Last year, the Arizona Legislature extended the limitations period for enforcing or renewing a judgment under A.R.S. §§ 12-1551, 12-1611, and 12-1612. Specifically, House Bill 2240, which took effect on August 3, 2018, replaced the former five-year limitations in Arizona’s judgment validity and renewal statutes with ten-year limitations. In a previous publication (Arizona Extends Judgment Validity and Renewal Deadline from Five to Ten Years), we discussed House Bill 2240 and the uncertainty that existed regarding how it would affect judgments  entered or renewed before August 3, 2018.

Senate Bill 1309 brings clarity to this uncertainty by explicitly stating that it applies to (1) “all judgments entered on or after August 3, 2013,” and (2) “all judgments entered on or before August 2, 2013 and that were renewed on or before August 2, 2018.” Arizona Governor Doug Ducey signed Senate Bill 1309 into law. The legislative history that accompanies Senate Bill 1309 also makes clear that judgments that expired prior to August 3, 2018 will not be revived—those expired judgments remain invalid.

In sum, the 10-year limitations period to request a court to enforce or renew a judgment applies only to those judgments entered either:

              a.    On or after August 3, 2013; or

              b.    On or before August 2, 2013, and renewed on or before August 2, 2018.