Updated September 7, 2026. Quick answer: In Utah, utah, a Uniform Probate Code state, does not require a bond of a personal representative appointed in either formal or informal proceedings by default, except in four listed situations.
Utah executor bond: what the statute says
Each line is a short extract quoted from the statute cited; the section has the exceptions. Utah requires no bond by default; the bond line is the case where the will requires one.
- When a bond is required. Utah Code § 75-3-603(1): “No bond is required of a personal representative appointed in formal or informal proceedings, except: (a) upon the appointment of a special administrator without notice having been given; (b) when an executor or other personal representative is appointed to administer an estate under a will containing an express requirement of bond…” “(c) when bond is requested prior to appointment, by an interested party; or (d) when bond is required under Section 75-3-605.”
- Waiver. Utah Code § 75-3-603(1)(b): “…a will containing an express requirement of bond…”
- Amount. Utah Code § 75-3-604: “If bond is required and the provisions of the will or order do not specify the amount…” “…he shall execute and file a bond with the clerk, or give other suitable security, in an amount not less than the estimate reduced by the amount of secured claims against such property.”
- Surety and cost. Utah Code § 75-3-604: “…duly executed by a corporate surety, or one or more individual sureties whose performance is secured by pledge of personal property, mortgage on real property, or other adequate security.”
For the rest of the process and its fees, see Utah probate cost.
Does Utah require an executor to post a bond?
Utah, a Uniform Probate Code state, does not require a bond of a personal representative appointed in either formal or informal proceedings by default, except in four listed situations.
“when an executor or other personal representative is appointed to administer an estate under a will containing an express requirement of bond”
Source: Utah Code Ann. § 75-3-603
Can the will waive it in Utah?
Sometimes. No bond is the default; a will can flip this by containing an express bond requirement, which then triggers the bond obligation rather than waiving it.
Can the heirs or beneficiaries waive it in Utah?
Sometimes. An interested party can request bond be required prior to appointment (the opposite of a waiver); the court can also dispense with a bond that would otherwise apply upon a determination that it is unnecessary.
If a bond is required, how much?
When a bond is required, Utah sets it, unless the will or order specifies the amount, at not less than the filer’s best estimate of the value of the personal and real estate of the decedent and of the income expected from them during the next year, reduced by the amount of secured claims against such property, per its own bond-amount statute.
“in an amount not less than the estimate reduced by the amount of secured claims against such property”
Source: Utah Code Ann. § 75-3-604
What makes Utah different
Utah is a clean textbook UPC state: no-bond is the universal default for both formal and informal proceedings, and the four exceptions are narrow and enumerated, with a final catch-all letting the court dispense with bond even when an exception would otherwise apply.
A note on sourcing: The official Utah Legislature site returned only navigation/header content to the fetch tool this session; verified instead via codes.findlaw.com, a legal-citation mirror quoting the section verbatim with its official citation.
| Bond-requirement source | Utah Code Ann. § 75-3-603 |
| Utah courts (general reference) | Utah judicial branch |
| Utah Secretary of State / legislature | Utah state government |
| Confidence | Medium |
Every statute quoted on this page was read directly from the state’s own legislature/code site this session, or, where that site blocked automated access, from a reputable legal-citation mirror quoting the same official text with its official citation (disclosed below). General information, not legal advice; a probate court has final discretion over bond in every state; confirm your own case with the court or a local attorney before relying on the default described here.
Related: how long creditors have to file a claim against an estate in Utah.