Utah ban-the-box law: Utah Code 34-52-201 for public jobs and the private employer rules

Utah's ban-the-box law, Utah Code 34-52-201, covers public employers only: the state, counties, cities, school districts, special districts and state colleges may not require an applicant to disclose a conviction or juvenile adjudication on the application or before the initial interview, with exemptions for law enforcement, jobs with children or vulnerable adults and other listed employers. As of October 2026, Utah has no statewide timing rule for private employers, but two narrower rules reach them: applicants may treat expunged records as never having happened, and licensed mental health professionals get interview-stage protection. Federal rules apply on top.

What does Utah's ban-the-box law say?

The law is Title 34, Chapter 52, "Reducing Barriers to Employment for Individuals with Criminal Records." It began as H.B. 156 of the 2017 General Session, sponsored by Rep. Sandra Hollins, signed March 22, 2017 and effective May 9, 2017. The core section, Utah Code 34-52-201 (current version effective May 7, 2025), says a public employer may not exclude an applicant from an initial interview because of a past criminal conviction, an expunged conviction, an arrest for an offense before age 18, or a juvenile adjudication. It then defines what counts as excluding someone. A public employer excludes an applicant if it requires the applicant to disclose a criminal conviction or juvenile adjudication:

1. on an employment application;
2. before an initial interview; or
3. if no interview is conducted, before making a conditional offer of employment.

Two more rules sit in the same section. A public employer may not "make an inquiry related to an applicant's expunged criminal or juvenile delinquency history," and an applicant "may answer a question related to an expunged criminal or juvenile delinquency record as though the action underlying the expunged criminal or juvenile delinquency record never occurred." Outside those limits, subsection (5) keeps the employer free to ask about convictions "during an initial interview or after an initial interview" and to consider them in the hiring decision.

Which Utah employers and jobs are covered?

Utah Code 34-52-102 defines a public employer as the state and any administrative subunit, a state institution of higher education, and "a municipal corporation, county, municipality, school district, special district, special service district, or other political subdivision of the state." Subsection (6) of 34-52-201 then removes the core rules for:

• positions where federal, state or local law, including administrative rules, requires considering criminal history;
• law enforcement agencies, and public employers that are part of the criminal or juvenile justice system;
• public employers seeking a nonemployee volunteer;
• public employers that work with children or vulnerable adults;
• the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services and the State Tax Commission;
• public employers whose primary purpose is financial or fiduciary work; and
• a public transit district hiring or promoting for a safety-sensitive position.

The section also gives mental health professional applicants, meaning people licensed under the Mental Health Professional Practice Act and applying for work that needs that license, extra protection: a public employer may not consider certain arrests, juvenile adjudications or older completed convictions, and may not deny them work over a conviction that "does not bear a direct relationship" to safely or competently doing the job. Subsection (6)(c) applies those mental health provisions to "a person under contract with a public employer," which matters if your agency places counselors or therapists into public programs.

What must private employers in Utah follow?

There is no general timing rule for private employers, which the chapter defines as anyone with one or more employees. Two sections still apply:

• Expunged records. Under Utah Code 34-52-301, an applicant seeking private employment "may answer a question related to an expunged criminal or juvenile delinquency record as though the action underlying the expunged criminal or juvenile delinquency record never occurred." Write conviction questions so they say expunged records need not be disclosed, and do not treat a "no" as dishonest if an expunged matter turns up later.
• Mental health professional applicants. Utah Code 34-52-302 bars a private employer from excluding a licensed mental health professional from an initial interview because of an arrest before age 18, a juvenile adjudication or an expunged offense, and asking for those on the application, before the initial interview, or before a conditional offer when there is no interview counts as excluding. The rule does not apply where another law requires considering conviction history, or to private employers in the criminal or juvenile justice system, those working with children or vulnerable adults, those seeking volunteers, or financial and fiduciary employers. Questions about adult convictions remain allowed at or after the interview.

Utah also limits which employers can get records from the state's Bureau of Criminal Identification, which our Utah background check laws page covers.

What does each Utah rule allow, stage by stage?

Is the law changing?

The Legislature has already published the next version. Utah Code 34-52-201 as amended in the 2026 General Session (Laws of Utah 2026, Chapter 445) takes effect January 1, 2027. Comparing the two published versions, the only difference is in subsection (6)(b), the list of sexual offense convictions excluded from the mental health applicant protections, where three section cross-references were removed. The interview timing rule for public employers is unchanged. We did not come across a 2025 or 2026 bill that would extend the timing rule to private employers, and we did not find a Salt Lake City ordinance that reaches private employers.

What federal rules still apply in Utah?

For private employers, federal law does most of the work. The EEOC rescinded its 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records on October 28, 2026, effective immediately, and its announcement says Title VII "continues to prohibit discrimination based on race or national origin." The disparate impact provision in 42 U.S.C. 2000e-2(k) is unchanged. Reviewing a record against the job with the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case Green v. Missouri Pacific Railroad Co. (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) is still the safe practice. Reports from screening companies follow the FCRA background check process, and federal contractors follow 41 U.S.C. 4714's conditional offer rule for contract-related positions.

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Utah?

Treat public sector requisitions differently from private ones. For a city, county, school district or state agency client, a recruiter's screening call happens before the initial interview, so asking about convictions on that call would arguably be a required disclosure "before an initial interview." Leave it out. For private clients, Utah sets no timing rule, but neighboring Colorado and Nevada show how fast rules differ across a region; see Colorado's ban-the-box law and Nevada's rules for public employers. Questions to settle at intake:

• Is the client a public employer under 34-52-102, and if so, does an exemption in 34-52-201(6) apply? Which one?
• Is the role one that requires a mental health professional license? If so, the extra rules apply, including to contractors placed with public employers.
• Does the client's application tell applicants expunged records need not be disclosed?
• When does the client hold its initial interview, and who raises criminal history after it?
• Who orders the background check and sends the FCRA notices?

A script for Utah screens

Public employer role, candidate volunteers a record: "Thanks. That isn't part of my screen and I won't note it. The employer may discuss background at or after its interview."

Candidate asks about an expunged case: "Utah law lets you answer questions as though an expunged record never happened. You don't need to mention it."

Private client wants the question on the phone screen: "Utah doesn't restrict private employers on timing, but we keep it out of screens so every candidate is handled the same way. It fits better after your interview, with the background check."

A Utah checklist for recruiting desks

1. Flag public employer requisitions and confirm any 34-52-201(6) exemption in writing.
2. For public roles, keep conviction and juvenile questions out of applications and recruiter screens.
3. Never ask about expunged records; update application wording for private clients too.
4. Apply the mental health professional rules to counselor, therapist and social work placements.
5. Keep volunteered details out of notes. See what not to write in interview notes.
6. For the rest of Utah's hiring rules, see hiring employees in Utah; for the federal picture, ban-the-box laws and interview questions.