Utah
Utah’s Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Council may suspend or revoke certification on listed grounds after the POST division proves its case by clear and convincing evidence, and POST rules send Council actions to the National Decertification Index. Since 2023 the State has made chiefs who fail to report misconduct subject to discipline, required pre-hire checks and early intervention systems, replaced a fixed crisis-training floor with a 3-year topic cycle, set rules for prosecutors’ Brady lists, and in 2026 required each local agency to keep at least one officer trained in cryptocurrency investigation.
- Sources checked
- Part of
- Officer Ledger
At a glance
- Certifying body
- Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Division and the POST Council. The division investigates, and the Council decides discipline (Utah Code 53-6-103, 53-6-106, 53-6-211).
- Statute
- Utah Code Title 53, ch. 6 (POST Act): 53-6-202 (training), 53-6-203 (applicant requirements), 53-6-210.5 (duty to intervene or report), 53-6-211 (suspension and revocation); 53-14-102 to 53-14-203 (pre-hire checks, early intervention); 53-25-1001 to 53-25-1003 (Brady identification systems); 77-7a (body-worn cameras). Rules: Utah Admin. Code R728.
- Minimum standards
- Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national (since 2024), or a lawful permanent resident with 5 years’ legal presence and work authorization. They must be 21 for law enforcement certification (19 for special function or correctional), a high school graduate or equivalent, have no felony-level conviction, and show good moral character by background investigation. A local, state, and national criminal history check is required, and expunged convictions may be considered (53-6-203). Before hiring an officer who worked for another agency, the hiring agency must complete the 53-14-103 background check and, if the officer worked in another state, confirm certification by POST or a comparable agency (53-14-102).
- Decertification
- Discretionary: the Council “has the authority to” issue a letter of caution, or to suspend or revoke, on listed grounds. These include falsification; engaging in or being convicted of criminal conduct (except minor traffic offenses); refusing to answer Garrity questions; sexual conduct on duty; inability to possess firearms; dishonesty or bias found by a court or agency; and a chief’s failure to report substantiated misconduct. The Council may weigh aggravating and mitigating circumstances. The division must prove its case by clear and convincing evidence before an administrative law judge (53-6-211(1) to (4)). By rule, chiefs must report substantiated allegations within 30 days (R728-409).
- Public decertification list
- None found. No statute or rule requires a public list of revoked officers.
- National Decertification Index
- Required by rule. The Council’s action “shall be entered into” the IADLEST National Peace Officer De-Certification database for peace officers, and notice of a voluntary relinquishment “shall be provided to” it (R728-409-15(4)(c), R728-409-17(5)(c)). Utah Code ch. 53-6 does not mention the Index.
- Continuing training
- At least 40 hours of certified training a year, including arrest control and de-escalation. Since July 1, 2024, a 3-year cycle of training on mental health and crisis intervention, on mental illness, autism, and developmental disorders, and on sexual trauma and sexual assault investigations, counted toward the 40 hours. An officer who misses the annual training may not exercise peace officer powers until it is complete. Since July 1, 2026, each local agency must ensure that at least one of its officers completes specialized cryptocurrency investigation training every 3 years (53-6-202(4) to (7)).
Changes, 2023 to 2026
Each local agency must keep at least one officer trained in cryptocurrency investigation
Beginning July 1, 2026, each local law enforcement agency “shall ensure” that at least one peace officer it employs completes specialized cryptocurrency investigation training at least once every 3 years. The training covers tracing and blockchain analysis, seizure and evidence preservation, investigation tools, search warrants and subpoenas, coordination with federal agencies and exchanges, and recovery and liquidation of seized assets. The POST director, with the Council, sets the standards, and the agency head determines compliance. A trained officer may assist other local agencies.
For officers: The duty falls on the agency, not on every officer: at least one officer in each local agency must complete the training every 3 years.
Municipal officers get notice and a chance to respond before major discipline
Before a municipal law enforcement officer is suspended for more than 2 days, demoted, removed, discharged, or involuntarily transferred to lower pay for discipline, the agency “shall” notify the officer of the allegations, allow at least 2 business days for a written reply, consider it, and give an opportunity to be heard. More protective local policies are not limited.
For officers: If you work for a city, you get the allegations in writing and at least 2 business days to reply before major discipline.
POST rules: 30-day misconduct reporting, reporting after separation, shorter falsification wait
R728-409: chiefs must report substantiated allegations within 30 days (was 90). If an officer separates during an investigation, the findings must be reported within 30 days of completion. The rule no longer requires a chief who fails to report to appear before the Council. Relinquishment is allowed at any time, not only after a complaint. “Sexual conduct” now covers soliciting sexual acts. The Council no longer applies the incorporated 2016 POST Disciplinary Guidelines. The Index entry duty is unchanged. R728-403: the wait after falsifying an application is 1 year (was 2); cheating or plagiarism at the academy brings a 2-year bar; and an open investigation by any law enforcement agency bars academy attendance.
For officers: If you leave during an investigation, the findings still go to POST within 30 days of completion.
Brady identification systems: notice and dispute rights; placement alone is not grounds for discipline
A prosecution agency “may” use a Brady identification system but need not. Before placing an officer on it (except for a criminal conviction), the agency “shall” give written notice, the supporting evidence, and an opportunity to dispute. It must notify the employer and adopt a policy accessible to officers. Judicial review of placement is barred, and system records are exempt from GRAMA. An officer on a list must disclose that when subpoenaed by another prosecutor. An employer may not use placement as the sole reason for discipline, but may act on the underlying facts. Chiefs “shall” investigate Brady allegations and report substantiated findings to the county attorney or attorney general.
For officers: You get notice and a chance to dispute before a prosecutor lists you, but no court review.
Body-camera rules exempt narcotics units and undercover operations
The existing body-camera duties (activation before encounters, uninterrupted recording, written reports on deactivation) were moved into 77-7a-104(2). The only substantive addition is an exception in subsection (5) for officers in narcotics units or task forces and in undercover operations.
For officers: Narcotics and undercover assignments are exempt from the body-camera duties.
Annual training restructured: the 16-hour crisis and de-escalation floor replaced by a 3-year topic cycle
The 40 annual hours no longer must include at least 16 hours on mental health and crisis response, arrest control, and de-escalation. Annual training must still “include training focused on arrest control and de-escalation,” with no hour floor. Every 3 years, officers must take training on mental health and crisis intervention, on mental illness, autism, and developmental disorders, and on sexual trauma and assault investigations, counted toward the 40 hours. The hate-crime instruction requirement moves into the basic-training subsection, 53-6-202(3)(c).
For officers: No fixed hour count for crisis and de-escalation training, but three topics are due every 3 years.
U.S. nationals eligible for certification; a criminal conviction is an express discipline ground
“A United States national” joins the citizenship options for peace officer and dispatcher applicants. 53-6-211(1)(c) now covers an officer who “engages in, or is convicted of,” criminal conduct (except class C traffic offenses or infractions).
For officers: A criminal conviction is now itself listed as a ground for discipline.
Chiefs who fail to report misconduct face discipline; mandatory pre-hire checks; early intervention systems
New 53-6-211(1)(i): a chief, sheriff, or administrative officer who fails to investigate and report substantiated misconduct is subject to Council discipline. New 53-14-102: an agency “may not employ” an officer who works or worked for another agency without completing the 53-14-103 background check and, for an officer who worked in another state, confirming certification. The information-sharing list in 53-14-103 was largely moved from former 53-14-101. Agencies “shall” use an early intervention system by January 1, 2025, and its data are part of the internal personnel file. A grant program was funded with $3,000,000 one-time.
For officers: A new agency must check your prior employment and certification before hiring you.
Basic training on hate-motivated offenses; one hour a year on sexual trauma
SB 101: from July 1, 2023, the basic curriculum covers identifying, responding to, and reporting offenses motivated by a personal attribute. HB 297: from July 1, 2023, annual training includes at least one hour on responses to sexual trauma and sexual assault investigations. HB 102 restructured both in 2024.
For officers: Sexual-trauma training is now part of the 3-year cycle that replaced these provisions in 2024.
Not yet in force and pending
No enacted change in this area awaits its effective date. These bills did not pass: HB 455 (2026, POST director discretion to admit applicants with expunged or dismissed disqualifying offenses), HB 605 (2026, officers to disclose potential Brady material to prosecutors before testifying), HB 133 (2026, use-of-force reporting), SB 105 (2026, justification defense for force that injures innocent persons), and HB 561 (2025, use-of-force reporting). No 2025 or 2026 bill on officer face coverings or identification was found.
Utah State Bulletin filing numbers for the 2025 R728 amendments were not found; the dates come from the Office of Administrative Rules version records.
Checked and unchanged
- Utah Code 53-6-210.5 (duty to intervene or report): enacted 2022; no later amendment. R728-507 (use-of-force policy standards): last changed December 27, 2021.
- 2024 ch. 163 (HB 322) added only a model sexual-assault investigation policy duty and reporting. 2024 ch. 191 (HB 370) removed addiction as a discipline ground for dispatchers only, not peace officers. 2024 ch. 194 (SB 163) made expungement reference changes.
- 2026 ch. 291 (SB 323, Criminal and Juvenile Justice Recodification) updated cross-references in ch. 53-6 and, through a coordination clause with HB 72, defines “department” in the chapter as the new Department of Criminal Justice. It does not change certification standards or grounds.
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & InvestigationCite as: United States Council for Law & Investigation, “Utah officer certification: Officer Ledger,” uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/utah (last updated October 19, 2026). Text licensed CC BY 4.0.