Free legal help in Utah for evictions, benefits, family law, and consumer cases
Utah's free civil legal aid runs through one statewide nonprofit law firm, Utah Legal Services, plus a set of specialized programs that each cover a piece of the work: a family law office for Salt Lake County, a statewide attorney hotline based in Utah County, a disability rights center, a clinic for crime victims, and free help from the courts themselves. Together they take on the non-criminal problems that do the most damage to a low-income household: eviction and unsafe housing, family cases from custody to unpaid child support, protection from abuse, benefit denials, debt collection, and utility shutoffs.
Most of these programs use income limits tied to the federal poverty guidelines, and Utahns age 60 and older can get help through Utah Legal Services' senior program on almost any civil matter — a scam, a guardianship, a benefits problem — without an income test. And Utah's legal deadlines are short, often measured in days, so whichever problem brought you here, the time to call is when the notice arrives, not after the court date is set.
Housing: eviction, unsafe conditions, and subsidized housing
Housing is the most common reason people call legal aid, and Utah's eviction timeline is among the shortest in the country: a three-business-day notice to pay or vacate, three business days to file a written answer once the lawsuit (called an unlawful detainer case) is served, and a hearing roughly ten days later. Losing can also mean triple damages — three times the daily rent for each day the renter stayed after the notice expired — one more reason to get advice before deciding whether to fight. For people seeking options beyond legal aid, see the Utah rent payment assistance page.
Not every notice is solid. A three-day comply-or-vacate notice built on something vague or disputed — a noise complaint, an unauthorized guest, damage the renter did not cause — can be challenged, and so can an eviction filed as payback for reporting bad conditions. Utah Legal Services generally does not take simple nonpayment cases, but it does represent renters in subsidized housing (Section 8 and public housing), renters facing lockouts or landlord utility shutoffs (both illegal), and renters with a real defense.
For a straightforward nonpayment case, the courts' free MyPaperwork tool at https://www.utcourts.gov/en/self-help/services/mycase/mypaperwork.html builds the written answer, the courts' Self-Help Center attorney answers questions at no cost, and the Timpanogos Legal Center hotline gives free attorney advice on housing anywhere in the state. After an eviction is carried out, a renter has the right to go back for essential items — identification, medicine, important documents — within five business days.
Legal aid also handles the housing problems short of eviction. Utah law requires landlords to keep rentals safe and livable — working heat, plumbing, and locks — and a renter whose written repair requests are ignored has options that do not involve withholding rent, which on its own can backfire into an eviction. Losing a Section 8 voucher or a public housing spot is a legal case too, not just paperwork: those programs owe tenants written notice and a hearing before termination, and legal aid takes those cases.
Family: protective orders, custody, and child support
Protection from abuse is the one case where income never matters. In Salt Lake County, the Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake represents any victim of domestic violence — regardless of income or immigration status — in protective order and stalking injunction cases, with walk-in intake at the Matheson and West Jordan courthouses and the Family Justice Center. Statewide, Utah Legal Services takes protective order cases, and the Timpanogos hotline puts callers directly on the phone with an attorney who can walk through the request. Anyone in immediate danger should call 911; the 24-hour LINKLine at 1-800-897-5465 reaches local domestic violence advocates any time.
For divorce, custody, parent-time, and guardianship, the split is geographic: Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake covers Salt Lake County, Utah Legal Services covers the rest of the state, and both give priority to cases involving violence. Unpaid child support has its own track. Utah's Office of Recovery Services collects and enforces existing support at no charge, but establishing custody or parent-time, changing an order that no longer matches reality, or untangling parentage runs through the courts — and that is where legal aid and Timpanogos's free document drafting come in, so a single parent can get an order established or changed without paying a private attorney.
Benefits and income: denials, cutoffs, and disability appeals
A denial or cutoff notice from the Department of Workforce Services — SNAP, the Family Employment Program (Utah's cash assistance for families), Medicaid, or child care — is not the final word. Utah allows 90 days from the date on the notice to request a fair hearing, in writing or by phone, before an administrative law judge who does not work for the eligibility office. Asking quickly, before the change takes effect, may keep benefits running while the case is decided, though those payments may have to be repaid if the appeal loses.
The state's own hearing request form points people to Utah Legal Services for free help — take the hint and call before the hearing, not after. Legal aid also handles Social Security cases: most SSI and disability applications are denied at first, the denials can be appealed, and having a representative at the hearing makes a measurable difference.
Debt, scams, and bankruptcy
A debt collection lawsuit is lost automatically if the court papers are ignored, and in Utah a default judgment moves quickly to wage garnishment. Utah Legal Services defends collection suits, pushes back on illegal collection tactics, and takes predatory lending and fraud cases — and it handles bankruptcy for people whose debts have become unpayable. It also handles expungement of old records that keep blocking apartments and jobs.
For smaller disputes, Utah Dispute Resolution (801-532-4841 or https://www.utahdisputeresolution.org/) mediates landlord-tenant, small claims, and neighbor conflicts free or at low cost, and the Utah State Bar's free Virtual Legal Clinic offers a 30-minute video consultation with a lawyer on nearly any civil problem.
Utility shutoffs
Utah has no automatic ban on winter disconnections. Protection between November 15 and March 15 exists only for households that apply for it, through the same local agencies that handle state heating assistance — a trap for anyone who assumes winter protects them automatically. A shutoff carried out without proper written notice, or a refused payment plan the rules require, can be challenged with a free complaint to the Utah Public Service Commission (website: https://psc.utah.gov/). In addition to that commission, see the NHPB guide to Utah utility assistance programs from companies and the government.
Legal aid may step in when a wrongful shutoff threatens someone's health or housing. These rules cover Rocky Mountain Power and Enbridge Gas Utah; city-owned utilities and rural co-ops set their own policies, so their customers should ask directly.
Where to apply for free legal aid in Utah
Utah Legal Services (statewide): 801-328-8891 or toll-free 800-662-4245, weekdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or apply any time at https://www.utahlegalservices.org/. Offices in Salt Lake City, Provo, Ogden, and St. George; most work is handled by phone. Cases include family law and protective orders, housing, public benefits and disability appeals, consumer and bankruptcy matters, senior issues, expungement, and Native American legal cases.
Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake (Salt Lake County): family law for low-income residents and protective orders for all victims of domestic violence. Apply at https://www.legalaidsocietyofsaltlake.org/ or walk in at the Matheson or West Jordan courthouse or the Family Justice Center.
Timpanogos Legal Center (statewide): 801-649-8895, weekdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., or [email protected]. A staff attorney answers directly with advice on family, protective order, guardianship, and housing questions; the center also drafts court documents and runs a Tuesday evening clinic in Provo.
Disability Law Center (statewide): 801-363-1347 or 800-662-9080. Free legal help for Utahns with disabilities on discrimination, benefits, housing, and civil rights, with no income limit.
Utah Crime Victims Legal Clinic (statewide): 801-746-1204. Free lawyers for crime victims whose rights in a criminal case are at stake.
Utah State Courts Self-Help Center: free help from a court attorney by phone, email, or chat through https://www.utcourts.gov/, plus MyPaperwork, the courts' free document builder for eviction answers, divorce papers, and other filings.
Also worth knowing: the University of Utah's Pro Bono Initiative (801-581-5418) runs free walk-in legal clinics; veterans and service members can be matched with a volunteer lawyer through Utah@Ease by asking their veterans service officer; the Utah State Bar's Modest Means program (801-297-7049) refers reduced-fee attorneys to people just over the income limits; and Utah Free Legal Answers, part of a national American Bar Association project, answers civil legal questions posted online by qualifying Utahns. If the legal problem arrives alongside a food, shelter, or utility emergency, 211 is Utah's referral line for that side of it.
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