Arizona
In Arizona a kept deposit holds when the amount is reasonable against the loss the shop expected or actually took, and the harder that loss is to prove, such as a held slot or drawing time, the more room the shop has. The client who calls it a penalty has to prove it. But where it is clear the shop lost nothing, the Arizona Supreme Court, quoting the Restatement (Second) of Contracts, a legal treatise, calls a substantial set sum unenforceable, so a policy that keeps only what the time already spent is worth, or returns the deposit when the slot is refilled, is on firmer ground.
Does a non-refundable deposit hold up in Arizona?
In Dobson Bay Club II v. La Sonrisa de Siena (2017), the Arizona Supreme Court adopted a single test for every clause that sets damages in advance, from the Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 356(1): the amount must be reasonable in light of the loss expected or actually caused and how hard that loss is to prove. The purpose has to be to compensate the other side, not to penalize the one who broke the deal, and whoever wants out of the clause has to prove it is a penalty. On the facts, a late fee of nearly $1.4 million was a penalty.
“but only at an amount that is reasonable in the light of the anticipated or actual loss caused by the breach and the difficulties of proof of loss. ... If, to take an extreme case, it is clear that no loss at all has occurred, a provision fixing a substantial sum as damages is unenforceable.” Dobson Bay Club II DD, LLC v. La Sonrisa de Siena, LLC, 242 Ariz. 108 (2017)
Showing your refund policy
No refund-policy disclosure law that reaches a service was found. The heading of every section in Title 44 of the Arizona Revised Statutes (Trade and Commerce) was read for refund, return and policy, and each hit was read. The 2 posting duties found are narrower: a business that charges a restocking fee on goods has to disclose it, and an auction has to post a notice that merchandise that fails its description may be returned within 48 hours.
Body-art rules and money
Arizona has no statewide body-art rule. The one state statute, A.R.S. § 13-3721, covers minors, sterile needles, anesthesia and tattooing out of a home or a tent, and says nothing about deposits, refunds or prices.
Read: A.R.S. § 13-3721
This page summarizes public law in plain language, with the source each point comes from, read at the source on 2026-09-23. It is not legal advice.