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Criminal-record and social-profile search option.
View Records Sponsored partner optionWhat should you know about this search?
Direct answer
For State of Arizona public records, identify the agency that maintains the target record and use that agency’s request process. Use the Attorney General GovQA center only for AG records, describe the requested material specifically, and use statewide reference material for legal context rather than as a substitute for agency custody.
The Attorney General portal is an agency portal, not an Arizona-wide database
GovQA
The Attorney General provides a GovQA Public Records Center
That system is the online request route for records of the Attorney General’s Office. It should not be treated as a search box for records maintained by every Arizona agency.
Custody
The Attorney General generally does not maintain other agencies’ records
The AG directs requesters to the agency that actually has the records when the request belongs elsewhere. That makes agency identification the first statewide routing task.
Description
The AG form asks for enough detail to locate the records
A useful request should identify the subject, record type, dates or other clues that help staff find the material inside that agency’s files.
Statewide law guidance and agency-level access solve different problems
| Arizona source | Use it for | Do not confuse it with |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona State Library public-record law reference | Statewide legal and records-management context | A request portal that retrieves records from every state agency. |
| Attorney General GovQA center | Requests for records maintained by the Attorney General’s Office | A substitute for another agency’s records process. |
| Other Arizona state agency | Records held by that agency | Attorney General custody merely because the record concerns state government. |
A statewide Arizona search becomes an agency search quickly
1
Identify the agency that created or keeps the recordStart with the government function involved—licensing, corrections, transportation, regulation, Attorney General work or another state activity.2
Use statewide guidance to understand the frameworkThe State Library reference can help with public-record law context, but the actual access request still belongs with the record-holding agency.3
Describe the target inside that agencyUse names, subject, record type, event or date range that can distinguish the requested material from unrelated agency files.4
Keep redirection as part of the research historyIf an agency says it does not maintain the record and identifies another custodian, preserve that routing information rather than resubmitting the same request blindly.What an Arizona agency response can establish
A response is tied to the agency that searched. The Attorney General’s Office can speak to its own records, while another state agency may hold a separate record about the same person, business or event. Treat those as related sources rather than assuming one agency response is statewide coverage.
The State Library’s law material plays a different role. It helps explain the public-record framework and records-management context but does not replace the operational index or request process of the agency that owns the record. Keeping those roles separate makes the evidence easier to interpret.