If you or someone you love has a felony conviction in Arizona and is looking for clemency or a pardon, this guide is written for you. Arizona's process has a firm structural requirement that sets it apart from many states: the Governor cannot grant any form of clemency without a favorable recommendation from the Board of Executive Clemency first. No matter how compelling the case, the Governor's hands are tied until the Board acts. Understanding this means understanding that the Board is where the real work happens. I have been through the system myself, and most of the fear comes from not knowing how the process works. So let me walk you through it in plain language. None of this is legal advice, and every case is different, so treat this as a map and lean on a lawyer for the turns.
What Arizona offers: the forms of clemency
Arizona law provides three types of clemency hearings conducted by the Board of Executive Clemency. A pardon is described on the Board's own website as the ultimate relief from the penalties and disabilities associated with a criminal conviction, an act of grace that absolves the convicted felon of the legal consequences of their crime. A commutation of sentence reduces or modifies a sentence imposed by the court; it is the path most relevant to people still incarcerated who are seeking early release. A reprieve is a temporary suspension of punishment, most commonly relevant in capital cases. The Governor may only grant any of these after the Board has first recommended it.
There is also a form of relief called an absolute discharge, which the Board may grant directly to people who have completed their sentence. An absolute discharge is not the same as a pardon, but it is a separate avenue worth knowing about.
Who decides: the Board of Executive Clemency and the Governor
Arizona's constitution gives the Governor the authority to grant pardons after conviction, except in cases of treason or impeachment. But state statute (ARS Section 31-402) requires that no reprieve, commutation, or pardon may be granted by the Governor unless the Board of Executive Clemency has first recommended it. This is not advisory. The Board must act first, and the Governor cannot act without a favorable Board recommendation.
The Board of Executive Clemency consists of five full-time members appointed by the Governor to staggered five-year terms. All hearings conducted by the Board are open to the public and subject to Arizona's open meetings law. The Board holds hearings on a regular schedule, and members of the public, victims, the inmate's family, and supporters may all participate. After a hearing, if the Board recommends a pardon, the file goes to the Governor for the final decision. The Governor is required to publish reasons for each grant and to report to the legislature at the beginning of every regular session.
Before you apply: do you need a pardon?
The Board's own materials make an important point: you do not need a Governor's pardon to restore the right to vote or, for many convictions, to restore other civil rights. Arizona has separate processes for restoring civil rights, including automatic restoration for some first-time offenders after sentence completion and a court-based process for others. For many people, one of those processes may be faster and more accessible than the full pardon process. A pardon is most valuable in specific situations: when you need to remove the legal consequences of a conviction for professional licensing or employment where civil rights restoration is not enough; when you were convicted of a "dangerous offense," meaning a crime involving the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon or the intentional infliction of serious physical injury, and you need to restore firearms rights, because the pardon is the only path to firearm restoration for that category of offense; when a licensing board or employer has been unwilling to move forward specifically because of the conviction and you need the Governor's formal recognition of rehabilitation; or when the pardon matters personally and symbolically in a way that other forms of relief do not. If your primary goal is simply restoring voting rights or the right to hold office, there are faster, more direct paths in Arizona that do not require the full pardon process.
The pardon application: what is required
A pardon application in Arizona requires assembling several documents and completing specific procedural steps. The Board will not process an incomplete application, so attention to detail matters from the start.
The application package must include the pardon application form itself, available on the Board's website at boec.az.gov or by calling the Board at 602-542-5656. It must also include a copy of the presentence report and sentencing documents for each conviction you want pardoned, documentation that all court-ordered fines, fees, and restitution have been paid, copies of any absolute discharge, restoration of civil rights, or set-aside conviction orders that have already been obtained, and at least three letters of support from people who know you, with no more than one letter from someone related to you by blood or marriage.
You must also explain why you are seeking a pardon. The Board's guidance is specific: the explanation should be more than simply saying you want to clear your record. The Board is looking for a substantive, honest account of your rehabilitation, your conduct since completing your sentence, and the concrete, documented reasons a pardon would matter in your life and the lives of people around you. A professional license you cannot obtain, a career you have been building that requires a background check clearance, a firearms rights situation that can only be resolved by pardon, or a formal public recognition of rehabilitation that matters to your family are all meaningful reasons. Vague or generic explanations do not serve applicants well before the Board.
Two additional procedural requirements apply before the Board can act. First, at least ten days before the Board acts on the application, you must serve written notice on the county attorney in the county where you were convicted, and you must submit proof of that notice by affidavit. Second, unless the Governor waives this requirement, you must publish notice in a newspaper in the county of conviction for thirty days before the Board acts. These publication and notice requirements exist to give the prosecution and the public the opportunity to respond.
The hearing
Pardon hearings before the Board of Executive Clemency are open to the public, and that matters in both directions. Unlike Alaska, where there is no provision for a hearing, Arizona applicants present their case directly to the Board. You have the opportunity to speak to your rehabilitation, your life since the conviction, and the specific reasons you are seeking a pardon. Victims are notified and have the opportunity to participate and be heard. The county attorney from the county of conviction may also present. The hearing is not just a formality; the Board takes what is presented seriously, and applicants who come prepared with documentation of their rehabilitation, community contributions, and concrete reasons for the pardon tend to fare better than those who present their case without supporting evidence. After the hearing, the Board votes on whether to recommend the pardon to the Governor. A favorable Board recommendation is necessary but not sufficient: the Governor still makes the final decision and is required to publish the reasons for any grant.
What a pardon does and does not do in Arizona
A pardon from the Governor of Arizona restores many of the rights of citizenship that a felony conviction takes away. This includes the right to vote, to hold public office, and to serve on a jury, for those whose rights were not already restored through the separate civil rights restoration process. A pardon sends a powerful public message about rehabilitation and is recognized in professional and licensing contexts.
A pardon does not automatically restore the right to possess firearms. The Board's FAQ states this directly: firearm rights are not included in a pardon unless the pardon document specifically authorizes them. If you need your firearms rights restored, you must ask for it specifically and it must appear in the pardon document. For most felony convictions, there are separate court-based restoration pathways. For dangerous offense convictions, involving the use of a deadly weapon or infliction of serious physical injury, a pardon with the specific firearms authorization is the only way to restore those rights.
A pardon is described as an act of grace that "absolves" the convicted felon of the legal consequences of the crime. Under Arizona law, a pardoned conviction may not be used to enhance a sentence in a future case. However, a pardon does not expunge the conviction from your record. The conviction will still appear on background checks unless you pursue separate record sealing under Arizona's sealing statutes, which were expanded in recent years and provide a separate avenue for some convictions.
Firearms rights outside of a pardon
For people who do not qualify for a full pardon or whose primary goal is restoring firearms rights, Arizona has other pathways that may apply. First-time offenders and those convicted of non-dangerous felonies may be able to restore firearms rights through a court process under ARS Sections 13-905 or 13-906, generally after two years following discharge from prison or upon discharge from probation. For serious offenses, the waiting period extends to ten years. Only those convicted of a dangerous offense are completely blocked from the court restoration path; for them, only a pardon with specific authorization can restore firearms rights.
A note on federal convictions
If the conviction is a federal conviction rather than an Arizona state conviction, the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency and the Governor of Arizona cannot help you. Federal clemency is granted by the President of the United States, and applications go through the Office of the Pardon Attorney at the United States Department of Justice. Under federal clemency guidelines, a person generally becomes eligible to apply five years after imposition of sentence or release from confinement. The state and federal processes are completely separate.
Where this leaves you
Arizona's pardon is meaningful but demanding to obtain. The requirement that the Board recommend before the Governor can act means the Board hearing is the gateway, and the preparation for that hearing, the letters of support, the evidence of rehabilitation, the notice to the county attorney, the newspaper publication, the full documentation of your sentence completion and financial obligations, is the real work of the application. Know before you apply whether you actually need a full pardon or whether a civil rights restoration, a court-ordered firearms restoration, or record sealing might accomplish what you need more directly. If you do need a pardon, approach the process with honesty about what happened, specificity about what has changed since then, and documentation to back up every claim you make. The notice requirements alone, serving the county attorney and publishing in the newspaper, require planning ahead of time. Starting those steps early ensures the Board can act when your application is ready. And if the Board recommends and the Governor grants, you will receive a formal pardon document that can open professional doors, restore civil rights, and for some people carry the deepest personal meaning of anything that has happened since the conviction.