No. And the thing you are probably asking about is legal anyway
Both answers circulating online are wrong, and they are wrong in the same way: they treat “lane splitting” and “lane filtering” as one thing. Arizona’s statute does not.
Riding between lanes of moving traffic — splitting — is prohibited in Arizona. Riding between lanes to pass vehicles that have stopped — filtering — has been permitted since 2022, under three conditions that are narrower than most riders realize. Both rules live in the same section of the code, and reading it in order is the only way the position makes sense.
What section 28-903 actually says
Arizona Revised Statutes section 28-903 is built as a general prohibition followed by a carve-out. Here it is in order.
Subsection A grants the lane: “All motorcycles are entitled to the full use of a lane. A person shall not drive a motor vehicle in such a manner as to deprive any motorcycle of the full use of a lane.” That is a protection for riders, not a restriction, and it is worth knowing about — a driver crowding you inside your own lane is the one breaking this clause.
Subsection B bans same-lane overtaking: “the operator of a motorcycle shall not overtake and pass in the same lane occupied by the vehicle being overtaken.”
Subsection C is the one people mean when they say splitting is illegal here: “a person shall not operate a motorcycle between the lanes of traffic or between adjacent rows of vehicles.”
Subsection D caps side-by-side riding at two: “A person shall not operate a motorcycle more than two abreast in a single lane.”
Subsection E exempts peace officers on duty from B and C.
Then comes the exception that changed the position in 2022.
Subsection F, word for word
“The operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle may overtake and pass another vehicle that is stopped in the same direction of travel and in the same lane as the operator and may operate the motorcycle between lanes of traffic if the movement may be made safely and if the operator does both of the following: 1. Operates the motorcycle on a street that both: (a) Is divided into at least two adjacent traffic lanes in the same direction of travel. (b) Has a speed limit that does not exceed forty-five miles per hour. 2. Travels at a speed that does not exceed fifteen miles per hour.”
Unpacked, that is four requirements which must all hold at once:
| Requirement | What it means on the road |
|---|---|
| Two-wheeled motorcycle | A trike or a sidecar outfit is outside subsection F entirely, and stays under the subsection C ban |
| The vehicle is stopped | Traffic crawling forward at 3 mph is not stopped. The permission ends the moment the queue rolls |
| Street with two or more lanes in the same direction and a limit of 45 mph or less | Excludes the freeway, and excludes most arterials posted at 50 or 55 |
| Motorcycle at 15 mph or less | Roughly a fast jog. This is the condition riders break most often without noticing |
And over all of it sits the phrase “if the movement may be made safely”, which is a judgement standard rather than a measurement. Satisfying the three numbers does not by itself make the maneuver lawful if the circumstances made it unsafe.
Three consequences riders get wrong
The freeway is out. A 45 mph ceiling on the posted limit removes every interstate and most highways in the Phoenix and Tucson metros. Filtering in Arizona is a surface-street permission, aimed at signalised intersections.
Moving traffic is out. Subsection F is written around a vehicle “that is stopped”. Once the queue starts moving, subsection C is back in force and you are between lanes unlawfully. There is no grace period written into the text.
Trikes are out. The subsection opens with “the operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle”. Anything with a third wheel on the ground does not get the exception. California’s statute has the same limitation for a different reason, covered in is lane splitting legal in California.
What the statute does not do
Two omissions are worth stating, because both get asserted online as though they were in the text.
Section 28-903 contains no subsection setting a penalty for filtering outside the conditions, and it imposes no duty on other drivers in relation to a filtering motorcycle — no requirement to make room, no prohibition on closing the gap. Minnesota’s 2025 law does include a duty on other drivers; Arizona’s does not.
What subsection A does give you is the right to the full lane and a prohibition on other drivers depriving you of it. That is a different protection, and it applies whether or not you are filtering.
How Arizona compares
Arizona was the third state to legalize filtering, after Utah in 2019 and Montana in 2021, and its text reads almost identically to Utah’s: same 45 mph road ceiling, same 15 mph rider cap, same requirement that the traffic be stopped. Montana is the outlier of the group, permitting the maneuver against traffic moving at up to 10 mph and allowing the motorcycle up to 20 mph. Colorado followed in 2024 with a law that expires in September 2027 unless renewed, and Minnesota in 2025 with the broadest version of all.
The five side by side, with each state’s numbers, are in lane filtering. The position in every other state is mapped in motorcycle lane splitting laws by state, and the neighbouring states riders most often ask about are Colorado, Texas and California.
Two other Arizona rules are worth pairing with this one, because they are the other places the state differs from its neighbours: the license and permit conditions in motorcycle license Arizona, and the eye protection requirement that applies to every adult rider without a windscreen, which is set out there and compared nationally in motorcycle helmet laws by state.
Frequently asked questions
Is lane splitting legal in Arizona?
No. ARS 28-903(C) prohibits operating a motorcycle between the lanes of traffic or between adjacent rows of vehicles. What is legal is lane filtering — passing vehicles that are stopped — under subsection F, which has applied since 2022.
What are the conditions for lane filtering in Arizona?
Four, all at once: the motorcycle must be two-wheeled; the vehicle being passed must be stopped; the street must have at least two adjacent lanes in the same direction and a speed limit no higher than 45 mph; and the motorcycle must travel at no more than 15 mph. The statute also requires that the movement be made safely.
Can you filter on the freeway in Arizona?
No. Subsection F applies only on a street with a speed limit that does not exceed 45 miles per hour, which excludes interstates and most highways.
Can you filter past slow-moving traffic in Arizona?
No. The statute permits passing a vehicle “that is stopped”. Once traffic is moving, the general prohibition in subsection C applies again. Montana is the only state that permits filtering past traffic that is still rolling, at up to 10 mph.
Does the Arizona filtering law apply to trikes?
No. Subsection F begins “the operator of a two-wheeled motorcycle”, so a three-wheeled machine or a sidecar outfit remains subject to the general ban on riding between lanes.
Do other drivers have to let a motorcycle filter in Arizona?
No. Section 28-903 imposes no duty on other drivers in relation to filtering. It does, separately, entitle motorcycles to the full use of a lane and prohibit drivers from depriving them of it.