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Utah public records: who holds what

In Utah, deeds are recorded by the County Recorder, birth and death certificates come from the Utah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics and requests for other government records fall under the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA). Below: who holds every other record, what copies cost and the official link for each office.

Last checked against official sources on .

On this page
  1. Who holds what in Utah
  2. Public records law in Utah
  3. Probate records and wills in Utah
  4. How Utah organizes its records
  5. Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps
  6. Counties in Utah
  7. Warnings from official sources
  8. Official copies vs look-alike sites
  9. Official directories
  10. Sources

Who holds what in Utah

The office that keeps each record, and the fee the law or the office sets for a copy. Open a record type for the full rules, ordering steps and older records.

RecordWho holds itCopy fee
DeedsCounty Recorder of the county where the land lies (29 counties); the recorder endorses, records and indexes instruments and keeps them open to public inspection.1Set by each county legislative body by ordinance or resolution; example Salt Lake County: recorded document copy $2 per page.2
Property recordsCounty Assessor values real and personal property (example: Salt Lake County Assessor).3—
Court recordsUnified state court system: district courts (general jurisdiction: civil, domestic, felony and class A misdemeanor) in eight judicial districts, plus justice courts (limited jurisdiction: most class B/C misdemeanors, infractions, traffic, small claims) and juvenile courts.4Copies of court records: paper $0.25 per sheet; fax/email $5 for 10 pages or less then $0.50/page; first 15 minutes of staff time free, then clerk time $15/hour (other staff rates higher). Certified copy $4 per document + $0.50 per page; exemplified copy $6 per document + $0.50 per page (78A-2-301).5
Marriage recordsCounty Clerk of the county that issued the license (licenses are issued by any county clerk; the clerk files and indexes the license and certificate). The state Office of Vital Records and Statistics (OVRS) holds marriage certificates only for 1978-2010.6State OVRS marriage certificate (abstract) $25, additional copies of the same record ordered the same day $10; county certified copies set by county, e.g., Salt Lake County $5 per certified copy + $3 U.S. shipping.7
Divorce recordsDistrict court where the divorce was finalized holds the decree and case file; OVRS issues divorce certificates only for 1978-2010 and does not issue decrees.8OVRS divorce certificate $25 (additional same-day copies $10); court certified copy of decree $4 per document + $0.50 per page.7
Birth certificatesUtah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics (OVRS), births 1905-present; in-person service at most local health departments.6$25 first certified copy; $10 each additional copy of the same record ordered the same day; online orders add $4 convenience + $2 identity verification + $0.75 card fee per transaction; expedited processing $25, expedited shipping $30.7
Death certificatesOVRS, deaths 1905-present; local health department vital records offices also serve in person.9$35 first certified copy; $10 each additional copy of the same record ordered the same day; reissue within 90 days $3.7
Probate and willsDistrict court of the county where the decedent lived at death, or where the decedent owned property (75-3-201); the original will is filed with the court when probate is opened.10—

Public records law in Utah

Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA) (Utah Code Title 63G, Chapter 2) Read the law11

This law covers records that agencies hold, such as a county office's correspondence or a property file. Recorded deeds, vital records and court files usually have their own rules, set out in each record section.

Who can ask
Any person; no residency requirement in the right-of-inspection provision. A record is public unless a statute expressly provides otherwise.11
Response time
As soon as reasonably possible, but no later than 10 business days after a written request (5 business days if the requester shows an expedited response benefits the public); extensions allowed for listed 'extraordinary circumstances' (63G-2-204).12
Copy fees
Reasonable fee covering actual cost, approved by the entity's executive officer; no fee for inspecting a record, for reviewing whether it is disclosable, or for the first quarter hour of staff time (but the first quarter hour may be charged to a requester who is not a Utah media representative and filed a separate request within the previous 10 days); hourly charges capped at the salary of the lowest-paid qualified employee; prepayment may be required if fees are expected to exceed $50. Political subdivisions set fees by ordinance or written policy; the judiciary by Judicial Council rule; voter registration record fees are set uniformly by the Lieutenant Governor (63G-2-203).13
If a request is refused
(1) Appeal an access or fee-waiver denial to the entity's chief administrative officer (CAO) within 30 days (decision within 10 business days, 5 if expedited; no decision = denial affirmed); (2) if the CAO affirms, the requester may appeal to the director of the Government Records Office (Division of Archives and Records Service) within 30 days of the decision, OR petition for judicial review in district court directly (within 30 days), OR seek mediation by the government records ombudsman, OR, for a political subdivision that has one, appeal to its local appeals board (63G-2-402). Mediation suspends the filing deadlines. A 45-day-from-request deadline for the director appeal applies only where the entity claimed extraordinary circumstances and the CAO did not decide.14
What is exempt
Records are public unless a statute expressly provides otherwise; GRAMA classifies non-public records as private (63G-2-302), controlled (63G-2-304), or protected (63G-2-305), and other statutes may restrict access. Court records are governed by Judicial Council rules (Code of Judicial Administration 4-202 series).11
Official guide
No Attorney General GRAMA guide is used in Utah; the statutory resource is the government records ombudsman in the Government Records Office (Division of Archives and Records Service), who serves as a resource for requesters and can mediate disputes. Requests can also be filed through the Utah Open Records Portal Website (63A-12-114).15

How to write a public records request

Probate records and wills in Utah

Who holds it
District court of the county where the decedent lived at death, or where the decedent owned property (75-3-201); the original will is filed with the court when probate is opened.10
Search
Probate case index via Xchange (district courts); older probate records at the Utah State Archives.16

How this works in other states: probate records and wills by state.

How Utah organizes its records

  • Marriage licenses and certificates held by county clerks are designated vital records with restricted access (direct, tangible, legitimate interest) until 75 years old — unlike many states where marriage records are open17
  • State vital records office holds marriage and divorce certificates only for 1978-2010; other years come from county clerks (marriage) and district courts (divorce)18
  • GRAMA appeals go to the director of the Government Records Office (created 2025 within the Division of Archives and Records Service), which replaced the State Records Committee19
  • Closed criminal-history state: only the record subject can obtain a BCI Right of Access report20
  • Divorce, guardianship and similar domestic case records have been private since April 1, 2012 (orders/decrees remain public)4
  • D.B.A. names are registered statewide with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, not with counties21
  • County statutes recodified: county recorder now Title 17 Chapter 71, county clerk Chapter 70, assessor Chapter 67, treasurer Chapter 74 (effective 11/6/2025)1

Other records: background checks, voters, businesses, maps

Criminal history checks

State repository
Utah Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI), Taylorsville.20
Who may order
Only the subject of the record (Right of Access); third parties may receive it only via a signed third-party release; employers/agencies use separate authorized background-check channels (53-10-108).20
Fee
$20 Right of Access processing fee (non-refundable).20
How to order
In person at BCI (processed while you wait) or by mail with application, copy of photo ID, payment and fingerprints; some local police/sheriff offices also provide Right of Access reports. Record covers Utah only.20

Sex offender registry

Official registry
Utah Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender Registry, maintained by DPS/BCI (Utah Code 53-29-404); public search hosted at communitynotification.com (office 54438), linked from BCI.22

Inmate and jail lookups

State prisons
Utah Department of Corrections Offender Search (by name or UDC ID) covers people incarcerated by, or on probation/parole with, UDC.23
County jails
Pretrial and unsentenced detainees in county jails are not in UDC's search; check the county sheriff/jail.24

Voter records

Public or restricted
Voter registration records are generally public; a voter list (name, addresses, age range, party affiliation, vote history) is available to the public on request for a fee. Date of birth, driver license/state ID numbers, SSN, email and phone are never public. 'At-risk' voters (e.g., domestic-violence victims, law enforcement, military, public figures) can have records withheld.25
How to request
Statewide list: Lieutenant Governor's 'Obtain Voter Registration or Election Data' page (vote.utah.gov/obtain-voter-registration-or-election-data/); county or district lists and local questions: the county clerk (election officer); general questions: Lieutenant Governor elections request form at cs.utah.gov/s/elections-request.26
List fee
Statewide voter registration database from the Lieutenant Governor: $1,050 one-time purchase (no refunds, subscriptions or free updates); 'who has voted' and absentee-ballot reports $35 per election; county or district lists come from the county clerk(s). Fees are set uniformly by the Lieutenant Governor after consulting county clerks (63G-2-203(10)).27

Business names (DBA)

Assumed names (DBA)
D.B.A. (assumed name) certificates are filed with the state Division of Corporations and Commercial Code (not the county) within 30 days of starting business; registration lasts three years and is renewable.21
Companies and LLCs
Corporations, LLCs and other entities are also filed with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code (Utah Department of Commerce).28

Liens and UCC filings

UCC filings
UCC financing statements are filed with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, except fixture filings and as-extracted collateral/timber, which go to the county recorder where a mortgage would be recorded.29
Federal tax liens
Federal tax liens on real property and their discharges are recorded at the county recorder ($40 each).30
Judgment liens
Judgments become liens through the court and recorded abstracts; a court abstract of judgment costs $50 to file in court (Utah agencies/courts).31

GIS and parcel maps

State GIS portal
Utah Geospatial Resource Center (UGRC), gis.utah.gov — State Geographic Information Database (SGID) with free statewide parcel layers for all 29 counties.32

Historical and genealogy records

State archives
Utah Division of Archives and Records Service (Utah State Archives), archives.utah.gov — holds court records older than about 50 years (divorce, naturalization, name change, probate and criminal cases are the most requested), birth certificates 1905-1924 with online name indexes, and death record guides.33
Public vital records
Birth records public after 100 years, death after 50 years, marriage/divorce after 75 years; some public records searchable at the Utah State Archives.6

Counties in Utah

6 counties with a full guide

Each guide lists the office for every record type, the official online searches, copy fees, phones and hours.

All 29 counties

Names in bold open our guide. Names with an arrow go to the county's own website, where the US Census Bureau lists one and it opened when we checked.34

Warnings from official sources

  • Fake court payment text messages (Utah State Courts)16
  • Title/deed fraud — free Property Watch alerts (Salt Lake County Recorder)35
  • Vital records: order from the state office or local health departments (Utah Office of Vital Records and Statistics)6

Official copies vs look-alike sites

A certified copy comes only from the office that holds the record; reports and "research copies" sold by commercial sites are not issued by any Utah office. How to tell an official record source from a paid look-alike.

Official directories

Lists that name the office in every county.

Sources

Every fact above links to the official page it comes from; all 39 sources were checked on November 4, 2026. Fees and rules change, so check the office's own page before you pay or travel.

  1. Utah Code 17-71-405 Records open to inspection -- CopiesUtah State Legislature
  2. Recorder: Requirements & FeesSalt Lake County
  3. Assessor OverviewSalt Lake County
  4. Xchange: Public Case SearchUtah State Courts
  5. Request a Court RecordUtah State Courts
  6. Order an official vital record certificate from the State of UtahUtah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics
  7. Vital Records Fee ScheduleUtah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics
  8. Frequently Asked QuestionsUtah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics
  9. Find Death RecordsUtah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics
  10. Informal ProbateUtah State Courts
  11. Utah Code 63G-2-201 Provisions relating to records -- Public records …Utah State Legislature
  12. Utah Code 63G-2-204 Record request -- Response -- Time for respondingUtah State Legislature
  13. Utah Code 63G-2-203 FeesUtah State Legislature
  14. Utah State Legislature
  15. Utah Code 63A-12-204 Government records ombudsmanUtah State Legislature
  16. Court RecordsUtah State Courts
  17. Utah Code 81-2-306 County clerk to file license and certificate -- Designation as vital recordUtah State Legislature
  18. How to beginUtah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics
  19. Utah Code 63A-12-202 Government Records Office -- DirectorUtah State Legislature
  20. Criminal History Records (Your Utah Criminal History)Utah Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Identification
  21. Utah Code 42-2-201 Registration as a D.B.A.Utah State Legislature
  22. Utah Sex, Kidnap, and Child Abuse Offender RegistryUtah Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Criminal Identification
  23. Utah Department of Corrections homeUtah Department of Correctionsarchived copy
  24. Offender SearchUtah Department of Correctionsarchived copy
  25. Understanding Your Voter Registration PrivacyUtah Office of the Lieutenant Governor
  26. Contact Your County Election OfficialsUtah Office of the Lieutenant Governor
  27. Obtain Voter Registration or Election DataUtah Lieutenant Governor (vote.utah.gov)
  28. Utah Code 42-2-101 Definitions (D.B.A.)Utah State Legislature
  29. Utah Code 70A-9a-501 Filing officeUtah State Legislature
  30. Utah Code 17-71-407 Fees -- Fees paid in advance (county recorder)Utah State Legislature
  31. Utah Code 78A-2-301 Civil fees of the courts of recordUtah State Legislature
  32. Utah Parcels (SGID Cadastre)Utah Geospatial Resource Center (UGRC)
  33. Birth Records Research GuideUtah Division of Archives and Records Servicearchived copy
  34. Government Units List 2026US Census Bureau
  35. Recorder: Property WatchSalt Lake County
  36. City & County GovernmentUtah.gov (State of Utah)
  37. Utah County Clerks contact (marriage records)Utah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics
  38. Utah Health Districts (in-person vital records offices)Utah DHHS Office of Vital Records and Statistics
  39. Contact Information (court directory)Utah State Courts