Utah puts two dollar lines in one subsection, and they do different jobs. Below $7,000 in contracted value, labor and materials together, alteration and repair work is exempt from contractor licensing. But above $3,000 in total project value, that same person must file a one-time affirmation with the state that they carry public liability insurance and workers' compensation. Between the two figures you get insurance without a license.
| Service | Typical |
|---|---|
| Auto repair shop labor rateUtah average | $135 per hour |
| Attorney hourly rateUtah average | $250 per hour |
Ranges last checked September 2026. They come down automatically when they are due to be rechecked.
Every figure above comes from a named source we can link to, with the date we last checked it. We publish ranges rather than single prices because a range is what a provider will actually give you: the same job moves with what is being worked on, the materials, how hard it is to get at and how busy the trade is locally. Treat these as the order of magnitude to expect before you call, not as a quote.
Where a source publishes figures state by state, this page shows the figure for this state rather than a national average. Where no state-level source exists, it shows the national range and the local factors that move a job within it. We do not scale a national number by a multiplier of our own invention.
Every range carries a review date. When that date passes the number comes down until it is rechecked, rather than sitting here undated.
Utah Code section 58-55-305(1)(h)(i) exempts from contractor licensure a person doing alteration, repair, remodelling, addition or improvement work on a building where the contracted or agreed value is less than seven thousand dollars, including both labor and materials.
Sitting inside the same exemption, at subsection (1)(h)(ii)(H), is a second and lower figure. Where the total project value exceeds three thousand dollars, that person must file a one-time affirmation with the Division of Professional Licensing that they carry public liability insurance and, where applicable, workers' compensation coverage.
The band between the two is the interesting part. A five thousand dollar bathroom refit can lawfully be done by an unlicensed person in Utah, but that person is supposed to have told the state, once, that they are insured. It is a lighter obligation than a license and a heavier one than nothing, and it is the thing to ask about on a job in that range.
One caution on the citation. Chapter 55 is mid-recodification: several neighboring sections are marked repealed or renumbered with effect from 1 January 2027, and replacement sections carry the same date. The figures above are current. The section number may not survive that date, so anyone reading this later should check the numbering rather than assume it.
The Division of Motor Vehicles states that vehicle emissions inspections are required in Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber counties. Elsewhere in the state there is no emissions requirement.
Each of those counties sets its own vehicle-age and test-frequency rules by ordinance, and this page does not state them, because they were not read at the county source. The county list is the part that is verified.
The table above carries the two Utah figures with a per-state source: shop labor for auto repair, and attorney time. Shop labor runs a little above the national figure. Attorney time sits close to the national median. In the five inspection counties there is a test to budget for that the rest of the state does not have.
Price the job before you ask about the credential, because here the price decides which credential applies. Seven thousand dollars and three thousand dollars are the two numbers, and they are not the same number.
On work between three and seven thousand dollars, ask whether the affirmation of insurance has been filed with the Division. It is a one-time filing, so the answer is either yes with a date, or no.
Above seven thousand dollars, ask for the license and verify it with the Division rather than from a card. The exemption stops applying and the question changes shape.
If your vehicle is registered in Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah or Weber county, ask a shop how the work affects the inspection before it is done rather than after.
Utah Code section 58-55-305(1)(h)(i) exempts alteration, repair, remodelling, addition or improvement work with a contracted or agreed value of less than $7,000, including both labor and materials.
Under section 58-55-305(1)(h)(ii)(H), where the total project value exceeds $3,000 the person must file a one-time affirmation with the Division of Professional Licensing that they carry public liability insurance and, where applicable, workers' compensation.
On the face of the exemption, yes, subject to the other conditions in it. But at that value the affirmation of insurance is required, so ask whether it has been filed.
Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Utah and Weber, according to the Division of Motor Vehicles. Elsewhere in the state there is no emissions requirement.
Each county sets its own vehicle-age and frequency rules by ordinance. This page does not state them, because they were not read at the county source.
Possibly not. Chapter 55 is mid-recodification, with neighboring sections marked repealed or renumbered from 1 January 2027. The figures are current; check the numbering after that date.