Utah Divorce Parenting Classes — Requirements, Cost, and Deadlines

Two Courses, Both Mandatory

Utah requires parents of minor children to complete two separate courses before the court will sign a final divorce decree. The requirement also applies in uncontested cases, so both parents should plan for it.

Divorce Orientation Course: A shorter introductory course covering the divorce process, its effects on children, and community resources available to families. Cost is $30 per parent.

Divorce Education Course: A longer, more substantive course focused on co-parenting skills, reducing conflict in front of children, and supporting children through the transition. Cost is $35 per parent.

Both courses are administered through Utah State University's online portal. They're designed for self-paced completion, which means you can finish them from home on your own schedule.

The Deadlines

The filing of the petition triggers both clocks:

• Petitioner: Must complete both courses within 60 days of filing the petition
• Respondent: Must complete both courses within 30 days of being served

These deadlines are measured in calendar days. The respondent's tighter window reflects the fact that they already had lead time — the petitioner decided to file, while the respondent may have just learned about it.

Missing the deadline doesn't automatically terminate your case, but it creates a hard stop: the judge will not sign the final decree or hear standard motions until both parents' completion certificates are filed with the court. In practice, late class completion is the single most common reason uncontested Utah divorces take longer than the 30-day minimum.

What the Courses Cover

The orientation course is relatively brief — it provides an overview of the court process, explains what to expect at each stage, and introduces resources like the Self-Help Center and mediation services.

The education course goes deeper into the parenting side:

• How divorce affects children at different developmental stages
• Communication strategies for co-parenting with a former spouse
• Managing conflict in ways that shield children from adult disputes
• Recognizing signs of stress or behavioral changes in children
• Building stable routines during and after the transition

Neither course provides legal advice. They're educational programs, not substitutes for legal counsel.

Fee Waivers

If you qualified for a court fee waiver (through the Motion to Waive Fees filed with your petition), the waiver extends to parenting class fees. Both the $30 orientation and $35 education fees are fully waivable for indigent filers.

Important: there are no refunds after you've paid. If you're considering a fee waiver application, submit it and get a ruling before registering and paying for the courses. Paying first and then getting a waiver approved doesn't entitle you to a refund.

Registration and Completion

Register for both courses through the Utah State University divorce education portal. You'll need your court case number, so register after filing your petition rather than before.

The courses are available online 24/7. Most people complete the orientation in about an hour and the education course in two to four hours. You can stop and resume — the system saves your progress.

After completing each course, the system generates a Certificate of Completion. You must file these certificates with the District Court clerk. The court won't go looking for them — it's your responsibility to make sure they're in the case file.

Both Parents Must Complete Them

This is worth emphasizing: both the petitioner and the respondent must complete both courses and file their certificates. Even in a default case where the respondent hasn't participated at all, the petitioner still must complete their own courses.

If the respondent refuses to complete the courses, do not assume the requirement is waived: the final decree cannot be entered until both required completion certificates are filed. The petitioner's compliance is never waived.

Strategic Timing

Register within the first week of filing. The courses themselves aren't time-consuming, but procrastination creates a bottleneck that delays everything downstream. If your case is otherwise ready for finalization at day 45 but you haven't completed the classes, the judge can't sign until you do.

The optimal sequence:

1. File the petition (Day 1)
2. Register for both courses (Day 1–3)
3. Complete the orientation (Day 3–7)
4. Complete the education course (Day 7–14)
5. File both certificates with the court (Day 14–15)

By the time the 30-day waiting period expires, your class requirement is already satisfied and one less thing stands between you and finalization.

The Utah Divorce Filing Process Guide includes a parenting class deadline tracker and registration walkthrough alongside the broader filing timeline.

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