Utah Court Rules – Published for Comment – The Supreme Court and Judicial Council invite comments about amending these rules. To view the proposed amendment, click on the rule number. To submit a comment or view the comments of others, click on “Continue Reading.” To submit a comment, scroll down to the “Leave a Reply” section, and type your comment in the “Comment” field. Type your name and email address in the designated fields and click “Post Comment.” Comments cannot be acknowledged, but all will be considered. Comments are saved to a buffer for review before publication.

Posted: April 23, 2026

Rules Governing the Utah State Bar – Admissions – Comment Period Closes June 8, 2026

USB4-722. Petition to Waive a Rule in Extraordinary Circumstances. New. The proposed rule establishes a process for an applicant to seek a rule waiver. It clearly sets forth the “extraordinary circumstances” standard and adds an advisory note referencing relevant opinions from this Court. The change also states that the Court will not grant a rule waiver without requesting a response from the Bar, which will alleviate some burden on the Bar to respond to every petition filed under the rule.

Posted: April 21, 2026

Supreme Court Rules of Professional Practice – Comment Period Closes June 5, 2026

SCRP01-530. Unprofessional Conduct Complaints. AMEND. The proposed amendments are intended to clarify the Lawyer discipline process before the Office of Professional Conduct (OPC) and the Utah Supreme Court’s Ethics and Discipline Committee (the Committee), including what relief may be sought, who may file a disciplinary Complaint, the OPC’s investigation of the allegations in a Complaint, and the circumstances when the OPC may dismiss or decline to prosecute a disciplinary Complaint. The amendments also address the manner in which a Complainant may appeal the OPC’s dismissal of or declination to prosecute a Complaint to the Committee chair, the standards applicable to such appeals, and what records the chair will review in connection with an appeal. In addition, the amendments specify what may occur when the Committee chair reverses an OPC dismissal.

Posted: April 21, 2026

Rules of Juvenile Procedure – Comment Period Closes June 5, 2026

URJP018. Summons; service of process; notice. Amend. The proposed amendments primarily aim to amend paragraph (d) to allow email notice of further proceedings without requiring a party’s prior consent, similar to Rule 5 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure. Several other amendments are proposed to improve clarity, including more specific cross-references to other bodies of rules. The proposal also includes merging paragraphs (f) and (g) to clarify that papers not requiring summons must be served according to Rule 5 of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure, and that eFiling through the C.A.R.E. system does not constitute service.

Posted: April 20, 2026

Rules of Professional Conduct – Comment Period Closes June 4, 2026

RPC01.0. Terminology. AMEND. The proposed amendments to a group of rules (1.0, 1.5, and 1.4) coincide with the new proposed rule 5.8 to address fee sharing between lawyers. These four rules went out for public comment toward the end of 2025. After public comments were received, a few additional proposed amendments were made to the rules including the definition of “referral fees” in 1.0, along with 1.5(a), 5.8(a) and (c), and 5.4(c).

RPC01.5. Fees. AMEND. The proposed amendments to a group of rules (1.0, 1.5, and 1.4) coincide with the new proposed rule 5.8 to address fee sharing between lawyers. These four rules went out for public comment toward the end of 2025. After public comments were received, a few additional proposed amendments were made to the rules including the definition of “referral fees” in 1.0, along with 1.5(a), 5.8(a) and (c), and 5.4(c).

RPC05.4. Professional independence of a lawyer. AMEND. The proposed amendments to a group of rules (1.0, 1.5, and 1.4) coincide with the new proposed rule 5.8 to address fee sharing between lawyers. These four rules went out for public comment toward the end of 2025. After public comments were received, a few additional proposed amendments were made to the rules including the definition of “referral fees” in 1.0, along with 1.5(a), 5.8(a) and (c), and 5.4(c).

RPC05.8. Fee sharing between lawyers. AMEND. The proposed amendments to a group of rules (1.0, 1.5, and 1.4) coincide with the new proposed rule 5.8 to address fee sharing between lawyers. These four rules went out for public comment toward the end of 2025. After public comments were received, a few additional proposed amendments were made to the rules including the definition of “referral fees” in 1.0, along with 1.5(a), 5.8(a) and (c), and 5.4(c).

RPC01.4. Communication. AMEND. The proposed amendment to this rule in subparagraph (a)(1) reflects the correct subparagraph in rule 1.0, along amendments to conform to the rules style guide.

RPC08.4. Misconduct. AMEND. The proposed amendment to this rule adds a new comment [3b] regarding the conditioning of a resolution to a legal dispute upon a promise to withdraw or not file a complaint for misconduct.

Posted: March 20, 2026

Rules of Evidence – Comment Period Closes May 4, 2026

URE0702. Testimony by experts. The proposed amendments recognize existing caselaw allowing the use of so-called “blind experts.”

Posted: March 19, 2026

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closes May 4, 2026

URAP026. Filing and serving briefs. Amend. The amendment to Rule 26 is to increase the number of paper briefs filed with the Supreme Court from eight to ten copies to account for the increase in the number of Supreme Court Justices.

Posted: March 19, 2026

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closes May 4, 2026

URAP048. Time for petitioning. Amend. The Committee proposes amending Rule 48 to put into rule an internal process that states a rejected petition for writ of certiorari or other filing, will be construed as an extension of time.

URAP049. Petition for writ of certiorari. Amend. The Committee proposes amending Rule 49 to add paragraph (f) and put into rule an internal process that allows the clerk to reject a petition if it does not substantially comply with the content requirements of paragraph (a). Note: This public comment period is only regarding the addition of paragraph (f). The other proposed amendments are also currently out for public comment, posted February 24, 2026, closes April 10, 2026.

URAP055A. Motion to remand for findings necessary to determination of ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Amend. The Committee proposes amending Rule 55A to include a procedure for the juvenile court to transmit the supplemental record to the appellate court.

Posted: March 18, 2026

Rules of Civil Procedure – Comment Period Closes May 4, 2026

URCP073. Attorney fees. AMEND. The proposed amendments for this rule were previously posted for public comment. An additional amendment has been made to the rule in subparagraph (d) changing the language from “will” to “may.” The Supreme Court has approved this rule as final with an effective date of May 1, 2026, and is posting this additional amendment for public comment as provided for in Rule 1-105.

URCP086. Licensed paralegal practitioners. AMEND. The proposed amendments to subparagraph (a) of this rule align the rule with the language found in Code of Judicial Administration Rule 14-802.

Posted: February 26, 2026

Rules of Professional Conduct – Comment Period Closed April 13, 2026

RPC01.12. Former Judge, Arbitrator, Mediator or Other Third-Party Neutral. Amend. This amendment restricts a former appellate judge or justice from appearing as counsel before the court in which the judge or justice last held office.

Posted: February 24, 2026

Rules of Appellate Procedure – Comment Period Closed April 10, 2026

URAP027. Rule 27. Form of briefs, motions, and other documents. Amend. The Committee proposes amending Rule 27 to add a requirement that cases involving pretrial detention, parental rights, or child custody must state that it is such a case on the cover of the brief. This expands on the already effective requirement that the cover must note if an individual is incarcerated.

URAP049. Petition for writ of certiorari. Amend. The Committee proposes an additional amendment to Rule 49 which would require the party to include a certificate of compliance be included with their petition. This rule was previously published for public comment with the following proposed amendments: 1) add a word limit and change the page limit from 20 pages to 15 pages; 2) add a requirement that a certificate of compliance be included with the petition; 3) clarify what the statement of the case should include; and 4) clean-up for clarity and consistency.

URAP050. Response; reply. Amend. The Committee proposes an additional amendment to Rule 50 which would require the party to include a certificate of compliance with their response. This rule was previously published for public comment with the following proposed amendments: 1) add what the contents of the response to a petition for writ of certiorari should include; 2) add a word limit and change the page limit from 20 pages to 15 pages for a response; 3) add a word limit of 1,500 for the reply; 4) add a requirement that a certificate of compliance be included with the response and reply; 5) clarify what the statement of the case should include; and 6) clean-up for clarity and consistency.