(a) District courts always open. The district courts shall be deemed always open for the purpose of filing any pleading or other proper paper, of issuing and returning mesne and final process, and of making and directing all interlocutory motions, orders, and rules.
Rule 77.District courts and clerks
Part X: District Courts and Clerks · Last amended April 1, 1999 · Last verified July 13, 2026
In one sentenceRule 77 keeps Utah's district courts open at all times for filing and process, sets where judges may hold trials and chambers proceedings, and fixes the clerk's office hours and routine duties.
Full Text of Rule 77
(b) Trials and hearings; orders in chambers. All trials upon the merits shall be conducted in open court and so far as convenient in a regular courtroom. All other acts or proceedings may be done or conducted by a judge in chambers without the attendance of the clerk or other court officials and at any place within the state, either within or without the district; but no hearing, other than one ex parte, shall be conducted outside the county wherein the matter is pending without the consent of all the parties to the action affected thereby.
(c) Clerk’s office and orders by clerk. The clerk’s office with the clerk or a deputy in attendance shall be open during business hours on all days except Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. All motions and applications in the clerk’s office for issuing mesne process, for issuing final process to enforce and execute judgments, for entering defaults or judgments by default, and for other proceedings which do not require allowance or order of the court are grantable of course by the clerk; but such action may be suspended or altered or rescinded by the court upon cause shown.
Amendment History
Amended effective November 1, 1997; April 1, 1999.
Advisory Committee Notes
Subdivision (d), deleted by the 1999 amendment, prohibited the sheriff, constable and clerk from charging a fee for a certified copy when the copy was furnished by the person requesting the copy. The subdivision was deleted on two grounds:
(1) The Supreme Court has no authority to regulate fees charged by a sheriff or constable.
(2) In order to certify a document as a true copy of an original, the clerk must either copy the original or compare, word-by-word, the copy to the original. The latter is much more difficult, time consuming and costly than the former, yet it was in the latter case that the fee was waived.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 77 draws a line between the court's authority and the clerk's office hours. The district courts are "always open" for filing pleadings, issuing and returning process, and handling interlocutory motions and orders — that authority never lapses, even on a weekend or holiday. The clerk's office itself, though, keeps regular business hours and closes on Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. Within those hours, the clerk can grant routine matters "of course," without waiting for a judge to sign off: issuing process, entering a default, or entering a default judgment. The court can still step in and suspend, alter, or undo anything the clerk grants if there's cause to.
The rule also marks where different kinds of proceedings belong. Trials on the merits must happen in open court, generally in a regular courtroom. Everything else — motions, conferences, other acts a judge handles outside of trial — can happen in chambers, without the clerk or other court staff present, and anywhere in the state, inside or outside the district. The one limit: a hearing that isn't ex parte can't be held outside the county where the case is pending unless every affected party agrees to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does "always open" mean I can walk into a courtroom in the middle of the night?
No. It means the court's power to accept filings, issue process, and act on interlocutory matters never lapses. The clerk's office that processes paperwork keeps regular business hours and is closed on weekends and legal holidays.
Can a judge hold a hearing somewhere other than the courthouse?
Yes, for anything short of a trial on the merits. A judge can act in chambers, without court staff present, anywhere in the state.
Can a hearing be held outside the county where the case is pending?
Only if it's ex parte, or if every party affected by it agrees. Otherwise the hearing has to stay within the county.
Can the clerk enter a default judgment without a judge signing off?
Yes. Entering defaults and default judgments, and issuing process, are routine matters the clerk can grant directly. The court can still suspend, alter, or rescind what the clerk did if there's a reason to.
Source & verification. Rule text, Advisory Committee Notes, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Utah Supreme Court. Last verified July 13, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: utah district court always openfiling after hours utah courtclerk enter default judgment utahwhere can a judge hold a hearing utahhearing outside the county utah civil case