Utah · Remodeling licensing · official-source guide
Utah licenses remodeling at the state level through the Division of Professional Licensing, part of the Department of Commerce. Residential remodelers work under a contractor license, most often the R100 Residential and Small Commercial classification or the R101 non-structural remodel and repair classification. Applicants complete a pre-licensure course, carry general liability insurance, register the business entity, and pay the application fee.
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Verify a licenseVerified against agency sources on 2026-10-05. Rules and fees change; confirm with the named authority before relying on this guide.
Utah regulates residential remodeling at the state level. The licensing agency is the Utah Division of Professional Licensing, known as DOPL, one of the agencies inside the Utah Department of Commerce. DOPL runs the Contracting program, backed by the Utah Construction Services Commission, and it issues every contractor license a remodeler can hold. There is no separate home improvement contractor registration in Utah and no county board that issues the license instead. A remodeler who wants to pull permits and sign residential contracts holds a DOPL contractor license, and cities layer their own business license and permit rules on top of it rather than replacing it. DOPL lists its physical office at the Heber M. Wells Building, 160 East 300 South, Salt Lake City, and the Contracting program phone as 801-530-6628. The same division handles license verification, disciplinary actions and the Residence Lien Recovery Fund, so a remodeler deals with one agency for licensure, for complaints and for the lien program. DOPL also publishes an optional Residential Construction Agreement for homeowners and contractors, which shows how closely the division ties licensure to the paperwork on residential jobs. Two dates matter to anyone applying now. DOPL has posted new contractor licensing requirements that take effect April 20, 2026 and apply to all contractors, and a fingerprint-based background check requirement that takes effect January 1, 2027. Read the Contracting page before you start an application, because DOPL states plainly that application forms and fees change and that you must use the current version from its site.
Utah does not have a license called remodeling. It has classifications, and a remodeler picks the one that matches the work. DOPL's published classification list puts two directly in scope. R100 is the Residential and Small Commercial Contractor classification. R101 is the Residential and Small Commercial Non-Structural Remodel and Repair classification, written for work that does not touch structure. B100 is the General Building Contractor classification, and B200 covers Modular Unit Installation. R200 covers Factory Built Housing. Below the general classifications sit the specialty codes a remodeler either holds or subcontracts. The list includes S220 for Carpentry and Flooring, S230 for Masonry, Siding, Stucco, Glass and Rain Gutter, S260 for Asphalt and Concrete, S270 for Drywall, Paint and Plastering, S280 for Roofing, S310 for Foundation, Excavation and Demolition, S350 for HVAC, S354 for Radon Mitigation, S370 for Fire Suppression Systems, S440 for Sign Installation, S510 for Elevator work and S700 for Limited Scope Contractor. Plumbing and electrical sit outside all of that in P200, P201, E200 and E201, and DOPL requires a Master Plumber qualifier for plumbing classifications and a Master Electrical qualifier for electrical classifications. The practical reading for a remodeling company is that a kitchen or bath gut job usually needs a general residential classification, while a painting or flooring business can operate on a single specialty code. One license can carry more than one classification, and DOPL has a separate form and fee for adding a classification to a license you already hold.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
DOPL groups applicants into general contractor and specialty contractor paths, and the difference decides how much you have to prove. The general contractor path covers B100, R100 and E100 along with the plumbing and electrical general classifications, and DOPL states that it requires everything the specialty path requires plus two years of construction experience and an exam. The specialty contractor path covers the S codes, and DOPL's own frequently asked questions say no experience is required for a specialty contractor license. That gap matters when you are deciding whether to license the company as a residential remodeler or as a narrower trade and subcontract the rest. Utah also runs a handyman exemption registration through DOPL, with its own program page, its own application and its own renewal. DOPL states that continuing education is not required for handyman exemption renewal, and the division's fee schedule lists the handyman exemption registration at $45.00 to apply and $45.00 to renew. The registration is an exemption from full contractor licensure rather than a license to do everything a contractor does, so a remodeler who intends to pull permits and run crews is applying for a contractor license, not this. Licenses in Utah are issued to the entity, not to a person. DOPL states that licenses go to corporations, partnerships, joint ventures and limited liability companies, and that a sole proprietor is licensed in his or her own given name. The license stays with the company when a qualifier leaves.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4commerce.utah.gov 5commerce.utah.gov 6
For the general contractor classifications a remodeler is most likely to want, DOPL sets the experience bar at two years of experience in the construction industry, which it defines as at least 4,000 hours of paid work experience at any time in your life. You self-certify that you have it. DOPL's frequently asked questions widen what counts: experience in the construction industry whether you were paid on a W-2 or as an owner, and whether you were licensed or exempt; construction work performed in the military; and work done under the supervision of a construction trades instructor as part of an educational program. There are four documented ways to satisfy the requirement without counting hours. You can have served as the qualifier on a current or previous Utah contractor license for at least two years. You can hold a construction management degree, either a two-year associate degree or a four-year bachelor degree. You can hold a Utah professional engineer license. Or you can pass the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors, which DOPL states satisfies the experience requirement on its own. Specialty contractor applicants face no experience requirement at all under DOPL's published answer, which is why a remodeling business that starts narrow can get licensed faster than one that starts as a general residential contractor. Plumbing and electrical classifications have their own gate: DOPL requires a Master Plumber qualifier for plumbing contractors and a Master Electrical qualifier for electrical contractors, so those scopes are not an add-on you self-certify into.
Utah puts a classroom requirement in front of every contractor applicant, specialty included, and it has to be finished before you apply. DOPL states that you must already have completed a pre-license course from one of three named providers: Associated Builders and Contractors Inc, the Utah Home Builders Association, or Associated General Contractors of Utah. The length depends on the classification you are seeking. Specialty contractors take a 25-hour pre-licensure course. The general classifications, which DOPL lists as E100, R100 and B100, along with plumbing and electrical contractors, take a 30-hour course. DOPL carries one piece of grandfathering: if you took the pre-licensure course before October 1, 2019, you do not need the extra five hours. That detail is worth checking before anyone pays for a course twice, because a qualifier who sat the old course years ago may already be covered for a general classification. DOPL links an approved provider list from the same application page, and it is the division's list that controls, not a provider's marketing. For a remodeling company the sequencing is the part people get wrong. The course comes first, then the Business and Law exam for the general classifications, then the application with proof of both attached. DOPL says plainly not to submit the application until you have passed the exam. Build the calendar backwards from the date you want to be bidding permitted work, because course availability and exam retake windows are the two steps you cannot compress.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
Utah's contractor exam is a business and law test, not a trade test, for most of the classifications a remodeler holds. DOPL lists the classifications that require the Utah Contractor Business and Law Exam as B100 General Building Contractor, E100 General Engineering Contractor, H100 HVAC Contractor, R100 Residential and Small Commercial Contractor, E200 General Electrical Contractor, E201 Residential Electrical Contractor, P200 General Plumbing Contractor and P201 Residential Plumbing Contractor. DOPL names Prov as the division's contractor exam administrator and states that no pre-approval is required to sit for the examination, so you register with the exam provider directly and pay the exam fee to the provider rather than to DOPL. You then attach a copy of your results to the application. Delivery is flexible. DOPL states the exam is administered in person at one of 21 Prov testing centers or online through Examroom AI. The retake schedule is the constraint to plan around: DOPL states you are allowed three attempts, 30 days apart, with each subsequent retake 180 days apart. A failed third attempt therefore pushes a remodeling company's licensure date out by months, which is a reason to use the examination handbook and the approved reference list DOPL publishes rather than guessing. There are documented alternatives to the exam for the general classifications. DOPL accepts one year of licensed experience in another state, district or territory of the United States in a similar scope of practice if that license is currently active and in good standing, or service as a qualifier on a Utah contractor license prior to May 9, 2017.
DOPL publishes a searchable fee schedule for the current fiscal year, and the contractor rows are specific. A contractor primary classification costs $175.00 to apply and $128.00 to renew. The same figures apply to the general and residential electrical and plumbing classifications and to the HVAC contractor classification. Handyman exemption registration is $45.00 to apply and $45.00 to renew. Changing or replacing the qualifier on a license is $50.00. An ownership list or change is $20.00, and an ownership status report is $20.00. A contractor continuing education course approval, which matters to providers rather than to remodelers, is $40.00, and a corporation conversion fee is $35.00. Division-wide fees catch late filers. DOPL lists a late renewal fee of $20.00, a reinstatement fee of $50.00, and an inactive, emeritus or reactivation fee of $50.00. Two small surcharges ride along with the contractor license: the e-library surcharge coded EL-01 is $1.00 and the education and enforcement fund fee coded EE-01 is $10.00. Registering with the Residence Lien Recovery Fund is listed at $330.00, with a voluntary registration processing fee of $25.00 and a reinstatement of lapsed registration at $50.00. DOPL states that all fees are non-refundable and that withdrawing an application does not get the money back, because the fee is a processing fee. Online payments carry a transaction cost: a small flat processing fee applies under $100, and transactions of $100 or more are subject to a processing fee of up to three percent. Verify the current figures on the schedule before you budget, because DOPL warns that fees change.
Insurance is the requirement most likely to stop a remodeling application, and Utah raised it. DOPL's specialty contractor requirements state that you must hold a general liability insurance certificate with minimum coverage of $1,000,000 for each incident and $2,000,000 in total, with DOPL listed as the certificate holder. DOPL's Contracting page carries the same figures as updated insurance minimums under new contractor licensing requirements effective April 20, 2026 that apply to all contractors. The certificate holder has to read DOPL at 160 E 300 S, Salt Lake City, Utah 84111, and DOPL asks for a PDF from your carrier. Workers compensation splits two ways. If you have employees, DOPL requires a certificate of workers compensation insurance naming DOPL as certificate holder, plus an unemployment registration with the Utah Department of Workforce Services and a withholding tax registration with the Utah State Tax Commission. DOPL's renewal page extends the employee test to owner-workers owning less than eight percent, and accepts a signed contract with an approved professional employer organization in place of the registrations. If you have no employees and do not want coverage on yourself, DOPL requires a Workers Compensation Coverage Waiver certificate from the Utah Labor Commission. DOPL also states that every active contractor license must maintain general liability insurance and financial responsibility, and that only inactive licenses are exempt. A remodeler who stops working for a season either keeps paying for coverage or files for inactive status. Letting coverage lapse while the license is active is a problem with the division, not just with the carrier.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
DOPL's published application checklists for general and specialty contractor licenses do not list a surety bond. They list the pre-licensure course, general liability insurance, entity registration, a federal employer identification number, and the workers compensation path that fits your payroll. Remodelers coming from states that bond every home improvement contractor should read that carefully rather than buying a bond they were never asked for. What Utah does have is the Residence Lien Recovery Fund, administered by DOPL under the Residence Lien Restriction and Lien Recovery Fund Act. DOPL describes the fund as an alternate payment source for contractors, laborers or suppliers whose liens are voided because a homeowner qualifies for protection under the act. The legislature created it in 1994 after homeowners who had paid a contractor in full were forced to pay subcontractors and suppliers again to avoid lien foreclosure. Two current facts change how a remodeler should treat the fund. DOPL states that effective May 8, 2018 the lien recovery fund initial assessment fee is no longer required on new contractor applications and no special assessments will be issued. DOPL also posts that available funds are extremely limited and that it is highly unlikely resources will be available to satisfy new claims, and asks claimants to contact the division before submitting claim applications. DOPL adds that condominium units are typically not eligible when the structure contains more than a two-unit multifamily dwelling, citing Utah Code section 38-11-102 and LKL Associates, Inc. v. Farley. Treat the fund as a shrinking backstop, not as collection strategy.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3commerce.utah.gov 4
Utah renews contractor licenses on a fixed statewide cycle rather than on your anniversary. DOPL states that contracting licenses expire on November 30 of odd years and that active and inactive licenses must be renewed every two years. DOPL emails renewal notices to the address on file at least 60 days before expiration, and describes sending the registration code needed to link a license in the online system around September 1. Keeping your email current with the division is therefore part of keeping the license. Continuing education is light but specific. DOPL states Utah contractors need six continuing education hours, three of which must be taught live, and counts a live webinar as live. The continuing education page adds that a maximum of three hours may be completed online. Each approved course applies to all of your contracting licenses, so a company holding several classifications does not multiply the hours. DOPL does not add hours manually; providers report them, and you check your own record by entering your full license number including the suffix. Renewal also requires an active liability insurance certificate naming DOPL as certificate holder, a current business entity registration with the Division of Corporations and Commercial Code, and answers about criminal history and financial standing over the last two years. Two traps are worth naming. DOPL states that if a business entity registration expires, the statute automatically expires the contractor license regardless of the date printed on it. And a license expired more than two years has to be reinstated rather than renewed, on a different application.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
Utah does not have reciprocity. DOPL answers that question directly and says so, then points applicants to licensure by endorsement instead, with a contractor endorsement map showing whether the state you hold a license in has an equivalent to the Utah contracting license. The distinction matters for a remodeling company expanding across a state line, because endorsement is an application DOPL evaluates, not an automatic transfer of your existing license. Two documented credits can shorten the path. DOPL accepts one year of licensed experience working in another state, district or territory of the United States in a similar scope of practice as a substitute for the Utah Business and Law Exam, provided that license is currently active and in good standing. And DOPL accepts a passing score on the NASCLA Accredited Examination for Commercial General Building Contractors as satisfying the two-year experience requirement. Between those two, a remodeler with an active out-of-state license and a NASCLA pass has already cleared the two hardest gates. What does not travel is the company structure. DOPL issues licenses to entities, so an out-of-state corporation or limited liability company has to be registered with the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code before DOPL will issue. DOPL also flags a tax wrinkle for contracting companies owned outside Utah: applicants are required to have Utah state tax withholding unless they do business in Utah for 60 days or less in a calendar year and have Tax Commission approval. DOPL publishes military and military spouse resources on the same application pages.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
DOPL is blunt about the three ways remodeling companies get themselves in trouble, and all three are about who holds the license. On lending a license, DOPL states that the person who loans their license and the person who borrows it are both guilty of class A misdemeanors, the loaner for aiding and abetting and the borrower for contracting without a license. There is no arrangement where a licensed friend covers your jobs for a fee. On payroll, DOPL states it is illegal to pay an employee who is an unlicensed contractor on a 1099, that a 1099 is appropriate only for an independently licensed contractor or licensed subcontractor, and that individuals paid that way could face action for contracting without a license while the party who hired them could face action for hiring an unlicensed contractor. On crews, DOPL states the only legal way to work under any license is as an officer or W-2 employee of the licensed contractor. DOPL also sets a clock on qualifiers. When a qualifier leaves, both the qualifier and the licensee must notify DOPL in writing within 10 days of the last day of employment, and the licensee then has 60 days to replace the qualifier. Miss the notice or the replacement window and DOPL states the license can be revoked. DOPL's consumer guide gives homeowners the other side of the argument: an unlicensed contractor cannot acquire the permits a job needs, and an unlicensed contractor working on a property could leave the homeowner liable if employees or subcontractors are injured. That is a selling point, and it is the state's own language.
Utah does not make DOPL approve your contract, but the division has published a form and a reason for it. DOPL states that it and the Division of Consumer Protection often receive complaints about construction work and then learn either that no agreement exists or that the agreement lacks the specificity to make the expectations clear. In response DOPL created an optional Residential Construction Agreement for residential projects, dated May 29, 2025, with Exhibit A for project plans, Exhibit B for change orders and Exhibit C for proof of licensure and insurance. It is customizable and either party can modify provisions in writing. DOPL says it has no authority to enforce the contract itself, but that it will still open an investigation on a complaint about unprofessional or unlawful conduct. Several provisions in the DOPL form are worth copying into whatever contract a remodeler already uses. Time is treated as essential, so any extension has to be agreed in a change order. Days are counted as calendar days, excluding the triggering event day and including intervening weekends and holidays. Notices must be in writing and delivered in person, by email to the address in the agreement, or by certified mail. Venue is the county where the property sits, under Utah law. Separately, DOPL's consumer guide tells homeowners what a contract should contain: the exact work to be done, the contract price, the project beginning and ending dates, permit procurement and a guarantee of liability coverage. It also tells them to be cautious of large down payments, to pay as work is completed, and never to pay in cash.
Sourcescommerce.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
Utah gives homeowners a free, public way to check you, and DOPL tells them to use it. The Licensee Lookup and Verification System runs at secure.utah.gov and identifies itself as the Utah Division of Professional Licensing system. It searches by name and profession or by license number, with options for a name beginning with your search or a wildcard search containing it, and it states the date the data was current. DOPL's consumer guide instructs homeowners to verify the contractor's license for free while they are collecting bids, and to check at least three references for each contractor before choosing. Expect prospects to look you up, and expect the record to be read literally. That makes the name on the license a marketing constraint, not a formality. DOPL states that business must be conducted in the name on the license, and that a company can trade under another name only by means of a DBA. A DBA is not attached to your license just because it is registered with the Division of Corporations: DOPL requires the DBA to be submitted to the division on its name change or add a DBA form, to be owned by the licensee named on the license, and to be registered and active with the Utah Division of Corporations. DOPL adds that once a DBA expires it cannot be used to conduct business. So the brand on your truck, your estimates and your website should match either the licensed entity name or a DBA DOPL has on file.
Sourcessecure.utah.gov 1commerce.utah.gov 2commerce.utah.gov 3
A DOPL license does not replace a city business license, and Utah's two largest cities both say so in their own code. Salt Lake City states that a business license is how the city grants permission to engage in business, defines business to include all activities, trades, professions or callings carried on within city limits for gain or economic benefit, and states that if you engage in any business either permanently or temporarily within the corporate limits you are required to maintain a valid, unexpired license. The city cites Section 5.02.005, which reaches the rendering of personal services for others for consideration by persons engaged in any profession, trade, craft, business or occupation. Salt Lake City also notes that commercial business licenses are reviewed for zoning and building compliance and fire safety code, and that a business regulated by the state must also comply with the appropriate state agency. West Valley City is stricter in wording. The city states that if you have a place of business located within city limits you must obtain a city business license, defines place of business as each separate location you operate from, and cites Section 17-1-102 making it unlawful to engage in any business in the city without first obtaining a license. It then requires a separate license for each type of business and for each place of business. Permits are a separate track again. Salt Lake City Building Services runs permits in four steps: apply, prescreening and paying fee balances, plan review, then permit issuance. Check each municipality you work in, because the thresholds and fees differ.
These are common details other guides publish about Utah, but we could not verify them from the agency source. Confirm them directly before relying on them.
It depends on structure. DOPL's classification list includes R100 Residential and Small Commercial Contractor and R101 Residential and Small Commercial Non-Structural Remodel and Repair. Work that does not touch structure can sit under R101, while a remodel that alters structure generally needs a general residential classification. Confirm scope with DOPL before you apply.
No. The Utah Division of Professional Licensing issues the contractor license statewide. Cities add their own requirements on top. Salt Lake City requires a business license for any business engaged in business within city limits, and West Valley City requires one for each type of business and each place of business inside its limits.
DOPL requires a general liability insurance certificate with minimum coverage of $1,000,000 for each incident and $2,000,000 in total, with DOPL named as the certificate holder. The division's Contracting page lists those same minimums as effective April 20, 2026 for all contractors. Active licenses must keep that coverage in force.
DOPL requires two years of construction industry experience, defined as at least 4,000 hours of paid work experience, self-certified. You can substitute two years as a qualifier on a Utah license, a two-year or four-year construction management degree, a Utah professional engineer license, or a passing NASCLA commercial general building contractor exam score.
Yes for general classifications including R100 and B100. DOPL requires the Utah Contractor Business and Law Exam and names Prov as its exam administrator, with no pre-approval needed to sit. It is offered in person at 21 Prov testing centers or online through Examroom AI. Attach your passing result to the application.
DOPL states you get three attempts spaced 30 days apart, and each subsequent retake is 180 days apart. That retake schedule can delay licensure by months, so use the examination handbook and the approved reference list DOPL publishes before your first sitting rather than treating the first attempt as practice.
DOPL's fee schedule lists a contractor primary classification at $175.00 to apply and $128.00 to renew. Handyman exemption registration is $45.00 either way. Changing a qualifier is $50.00. Late renewal is $20.00 and reinstatement is $50.00. All fees are non-refundable, and online payments add a processing charge.
Contracting licenses expire on November 30 of odd years, and both active and inactive licenses renew every two years. DOPL emails renewal notices to the address on file at least 60 days before expiration. A license expired more than two years must be reinstated on a separate application rather than renewed.
Six hours per cycle, three of which must be taught live, and DOPL counts a live webinar as live. The continuing education page caps online hours at three. Each approved course applies to all of your contracting licenses. Providers report hours to DOPL, which will not add them manually for you.
DOPL states it is illegal to pay an employee who is an unlicensed contractor on a 1099. A 1099 is appropriate only for an independently licensed contractor or subcontractor. Both the person paid and the company that hired them can face action. The only legal way to work under a license is as an officer or W-2 employee.
Only through a DBA DOPL has on file. DOPL states business must be conducted in the name on the license, that a DBA is not attached automatically just because it is registered with the Division of Corporations, and that it must be submitted to DOPL, owned by the licensee, and kept active. An expired DBA cannot be used.
Treat it as doubtful. DOPL posts that available funds are extremely limited and that it is highly unlikely resources will be available to satisfy new claims, and asks claimants to contact the division before filing. DOPL also states that since May 8, 2018 the initial assessment fee is no longer charged on new contractor applications.
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