As of April 24th, 2025, the United States District Court for the District of Utah has ordered a temporary stay of S.B. 199.
The Utah State Courts are processing guardianship cases under existing law, but are excluding all of S.B. 199's provisions until the stay is lifted or amended. Learn more

Who can I represent?

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Usually you can represent only yourself in court. You cannot represent another person. To represent another person, you must usually be a lawyer licensed in Utah. There are some exceptions, described below.

Supreme Court Rule of Professional Practice 14-111 and 14-802.

 

Businesses

Most businesses are legally "persons," and must be represented by a lawyer. Someone who is not a lawyer cannot represent a corporation, partnership or other business entity.

For example, the manager of an apartment building cannot represent the property owner in an eviction. If the property is owned by a business, a lawyer must represent the business because the business itself is a "person." If the property is owned by an individual person, the owner can represent themselves.

 

Parent or guardian

A parent or guardian can "appear" on behalf of a minor child or protected person, which means the parent takes the place of the child. Usually a parent or guardian cannot "represent" a child or a protected person.

In juvenile court, someone can ask the judge for permission to represent a child or protected person.

In a request for a child protective order any "interested" person may file for a protective order on behalf of the child. Utah Code 78B-7-202.

 

Small claims cases

In small claims cases, a party can represent themselves, be represented by a Utah lawyer, or be represented by an employee of a company. The court can also give permission for a non-lawyer to represent someone as long as the non-lawyer is not being paid. Utah Rule of Small Claims Procedure 13.

For the special rules about representing a party in a small claims case, see our webpage on Small Claims.

 

Licensed Paralegal Practitioner

A licensed paralegal practitioner can help a person do many things in some kinds of court cases, but cannot represent a person in court. For a list of things that a licensed paralegal practitioner can do see the Licensed Paralegal Practitioner page.

 

Powers of Attorney

The question of whether or not a Power of Attorney document allows someone to represent someone else in court proceedings can be complicated. You are encouraged to talk to a licensed Utah lawyer. See the Finding Legal Help web page for information about the free and low cost ways to get the help of a lawyer.