State law · For employers
Utah background check laws for employers
What Utah law says about background checks for employment, beyond the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Each section shows the rule, who it covers, its exceptions and the law it comes from.
Reviewed
Primary sources
17 laws cited
At a glance
The Utah rules on each topic, in one line. Federal law applies to every topic.
| Topic | Utah rule |
|---|---|
| Criminal history questions | No general ban-the-box for private employers. Utah bans the box for PUBLIC employers (34-52-201). |
| Limits on what a report includes | Since May 7, 2025, a consumer reporting agency may not report an arrest or criminal charge that did not result in a conviction, an expunged conviction, or a pardoned conviction. |
| Sealed and expunged records | Utah’s Clean Slate law provides automatic expungement of eligible records (77-40a Part 2) alongside petition expungement. |
| Credit checks | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Salary history | No state rule. Federal law applies. |
| Cannabis | Medical cannabis only. The Utah Medical Cannabis Act does not require a private employer to accommodate medical cannabis use and does not affect a private employer’s ability to keep policies restricting medical cannabis use by applicants or employees. |
| Drug testing procedures | The Utah Drug and Alcohol Testing Act (Utah Code 34-38) is a safe-harbor statute. |
| State consumer reporting law | Utah has no full consumer-reporting act, but two laws apply. (1) Since May 7, 2025, consumer reporting agencies may not report non-conviction arrests or charges, expunged convictions, or pardoned convictions (13-45-601; see… |
When you may ask about criminal history
Who it covers: 34-52-301: any private employer with one or more employees. 34-52-302: private employers hiring applicants licensed under the Mental Health Professional Practice Act. 34-52-201: public employers.
In force since: October 1, 2023
No general ban-the-box for private employers. Utah bans the box for PUBLIC employers (34-52-201). Two narrow rules do reach private employers: (1) an applicant may answer a private employer’s question about an expunged criminal or juvenile record as though it never occurred (34-52-301); (2) a private employer hiring a licensed mental health professional may not exclude the applicant from an initial interview because of a pre-18 arrest, a juvenile adjudication, or an expunged offense (34-52-302).
Exceptions
- Public-employer rule does not apply where law requires consideration of criminal history, to law enforcement or criminal-justice employers, volunteers, employers working with children or vulnerable adults, DABS, the Tax Commission, financial/fiduciary employers, or transit safety-sensitive positions (34-52-201(6))
Utah Code 34-52-301 (eff. October 1, 2023) · Utah Code 34-52-302(1) (eff. May 3, 2023) · Utah Code 34-52-201(1)(a) (public employers; eff. May 7, 2025) · Utah Code 34-52-102(5) ('private employer' definition)
What a background check report may include
Who it covers: Consumer reporting agencies (13-45-102(2): anyone who, for a fee or on a cooperative nonprofit basis, regularly assembles or evaluates consumer information to furnish credit or consumer reports to third persons).
In force since: May 7, 2025
Since May 7, 2025, a consumer reporting agency may not report an arrest or criminal charge that did not result in a conviction, an expunged conviction, or a pardoned conviction. It may still report a pending charge or an arrest that has not reached a final disposition. The rule covers all consumer reports, including employment reports, with no salary threshold. Utah has no state 7-year rule for convictions.
Exceptions
- A pending criminal charge, or an arrest that has not reached a final disposition, may be reported (13-45-601(2))
Utah Code 13-45-601(1) (enacted by Laws 2025, ch. 415, S.B. 70) · Utah Code 13-45-601(2) · S.B. 70 (2025 General Session), enrolled copy, sec. 3
Sealed and expunged records
Who it covers: All employers and consumer reporting agencies; governs what records show and what an applicant must disclose.
In force since: October 1, 2024
Utah’s Clean Slate law provides automatic expungement of eligible records (77-40a Part 2) alongside petition expungement. Eligible cases include class B and C misdemeanors, infractions, and misdemeanor drug possession, after five years (class C or infraction), six years (class B), or seven years (class A drug possession). Dismissed cases in those classes also qualify. From October 1, 2024 to December 31, 2025 a person had to file a form to get a Clean Slate expungement. From January 1, 2026 courts again expunge eligible cases automatically. Since January 1, 2025, a person in state prison or on state probation or parole is ineligible, as is anyone with a pending misdemeanor or felony case. After expungement the person may respond to any inquiry as though the arrest, prosecution, or conviction did not occur. Agencies holding an expunged record may not divulge it without a court order, with listed exceptions. Consumer reporting agencies may not report expunged or pardoned convictions or non-conviction records (13-45-601). Private employers may not treat an applicant’s answer about an expunged record against them (34-52-301).
Exceptions
- Listed agencies may receive expunged records on request: Board of Pardons and Parole, POST, federal authorities where federal law requires, State Board of Education, Department of Criminal Justice for judicial applicants, approved research (77-40a-403(2))
Utah Code 77-40a-401(5) (eff. October 1, 2024) · Utah Code 77-40a-403(1)(a) (eff. July 1, 2026) · Utah Code 34-52-301 · Utah Code 77-40a-204(1)(a), (3) · Utah Code 77-40a-205(2)(a)(ii) (eff. May 6, 2026) · Utah Code 77-40a-205(3)(c) · Utah Code 13-45-601(1)(c)-(d)
Cannabis use and testing
Who it covers: Private employers: no duty. Public employers: nondiscrimination rules in the same part (not opened here).
In force since: May 1, 2024
Medical cannabis only. The Utah Medical Cannabis Act does not require a private employer to accommodate medical cannabis use and does not affect a private employer’s ability to keep policies restricting medical cannabis use by applicants or employees. Protections for cardholders apply to state and political-subdivision employees only. No limit on pre-employment THC testing.
Drug and alcohol testing procedures
Who it covers: 34-38: every employer that chooses to test (mandatory only for high-level nuclear waste operators, 34-38-3(2)). 34-33: every employer as defined in 29 U.S.C. 203, including prospective employers.
In force since: May 6, 2026
The Utah Drug and Alcohol Testing Act (Utah Code 34-38) is a safe-harbor statute. An employer that tests applicants or employees is protected from liability if it complies with the chapter; management must also be tested periodically. Testing must follow a written policy distributed to employees and available for review by prospective employees. Within that policy an employer may test to investigate impairment, accidents or theft, safety, or productivity, and need not limit testing to cases of suspected impairment. Collection, confirmation, and use of results follow 34-38-4 through -8 and -13. Since May 6, 2026, an employer may not charge an applicant or employee for a required medical examination, which expressly includes drug testing. It must pay the provider’s costs, may not make the person pay and then reimburse, and may not require an exam off-shift without pay or require use of leave. Claims go to the Labor Commission’s Division of Antidiscrimination and Labor.
Utah Code 34-38-3(1) · Utah Code 34-38-7(1) (eff. May 7, 2025) · Utah Code 34-33-101(5)(b) (Laws 2026, ch. 300, H.B. 130) · Utah Code 34-33-102(1)-(2) · Utah Code 34-33-102(2)
The state consumer reporting law
Who it covers: Every Utah employer (34-46-102, not opened; see notes).
In force since: January 1, 2009
Utah has no full consumer-reporting act, but two laws apply. (1) Since May 7, 2025, consumer reporting agencies may not report non-conviction arrests or charges, expunged convictions, or pardoned convictions (13-45-601; see reporting_limits). (2) The Employment Selection Procedures Act (Utah Code 34-46) governs what employers collect during screening. Before a job offer an employer may not ask for a Social Security number, date of birth, or driver license number, except when, with the applicant’s consent, the employer is obtaining a criminal background check, a credit history (under the FCRA), a driving record, an internal-records check, or data for a government program, and the request applies to every applicant for the position. Information gathered in the initial selection process may be used only to decide whether to hire and may not be shared, sold, or used for marketing or profiling.
Exceptions
- Background check, credit history under the FCRA, driving record, internal-records review, or government-program data, each with applicant consent and applied to all applicants for the position (34-46-201(2))
- Disclosure required by law, to a government entity for a program, for a later application with the same employer, or for performance reviews and promotions once hired (34-46-202(2))
Utah Code 34-46-201(1) · Utah Code 34-46-201(2)(b) · Utah Code 34-46-202(1)(a)(i) · Utah Code 13-45-601(1)
Where federal law alone applies
We found no Utah rule for private employers on these topics. The FCRA and other federal laws still apply.
- Credit checks
- Salary history
Coming changes
Laws already passed that take effect later.
- From January 1, 2027. Amendment to Utah Code 34-52-201 (public-employer criminal-history inquiries): the mental-health-professional violent/sexual-offense exception will cover all of Title 76, ch. 5, pt. 4 without the current carve-out for 76-5-417, -419, -420
Utah Laws 2026, ch. 445 (H.B. 90, Sexual Offenses Amendments)
Every state’s changes, in date order: What changed.
Adverse action notices
Before you reject or act against someone because of a background check report, the FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice, a wait, and then a final notice. The adverse action letter generator writes both notices and adds the Utah requirements where they apply.
The waiting period calculator gives the date under the federal rule.
Paperwork at hire
Besides the federal Form I-9 and W-4, Utah sets these for each new hire.
- State withholding. Utah has no state withholding certificate. Use the new hire’s federal Form W-4 with the Utah withholding tables. Form Federal Form W-4
- New hire report. Report each new hire to Utah within 20 days. State new hire reporting
- Notices at hire. Utah adds none beyond the federal forms that every employer gives.
- E-Verify. A private employer with 150 or more employees must register with and use a status verification system for each new employee. The law counts E-Verify, an equivalent federal program, the Social Security Number Verification Service, or an equally reliable independent third-party system. Employers of H-2A or H-2B visa holders they petitioned for are exempt as to those workers.
Build the new hire checklist for Utah, with city rules, special cases and a due date for each item.
Sources
- Utah Code 34-52-301 (eff. October 1, 2023)
- Utah Code 34-52-302(1) (eff. May 3, 2023)
- Utah Code 34-52-201(1)(a) (public employers; eff. May 7, 2025)
- Utah Code 34-52-102(5) (‘private employer’ definition)
- Utah Code 13-45-601(1) (enacted by Laws 2025, ch. 415, S.B. 70)
- S.B. 70 (2025 General Session), enrolled copy, sec. 3
- Utah Code 77-40a-401(5) (eff. October 1, 2024)
- Utah Code 77-40a-403(1)(a) (eff. July 1, 2026)
- Utah Code 77-40a-204(1)(a), (3)
- Utah Code 77-40a-205(2)(a)(ii) (eff. May 6, 2026)
- Utah Code 26B-4-207(3) (eff. May 1, 2024)
- Utah Code 34-38-3(1)
- Utah Code 34-38-7(1) (eff. May 7, 2025)
- Utah Code 34-33-101(5)(b) (Laws 2026, ch. 300, H.B. 130)
- Utah Code 34-33-102(1)-(2)
- Utah Code 34-46-201(1)
- Utah Code 34-46-202(1)(a)(i)
Last reviewed · General information, not legal advice.
After the hire
Once a background check clears, payroll and onboarding come next. Rippling (paid link) runs payroll, benefits and onboarding from one employee record.