# Utah

Utah treats correctional officers as a category of peace officer certified by Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), with a minimum age of 19 and 40 hours of training a year. No state agency sets county jail standards. Since 2023 the State has widened restraint limits for pregnant inmates and, in 2026, extended them to 12 weeks after birth, barred prison nurseries, required housing by biological sex, let the Department of Corrections investigate its own employees, written the Division of Adult Probation and Parole into statute, and made direct supervision optional.

Source: https://uscli.org/corrections-tracker/utah

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** POST and the POST Council, the same body that certifies law enforcement officers; see the [Utah Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/utah). A “correctional officer” is “a sworn and certified officer” employed by the Department of Corrections (UDC), a political subdivision such as a county jail, or a private prison contractor, with peace officer authority only while on duty ([Utah Code 53-13-104(1), (2)(a)](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53/Chapter13/53-13-S104.html)). Agents of UDC’s Division of Adult Probation and Parole are POST-certified officers.
- **Statute:** Utah Code Title 53, ch. 6 (POST: training, certification, suspension, and revocation); 53-13-104 (correctional officer); [Title 64, ch. 13](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title64/Chapter13/64-13.html) (Department of Corrections), including 64-13-24 (staff training), 64-13-32 (use of force), and 64-13-46 (pregnant inmates); Title 64, ch. 14 (Division of Adult Probation and Parole, since 2025); Title 17, ch. 72 (county sheriff and jails, recodified from 17-22 in 2025).
- **Minimum standards:** Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or lawful permanent resident with 5 years’ legal presence and work authorization; at least “19 years old at the time of certification as a special function officer or correctional officer” (21 for law enforcement officers); a high school graduate or equivalent; free of any felony-level conviction; and of good moral character shown by background investigation ([53-6-203(1)](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53/Chapter6/53-6-S203.html)). 53-13-104(6) separately bars certifying or employing a correctional officer under 19.
- **Basic training:** No one may exercise the authority of an adult correctional officer before completing a basic correctional officer program that the UDC executive director certifies to POST; county correctional officers complete basic training plus any agency-required specialized training, certified by the chief administrator (53-13-104(3)). UDC must keep a correctional officer basic course approved by the POST director, and counties may run their own POST-approved programs (53-13-104(4)(a), (5)). UDC’s [Fred House Training Academy](https://corrections.utah.gov/about-us/training-academy/) runs pre-service training. Course length in hours was not found on an official page.
- **In-service training:** Correctional officer in-service training must “consist of no fewer than 40 hours per year” (53-13-104(4)(b)). As peace officers, correctional officers also fall under 53-6-202(4) and (5): 40 hours of certified training a year including arrest control and de-escalation, a 3-year topic cycle on crisis intervention, mental illness and developmental disorders, and sexual trauma, and a bar on exercising peace officer powers until missed training is made up. UDC must set policies for regular staff training, “including training on appropriate supervision and trauma-informed care” (64-13-24(1), as amended in 2026).
- **Decertification:** The POST Council may issue a letter of caution or suspend or revoke a correctional officer’s certification on the grounds in [53-6-211(1)](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title53/Chapter6/53-6-S211.html), as described on the [Officer Ledger page](https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/utah). No public list of revoked officers was found.
- **Jail standards:** No state agency sets or inspects county jail operating standards. The sheriff keeps the county jail, classifies jail facilities, and sets maximum operating capacity (Utah Code 17-72-401, 17-72-402). County jails file an annual data report by June 15 on population, bookings, in-custody deaths and causes, withdrawal and medication-assisted treatment policies, and, since 2026, known pregnant prisoners and parents of minor children (17-72-408). Jails that house state inmates under contract must meet UDC treatment-program standards (64-13-25(1)(d)).
- **Probation and parole officers:** UDC’s Division of Adult Probation and Parole supervises adult probationers and parolees and has been in statute since 2025 ([Utah Code 64-14-202](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title64/Chapter14/64-14.html)). Its agents are POST-certified, so POST certification, the 40-hour annual training rule, and Council discipline apply to them.
- **Restrictive housing:** No statute limiting solitary confinement or restrictive housing was found in Title 64, ch. 13 or Title 17, ch. 72 (searched October 20, 2026). The direct supervision mandate in 64-13-14 became optional in 2026 (S.B. 93).
- **Corrections use of force:** UDC officers and employees may use “all reasonable means, including the use of weapons,” to defend themselves and property, enforce discipline, and prevent escapes. An inmate escaping a secure facility is presumed to pose a threat of death or serious bodily injury, and an officer is justified in using deadly force if the officer reasonably believes it necessary to apprehend the inmate (64-13-32). Peace officers and their agencies must follow POST minimum use-of-force standards (53-6-109). Pregnant and postpartum inmates, in UDC facilities and county jails (17-72-501): least restrictive restraints; no restraints in the third trimester, labor, childbirth, or 12-week postpartum recovery without an individualized finding of serious risk of harm or escape; never shackles, leg restraints, or waist restraints in those periods; written records kept 5 years ([64-13-46](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title64/Chapter13/64-13-S46.html)).

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- May 6, 2026 — **Postpartum restraint protections extended to 12 weeks after birth** — H.B. 122 (2026 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2026, ch. 456, amending 64-13-46 and 17-72-408 · Effective May 6, 2026 — “‘Postpartum recovery’ means the period of 12 weeks after the day on which a pregnant inmate gives birth,” replacing the physician-determined period in the hospital. The restraint bar in 64-13-46(4) now covers postpartum recovery as well as the third trimester, labor, and childbirth, and the existing ban on shackles, leg restraints, and waist restraints in (5) now runs for the full 12 weeks. Social worker access extends from 6 to 12 weeks, and “health care provider” replaces “physician.” UDC and county jails must report to the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice the number of known pregnant inmates and of female inmates who are parents of a minor child (17-72-408 for jails; 64-13-45 for UDC). — **For corrections staff:** For 12 weeks after birth, restraints need a documented individualized risk finding, and leg irons and waist chains are never allowed, including on transports. — [H.B. 122 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/HB0122.pdf)[Utah Code 64-13-46](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title64/Chapter13/64-13-S46.html)
- May 6, 2026 — **Direct supervision becomes optional at the prison** — S.B. 93 (2026 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2026, ch. 258, amending 64-13-14 and 64-13-24 · Effective May 6, 2026 — Where facilities are designed for it, UDC “may” (was “shall”) implement an evidence-based direct supervision system; if it does, the system must meet the listed goals and elements (64-13-14(4)). The act repeals the 2024 executive-director override with its website posting and annual report, and the 64-13-1 definition of “direct supervision.” Staff training standards now cover “appropriate supervision and trauma-informed care” instead of direct supervision (64-13-24(1)). The act also bars removing items from a correctional facility by drone. — **For corrections staff:** UDC can choose its housing-unit supervision model, and officer training follows the model in use. — [S.B. 93 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0093.pdf)
- May 7, 2025 — **UDC may investigate crimes by its own employees without the sheriff’s consent** — S.B. 74 (2025 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2025, ch. 299, amending 64-13-6 · Effective May 7, 2025 — “In accordance with department policy, the department may conduct criminal investigations regarding an allegation that” an offender or a UDC employee has committed a criminal offense (64-13-6(3)). The act repeals the former requirement that UDC notify the sheriff or other law enforcement agency and obtain its consent before investigating, and give investigative reports to the sheriff on request. It also requires probationers and parolees subject to drug testing to sign a waiver letting the testing provider report results to the supervising officer. — **For corrections staff:** UDC investigators can handle criminal allegations against UDC staff without first getting the sheriff’s consent. — [S.B. 74 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/enrolled/SB0074.pdf)
- May 7, 2025 — **UDC drug abuse and trafficking unit, including staff-linked smuggling** — H.B. 323 (2025 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2025, ch. 246, new 64-13-51 · Effective May 7, 2025 — “The department shall create a drug abuse and trafficking unit within the department.” The unit targets drug abuse and trafficking by offenders in facilities and under supervision and by “individuals working directly with, or in connection with, offenders,” and shares information with law enforcement agencies statewide. — **For corrections staff:** Staff and contractors with inmate access are within the unit’s investigative focus. — [H.B. 323 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/enrolled/HB0323.pdf)
- May 7, 2025 — **Division of Adult Probation and Parole created in statute** — H.B. 163 (2025 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2025, ch. 214, new Title 64, ch. 14 · Effective May 7, 2025 — “There is created within the department the Division of Adult Probation and Parole,” with a director appointed by the UDC executive director. The chapter lists the division’s duties, including supervising probationers and parolees as directed by the courts and the Board of Pardons and Parole, and data reporting. The violation detention provisions were renumbered to 64-14-205. — **For corrections staff:** Agents’ duties now sit in their own code chapter (64-14); update policy citations. — [H.B. 163 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/enrolled/HB0163.pdf)[Utah Code 64-14](https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title64/Chapter14/64-14.html)
- May 7, 2025 — **Pregnancy tests offered at admission to prisons and jails** — H.B. 363 (2025 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2025, ch. 397, amending 64-13-46, 64-13-46.1, and the jail statute then at 17-22-8 · Signed March 26, 2025; effective May 7, 2025 (sec. 6) — “The department shall ensure that each female inmate younger than 50 years old is offered, which the inmate may reject, a test for pregnancy upon admission, or within a reasonable time after admission, to a correctional facility” (new 64-13-46(2)). Sheriffs must ensure the same offer to each female prisoner younger than 50 “who has been incarcerated for longer than 72 hours on a state or local criminal offense” (17-22-8(2)(f)). The act also added members from the courts, prosecutors, and defense lawyers to the Correctional Postnatal and Early Childhood Advisory Board, dropped its fixed four-year terms, made its report annual, and moved its repeal date from July 1, 2025 to July 1, 2027 (64-13-46.1; 63I-1-264). — **For corrections staff:** Intake must offer a pregnancy test to every female admitted who is under 50, at UDC on or soon after admission and in jails once she has been held more than 72 hours; she may decline. — [H.B. 363 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2025/bills/enrolled/HB0363.pdf)[2025 passed bills](https://le.utah.gov/asp/passedbills/passedbills.asp?session=2025GS)
- May 1, 2024 — **Prisons and jails must house inmates by biological sex, with an individualized exception process** — H.B. 316 (2024 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2024, ch. 341, amending 64-13-7 · Effective May 1, 2024 — Subject to an exception process, “the department or a county jail may not: (a) assign an inmate whose biological sex at birth is male to a living area where an inmate whose biological sex at birth is female is assigned,” or the reverse. “Living area” excludes temporary placements for transfers, visitation, and medical care. A transgender inmate’s request to be housed otherwise, or a facility’s wish to do so, triggers an individualized determination with reporting duties. — **For corrections staff:** Any housing assignment across biological sex needs the documented individualized review in 64-13-7(5). — [H.B. 316 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/hbillenr/HB0316.pdf)
- May 1, 2024 — **No nurseries in correctional facilities** — H.B. 358 (2024 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2024, ch. 182, amending 64-13-46 and repealing 64-13-46.5 · Signed March 13, 2024; effective May 1, 2024 (sec. 7) — New 64-13-46(10): “The department may not create or operate a nursery in a correctional facility to provide space for a female inmate and the inmate’s child.” The act repeals 64-13-46.5, the correctional facility nursery section enacted by H.B. 429 in 2023, and renumbers and amends the Correctional Postnatal and Early Childhood Advisory Board section as 64-13-46.1, striking the board’s duties to set rules for and certify a nursery. — **For corrections staff:** UDC may not set up a nursery that houses inmates with their infants inside a facility. — [H.B. 358 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/hbillenr/HB0358.pdf)[2024 passed bills](https://le.utah.gov/asp/passedbills/passedbills.asp?session=2024GS)
- Feb 16, 2024 — **Jails may not release probation and parole violators held on a UDC hold** — S.B. 109 (2024 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2024, ch. 16 · Effective on signing, February 16, 2024 — In the bill’s summary, the act “prohibits a county jail from releasing an individual booked on an allegation of violating probation or parole if the Department of Corrections has placed a hold on that individual under certain circumstances,” and clarifies sheriff and UDC roles in detaining alleged violators. It let UDC use a supervision model other than direct supervision if the executive director found direct supervision endangered inmates, staff, or security; 2026 S.B. 93 repealed that override. It also directed creation of a reentry division and allowed authorized off-duty personal use of state vehicles. — **For corrections staff:** Booking staff may not release a probation or parole violator who carries a UDC hold. — [S.B. 109 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/~2024/bills/sbillenr/SB0109.pdf)
- May 3, 2023 — **Restraint limits for pregnant inmates extended to the third trimester** — H.B. 429 (2023 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2023, ch. 420, rewriting 64-13-46 · Effective May 3, 2023 — Before, the law barred restraints during labor and childbirth absent risk findings, and barred shackles during labor, childbirth, or postpartum recovery only “while in a medical facility.” After, no restraints may be used in “the third trimester of pregnancy, labor, or childbirth” without an individualized determination of serious risk of harm to the inmate, infant, staff, or public, or a substantial escape risk. “Under no circumstances may shackles, leg restraints, or waist restraints be used on an inmate during the third trimester of pregnancy, labor, childbirth, or postpartum recovery,” with the medical-facility limit struck. Handcuffs no longer count as shackles. The staff member who authorizes restraints must record the grounds, type, and duration. The act added 48 hours with the infant if the physician directs, social worker access, and postpartum care, and created the Correctional Postnatal and Early Childhood Advisory Board. — **For corrections staff:** Before restraining an inmate in the third trimester, document the individualized risk finding; leg irons and belly chains are banned outright. — [H.B. 429 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/hbillenr/HB0429.htm)
- May 3, 2023 — **Suicide Deterrence Grant Program for county jails** — H.B. 259 (2023 G.S.), Laws of Utah 2023, ch. 152, enacting 17-22-34 · Effective May 3, 2023 — Creates within the Department of Public Safety a Suicide Deterrence Grant Program. “The purpose of the program is to award grants to county jails for materials to construct and install suicide barriers,” meaning barriers on an upper level of a building that keep a person from falling. The section was enacted as 17-22-34; the county sheriff chapter was recodified from 17-22 to 17-72 in 2025, and the section’s current number was not confirmed. — **For corrections staff:** Jails with open upper tiers can apply for state grants for suicide barriers. — [H.B. 259 enrolled](https://le.utah.gov/~2023/bills/hbillenr/HB0259.pdf)

## Enacted, not yet in force, pending, and bills that did not pass

No enacted corrections act awaiting its effective date was found: all 2026 General Session corrections bills reviewed took effect by July 1, 2026 ([2026 passed bills](https://le.utah.gov/asp/passedbills/passedbills.asp?session=2026GS)). The 2027 General Session begins in January 2027. Failed corrections bills were not swept for this page.

## Checked and unchanged

- Not counted: S.B. 323 (2026 G.S.), Criminal and Juvenile Justice Recodification, Laws of Utah 2026, ch. 291, effective July 1, 2026. Its long title creates a Department of Criminal Justice in Title 75E and it amends many corrections sections, including 17-72-408, for conforming purposes; its corrections-specific changes were not compared against the enrolled text.
- Not reviewed: 2023 H.B. 374 (County Sheriff Amendments, ch. 181); 2024 S.B. 212 (Substance Use Treatment in Correctional Facilities, ch. 266); 2024 H.B. 102 (POST Amendments, ch. 112); 2025 H.B. 39 (Correctional Health Amendments, ch. 112); 2025 H.B. 562 (county probation standards). 2024 H.B. 26, H.B. 248, and H.B. 376 were not reviewed because their enrolled PDFs did not yield readable text.
- Not verified: the length in hours of POST’s Basic Correctional Officer course and UDC’s pre-service academy, which the official pages checked do not state.