acts of sexual violence under A.R.S. 23-371. The court issues on reasonable evidence of harassment in the year before filing (A.R.S. 12-1809(E), (T)).
Ex parte or temporary order
The court may issue the injunction ex parte, without a further hearing, and it then runs the full term. There is no separate short temporary stage. If the court denies the request, it may set a hearing within ten days with notice to the defendant (A.R.S. 12-1809(E)).
Defendant's hearing
The defendant is entitled to one hearing on written request, free of charge, held within ten days unless the court finds compelling reasons to continue it. The court may then modify, quash or continue the injunction (A.R.S. 12-1809(H)).
Duration
One year after service on the defendant. An injunction not served within one year of issuance expires. A modified injunction expires one year after service of the initial injunction and petition (A.R.S. 12-1809(J)).
Court and form
A magistrate, justice of the peace or superior court judge, and any court in the state may issue or enforce it. Arizona uses one statewide protective order petition with an Injunction Against Harassment checkbox, filed on paper or through the AZPOINT online tool.
Filing fee
None. A fee shall not be charged for filing the petition (A.R.S. 12-1809(D)).
Service
Fees for service of process may be deferred or waived, and shall not be charged where the petition arises out of sexual violence as defined in A.R.S. 23-371. Otherwise service is generally at the plaintiff's cost (A.R.S. 12-1809(D)).
One defendant, no mutual orders
A petition cannot name more than one defendant, and the court may not issue mutual injunctions (A.R.S. 12-1809(B), (G)).
Frequently Asked Questions
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