Utah Probate Cost: One Flat Fee, and a Ladder That Is Not It
Utah charges $375 to open a decedent estate, informal or formal, in all 29 counties, and takes no probate tax. The estate-value ladder in the same statute is the fee for filing an accounting, which an ordinary Utah estate never files.
Opening a Utah estate costs $375. Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a) prices any civil complaint or petition invoking the jurisdiction of a court of record and not governed by another subsection, a probate petition is exactly that, and Utah Code § 78A-2-301(2) closes the gap in terms: there is no fee for a service or the filing of a document not listed in that section or otherwise provided by law. The figure does not scale with the estate, does not change between an informal application and a formal petition, and is identical in every county, because Utah sets court fees statewide and levies no probate tax.
The number that misleads people sits four subsections away. Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(r) charges $15 for an estate valued at $50,000 or less, $30 above $50,000 to $75,000, $50 above $75,000 to $112,000, $90 above $112,000 to $168,000, and $175 above $168,000, and that is the fee for filing an ACCOUNTING required by law. Publishing it as a probate filing fee would advertise a $15 Utah probate. An ordinary informal Utah estate files no accounting at all, and Utah Code § 75-3-1003(3) lets any accounting required under §§ 75-3-1001, 75-3-1002 or 75-3-1003 be waived where all distributees consent in writing. At the other end, the small estate affidavit under Utah Code § 75-3-1201 costs nothing, because it is not filed with a court.
Quick Summary
- To open an estate
- $375Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a), flat, informal or formal, in all 29 counties
- Small estate affidavit
- $0Utah Code § 75-3-1201, not filed with a court, ceiling of $100,000 net of liens
- Accounting fee, if one is filed
- $15 to $175Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(r), banded by estate value. NOT the fee to open probate
- Executor and attorney fees
- No scheduleReasonable compensation under Utah Code § 75-3-718, with no Utah percentage published
There is no cheaper county in Utah and no different courthouse type either. Utah Code § 78A-2-301 sets one statewide schedule of civil fees and no county may add a probate surcharge to it, and Utah Code § 75-1-302 with Utah Code § 78A-5-102(1) puts probate in the district court in all 29 counties, with a district court in the county seat of each county under Utah Code § 78A-5-101(2)(b). What differs locally is where you stand rather than what you pay: four counties run more than one district courthouse, and Summit County hears its cases in Park City rather than in its county seat at Coalville. Two costs are genuinely local and are in no total on this page. Newspaper publication of the notice to creditors is priced by the newspaper and by no statute. And recording a deed out of the estate goes to the county recorder, a separate office from the court in every county, at $40 per instrument under Utah Code § 17-71-407, plus $5 in a county of the second through sixth class. Confirm the current total with the district court for the county where the decedent lived.
Typical Total Cost Ranges
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| Procedure | Estate Size | Court Fee | Timeline | Attorney? | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Informal Probate and Informal Appointment | Any estate. The fee does not scale with value and takes no account of it | $375 under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a), the same in all 29 counties | About 6 to 12 months | No statutory requirement; counsel is usual once there is real property to sell, a business to wind up or a disputed claim | Any uncontested Utah estate that needs letters, which is most of them |
| Formal Testacy and Formal Appointment | Any estate. Same fee, decided by a district judge rather than by the registrar | $375 under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a), plus $170 where an objector files a claim for relief under § 78A-2-301(1)(d)(iii) and $250 for a demand for a civil jury under § 78A-2-301(1)(s) | About 9 to 18 months | No statutory requirement; a contest is where counsel becomes the real cost rather than the filing fee | A contested will, an unclear heirship, or an estate where an interested person has demanded a hearing |
| Supervised Administration | Any estate. Ordered by the court where continuing supervision is warranted | $375 to open under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a), plus $15, $30, $50, $90 or $175 for each accounting the court requires, banded by estate value under § 78A-2-301(1)(r) | Set by the supervision the court orders rather than by a statutory clock | No statutory requirement; supervision is ordered where somebody already wants the estate watched | An estate the court wants to see before distribution, or a fiduciary the beneficiaries do not trust |
| Small Estate Affidavit | A net whole-estate value of $100,000 or less, measured on the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances (Utah Code § 75-3-1201(1)(a)), with 30 days elapsed since the death | $0. It is not filed with the court, so no fee is charged. A notary signature is required | About 1 to 2 months, floored by the 30-day wait | No | A modest estate held in accounts, wages, vehicles and belongings, where no land has to change hands |
| Summary Administrative Procedure | No dollar figure. The estate, less liens and encumbrances, must not exceed the sum of the homestead allowance, exempt property, the family allowance, costs and expenses of administration, reasonable funeral expenses and reasonable and necessary medical and hospital expenses of the last illness (Utah Code § 75-3-1203) | $375 to open the estate under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a). The verified closing statement under Utah Code § 75-3-1204 adds nothing | About 4 to 8 months, because the appointment and the inventory come first | No statutory requirement; worth counsel because distributing without notifying creditors is a judgment call | An estate genuinely exhausted by the family allowances, the funeral bill and the last illness |
| Ancillary Filing for an Out-of-State Estate | Any estate already being administered elsewhere that owns Utah property | $35 to file probate documents from another state, under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(m) | Runs alongside the administration in the home state | No statutory requirement; commonly handled by the attorney running the primary estate | A decedent domiciled outside Utah who owned a cabin, land or an account here |
Additional Costs to Expect
Opening a Utah Estate
Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(a) sets the fee for filing any civil complaint or petition invoking the jurisdiction of a court of record and not governed by another subsection, and a petition or application to open a decedent estate is one. It does not scale with the estate, and it is the same whether the estate goes informally to the registrar or formally to a judge. Utah Code § 78A-2-301(2) says there is no fee for a service or the filing of a document that the section does not list or that is not otherwise provided by law, which is why nothing further is charged for the ordinary steps of a Utah administration. Utah levies no probate tax and no value-based probate filing fee, and Utah Code § 78A-2-301(4) bars the fees from being varied.
The Accounting Ladder, Which Is Not the Probate Fee
This is the Utah number most cost pages get wrong. Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(r) sets the fee for filing any ACCOUNTING required by law at $15 for an estate valued at $50,000 or less, $30 for an estate valued at $75,000 or less but more than $50,000, $50 at $112,000 or less but more than $75,000, $90 at $168,000 or less but more than $112,000, and $175 above $168,000. Read the bands as the statute writes them, upper-inclusive and lower-exclusive, so an estate at exactly $50,000 pays $15. An accounting arises in supervised administration and in conservatorships. An ordinary informal Utah estate files none, and Utah Code § 75-3-1003(3) allows any accounting required under Utah Code §§ 75-3-1001, 75-3-1002 or 75-3-1003 to be waived where all distributees consent in writing.
The Small Estate Affidavit Costs Nothing
Utah Code § 75-3-1201 works without a court, which is why it carries no fee. The Utah State Courts small-estates page states that the affidavit is not filed with the court: the successor completes it, signs before a notary and gives it to the third party holding the property, which must then pay or deliver. The ceiling is a net whole-estate figure of $100,000, measured on the entire estate subject to administration, wherever located, less liens and encumbrances, and 30 days must have elapsed since the death. Utah publishes no court form for it, so any Utah small estate affidavit form number you are offered came from somewhere other than the state.
Certified Copies of Court Documents
Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(z) sets certification at $4.00 per document plus 50 cents per page, and § 78A-2-301(1)(aa) sets an exemplified copy at $6.00 per document plus 50 cents per page. Letters are the document everyone needs several of, because a bank, a title company and a transfer agent will each want their own, so order more than one at the outset rather than making a second trip. These are statewide figures like every other Utah court charge, and the Utah State Courts fee table prints them against the same subsections.
Certified Death Certificates
The Utah Office of Vital Records and Statistics fee schedule effective July 1, 2026 prices the initial certified copy at $35.00, each additional copy of the same record ordered the same day at $10.00, and a reissue within 90 days at $3.00. Ordering online adds a $4.00 convenience fee, $2.00 for identity verification and a $0.75 card fee. This is not a court charge and belongs in no filing-fee total, but it is an early and unavoidable cost, and a local health department can often issue same-day. Re-read the Vital Records fee schedule each July, because it is dated.
Publishing the Notice to Creditors, Which Utah Does Not Require
Left unpriced rather than estimated, because no statute and no court schedule carries a line for it. Utah Code § 75-3-801(1)(a) says the personal representative MAY publish a notice to creditors, and § 75-3-801(3) says the personal representative is not liable to any creditor or successor for giving or failing to give it. Publishing is what buys the short bar: creditors then have three months from the first publication, with the notice running once a week for three successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county and for three weeks on the Utah Public Notice Website under Utah Code § 45-1-101. Skipping it does not erase the debts, it changes which clock runs, because Utah Code § 75-3-803(1) bars a claim arising before the death unless presented within the EARLIER of one year after the death and the § 75-3-801 periods.
Recording a Deed Out of the Estate
A land records charge rather than a court charge, paid to the county recorder, which is a different office from the district court in all 29 counties. Utah Code § 17-71-407 charges $40 for recording any instrument not otherwise provided for and bars the recorder from charging more than one recording fee per instrument regardless of multiple titles or attachments. A county of the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth class adds $5 unless it holds a balance in the restricted recording-fee account. An instrument carrying more than 10 descriptions costs $2 for each additional description, and recording a plat is $50 per sheet plus $2 per lot or unit.
Personal Representative and Attorney Compensation
Utah publishes no percentage for either role. Utah Code § 75-3-718(1) entitles a personal representative and an attorney to reasonable compensation for their services, and Utah adds a rule most states do not: where a petition directly or indirectly seeks approval of that compensation and no interested person objects, the reasonable compensation IS the compensation sought in the petition. Utah Code § 75-3-718(2) requires the petitioner or the attorney to send a copy of the petition to all interested persons at least 10 days before the hearing, by certified, registered or first class mail or by hand delivery. Where somebody objects to the representative compensation, the court fixes it on the quality, quantity and value of the services rendered to the estate and the circumstances in which they were rendered, including the practice for other fiduciaries in similar circumstances. Utah Code § 75-3-720 lets an interested person ask the court to review the reasonableness afterwards and order a refund of anything excessive. Because Utah sets no schedule, no dollar amount for either role is estimated on this page.
Surety Bond Premium and Appraisals
A personal representative may be required to post bond where the will requires it, where an interested person demands it under Utah Code § 75-3-605, or where the court orders it. The premium is a surety-market price and no official Utah source publishes a rate, so none is estimated here. Appraisal is a separate cost and often unnecessary: Utah Code § 75-3-705 requires an inventory within three months after appointment showing the fair market value of each item at the date of death and the type and amount of any encumbrance, and the personal representative sends a copy to interested persons who request it and MAY file the original with the court, which is optional.
Guardianship and Conservatorship, Which Are Separate Cases
Do not assume the estate filing covers a guardianship. A guardianship or conservatorship petition under Utah Code Title 75, Chapter 5 is its own case and takes the § 78A-2-301(1)(a) fee of $375, except that a petition for guardianship where the prospective ward is the biological or adoptive child of the petitioner takes $35 under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(b)(vii). A document that requires judicial approval but is not part of an action before the court is a further $35 under Utah Code § 78A-2-301(1)(u).
Estate and Inheritance Tax, Which Utah Does Not Charge
The old Utah death tax was a pick-up tax taking part of the federal credit for state death taxes. The federal credit was phased out, so the Utah tax had no base after December 31, 2004, and the statute that carried it, Utah Code Title 59, Chapter 11, was repealed effective May 6, 2026. The Utah State Tax Commission states that Utah inheritance tax returns do not need to be filed and that Utah does not require an inheritance tax waiver. A Utah estate can still owe a final individual income tax return for the year of death, a fiduciary income tax return on Utah form TC-41 where the estate must file a federal Form 1041, and a federal estate tax return where the estate is large enough. None of that is a court fee and none of it belongs in a filing-fee total.
One more cost source to check: if the person who died received Medicaid long-term care benefits, the state may file a recovery claim against the estate. The Utah Medicaid estate recovery guide explains when that applies.