Staffing agency license in Utah: local licenses, PEOs and health care platforms

Utah is one of the few states that hands employment agency licensing entirely to local government. Chapter 29 of Title 34, a law that dates in its current form from 1969, makes it unlawful to run an employment office that procures work for job seekers for money without a license from the city, town or county, and requires every city, town and county to provide for those licenses by ordinance. The state's Labor Commission dropped its remaining role in 2008. Separately, the Utah Insurance Department licenses professional employer organizations, and since 2026 the Division of Occupational Licensing registers app-based health care shift platforms.

This page covers the local license and its statewide rules, PEO licensing, the health care platform registration and the employer accounts every Utah staffing firm needs. For other states, see employment agency license requirements.

Who needs a local employment agency license

Utah Code § 34-29-1 makes it unlawful to open "any intelligence or employment office for the purpose of procuring or obtaining for money or other valuable consideration, either directly or indirectly, any work or employment for persons seeking the same," or to act "as a broker or go-between between employers and persons seeking work," without first getting a license from the city or town, or the county if the office is outside a city or town. Anyone performing these services is an employment agent under the chapter.

The statute does not say in terms who must pay. Its language about procuring work "for persons seeking the same" for money, and its fee rules aimed at fees taken from job seekers, fit an agency that charges candidates. Whether a given city treats an employer-paid search firm or a temporary staffing company as needing the license depends on its ordinance, so ask the business licensing office where your office sits.

What the local license involves

• Every locality must offer it. Under § 34-29-2, every city, town and county "shall by ordinance provide for the issuing of licenses" and may add its own rules.
• Application and fee. Under § 34-29-3, you apply to the city commission, council, town board or county executive and deposit the annual fee in advance; it is refunded if the license is refused. The amount is set locally (§ 34-29-4).
• Bond. A $1,000 bond with two or more approved sureties, payable to the locality and conditioned on complying with the chapter and paying damages caused by misstatement, fraud or other violations. If a surety becomes unreliable, a new bond is due within 10 days of notice or the license is revoked.
• Transfer and posting. A license can be transferred by order of the issuing body for a $5 deposit and a new bond, and the certificate must be posted conspicuously (§ 34-29-5).

Statewide rules for licensed agents

These rules apply to employment agents everywhere in Utah, whatever the local ordinance adds:

• No advance fees. Under § 34-29-8, an agent may not take money from a job seeker before the information or assistance is actually furnished, and is liable for twice the amount if it does.
• Refund if no job. Under § 34-29-9, if the person fails to get the job through no fault of their own, the agent must return the money on demand.
• Posted fee schedule and cap. Under § 34-29-10, a private employment agency keeps a schedule of fees posted conspicuously, may change it only by posting the new one, and may not charge more than the posted fee in effect when the contract was issued, or more than 25% of the amount actually earned during the first 30 days if the job ends within that period.
• Registers and statements. Sections 34-29-11 to -13 require an employers' register of orders, a labor applicants' register of fees and refunds open to peace officers, and a written statement of the job terms and fees to each person placed.
• Bona fide orders only. Section 34-29-7 bars sending workers without a bona fide order, and §§ 34-29-19 and -20 address deceptive or false orders.
• Teachers' agencies. Agencies for schoolteachers are outside the fee schedule rule but may not take more than 5% of the first year's salary (§ 34-29-1).

Example: if a candidate placed through a candidate-paid agency leaves after three weeks having earned $3,000, the fee cannot exceed $750, whatever the posted schedule says. The figures are an illustration.

The state's role used to be larger. In 2008, Senate Bill 60 removed the Labor Commission's responsibilities under the chapter, so fee schedules are now posted at the agency rather than filed with the state.

PEO licensing with the Utah Insurance Department

Under Utah Code § 31A-40-301, a person may not provide, advertise or hold itself out as providing professional employer services in Utah before being licensed, whatever name it uses: administrative employer, employee leasing company, PEO or staff leasing company. The chapter's definition of a PEO excludes a person providing temporary help services.

• Financial capability (§ 31A-40-205). At least $100,000 in working capital, or a bond, letter of credit or securities covering the shortfall.
• Licensing routes. A standard license (§ 31A-40-302), licensing through an approved assurance organization (§ 31A-40-303), or a small operation license (§ 31A-40-304) for PEOs with a limited Utah presence.
• Fees. Set under the Insurance Department's fee schedule (§ 31A-3-103). I did not confirm the current amounts from the department.

Health care services platforms

Senate Bill 228 (2025) enacted Utah Code § 58-89-101. Since January 1, 2026, no one may operate a "health care services platform" in Utah without registering with the Division of Occupational Licensing. A platform is an electronic program or app through which a health care worker accepts a shift "as an independent contractor" at a health care facility. Platforms must keep records showing each worker's licensing, training, continuing education and background checks, carry liability insurance, and may not require a noncompete, take a fee for a worker accepting a permanent job with a facility, or stop workers using other platforms.

The law is limited to independent-contractor platforms. A traditional agency that employs nurses on W-2 and assigns them to facilities is not a platform under this definition, and I found no separate Utah registration for such agencies as of October 2026.

Employer accounts every Utah staffing firm needs

• Unemployment insurance with the Department of Workforce Services.
• Workers' compensation, overseen by the Labor Commission. See staffing agency insurance requirements.
• Withholding with the State Tax Commission, and Division of Corporations registration.
• E-Verify obligations for certain private employers; see E-Verify requirements in Utah.
• Recording screening calls. If you record phone screens, see Utah recording consent law for interviews.

A Utah checklist

UTAH CHECK — [date] — owner: [name]

Local:
  [ ] City/county asked whether our model needs the 34-29
      employment agency license; answer on file
  [ ] If licensed: $1,000 bond with local treasurer; certificate
      posted; fee schedule posted

Any job-seeker fee:
  [ ] Nothing collected before assistance is furnished
  [ ] 25% cap if job ends within 30 days; refunds on demand
  [ ] Registers and written job statements kept

Other:
  [ ] Co-employment: Insurance Department PEO license
  [ ] Health care shift app (1099 workers): DOPL registration

Employer accounts:
  DWS UI; workers' comp; withholding; E-Verify           [ ]
Next review: [date]

Neighboring states take different routes: Arizona repealed its licensing statutes effective 2017 (see staffing agency license in Arizona), while Nevada licenses agencies that charge a fee to either side (see staffing agency license in Nevada). Re-check whenever you open an office in a new Utah city or county, since the license is local.