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Statewide law

Arizona

Last checked October 29, 2026

By Peter Benes and Adrienne Kmetz, editors. Updated October 29, 2026.

Arizona has required outdoor light fixtures to be fully or partially shielded since 1986. Exempt: incandescent fixtures of 150 watts or less, other sources of 70 watts or less, streetlights with no shielded model on offer, emergency lighting, and street or city construction work. Older nonconforming fixtures must switch off from midnight to sunrise. Mercury vapor fixtures were barred from use after 2011.

StatuteCitationYear
Definitions (fully shielded, partially shielded, outdoor light fixture)A.R.S. § 49-11011986
Shielding of outdoor light fixtures; exemptionsA.R.S. § 49-11021986
Nonconforming light fixtures (midnight to sunrise shutoff)A.R.S. § 49-11031986
Use of mercury vapor light fixturesA.R.S. § 49-11041986

Municipal codes

  • Flagstaff, AZ: Flagstaff created what it calls the world's first outdoor lighting ordinance in 1958 and became the first International Dark Sky City on October 24, 2001. Current rules sit in Division 10-50.70, Outdoor Lighting Standards, of the Flagstaff Zoning Code.
  • Tucson and Pima County, AZ: The joint Outdoor Lighting Code (City of Tucson Ordinance 10963, adopted February 7, 2012) caps unshielded fixtures at 3,000 lumens each, limits lamp color temperature to 3500K, and sets per-acre lumen caps and unshielded-light curfews that vary by lighting zone.

Certified dark sky places in Arizona

Bringing your own outdoor lighting up to the same standard? See Dark-Sky Friendly Outdoor Lighting.

Sources