Arizona's use-of-force framework lives in Title 13, Chapter 4 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. 13-401 through 13-421). Arizona is a...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
Arizona's use-of-force framework lives in Title 13, Chapter 4 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. 13-401 through 13-421). Arizona is a stand-your-ground state: A.R.S. 13-405(B) and A.R.S. 13-411(B) both expressly state there is no duty to retreat before using justified deadly force in a place where the actor has a right to be and is not engaged in an unlawful act. A.R.S. 13-205(A) makes justification a non-affirmative defense: once any evidence of justification is presented, the State must disprove justification beyond a reasonable doubt.
This section summarizes the justification statutes that matter most for concealed-carry permit holders. The Castle Doctrine specifics (residential structures, occupied vehicles, presumptions) are covered in the Castle Doctrine section.
The Chapter 4 (Justification) framework, with the operative section for each rule:
Non-deadly force. Under A.R.S. 13-404(A), a person is justified in threatening or using physical force against another "when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe that physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful physical force."
A.R.S. 13-404(B) lists three carve-outs where the threat or use of physical force is not justified:
Deadly force. A.R.S. 13-405(A) authorizes deadly physical force if (1) the actor would be justified under A.R.S. 13-404 in using non-deadly force, and (2) a reasonable person would believe deadly physical force is immediately necessary to protect against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful deadly physical force.
No duty to retreat. A.R.S. 13-405(B) codifies stand-your-ground for self-defense: "A person has no duty to retreat before threatening or using deadly physical force pursuant to this section if the person is in a place where the person may legally be and is not engaged in an unlawful act."
A.R.S. 13-406 authorizes the use of physical force or deadly physical force to defend a third person whenever, under the circumstances as a reasonable person would believe them to be, the actor would be justified under A.R.S. 13-404 or 13-405 in using that level of force to protect himself against the unlawful force the actor reasonably believes threatens the third person. The reasonable-person lens is applied to the defender's perception of the third party's situation.
Premises. A.R.S. 13-407(A) lets a person in lawful possession or control of premises threaten deadly physical force, or threaten or use physical force, against another when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe it immediately necessary to prevent or terminate a criminal trespass. Under A.R.S. 13-407(B), actual use of deadly physical force in defense of premises is permitted only as also authorized under A.R.S. 13-405 (self-defense) or 13-406 (defense of others). A.R.S. 13-407(C) defines "premises" as real property and any structure adapted for human residence or lodging.
Property. A.R.S. 13-408 justifies physical force against another when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe it necessary to prevent the other's theft or criminal damage to tangible movable property in the actor's possession or control. Deadly physical force in defense of property is authorized only as further provided in A.R.S. 13-405, 13-406, and 13-411.
A.R.S. 13-411 is one of Arizona's most defender-protective statutes. Subsection A authorizes physical force or deadly physical force to prevent the commission of an enumerated list of violent felonies, including:
A.R.S. 13-411(B) confirms there is no duty to retreat before using force justified by subsection A. Subsection C creates a presumption that the actor is acting reasonably if acting to prevent what the actor reasonably believes is the imminent or actual commission of one of the listed offenses. Subsection D extends the rule to "a person's home, residence, place of business, land the person owns or leases, conveyance of any kind, or any other place in this state where a person has a right to be."
In practice A.R.S. 13-411 expands stand-your-ground beyond pure self-defense into the prevention-of-violent-felony space, with a statutory presumption that takes the reasonableness question off the table at the front end.
Arizona separately authorizes the defensive display of a firearm as a justified, lesser response. Under A.R.S. 13-421(A), defensive display is justified "when and to the extent a reasonable person would believe that physical force is immediately necessary to protect himself against the use or attempted use of unlawful physical force or deadly physical force." A.R.S. 13-421(D) defines "defensive display" to include verbally informing another person that the actor possesses or has available a firearm, and exposing or displaying a firearm in a manner a reasonable person would understand was meant to protect against unlawful force.
A.R.S. 13-421(B) disqualifies the defense for an actor who intentionally provoked the other person's use of unlawful force, or who uses a firearm in the commission of a serious offense (A.R.S. 13-706) or violent crime (A.R.S. 13-901.03). A.R.S. 13-421(C) makes clear that a person otherwise justified in the use or threatened use of physical force is not required to attempt a defensive display first. This matters operationally: Arizona does not impose a "must brandish before you shoot" tier.
A.R.S. 13-415 modifies the reasonableness analysis in A.R.S. 13-404, 13-405, and 13-406 when the defender has been a victim of prior domestic violence by the same person. The "reasonable person" benchmark is recalibrated "from the perspective of a reasonable person who has been a victim of those past acts of domestic violence" (where "domestic violence" is defined by A.R.S. 13-3601(A)). This is an evidentiary lens that helps defenders with documented prior victimization show why they perceived imminent danger sooner than a non-victim would.
A.R.S. 13-205(A) is the linchpin of Arizona's defender-friendly trial posture. Affirmative defenses generally require the defendant to prove the defense by a preponderance of the evidence. Chapter 4 justification defenses are excluded: "Justification defenses under chapter 4 of this title are not affirmative defenses." The statute then provides: "If evidence of justification pursuant to chapter 4 of this title is presented by the defendant, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant did not act with justification."
In trial terms: once any evidence of justification is in front of the jury, the prosecution must disprove justification at the highest evidentiary standard. This is materially more protective than the preponderance standard that applies to most affirmative defenses.
A.R.S. 13-413 provides: "No person in this state shall be subject to civil liability for engaging in conduct otherwise justified pursuant to the provisions of this chapter." A successful Chapter 4 justification defense thus carries through to the civil docket as well. Arizona does not impose a separate "objectively reasonable" civil test on top of the criminal justification finding.
This summary is informational and is not legal advice. Use-of-force prosecutions turn on facts that are difficult to evaluate in advance. Consult an Arizona attorney for fact-specific questions.
<!-- federal-context-block:added-2026-05-20 -->N.Y. State Rifle & Pistol Ass'n v. Bruen (2022) and United States v. Rahimi (2024). Bruen, 597 U.S. 1 (2022), established the historical-tradition test for Second Amendment claims. Rahimi, 602 U.S. ___ (2024), then applied Bruen to uphold the federal domestic-violence-restraining-order firearm prohibition at 18 U.S.C. ยง 922(g)(8), confirming that not every firearm disability fails Bruen's test. Practitioners advising on use of force or firearm-disability questions should be familiar with both cases.
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