Arizona Pepper Spray and Stun Gun Laws (2026)

Arizona is a constitutional-carry state, and its weapons-misconduct statute restricts concealed carry only in narrow circumstances rather than banning carrying a "deadly weapon" outright. No Arizona statute regulates pepper spray at all. A separate, narrower statute regulates only "remote stun guns," requiring sales records for an approved model and criminalizing using or threatening one against a police officer, without a general permit, age floor, or possession ban, and it expressly preserves a person's self-defense and other justification claims even against that felony.

Jurisdiction scope: This page covers Arizona state law only, principally Arizona Revised Statutes §§ 13-105, 13-701, 13-1204, 13-3101, 13-3102, 13-3108, 13-3117, and 13-3120. It does not cover Arizona's concealed-weapons permit statute in detail or local ordinances outside the preemption analysis above.

Is pepper spray legal in Arizona?

Yes, and Arizona regulates it less than almost any other item in its weapons chapter: chapter 31, sections 13-3101 through 13-3122, contain no provision reaching a chemical defense spray. A.R.S. 13-3101(A)(1) defines "deadly weapon" as "anything that is designed for lethal use," a category that includes a firearm but not a chemical spray. Section 13-3101(A)(8) separately defines a "prohibited weapon" category: subdivision (a) states the definition "[i]ncludes the following," a bomb, grenade, rocket with a propellant charge over four ounces, or mine that is explosive, incendiary, or poison gas; a firearm silencer; a fully automatic firearm; a short-barreled rifle or shotgun; certain flammable-liquid devices; certain gas-generating chemical combinations intended to cause an explosion or mechanical failure; an improvised explosive device; and the parts to build one of those items. The word "Includes" is a term of enlargement, not a closed list, but none of the enumerated entries describes an ordinary aerosol canister of pepper spray, and the only chemical-adjacent item is limited to a bomb, grenade, rocket, or mine that is itself explosive, incendiary, or poison gas, not a hand-held spray. Because Arizona's core weapons-misconduct statute, 13-3102, defines every one of its offenses around "deadly weapon" or "prohibited weapon," none of them, including the felon-in-possession offense at 13-3102(A)(4) and the school-grounds offense at 13-3102(A)(12), reach a chemical defense spray on its text. No age minimum, capacity limit, or purchase restriction for pepper spray appears anywhere in Arizona's criminal code.

Is a stun gun legal in Arizona?

Yes, and it is regulated more than pepper spray but still without a permit or age requirement for ordinary use. Arizona's weapons-misconduct core statute, 13-3102, does not reach a stun gun for the same reason it does not reach pepper spray: a stun gun is not "designed for lethal use" and is not on the enumerated "prohibited weapon" list. Instead, a separate statute, A.R.S. § 13-3117, "Remote stun guns; sales records; use; classification; definitions," regulates the device directly. Section 13-3117(E)(2) defines "remote stun gun" broadly: "an electronic device that emits an electrical charge and that is designed and primarily employed to incapacitate a person or animal either through contact with electrodes on the device itself or remotely through wired probes that are attached to the device or through a spark, plasma, ionization or other conductive means emitting from the device," language that covers a handheld contact stun gun, a dart-firing Taser-style device, and a device that works by spark or plasma, all under one term.

Section 13-3117 does not require a permit, license, or age minimum to buy, own, or carry a remote stun gun. It imposes two specific duties instead. Section 13-3117(A)(1) makes it unlawful to sell an "authorized remote stun gun," a defined category with a discharge under 100,000 volts and less than nine joules per pulse, a traceable serial number on its projectiles, an identification and tracking system for deployed cartridges, and a manufacturer training program, without keeping an identity-verified sales record; that requirement does not apply to a secondary, private sale, and violating it is a petty offense. Section 13-3117(A)(2) makes knowingly using or threatening to use a remote stun gun against a law enforcement officer performing official duties a class 4 felony. Section 13-3117(B) limits how far that felony reaches: the section "does not... [p]reclude the prosecution of any person for the use of a remote stun gun... during the commission of any criminal offense" or "[p]reclude any justification defense under chapter 4 of this title," Arizona's justification chapter, which includes self-defense at 13-404 and 13-405. A person charged under 13-3117(A)(2) can still raise a self-defense or other justification claim.

Restricted places, preemption, and penalties

Arizona has no place-based restriction on pepper spray specifically, because no statute regulates the device at all. A stun gun likewise has no dedicated place restriction in 13-3117, and 13-3102's school-grounds and public-event weapons offenses do not extend to it because those offenses are defined around "deadly weapon," which a stun gun is not.

Arizona's stun-gun statute contains a preemption-adjacent statement, but it is weaker than the state's actual preemption statutes. Section 13-3117(C) states only: "The regulation of remote stun guns and authorized remote stun guns is a matter of statewide concern." That single sentence carries no command to a city or county and no nullity clause. Compare Arizona's firearms-preemption statute, 13-3108(A): "Except as provided in subsection G of this section, a political subdivision of this state shall not enact any ordinance, rule or tax relating to the transportation, possession, carrying, sale, transfer, purchase, acquisition, gift, devise, storage, licensing, registration, discharge or use of firearms or ammunition or any firearm or ammunition components or related accessories in this state," subsection G carving out a generally applicable privilege or use tax and an ordinance about an unaccompanied minor carrying a firearm in public, with 13-3108(D) declaring a more restrictive local ordinance "null and void." Arizona's knife-preemption statute, 13-3120, uses the same structure for knives. A bare statewide-concern declaration is not the same instrument as an express preemption command with a nullity clause; at most it bears on whether a charter city can treat the subject as a purely local municipal affair, a narrower and less certain protection than 13-3108 or 13-3120 provide.

Using either device to injure someone can be charged under Arizona's general assault law even though neither device is a "deadly weapon" or "prohibited weapon." Aggravated assault, 13-1204(A)(2), is committed by assaulting someone "using a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument," and "dangerous instrument" is defined at 13-105(12) as "anything that under the circumstances in which it is used, attempted to be used or threatened to be used is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury," a standard pepper spray or a stun gun can meet depending on how it is used. Using a remote stun gun in the commission of any felony is also a statutory aggravating circumstance a court must consider at sentencing under 13-701(D)(22).

Penalties tied directly to a remote stun gun are a petty offense for a dealer's missing sales record on an authorized model, and a class 4 felony for using or threatening one against an on-duty officer, subject to the justification defenses preserved by 13-3117(B). There is no dedicated penalty statute for pepper spray in Arizona; misuse would be charged, if at all, as aggravated assault or under general assault or disorderly-conduct law.

Federal law: what it does and does not reach

No federal statute regulates a civilian's purchase or possession of pepper spray or a stun gun. Federal law matters in three places.

Federal buildings. Under 18 U.S.C. § 930(a), whoever knowingly possesses or causes to be present "a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a Federal facility (other than a Federal court facility)" faces a fine, imprisonment of up to 1 year, or both. Subsection (e) sets up to 2 years for a federal court facility, and subsection (b) up to 5 years where the weapon is intended to be used in a crime. Section 930(g)(2) defines the term:

The term "dangerous weapon" means a weapon, device, instrument, material, or substance, animate or inanimate, that is used for, or is readily capable of, causing death or serious bodily injury, except that such term does not include a pocket knife with a blade of less than 2½ inches in length.

The definition names neither device. Whether a particular spray or stun gun is "readily capable of" causing serious bodily injury is a question of fact the statute does not answer. Subsection (d)(3) exempts "the lawful carrying of firearms or other dangerous weapons in a Federal facility incident to hunting or other lawful purposes," and subsection (h) requires notice of the ban to be posted at each public entrance. A "Federal facility" is "a building or part thereof owned or leased by the Federal Government, where Federal employees are regularly present for the purpose of performing their official duties."

Air travel. The Transportation Security Administration's screening rules, which are agency policy rather than statute, bar both devices from carry-on bags. One 4 fl. oz. (118 ml) container of mace or pepper spray is permitted in checked baggage if it has a safety mechanism to prevent accidental discharge, and sprays containing more than 2 percent by mass of tear gas (CS or CN) are prohibited in checked baggage. Tasers, stun guns and other electro-shock weapons may travel in checked baggage only if transported so the device cannot discharge accidentally. Airlines may set stricter rules.

National parks. National Park Service regulations prohibit possessing, carrying or using a "weapon" in a park area except as the regulations provide (36 CFR 2.4(b)(1)). 36 CFR 1.4 defines "weapon" to include an "irritant gas device" and any "weapon the possession of which is prohibited under the laws of the State in which the park area or portion thereof is located."

Disclaimer: This article provides general legal information about Arizona's pepper spray and stun gun laws as of September 2026. It is not legal advice. Consult a lawyer licensed in Arizona for advice about a specific situation.

For a state-by-state comparison, see pepper spray and stun gun laws by state. Arizona's self-defense statutes are covered separately on the Arizona self-defense laws page.

Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-09-19. Last updated: 2026-09-19.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is pepper spray legal to carry in Arizona?

Yes. Arizona has no statute regulating pepper spray. Its weapons chapter's 'deadly weapon' and 'prohibited weapon' definitions (13-3101) do not include a chemical spray, so the felon-possession, school-grounds, and other weapons-misconduct offenses built on those terms do not apply to it, and there is no separate permit, age, or size requirement.

Is a stun gun legal in Arizona?

Yes. A stun gun, which Arizona statute calls a 'remote stun gun' whether it works by contact, wired probes, or a spark or plasma discharge, is regulated by 13-3117, not the general weapons-misconduct statute. No permit or age floor applies to ordinary possession; the statute instead requires sales records for an approved model and makes using or threatening one against a police officer a class 4 felony, though a justification defense such as self-defense remains available.

Do Arizona cities restrict pepper spray or stun guns with local ordinances?

13-3117(C) says only that regulating a remote stun gun 'is a matter of statewide concern,' a single sentence with no command to cities or counties and no nullity clause, unlike Arizona's actual preemption statutes for firearms (13-3108) and knives (13-3120), which expressly bar a more restrictive local ordinance and void one that exists. Pepper spray has no preemption statute of its own at all, so nothing in state law blocks a city or county from adopting its own pepper-spray ordinance.

Is it illegal to use a stun gun against a police officer in Arizona?

Yes. 13-3117(A)(2) makes it a class 4 felony to knowingly use or threaten to use a remote stun gun against a law enforcement officer performing official duties. 13-3117(B) expressly preserves any justification defense available under Arizona's use-of-force chapter, so a person charged under this section can still raise a claim such as self-defense.

What happens if you use pepper spray or a stun gun to hurt someone in Arizona?

Neither device is a 'deadly weapon' under Arizona law, but using either to injure someone can be charged as aggravated assault under 13-1204(A)(2), which reaches a 'dangerous instrument,' anything that under the circumstances used is readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury (13-105(12)). Using a remote stun gun in any felony is also a sentencing aggravator under 13-701(D)(22).