{
  "locale": "en",
  "access": {
    "cost": "free",
    "signupRequired": false,
    "loginRequired": false,
    "readCountsAreAnonymous": true,
    "readingHistoryAssociatedWithReader": false,
    "note": "Everything here is free to read. There is no account, no signup, and no login. Verifiant counts anonymous reads of each lesson; no reading history is associated with you."
  },
  "notice": "Verifiant is not the State of Arizona, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors, or a law firm, and nothing here is legal advice. It describes public process and public record, and links to the official sources so you can read them yourself.",
  "lawyerNotice": "This page describes public process. It is not legal advice, and it does not say how any situation will come out. For decisions about your own situation, a licensed Arizona attorney is the right reader.",
  "question": {
    "slug": "how-long-to-file-a-registrar-complaint",
    "locale": "en",
    "title": "How Long Do I Have to File a Complaint With the Arizona Registrar?",
    "answer": "Two years from the act or omission: the day the bad work happened or the day something owed was not done, not the day you discovered it. For a brand new home the statute starts the clock at close of escrow or actual occupancy, whichever comes first.",
    "lawyerFlag": true,
    "publicationStatus": "published",
    "updatedOn": "2026-08-11",
    "path": "/learn/questions/how-long-to-file-a-registrar-complaint",
    "sections": [
      {
        "heading": "The Clock Counts From the Work, Not the Discovery",
        "body": "The statute names the act or omission itself as day one. A defect that shows up late does not restart anything, which is why the long quiet stretch of a stalled job is more dangerous than it feels.",
        "factSlugs": [
          "roc-complaint-window-two-years"
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "What the Complaint Can Reach Inside That Window",
        "body": "The Registrar investigates and disciplines: a corrective work order, and a license suspended or revoked where the standards were not met. Money travels other roads: the Recovery Fund, the surety behind the license, or a court.",
        "factSlugs": [
          "roc-discipline-not-money"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "officialLinks": [
      {
        "label": "A.R.S. § 32-1162",
        "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01162.htm"
      },
      {
        "label": "File a complaint with the Registrar",
        "url": "https://roc.az.gov/file-complaint"
      }
    ],
    "faq": [
      {
        "question": "What about a brand new house?",
        "answer": "The statute starts the clock at close of escrow or the day someone actually moves in, whichever comes first, even when a defect shows up later."
      },
      {
        "question": "Is the court deadline the same two years?",
        "answer": "No. Courts run on their own clocks, set by other statutes, and this page does not describe those. For your own situation, a licensed Arizona attorney is the right reader."
      }
    ]
  },
  "facts": [
    {
      "slug": "roc-complaint-window-two-years",
      "locale": "en",
      "title": "The Window for a Complaint to the Registrar",
      "statement": "Two years is the window. A workmanship or abandonment complaint has to reach the Registrar within two years of the act or omission, and for a brand new home the clock starts earlier than most people expect: at close of escrow or the day someone actually moves in, whichever comes first.",
      "factType": "public_rule",
      "source": {
        "label": "A.R.S. § 32-1162",
        "url": "https://www.azleg.gov/ars/32/01162.htm"
      },
      "authority": 1,
      "authorityName": "primary authority",
      "topic": "The Registrar's process",
      "observedOn": "2026-08-11",
      "recheckBy": "2027-02-11",
      "plain": "Count from the act or omission - the day the bad work happened, or the day something that should have been done was not - not from the day you discovered it. Two years from that day is the statute's own window for a workmanship or abandonment complaint to the Registrar.\n\nNew builds run on a different clock. For a brand new home the statute starts counting at close of escrow or actual occupancy, whichever comes first - so a house that sat sold but empty can have less of the window left than its owner assumes.",
      "limits": "This window belongs to the Registrar's own complaint process. Courts run on their own clocks, set by other statutes, and nothing here describes those.\n\nThe statute carries more detail than one page can - read it at the source link, and for your own situation, talk to a licensed Arizona attorney.",
      "faq": [
        {
          "question": "Does the two-year clock start when I notice the problem?",
          "answer": "The statute counts from the act or omission itself, not from discovery. The day the work was done wrong, or the day something owed was not done, is the day the statute names."
        },
        {
          "question": "What about a brand new house?",
          "answer": "For new construction the statute starts the clock at close of escrow or the day someone actually moves in, whichever comes first - even when a defect shows up later."
        }
      ],
      "publicationStatus": "published",
      "updatedOn": "2026-08-11",
      "path": "/learn/facts/roc-complaint-window-two-years"
    },
    {
      "slug": "roc-discipline-not-money",
      "locale": "en",
      "title": "What a Registrar Complaint Can and Cannot Order",
      "statement": "The Registrar investigates and disciplines; it does not write checks. A complaint can end in a corrective work order and a license suspended or revoked, and the money, when any comes back, travels a different road entirely: the Recovery Fund, the surety behind the license, or a court.",
      "factType": "official_process",
      "source": {
        "label": "Arizona ROC, the complaint process",
        "url": "https://roc.az.gov/complaint-process-investigation"
      },
      "authority": 2,
      "authorityName": "official interpretation",
      "topic": "The Registrar's process",
      "observedOn": "2026-08-11",
      "recheckBy": "2026-11-11",
      "plain": "A complaint to the Registrar asks the licensing agency to examine licensed work against the State's standards. What the agency can reach is the license: it can order corrective work, and it can suspend or revoke. What it cannot do is write you a check - it is not a court, and it does not award money.\n\nThat is not a dead end. The roads to money run beside the complaint, not through it: the Recovery Fund for qualifying owner-occupants, the surety bond behind every license, and the courts.",
      "limits": "This describes the Registrar's own pages about its process. It does not say what will happen with any particular complaint, and it is not advice about whether to file one.",
      "faq": [
        {
          "question": "Can the Registrar make the contractor fix the work?",
          "answer": "Its own pages describe a corrective work order as one outcome an investigation can reach, and discipline on the license where the standards were not met."
        },
        {
          "question": "Should I skip the complaint and go straight to court?",
          "answer": "They are different tools: the complaint asks the licensing agency to act on the license, and a court can award money. Many owners use more than one road. Which fits your situation is a question for a licensed Arizona attorney."
        }
      ],
      "publicationStatus": "published",
      "updatedOn": "2026-08-11",
      "path": "/learn/facts/roc-discipline-not-money"
    }
  ]
}