Utah Background Check Guide · 2025
Whether you're chasing a tech job in Silicon Slopes near Lehi or Sandy, a healthcare position at Intermountain or the University of Utah, a teaching license through USBE, or a banking role in downtown Salt Lake City, the employer is pulling your record through the Utah Department of Public Safety Bureau of Criminal Identification (BCI). The BCI runs the state's official criminal history repository, and they make personal self-checks both fast and affordable.
This guide explains how Utah's record system works, what shows up, and how the Clean Slate Act, which made Utah the second state in the country to implement automatic expungement when it took effect on February 10, 2022, clears eligible records without requiring a petition.
Utah's Clean Slate rollout has been one of the largest record-clearing programs in U.S. history, millions of eligible records have already been cleared automatically since February 2022. But Clean Slate is rolling out in waves, and plenty of records that should be expunged still appear in the BCI database. A self-check is the only way to verify.
BCI data is pulled from Utah's 29 counties, the Highway Patrol, municipal police departments, and the state court system. Disposition gaps are real, particularly in rural counties. A $20 self-check catches stale "open" cases, identity-match errors, and dispositions that never made it into the state file.
This is the most important reason to run a self-check in Utah right now. The Clean Slate Act made eligibility automatic, but the BCI has been processing eligible records in waves since 2022. Running a personal check verifies which of your eligible records have actually been expunged.
Utah's tech sector (Adobe, Goldman Sachs, Qualtrics, Domo), healthcare networks (Intermountain, U of U Health), and licensed professions (nursing, real estate, security) all run fingerprint-based BCI + FBI checks. Knowing what's on your record beforehand is essential.
Utah's tight rental markets, particularly along the Wasatch Front, depend heavily on commercial screening reports built on BCI and court data. Fixing errors at the source produces cleaner reports going forward.
Felony convictions and most misdemeanor convictions processed in Utah district and justice courts appear on the BCI record unless expunged. The report shows offense, court, conviction date, and sentence.
Arrest records, including arrests not leading to conviction, appear on the BCI record. Non-conviction arrests are eligible for expungement, and many qualify for automatic clearance under Clean Slate.
Utah's plea-in-abeyance procedure (UCA 77-2a) lets a defendant complete probation without a formal conviction being entered. Successfully completed PIA cases are eligible for expungement.
Open and pending charges appear on the BCI record. If a case was dismissed and the disposition wasn't transmitted to the BCI, the record may still show "pending" until corrected.
Federal court records, out-of-state convictions, juvenile records (sealed), most traffic offenses (excluding DUI), and civil cases fall outside the BCI system. A complete personal check usually combines the state report with federal and multi-state sources.
Download the BCI Application for Criminal History Record, complete it, and submit it in person at the BCI office in Taylorsville or by mail with a $20 check or money order. Free fingerprinting is available at many Utah law enforcement agencies. Form available at bci.utah.gov. Turnaround is typically 2–4 weeks for mailed requests, same-day for in-person.
For the most accurate record and what licensed professions require, submit fingerprints with the $20 BCI fee. The Western Identification Network (WIN) fingerprint-based search is also $20. Useful for catching aliases and preventing identity-mismatch errors.
The Utah Courts XCHANGE system provides public access to district and justice court records. Some basic searches are free; more detailed access requires a subscription. Available at utcourts.gov.
For a single report combining Utah BCI data with federal courts, multi-state records, and sex offender registries, a professional service is fastest. Background-Check.com consolidates all of this in one report.
For nationwide coverage based on fingerprints, request an Identity History Summary directly from the FBI.
Utah became the second state in the country to implement automatic record-clearing. Eligible offenses are expunged automatically when:
Excluded offenses: most felonies, violent crimes, sex offenses, DUI, domestic violence offenses, and offenses requiring sex offender registration. The Utah State Courts and BCI process Clean Slate eligibility automatically; no application is required.
For records not covered by Clean Slate, Utah allows petition-based expungement. Waiting periods from completion of sentence:
The Certificate of Eligibility is issued by BCI; expungement is then ordered by the court of conviction.
Utah's HB 156 prohibits state and local government employers from asking about criminal history on initial job applications. The question can be asked later in the hiring process. This applies to public-sector employers only, private employers in Utah can still ask on initial applications.
Third-party background checks in Utah are governed by the FCRA: written consent required, pre-adverse-action notice required, right to dispute errors, and 7-year cap on non-conviction reporting.
The Utah Labor Commission enforces state employment laws and follows EEOC individualized-assessment guidance for employer use of conviction records.
Yes, particularly because of Clean Slate. If you have any misdemeanor conviction more than 5 years old (Class B/C) or 7 years old (Class A possession), it should already be expunged automatically. Verify it actually was. If anything that should be cleared still appears, the BCI has a correction process. The $20 self-check is the simplest way to confirm what employers and licensing boards will actually see.
For a comprehensive personal report combining Utah BCI data with federal records, sex offender registries, and out-of-state convictions, run a multi-source check through Background-Check.com.
The official statewide route is the BCI Application for Criminal History Record: $20 by mail or in-person at the Taylorsville office. For fingerprint-based coverage, $20 through BCI. For broader coverage, search Utah Courts XCHANGE, request an FBI Identity History Summary, or use a professional multi-state service.
Utah has no state cap on conviction reporting. The federal FCRA caps non-conviction records (arrests not leading to conviction) at 7 years on third-party employment reports. Clean Slate auto-expungement removes most eligible misdemeanors after 5–7 years.
Records expunged under the Clean Slate Act or by court order should be removed from the BCI database and should not appear on FCRA-compliant employer background reports. If you see an expunged record on your self-check, contact the BCI to correct it.
BCI name-based check: $20 (effective July 1, 2025). BCI fingerprint-based or WIN check: $20. FBI Identity History Summary: $18. Professional comprehensive multi-state checks: $20 to $80.
Yes, when they use a third-party background check company, the federal FCRA requires written authorization. State and local government employers covered by HB 156 cannot ask about criminal history on initial applications. You always have the right to see any report used in a hiring decision and dispute inaccuracies.