Rule 43.1.Filings, Pleadings, and Other Documents

Part IV. Service · Last amended December 3, 2024 · Last verified September 4, 2026

In one sentenceRule 43.1 governs filing -- when a document counts as filed, what may never be filed, how proposed orders are handled, and the redaction of sensitive data such as social security and account numbers.

Full Text of Rule 43.1

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) (j)

(a) Filing with the Court Defined. The filing of documents with the court is accomplished by filing them with the clerk. If a judge permits, a party may submit a document directly to a judge, who must transmit it to the clerk for filing and notify the clerk of the date of its receipt.

(b) Effective Date of Filing.

(1) Generally. Except for documents submitted directly to a judge under Rule 43.1(a) and electronically filed documents, a document is deemed filed on the date the clerk receives and accepts it. If a document is filed electronically, the effective date of filing is as provided in ACJA § 1-901.

(2) Documents Submitted Directly to a Judge. If a document is submitted directly to a judge under Rule 43.1(a) and is later transmitted to the clerk for filing, the document is deemed filed on the date the judge receives it.

(3) Late Filing Because of an Interruption in Service. ACJA § 1-901 governs the procedures if a person fails to meet a deadline for filing a document because of a failure in the document's electronic transmission or receipt.

(4) Incarcerated Parties. If a party is incarcerated and another party contends that the incarcerated party did not timely file a document, the court must treat the document as filed on the date it was delivered to prison authorities to deposit in the mail.

(c) Limits on Access to Filed Documents. If prohibited by local rule or an administrative order by the presiding judge, the clerk must not disclose to the general public any pleading filed under Rule 23, any petition for order of protection, or any petition for injunction against harassment--or any document or evidence that is filed relating to those filings--until 45 days after the pleading or petition is filed. Notwithstanding this rule, the clerk must allow access to the documents by judicial officers, court and clerk's office personnel, the parties and their associated counsel of record, and any other person authorized by court order. The clerk may determine the manner in which such access is provided.

(d) Service with Filing and Documents Not to Be Filed.

(1) Filing and Service. After a petition's filing, if a document must be filed within a specified time, it must be both filed and served within that time.

(2) Documents Not to Be Filed. The following documents may not be filed separately and may be filed as attachments or exhibits to other documents only if relevant to the determination of an issue before the court:

(A) Discovery and Disclosure Documents. Notices of deposition; deposition transcripts; interrogatories and answers; disclosure statements; requests for production, inspection, or admission, and responses; requests for physical and mental examination; and notices of service of any discovery or discovery response, including notices of compliance with the provisions of Rules 49 or 91;

(B) Proposed Pleadings. Any proposed pleading, unless filing is necessary to preserve the record on appeal;

(C) Prior Filings. Any document that has been previously filed in the action, which may be called to the court's attention by incorporating it by reference; and

(D) Authorities Cited in Memoranda. Copies of authorities cited in memoranda, unless necessary to preserve the record on appeal.

(3) Attachments to the Assigned Judge. Except for proposed orders and proposed judgments, a party may attach copies of documents described in Rule 43.1(d)(2) to a copy of a motion, response, or reply delivered to the judge to whom the action has been assigned. Any such documents provided to the judge also must be provided to all other parties.

(4) Sanctions. If this rule is violated, the court may order removal of the offending document from the record and charge the offending party or counsel such costs or fees as may be necessary to cover the clerk's costs of filing, preservation, or storage. It may also impose any additional sanctions provided in Rule 71.

(e) Proposed Orders; Proposed Judgments.

(1) Service. Any proposed order or proposed judgment must be served on all parties at the same time it is submitted to the court.

(2) Filing. The clerk may not file a proposed order or proposed judgment. The clerk must accept electronically submitted proposed orders and proposed judgments as provided in ACJA § 1-901; however, these electronically submitted documents must not be included in the publicly displayed court record.

(3) Exception. If directed by the court, required by rule, or done to preserve the record on appeal, a party may file an unsigned proposed order or proposed judgment as an attachment or exhibit to a notice of lodging or other filing.

(4) Format. A proposed order or proposed judgment must be prepared and submitted as a separate document and may not be included as a part of any other document. The proposed order or proposed judgment must have at least two lines of text above the signature.

(5) Stipulations and Motions; Proposed Forms of Order.

(A) All written stipulations must be accompanied by a proposed order. Except as otherwise provided in these rules, the court must rule on any written stipulation no later than 21 days after the date the stipulation is filed with a notice of lodging and the proposed order included as an attachment. If the proposed order is signed and entered, no minute entry need issue.

(B) If a motion is accompanied by a proposed order, no minute entry need issue if the order is signed and entered.

(f) Sensitive Data.

(1) Definition. For the purposes of this rule, “sensitive data” means social security numbers, driver's license numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and other financial account and personal identifying numbers.

(2) Filing Sensitive Data.

(A) Generally. Before filing any document containing sensitive data, the person making the filing must omit or otherwise redact the sensitive data unless the court orders otherwise. References to the data may be made using only the last 4 digits of the identifying number. The responsibility for not including or redacting sensitive data rests solely with the person making a filing with the court. The clerk and the court are not required to review documents for compliance with this rule, or to seal or redact documents that contain sensitive data.

(B) Court-Requested Data.

(i) If the court specifically requests sensitive data from a party, the party must record the requested information on a separate sensitive data form that is substantially in the form set forth in Form 3, Rule 97 (“Confidential Sensitive Data Form”).

(ii) The clerk will maintain the form as a confidential record that is only available to the parties, the parties' attorneys, court personnel, and any other person or agency authorized by court order.

(iii) Unless the court orders otherwise, further written reference to sensitive data must be made by referring to a corresponding item number on the sensitive data form or other means, rather than inserting the actual data into a document that is filed with the court.

(iv) Whenever new information is needed to supplement the record in a case, the parties or their attorneys must file an updated sensitive data form that includes all previously disclosed sensitive data and any additional sensitive data required for the case.

(C) Exception. The provisions of Rule 43.1(f)(2)(A) and (B) do not pertain to orders or decrees, or to petitions and accompanying documents filed under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) as adopted by the State of Arizona.

(3) Income Withholding Orders and Orders to Stop Income Withholding Orders. Income withholding orders and orders to stop income withholding orders may contain sensitive data as required by law, but these orders are confidential and may be made available only to the parties, the parties' attorneys, the parties' employers, child support enforcement agencies, court personnel, and any other person or agency authorized by court order.

(4) Clerk's Authority. The clerk may maintain sensitive data forms, income withholding orders, and orders to stop income withholding orders, either in paper or electronic form. If these documents are maintained electronically, the clerk is authorized to destroy any paper versions.

(5) Requests for Relief. If a document containing sensitive information is filed with the court, any person may request a court order, or the court may order on its own, that the document be sealed or replaced with an identical document with the sensitive data redacted or removed.

(6) Sanctions. If this rule is violated, the court may impose sanctions against the responsible counsel or party to ensure future compliance.

(g) Confidential Records. The clerk may treat as confidential any Affidavit of Financial Information, including attachments to the Affidavit of Financial Information, as well as any medical, mental health, or behavioral health records, reports, or evaluations filed with the court.

(h) Notice of Completed Adoption. A notice of completed adoption (Juvenile Form 8), a motion to modify or terminate child support based on the adoption of a child, any response, or an associated minute entry or order terminating child support, must be treated as a confidential record.

(i) Electronic Signatures and Electronic Notarizations. The clerk must accept for filing any document that purports to have a signature, including documents that appear to be electronically signed or electronically notarized in accordance with applicable law. If the authenticity or sufficiency of an electronic signature or electronic notarization is disputed, a judicial officer will make a determination under applicable substantive law.

(j) Clerk's Distribution of Minute Entries and Other Court Records.

(1) Minute Entries. The clerk must distribute, either by U.S. mail, electronic mail, or attorney drop box, copies of all minute entries to all parties.

(2) Electronic Distribution. The clerk may distribute minute entries, notices and other court-generated documents to a party or a party's attorney by electronic means. Electronic distribution of a document is complete when the clerk transmits it to the email address that the party or attorney has provided to the clerk.

End

Rule History

Added Aug. 30, 2018, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Amended on an emergency basis Dec. 8, 2021, effective July 1, 2022, adopted on a permanent basis Aug. 29, 2022, effective Jan. 1, 2023; amended Aug. 24, 2023, effective Jan. 1, 2024; amended on an emergency basis Aug. 24, 2023, permanently adopted with additional amendments Dec. 6, 2023, effective Jan. 1, 2024; amended on an emergency basis, effective Aug. 22, 2024, permanently adopted effective Dec. 3, 2024.

Editors' Notes

APPLICATION

The Dec. 6, 2023 amendment applies to cases in which the motion, stipulation, decree, judgment, or order is filed or lodged on or after Jan. 1, 2024.

Plain-English Summary

Rule 43 is about getting documents to the other party. Rule 43.1 is about getting them to the court, and keeping the wrong things out of the public record.

When a document is filed

Filing is accomplished by filing with the clerk; a judge who permits direct submission must transmit the document to the clerk. A document is filed on the date the clerk receives and accepts it -- or, for a document handed to a judge, the date the judge receives it. Electronic filing is governed by ACJA section 1-901, which also covers deadlines missed because of a transmission failure. For an incarcerated party, the court must treat a document as filed on the date it was delivered to prison authorities to deposit in the mail.

The 45-day window

Where a local rule or a presiding judge's administrative order requires it, the clerk must not disclose to the general public any Rule 23 pleading, any petition for an order of protection, or any petition for injunction against harassment -- or documents and evidence relating to them -- until 45 days after filing. Judicial officers, court and clerk staff, the parties and their counsel of record, and anyone authorized by court order still have access.

What must not be filed

Four categories may be attached as exhibits only if relevant to an issue before the court, and may never be filed on their own: discovery and disclosure material (deposition notices and transcripts, interrogatories and answers, disclosure statements, production and admission requests and responses, examination requests, and notices of compliance with Rule 49 or Rule 91); proposed pleadings, unless needed to preserve the record on appeal; documents already filed, which may be incorporated by reference; and copies of authorities cited in memoranda. Violating this can cost a party the document, the clerk's filing and storage costs, and sanctions under Rule 71.

Proposed orders

A proposed order or judgment must be served on all parties when submitted, must be a separate document, and must carry at least two lines of text above the signature. The clerk may not file one. Every written stipulation must be accompanied by a proposed order, and the court must rule no later than 21 days after the stipulation is filed with a notice of lodging -- one of the deadlines Rule 30 collects.

Sensitive data

Sensitive data means social security numbers, driver's license numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, and other financial account and personal identifying numbers. It must be omitted or redacted before filing, with references limited to the last 4 digits. The rule places responsibility solely on the person making the filing and states that the clerk and the court are not required to review filings for compliance. Where the court asks for the data, it goes on a separate confidential sensitive data form, and later references point to an item number on that form rather than repeating the data.

Affidavits of Financial Information and their attachments, medical, mental health and behavioral health records, income withholding orders, and notices of completed adoption are all treated as confidential.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is a document considered filed?

Rule 43.1(b)(1) makes it the date the clerk receives and accepts the document. A document submitted directly to a judge is filed on the date the judge receives it, and electronic filings follow ACJA section 1-901.

Who is responsible for redacting a social security number?

Rule 43.1(f)(2)(A) places the responsibility solely with the person making the filing, and states that the clerk and the court are not required to review documents for compliance or to seal or redact documents containing sensitive data.

Can I file my disclosure statement or deposition transcript?

Not separately. Rule 43.1(d)(2)(A) lists discovery and disclosure documents among those that may be filed only as attachments or exhibits to other documents, and only if relevant to an issue before the court.

How quickly must the court rule on a stipulation?

Rule 43.1(e)(5)(A) requires the court to rule no later than 21 days after the stipulation is filed with a notice of lodging and the proposed order attached.

If I am in custody, when does my filing count as filed?

Rule 43.1(b)(4) requires the court to treat the document as filed on the date it was delivered to prison authorities to deposit in the mail.

Is a dissolution petition public as soon as it is filed?

Not necessarily. Rule 43.1(c) allows a local rule or administrative order to bar the clerk from disclosing a Rule 23 pleading to the general public for 45 days after filing, though the parties, their counsel and court personnel retain access.

Source & verification. Rule text, Rule History and Editors' Notes reproduced verbatim from the Arizona Rules of Family Law Procedure as published by the Arizona Supreme Court, current through amendments effective January 1, 2026. Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Arizona (Ariz. Const. art. 6, § 5). Last verified September 4, 2026. · Official text

Also known as: filingsensitive dataredactionsocial security numberproposed ordernotice of lodgingconfidential records45 daysdocuments not to be filedincome withholding orderaffidavit of financial information