Free Utah legal information — not legal advice
Understand your legal situation before you have to face it alone.
Open Legal Access publishes plain-English, step-by-step guides to common Utah legal procedures — to help you make sense of a confusing system, and know when it's time to call a real attorney.
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No jargon walls. Every article explains legal concepts the way we'd explain them to a friend, not the way a statute reads.
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Laws vary by state and change constantly. We tell you what's generally true and when you genuinely need a licensed attorney, instead of pretending an article can replace one.
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Small Claims
View all Small Claims articles →Utah Small Claims Counterclaims: How to File One
If you've been sued in Utah small claims court and believe the other side owes you money too, a counter-affidavit lets you raise your own claim in the same case — but it has its own fee and deadline.
Utah Small Claims for Consumer Disputes: Defective Products and Bad Service
When a defective product or bad service turns into a Utah small claims case, and what the Utah Consumer Sales Practices Act adds beyond an ordinary breach-of-contract claim.
Suing Over an Unpaid Invoice in Utah Small Claims Court
What a freelancer or small business needs to prove — and document — to win an unpaid invoice case in Utah small claims court.
Expungement
View all Expungement articles →How Far Back Does a Background Check Go in Utah?
Under federal law, background-check companies can't report most arrests or civil judgments older than 7 years, but convictions can be reported with no time limit unless the job pays $75,000+.
Restoring Voting Rights After a Utah Felony Conviction
Utah is unusually permissive here — voting rights are restored the moment someone is sentenced to probation or released on parole, not only after every part of the sentence is fully completed.
Restoring Your Right to Own a Firearm After a Utah Conviction
Under Utah's restricted-person statute, a felony that has been expunged, set aside, reduced to a misdemeanor, or pardoned, or whose civil rights were restored, generally no longer makes you a restricted person unless the order says otherwise.