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78B-5-201
0
Judgment Information Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Matt MacPherson
Senate Sponsor: Calvin R. Musselman
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses information necessary to file a judgment lien against real property.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
modifies the information required to file a judgment lien against real property if the
judgment debtor is an individual; and
makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
78B-5-201
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 59
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
78B-5-201
is amended to read:
78B-5-201
. Definitions -- Judgment recorded in Registry of Judgments.
(1)
As used in this part:
(a)
"Judgment" includes a civil judgment of restitution or a civil account receivable, as
those terms are defined in Section
77-32b-102
.
(b)
"Registry of Judgments" means the index where a judgment is filed and searchable
by the name of the judgment debtor through electronic means or by tangible
document.
(2)
On or after July 1, 1997, a judgment entered by a court of this state does not create a
lien upon or affect the title to real property unless the judgment is filed in the Registry of
Judgments of the office of the clerk of the district court of the county in which the
property is located.
(3)
(a)
On or after July 1, 2002, except as provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
, a judgment
entered by a court of this state does not create a lien upon or affect the title to real
property unless the judgment or an abstract of judgment is recorded in the office of
the county recorder in which the real property of the judgment debtor is located.
(b)
State agencies are exempt from the recording requirement of Subsection
(3)(a)
.
(4)
In addition to the requirements of Subsections
(2)
and
(3)(a)
, any judgment that is filed
in the Registry of Judgments on or after September 1, 1998, or any judgment or abstract
of judgment that is recorded in the office of a county recorder after July 1, 2002, shall
include:
(a)
the information identifying the judgment debtor as required under Subsection
(4)(b)
on the judgment or abstract of judgment; or
(b)
a copy of the separate information statement of the judgment creditor that contains:
(i)
the correct name and last-known address of each judgment debtor and the address
at which each judgment debtor received service of process;
(ii)
the name and address of the judgment creditor;
(iii)
the amount of the judgment as filed in the Registry of Judgments;
(iv)
if known, the judgment debtor's Social Security number, date of birth, and
driver's license number if a natural person; and
(iv)
if known, and if the judgment debtor is an individual, the last four digits of the
judgment debtor's social security number, the month and year of the judgment
debtor's birth, and the judgment debtor's driver license number; and
(v)
whether
or not
a stay of enforcement has been ordered by the court and the date
the stay expires.
(5)
For the information required in Subsection
(4)
, the judgment creditor shall:
(a)
provide the information on the separate information statement if known or available
to the judgment creditor from
its
the judgment creditor's
records,
its
the judgment
creditor's
attorney's records, or the court records in the action in which the judgment
was entered; or
(b)
state on the separate information statement that the information is unknown or
unavailable.
(6)
(a)
Any judgment that requires payment of money and is entered by a court of this
state on or after September 1, 1998, or any judgment or abstract of judgment
recorded in the office of a county recorder after July 1, 2002, that does not include
the debtor identifying information as required in Subsection
(4)
is not a lien until a
separate information statement of the judgment creditor is recorded in the office of a
county recorder in compliance with Subsections
(4)
and
(5)
.
(b)
The separate information statement of the judgment creditor referred to in Subsection
(6)(a)
shall include:
(i)
the name of any judgment creditor, debtor, assignor, or assignee;
(ii)
the date on which the judgment was recorded in the office of the county recorder
as described in Subsection
(4)
; and
(iii)
the county recorder's entry number and book and page of the recorded judgment.
(7)
A judgment that requires payment of money recorded on or after September 1, 1998, but
prior to July 1, 2002, has
as its
priority
based on
the date of entry, except as to parties
with actual or constructive knowledge of the judgment.
(8)
A judgment or notice of judgment wrongfully filed against real property is subject to
Title 38, Chapter 9, Wrongful Lien Act
.
(9)
(a)
To release, assign, renew, or extend a lien created by a judgment recorded in the
office of a county recorder, a person shall, in the office of the county recorder of each
county in which an instrument creating the lien is recorded, record a document
releasing, assigning, renewing, or extending the lien.
(b)
The document described in Subsection
(9)(a)
shall include:
(i)
the date of the release, assignment, renewal, or extension;
(ii)
the name of any judgment creditor, debtor, assignor, or assignee; and
(iii)
for the county in which the document is recorded in accordance with Subsection
(9)(a)
:
(A)
the date on which the instrument creating the lien was recorded in that
county's office of the county recorder; and
(B)
in accordance with Section
57-3-106
, that county recorder's entry number and
book and page of the recorded instrument creating the judgment lien.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
July 1, 2026
.
3-11-26 9:56 AM