Idaho to Utah: residential contractor license reciprocity

1. 1Other. Approved pre-licensure education completed by the qualifier before applying: a 25-hour pre-licensure course plus the five-hour Business and Law course, 30 hours in total for a general classification. DOPL accepts the course only from Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC), the Utah Home Builders Association (UHBA) or the Associated General Contractors of Utah (AGC); a qualifier who completed the 25-hour course before 1 October 2019 does not need the extra five hours. The Division does not publish the providers’ course prices, so ask the provider..
2. 2Law / code exam. Pass a law, rules, or code exam. Utah Contractor Business and Law examination, taken by the qualifier through Prov either at one of 21 Utah test centers or remotely through Prov’s Examroom service. It is 60 questions in two hours, open reference, and the cut score is 70 per cent; the subject areas are business organization, licensing, estimating and bidding, contract management, project management, labor laws, lien laws, financial management, risk management, tax laws and safety. No DOPL pre-approval is needed to sit it, and a failed attempt may be retaken after 30 days for each of the first three failures and after six months for any failure after that. Pass before submitting the application..
3. 3Exam fee. Pay the exam fee ($85). Prov examination fee for the Utah Contractor Business and Law exam, paid to Prov and charged again for each retake..
4. 4Application fee. Pay the application fee ($175). Non-refundable DOPL application processing fee of $175 for each classification requested (application version v20260327). A contractor asking for more than one classification pays it more than once..
5. 5Application fee. Pay the application fee ($50). Non-refundable DOPL application processing fee of $50 for each qualifier named on the application..
6. 6Application fee. Pay the application fee ($1). Electronic Reference Library surcharge of $1, collected on every application to fund licensee access to national, state and local building codes and standards. An unincorporated applicant also pays $20 for each owner holding less than 8 per cent, filed with the Appendix F Owner-Worker Status Report..
7. 7Insurance. Carry the required insurance ($1,000,000). General liability insurance certificate naming DOPL as certificate holder, covering the whole scope of work on the license and in force for the entire duration of active licensure. Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-302d and both DOPL apply pages set the minimum at $1,000,000 for each incident and $2,000,000 in total; the March 2026 application form prints $3,000,000 as the aggregate, so confirm the figure with the Division on (801) 530-6628 before binding cover. The cover must be kept up even while the contractor is not working, unless the license is placed on inactive status..
8. 8Insurance. Carry the required insurance. Workers’ compensation insurance naming DOPL as certificate holder if the applicant has employees or owner-workers holding less than 8 per cent, together with a Utah State Tax Commission withholding account number and a Department of Workforce Services unemployment registration number, or a signed contract with an approved Professional Employer Organization. An applicant with no employees files a Workers’ Compensation Coverage Waiver from the Utah Labor Commission instead and must tell DOPL in writing before any employee starts work..
9. 9Financial responsibility. Show financial responsibility. Satisfactory evidence of financial responsibility. Utah Code 58-55-306 lets this be shown by completing and signing the Division’s financial responsibility questionnaire, which asks about judgments, liens, tax liens and child support delinquencies in the past eight years and bankruptcy in the past seven, or by posting a bond. DOPL publishes no minimum net worth, working capital or credit score, and it may audit at random or on reasonable need, weighing judgments, restitution orders, collection actions, bankruptcy schedules, late payment history, financial statements, tax returns and a current credit report. For an unincorporated applicant the Division considers each owner’s personal finances..
10. 10Surety bond. Post a surety bond ($25,000) (if applicable). License bond, required only where the Division is not satisfied that financial responsibility has been demonstrated. Under Utah Admin. Code R156-55a-602 the minimum is then the greater of 30 per cent of the cumulative outstanding debts, judgments, liens and obligations of the entity, its owners and qualifiers, or $25,000 for the R100 classification. A bankruptcy filed, pending or discharged within three years instead sets it at 30 per cent of the total liabilities scheduled with the bankruptcy court. The surety must appear in Treasury Circular 570, the bond runs until DOPL gives written permission to drop it, and the Commission may set a higher or, on clear and convincing evidence, a lower amount..
11. 11Business license. Obtain a business license. Registration with the Utah Division of Corporations and Commercial Code for any corporation, LLC, LLP or partnership, including an out-of-state entity, plus a federal Employer Identification Number; a sole proprietor may use a Social Security number and is licensed in their own given name. The license is issued in the registered legal name, business must be done in that name unless a DBA owned by the licensee is separately filed with DOPL, and if the corporate registration lapses the contractor license expires with it by statute..
12. 12Background check. Complete a background check. Criminal background check under Utah Code 58-1-301.5 consented to and completed by the qualifier and by every individual holding at least a 10 per cent voting interest in the applicant, with disclosure of any criminal history the Division asks for. A yes answer on the qualifying questionnaire about discipline, pending criminal action, a misdemeanour in the past ten years or a felony at any time brings a requirement to file a personal account, police reports, court records and probation or parole reports for each incident..
13. 13Continuing education. Complete continuing education. Six hours of approved continuing education in each two-year license term, of which at least three must be core education and at least three must be live in-class attendance, with no more than three hours online, and at least one hour in energy conservation. It is a condition of renewal rather than of getting the license. Licenses expire on 30 November of each odd-numbered year..

Published fees on this path total $311, excluding exam-vendor fees, bonds, and insurance.