Compensatory Service in Lieu of Fine Amendments

More fine relief with service rules

Beginning May 7, 2025, Utah courts must consider unpaid service instead of fines or other court debts for criminal convictions, including traffic offenses. Courts must tell defendants ordered to pay fines, or planning to forfeit bail, about this option; approval is not guaranteed. Service must help a state or local government agency, a nonprofit approved under Section 501(c), or another group approved by the court in advance. Timely, properly reported service earns $12 per hour, up from $10, toward the fine or bail amount owed. Courts must allow reasonable time to finish, and service cannot replace payments owed to victims. Defendants must report hours through a signed letter from an authorized representative on the organization's letterhead, unless the court accepts another form. The report must include contact information, hours served, and a brief description of the work. Courts can reject service done before sentencing, submitted to another court for credit, or involving a group or work the court specifically bans. Courts must give service organizations instructions about the requirements and warn that false statements about service are a class B misdemeanor.