State requirements / Utah
Utah parenting class requirement
Two courses, both mandatory
Utah requires parties with minor children who file for divorce or temporary separation to take a divorce orientation course, and separately requires a parenting course in divorce and parentage actions determining custody and parent-time. The court will not sign a final order until both are done or waived.
The requirement at a glance
| Who must attend | Two separate courses. The divorce orientation course is mandatory for all parties with minor children who file for divorce or temporary separation, and optional for couples with no minor children. The parenting course is mandatory for married parties in a divorce determining custody and parent-time, and for unmarried parties in a parentage action determining the same. |
| Hours required | Orientation at least 1; parenting course not set |
| Deadline | Set by the court's own notice rather than by statute. A petitioner is directed to attend both classes within 60 days after filing the petition, and a respondent within 30 days after receiving the notice. |
| Authority | Utah Code 81-4-105, 81-9-103; UCJA R. 4-907 |
| Fees and waivers | Both courses carry statutory fee limits, with a lower rate for a petitioner who attends promptly, and a portion of each fee goes to the Children's Legal Defense Account. The fee is waived on a prima facie showing of indigency by affidavit, and the state reimburses the contractor from that account. |
| Our price | $25 for one parent, $50 for both parents on the same case. Scholarship seats are funded by donors, so no parent is turned away for money. |
| Our registry status | We are not pursuing this state yet, and we would rather tell you than let you wait. It either requires the class to be delivered live and in person, which our self-paced course cannot be, or it has no route for a new provider at all. Use your court's own list. If that changes, this page changes with it. |
What the law actually says
“The divorce orientation course shall be neutral, unbiased, and at least one hour in duration.”
Utah Code 81-4-105(2)Quoted from the official text. Read it yourself at the source below.The part nobody explains
Filing your certificate
A certificate of completion is evidence to the court that you finished. The provider issues it, and the provider also sends the court a monthly alphabetized list of everyone who completed. At filing the clerk notifies the petitioner, who must then notify the respondent and file proof of that service.
If the deadline passes
It is a gate rather than a punishment. The court will not hear a motion unless the moving party has taken the classes, and it will not sign a final order until both parents have completed them or had them waived.
Who approves providers in Utah
The Administrative Office of the Courts administers both courses under the state procurement code, through public or private contracts organized in each judicial district. The judicial branch education department issues requests for proposals and awards contracts for live courses, and produces the courses itself in other formats. The online lane currently runs through a single university extension provider described by the courts as the only approved online provider, so treat online entry in Utah as effectively closed.
What you get from us
- The full course, start to finish, on a phone or a laptop, with your progress saved. Lifetime access, no thirty-day expiry and no extension fees.
- Your certificate the moment you finish, by email, free. A mailed paper copy is optional.
- Free instant verification for your court. A clerk or judge confirms the certificate at our verification page with no account and no phone call.
- Our acceptance guarantee: if your specific court declines this certificate, you get a full refund, no processing fee and no deadline to claim it.
Check us on the law
Every fact on this page traces to an official source. Read them yourself.