Firearms in Vehicles: Arizona

This Firearms in Vehicles policy applies to employees in Arizona and is designed to align with Arizona's parking lot and firearms protections, including A.R.S. § 12-781 and related criminal statutes on weapons misconduct and prohibited weapons (A.R.S. §§ 13-3102 and 13-3111). It explains how your organization can generally prohibit weapons at work while still allowing employees and visitors who lawfully possess a firearm to store it in a locked, privately owned vehicle in designated parking areas, with clear expectations around keeping the firearm out of sight, not removing or displaying it on your property, and respecting employee privacy around vehicle searches and inquiries.

The History Behind Firearms in Vehicles Policies in Arizona

This policy sits in Health, Safety, & OSHA Compliance, but its backstory starts with a different kind of safety debate: what happens when an employer's desire to keep weapons off-site conflicts with an employee's right to keep a firearm in their car. For years, many employers treated parking lots like any other part of the workplace, meaning "no weapons" rules often reached into employees' vehicles. Arizona's Legislature stepped in to draw a boundary around privately owned vehicles, especially as more people used cars and motorcycles as everyday storage for lawful firearms.

That boundary is the main focus of Arizona's "parking lot" statute, A.R.S. § 12-781. It limits an employer's ability to prohibit someone from storing a lawfully possessed firearm in a locked, privately owned vehicle (or a locked compartment on a motorcycle) in a parking lot or other designated parking area. The law also builds in the practical guardrails you see reflected in the policy: the firearm has to stay out of sight, and the vehicle stays locked. In other words, Arizona didn't create a free-for-all; it created a narrow permission slip, paired with conditions meant to keep the workplace from turning into a show-and-tell.

Arizona also paired that storage right with privacy and enforcement limits that employers sometimes miss on a first read. A.R.S. § 12-781 restricts inquiries and searches tied to firearm storage in vehicles, and Arizona's weapons statutes, including A.R.S. § 13-3102 and § 13-3111, reinforce that firearm rules depend heavily on context, lawful possession, and where the weapon is carried or displayed. The result is the balancing act baked into this policy: you can still run a workplace that feels safe and controlled, but you can't treat an employee's locked car in the parking lot like an extension of their desk drawer.

Which Law is the Firearms in Vehicles Policy Meant to Comply With?

If you create and distribute a Firearms in Vehicles Policy for your Arizona-based employees, it is in an effort to comply with Arizona's A.R.S. § 12-781, A.R.S. § 13-3102, and A.R.S. § 13-3111.

How to Write an Arizona-Specific Firearms in Vehicles Policy

• Start with "why" and introduce the concept by explaining that you're aiming for a safe workplace while recognizing Arizona's rules on storing firearms in personal vehicles.
• State that employees may store a lawfully possessed firearm in a locked, privately owned vehicle (or locked motorcycle compartment) in your organization's parking areas.
• Require that any stored firearm stays out of sight and isn't removed from the vehicle or displayed on your organization's property.
• Commit to employee privacy by stating you won't ask about firearm storage in vehicles.
• Limit vehicle searches by stating you won't search vehicles except when legally required.

When to Include this Policy in Your Employee Handbook

The law does not require you to publish a policy or issue a specific notice. That said, you still have to comply with the requirements that apply to you as an employer. 

This is a "depends on your workplace" policy. Include it if you offer the benefit, operate in a setting where this comes up, have a state-specific rule that differs from your national approach, or you've had issues in this area before. If you already have a clear all-employee policy that covers the same ground (and it meets Arizona's requirements), you may not need a separate policy here. 

Other Considerations

The law applies to Arizona employers who have at least 1 employee in the US.

Exceptions

None.