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How much does it cost to file an eviction in Arizona?

Filing an eviction — a forcible entry and detainer action — in an Arizona justice court costs a $35 state base filing fee under A.R.S. §22-281, Class C. The same statute prices an ordinary justice-court civil filing at $73 (Class A) and the defendant's civil answer at $40 (Class B), which makes the eviction line a deliberate discount: the legislature prices the landlord's summary remedy at less than half the ordinary civil filing fee. Issuing the writ of restitution that actually restores the property is a Class E minimum clerk fee of $28. Counties and courts add authorised charges on top of the state base, so the justice court's collected total is higher than $35 — this page prices the state schedule and names the add-on layer honestly.

Arizona eviction fees at a glance

Section 22-281 is the justice courts' fee statute, organised in the same A-to-G classes as the superior court schedule in §12-284. Its Class C groups the two summary proceedings — forcible entry and detainer at $35 and small claims at $25 — below the ordinary civil classes, reflecting how quickly both are meant to move. Two cautions belong with the $35. First, it is the state base: justice courts collect additional statutory and local charges, and large-county courts publish the built total on their own fee charts, so confirm the precinct court's total before filing. Second, §22-281(B) expressly preserves the parties' ability to deposit amounts beyond the listed fees for constable's and sheriff's fees for service of process and levying writs — service is a real, separate cost of an Arizona eviction, charged by the serving officer, and it is not inside the $35. The national comparison is on the eviction filing costs hub and the state picture is on the Arizona court costs guide.

Before the fee: the notice is the case

An Arizona eviction cannot be filed until the landlord has served the statutory notice the lease breach requires — most commonly the five-day notice for nonpayment of rent under A.R.S. §33-1368(B), which gives the tenant five days to pay or surrender the property before a special detainer action may be brought. The notice itself costs nothing at any court, because no court is involved yet, but a defective notice is the most common reason an eviction complaint fails, and a dismissed case does not refund the filing fee. Landlords file the complaint in the justice court precinct where the property sits; justice courts handle the great majority of Arizona evictions because their civil jurisdiction covers the amounts and the summary procedure the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act contemplates, while larger or title-disputing cases can belong in superior court under its own §12-284 fee schedule.

What the $35 buys, and what comes after

The Class C fee opens the case and puts the complaint on the justice court's fast calendar — eviction hearings are set on short timelines, and a tenant who does not appear faces a default judgment for possession and rent. The defendant's side of the statute is priced in Class B at $40 for a civil filing by a defendant, and tenants should confirm with the precinct whether and when an answer fee is collected in a detainer case, because answer practice in summary proceedings is compressed. Judgment for the landlord is not the end of the clerk's charges: restoring possession requires a writ of restitution, issued for the $28 Class E fee and executed by a constable, whose service and execution charges are separate deposits under subsection B. Copies for either side are $0.50 per page, and certification of a document — for example for an appeal — is $28.

How an eviction filing runs

1. Serve the statutory notice for the breach — for nonpayment, the five-day notice under A.R.S. §33-1368(B) — and let the notice period run
2. Complete the forcible entry and detainer (special detainer) complaint for the justice precinct where the property is located
3. File with the justice court and pay the state base fee $35 plus the court's additional charges, and arrange constable service of the summons and complaint
4. Attend the hearing; obtain judgment for possession and any rent award, or defend and ask for trial as a tenant
5. If the tenant does not surrender, obtain the writ of restitution ($28 issuance) and have the constable execute it

What an eviction really costs beyond the court

The clerk's and justice court's fees are the predictable floor, not the total. Constable service of the summons and execution of the writ are charged by the officer and deposited under §22-281(B); a landlord who wins may ask the court to tax recoverable costs against the tenant in the judgment, which is a recovery question, not a filing price, so this page does not net it against the fees. Attorney fees for landlords who file regularly, lock-changing and property-recovery costs, and lost rent during the notice and hearing period are all real economics of an Arizona eviction and none of them are set by §22-281. What the statute does fix is a deliberately cheap front door — $35 to file, $28 for the writ — inside a procedure designed to conclude in weeks. Compare the superior-court side of Arizona practice on the Arizona probate costs page and other states' eviction fees in Washington eviction costs and Georgia eviction costs.

Can't afford the fee?

Arizona courts can defer or waive filing fees for a party who shows inability to pay, on a sworn financial application; for a tenant, that application is the difference between defending the case and defaulting on price alone, and it should be filed with the answer rather than after judgment. A landlord's $35 base fee is rarely the barrier — service deposits are the larger upfront item, and the court can explain what must be deposited for the constable at filing. The general mechanics of fee waivers and deferrals are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: A.R.S. §22-281, official text at azleg.gov, read directly at build time — Class C forcible entry and detainer $35, small claims $25; Class A civil filing $73; Class B defendant $40; Class E minimum clerk fees $28 including issuance of writs; Class F copies $0.50/page; subsection B (separate deposits for constable/sheriff service) · A.R.S. §33-1368(B) (five-day nonpayment notice). County and court charges are additional — see your justice court's fee chart. Last verified: October 2026.