Can I get a cash advance on my lawsuit in Arizona, and what does Arizona law say?

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

SB 1215: Arizona’s litigation financing law

In 2025 the Legislature added a chapter titled “Litigation Financing” to Title 12 (Laws 2025, ch. 226). It is codified at A.R.S. 12-3451 to 12-3454, is effective “from and after December 31, 2025,” and applies to actions and claims commenced on or after its effective date.

The law reaches “any agreement creating a right to receive payment by anyone which is contingent in any respect on the outcome of an action,” with listed exclusions. For a covered agreement:

• The financier “may not direct or make any decisions with respect to the course of any action” or its settlement, including decisions about changing counsel, experts and strategy. Our page on whether a funding company can control your case covers this issue nationally.
• The financier may not pay referral fees to a lawyer, law firm or licensed health care provider unless it first discloses the arrangement in writing and the person receiving the funding separately acknowledges and agrees to the amount.
• The financier may not fund an agreement financed, directly or indirectly, by a “foreign entity of concern,” as the law defines it.
• An agreement made in violation “is voidable,” and a knowing violation is an unlawful practice under A.R.S. 44-1522, the Consumer Fraud Act’s main prohibition. Only the Attorney General or the parties to the funded case may bring that challenge.

Why personal-use advances fall outside SB 1215

The first exclusion covers payments to “a named party to the action if payments made to the named party are provided exclusively for personal and family use and are provided on condition that they are not to be used for legal filings, legal document preparation and drafting, appeals, creation of a litigation strategy, drafting testimony or other expenses directly related to litigation.”

A typical pre-settlement advance for rent, car payments or bills fits that wording if the contract limits the money to personal and family use. A contract that lets you spend the money on the case itself may not. The law also excludes arrangements “where there is no right to payment in excess of the funding actually provided.” SB 1215 sets no rate cap, no registration and no cancellation right for anyone.

Civil Rule 8(j): disclosing funding in court

Separately, the Arizona Supreme Court added Rule 8(j) to the Rules of Civil Procedure in petition R-25-0003, effective January 1, 2026 (rules amendments list). A party whose case “is subject to a third-party litigation funding agreement must separately file a certificate” at the same time it files its initial pleading. If the agreement comes later, the certificate is due within 7 days and must be served on all other parties. The certificate names each funder and its address, the nature of its financial interest, and “whether approval by any funder is necessary for litigation or settlement decisions” (order R-25-0003).

The rule excludes “loans, contracts, or arrangements for personal needs or medical treatment of a party unless the purpose for doing so is to enable the pursuit of a claim,” along with arrangements repayable regardless of the outcome and lawyers’ contingency fees. For good cause, the court may order more disclosure. Our page on lawsuit funding and attorney-client privilege explains why disclosure matters.

Arizona’s usury and lender licensing laws

Arizona’s interest statute sets 10% a year for most obligations, “unless a different rate is contracted for in writing, in which event any rate of interest may be agreed to” (A.R.S. 44-1201). So the general statute puts no ceiling on a written contract.

Licensing is a separate question. A person “shall not engage in the business of a consumer lender without first being licensed” (A.R.S. 6-603), and the consumer loans covered are closed-end loans “in an amount of $10,000 or less” (A.R.S. 6-601). Whether a nonrecourse advance is a “loan” under that law has not been decided by an Arizona appellate court that we found. Other states’ courts have split, as our page on whether a lawsuit cash advance is a loan explains.

We also found no Arizona appellate decision applying champerty or maintenance to a consumer advance.

What an Arizona lawyer may do

In November 2023 the Arizona Supreme Court’s Ethics Advisory Committee filed petition R-23-0051 to amend ER 1.8 “to permit a lawyer representing an indigent client to give the client modest gifts for basic living expenses” (Rules Forum, R-23-0051). We could not confirm on the court’s site whether it was adopted, so ask your lawyer what Arizona’s current ER 1.8(e) allows. The general rules are on can my lawyer give me money before settlement.

Your two-year deadline

A.R.S. 12-542 requires actions “for injuries done to the person of another” to be brought “within two years after the cause of action accrues.” Some claims follow other deadlines, and a funding contract does not pause any of them.

Where to complain in Arizona

The Attorney General takes consumer complaints through its online form, offered in English and Spanish, or by mail to 2005 N Central Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85004, or 400 W. Congress, South Building, Suite 315, Tucson, AZ 85701. Phone: (602) 542-5763 in Phoenix or (520) 628-6648 in Tucson (AG complaints page). Under SB 1215, the Attorney General is one of the few who may challenge a covered agreement under the Consumer Fraud Act.

What to ask before you sign

• Does the contract limit the money to personal and family use? That answer decides whether SB 1215 applies.
• Has anyone been paid for referring me, and was that disclosed in writing for me to acknowledge?
• Does the company claim any approval right over settlement? If so, my lawyer may have to report it under Rule 8(j).
• What will I owe at each 6-month mark, and is there a cap in the contract itself, since Arizona’s general statute sets none?
• Do I owe anything if I lose?

Common questions

Related pages

Cash advance on a lawsuit · Laws by state · Injury law FAQs

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 7, 2026.