Arizona Weigh Stations & Ag Inspection

When Arizona makes you pull in

Arizona stops every commercial vehicle. Passenger cars and light pickups skip the scales; CMVs at 10,001 lb and up report at open ports of entry (A.R.S. 28-1100 to 28-1102). Arizona no longer runs roadside agricultural inspection stations; it closed those highway checkpoints in 2008, so there is no California-style produce stop to clear. A PrePass or Drivewyze green light rolls you past an open scale. Blow one and expect a civil penalty plus a CSA hit.

Stations, bypass, and inspection

• Who must stop: All CMVs must stop
• Where the stations are: Ports of entry and weigh stations on I-10 (Ehrenberg WB, San Simon EB), I-8 (Yuma), I-40 (Sanders), I-15 (near St. George), and US-93 (Topock). Many run long hours; ADOT Virtual Port sensors and portable crews cover the gaps between fixed sites.
• Bypass: Drivewyze PreClear is active at Yuma (I-8), Ehrenberg and San Simon (I-10), plus ADOT's Virtual Port technology; PrePass also operates in Arizona. A green light clears the open scale and keeps you on the mainline; no signal means pull in.
• Ag / border inspection: Arizona does not run California-style roadside agricultural border-inspection stations. It closed its highway agricultural inspection stations in 2008 for budget reasons. The Department of Agriculture still handles plant, pest, and produce work through offices in Phoenix, Yuma, and Tucson/Nogales, but there is no inbound produce checkpoint on the interstates for trucks to clear.
• Fine for passing an open station: $250 civil penalty for knowingly failing or refusing to stop and submit the vehicle and load to a weighing, and the same $250 if you refuse an officer's direction after the weighing (A.R.S. 28-1102(C)). Refuse a portable-scale weighing that a designated peace officer demands and the floor jumps: the minimum is what the schedule sets for more than 6,000 lb overweight, so at least $1,400 (A.R.S. 28-1102(D), 28-1101(B)). A second violation within six months of the preceding judgment is a class 3 misdemeanor, and a second conviction within a year of that one is a class 2 misdemeanor (A.R.S. 28-1101(A)). Overweight rides separately on the 28-1101(B) schedule of minimum penalties, starting at $100 for 1,001 to 1,250 lb over and reaching $1,400 plus $100 for each 1,000 lb of excess once you pass 5,000 lb. Expect a CSA and inspection hit on top.

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