08/30/2026
Deed fraud continues to be a growing concern, and there have been some important changes in Arizona that provide homeowners with additional protection.
1. Deed Fraud Is Now a Class 5 Felony
One of the biggest changes is that deed fraud has now been classified as a Class 5 felony in Arizona.
Previously, deed fraud was generally treated as a misdemeanor, which carried significantly less serious consequences. Increasing the penalty to a felony is an important step toward deterring individuals who attempt to fraudulently transfer or record ownership of someone else’s property.
2. Arizona Has Created an Early Warning System
Arizona has also established an early warning system for property owners.
The previous system would generally notify a homeowner after a document had already been recorded against their property. While that notification was helpful, it meant the fraudulent transaction had already made it into the public record.
The new system is designed to provide a warning before the transaction is finalized, giving the homeowner an opportunity to identify and address a potential fraudulent transaction sooner.
There is, however, an important limitation homeowners need to understand.
There is currently a loophole in the early warning system.
If someone attempts to record a document directly with the county without going through an escrow or title company, the early warning system may not detect the transaction before it is recorded.
For example, someone could potentially attempt to file a quitclaim deed directly with the county. Because that transaction is not going through an escrow agent or another participating process, the homeowner may not receive the new early warning notification before the document is recorded.
For that reason, homeowners should register for BOTH alert systems.
The two systems serve different purposes, and using both provides homeowners with the best opportunity to catch suspicious activity as early as possible.