Arrest Records for Santa Cruz County, Arizona

Santa Cruz County arrest records split across two separate systems: the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office holds booking records generated at the jail, while the Superior Court Clerk — reachable at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse at (520) 375-7934 — maintains the court-side docket. Court hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For case filings, the Arizona Judicial Branch’s Public Access to Court Case Information covers Santa Cruz County Superior Court and justice court cases statewide. The county’s own Criminal Division page lists additional records resources and filing information specific to this county.

If someone you know was just booked tonight, our Santa Cruz County inmate-search page has phone-first contact info.

If you need records outside Santa Cruz County

A nationwide criminal records search may surface records from other Arizona counties or neighboring states that local portals don’t index. The preliminary scan is free; a full report requires creating an account. This tool may help fill gaps that local portals often leave — particularly for records predating online databases or cases filed under name variants.

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How to look up arrest records in Santa Cruz County

“Arrest record” and “court record” describe different documents held by different agencies — knowing which one you need determines where you go. An arrest record is generated by the arresting agency (the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office or the Nogales Police Department) and reflects the booking event. A court record is created when charges are filed and lives with the Clerk of the Superior Court or the relevant justice court.

Court records — statewide portal: The Arizona Judicial Branch’s Public Access to Court Case Information covers Santa Cruz County Superior Court and justice court cases. Search by name or case number. The portal captures felony and misdemeanor dockets, but note that it reflects what has been filed — a booking that never produced charges may not appear here at all. Santa Cruz County also maintains a High Interest Cases index for notable local matters, with separate year-indexed listings for 2025 and 2026.

Court records — in person or by phone: The Santa Cruz County Courthouse accepts payments and records requests by telephone, by mail, at the drop-box outside the building, and in person. Call (520) 375-7934 to confirm current fees and request procedures before visiting. Court hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Parking is available to the east of the courthouse. Payments accepted include cash, cashier’s check, personal check, credit card, and money order (U.S. currency only); drop-box deposits must be money order, business check, or cashier’s check.

Arrest records — Sheriff’s Office: Booking records held by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office are public records under Arizona law. Call (520) 375-7800 to ask about the records-request process. The Sheriff’s Office also handles livescan fingerprinting Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; bring a non-expired government-issued ID. Confirm current fees before visiting, as they may vary by service type.

Arrest records — Nogales Police Department: For arrests made by city officers in Nogales, contact the Nogales Police Department at (520) 375-7800. In-person records requests require exact cash payment. Fingerprinting services are available at 777 N Grand Avenue, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

State prison records: If the person was sentenced to state prison rather than county jail, the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry inmate search covers ADCRR facilities statewide. A Santa Cruz Unit visitation schedule for 2026 is also available directly from ADCRR.

Federal cases: Arrests made by federal agencies — Border Patrol, DEA, FBI — do not appear in county or state systems. Santa Cruz County borders Mexico, and federal prosecutions originating here are handled in federal district court. The federal Bureau of Prisons locator covers federal inmates. If a name doesn’t appear in county or state systems, a federal case is worth checking.

Are Santa Cruz County arrest records public?

Since Arizona enacted its Public Records Law, court filings and law-enforcement records have carried a default-public status — sealed cases, juvenile records, and victim-protection redactions are the narrow exceptions. The controlling statute is A.R.S. §§ 39-121 et seq., which establishes that government records are open to inspection unless a specific exemption applies.

Arrest records generated by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and the Nogales Police Department are public records under that same framework. A booking entry — the record of the arrest itself — is generally accessible even when charges are later dropped or a case is dismissed. The arrest happened; the record reflects that fact.

Juvenile records are a firm exception. Cases involving minors are sealed by statute and are not accessible through the public portals or standard records requests. Victim information — names, addresses, and identifying details — is routinely redacted from records released to the public under Arizona’s victim-protection provisions.

Federal arrest records are not in Arizona’s state systems at all. If a person was arrested by a federal agency operating in Santa Cruz County — a common scenario given the county’s location along the U.S.-Mexico border — that record lives in federal court and federal agency databases, not with the county Sheriff or the Superior Court Clerk.

Records that have been sealed under A.R.S. §13-911 are closed to public view, though law enforcement retains access. A record that has been set aside under A.R.S. §13-905 remains visible but carries an annotation showing the set-aside. Neither process removes the underlying record from law-enforcement databases.

What’s in a Santa Cruz County arrest record?

Pull a booking record from the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and you’ll typically see the arrested person’s full legal name, date of birth, booking date and time, booking number, charges at the time of arrest, and the arresting agency. Those are the core fields the Sheriff’s side generates at intake.

The booking number is the Sheriff’s internal identifier — it ties together the physical booking paperwork at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse jail facility. That number is distinct from the court case number assigned once charges are filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court or a justice court. The two systems don’t automatically cross-reference each other in a way that’s visible to the public, so you may need to search both to get a complete picture.

Court-side docket entries — accessible through the Arizona Judicial Branch’s Public Access to Court Case Information — show the case number, filing date, charges as formally filed (which may differ from arrest charges), attorney of record, hearing dates, and disposition if the case has concluded. A case number in Santa Cruz County follows the format used statewide: CR for criminal, CV for civil, with a year prefix (e.g., CR-23-0026 is a criminal case filed in 2023).

Disposition data — guilty plea, conviction at trial, dismissal, acquittal — appears on the court docket once the case closes. Booking records held by the Sheriff don’t automatically update to reflect court outcomes, which is why a booking record alone can be misleading about a person’s actual legal history.

For the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s mugshot release policy, call the Sheriff’s Office at (520) 375-7800 — the policy isn’t posted online. Arizona law treats booking photographs as public records that can be requested from the holding agency, but individual agencies set their own release practices.

How to expunge an arrest record in Santa Cruz County

Since 2023, Arizona has offered a genuine path to close arrest and conviction records from public view — but the vocabulary matters. Arizona does not have general expungement. What it has is sealing of case records under A.R.S. §13-911, which went into effect January 1, 2023, and a separate set-aside procedure under A.R.S. §13-905. Using the wrong term with the Clerk’s office or a court self-help resource will cause confusion.

Sealing under A.R.S. §13-911 closes the arrest, conviction, and sentencing records to most public view. After sealing, the record does not appear in public court searches or standard background checks. Law enforcement retains access. The statute covers a broad range of offense classes, with waiting periods that vary by offense type after the sentence is completed — including any probation or parole. Non-conviction records (dismissed charges, acquittals, charges never filed) can often be sealed without a waiting period. Confirm the specific waiting period that applies to your offense class by reading the current statute text at the Arizona Revised Statutes or asking the Clerk of Court.

Setting aside a judgment under A.R.S. §13-905 is a different procedure. It dismisses the charge and lifts most civil penalties, but the record remains visible with an annotation showing the set-aside. It does not close the record from public view the way sealing does. Many people pursue a set-aside as a step toward restoring civil rights, or when sealing is not yet available.

Marijuana-specific relief: A.R.S. §36-2862 provides the only Arizona statute that uses the word “expungement,” and it applies only to a closed list of past marijuana offenses. It does not extend to other offense types.

To petition for sealing in Santa Cruz County, file a Petition to Seal with the Clerk of the Superior Court at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse. The Arizona Courts self-help center at Forms provides the current petition forms. Call the Courthouse at (520) 375-7934 to confirm the current filing fee and whether a fee waiver (indigency waiver) is available. The Courthouse accepts cash, money orders, cashier’s checks, personal checks, and credit/debit cards with proper identification.

Petitioning to seal a Santa Cruz County arrest record is a routine legal procedure that many people complete without an attorney, using the court’s self-help forms. Cases involving multiple charges, prior convictions, or complex sentencing histories benefit from attorney review. Find a licensed Arizona attorney through the State Bar of Arizona member directory.

Quick contacts

Frequently asked questions about Santa Cruz County arrest records

How do I find out what’s on my Santa Cruz County arrest record?

Pull from both systems. The Arizona Judicial Branch’s Public Access to Court Case Information shows what was filed in court — charges, case numbers, and dispositions. For the booking record itself (what the Sheriff’s Office generated at intake), call the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office at (520) 375-7800 and ask about submitting a public records request. The two records may differ: arrest charges sometimes change when a prosecutor files the formal complaint, and a booking record won’t automatically show a later dismissal or acquittal.

How do I get a Santa Cruz County arrest record sealed?

Arizona’s sealing statute — A.R.S. §13-911 — lets eligible people close arrest and conviction records from public view. File a Petition to Seal with the Clerk of the Superior Court at the Santa Cruz County Courthouse; call (520) 375-7934 to confirm the current filing fee and whether a fee waiver applies to your situation. Conviction records require a waiting period after the sentence is completed; non-conviction records (dismissed charges, acquittals) can often be sealed without a wait. The Arizona Courts self-service forms center has the current petition. Note that sealing closes the record to the public but not to law enforcement. Arizona does not have general expungement — that term applies only to a narrow list of past marijuana offenses under a separate statute.