Tool 05 Utah Trust Deed Foreclosure Timeline

If the buyer stops paying, here's the calendar.

Pick a hypothetical default date and whether the buyer lives in the home. The tool lays out Utah's nonjudicial trust-deed timeline with the earliest dates the statutes allow.

Utah trust deeds are usually foreclosed without going to court, by a trustee's sale. Only a Utah attorney or a licensed Utah title company can exercise the power of sale (Utah Code § 57-1-21). The steps and waiting periods are set by statute:

  1. Pre-default notice. For owner-occupied residential loans, a written notice with a cure date at least 30 days out comes first. There is no small-lender exemption (Utah Code § 57-1-24.3).
  2. Notice of default. Recorded with the county, and at least three months must pass before a notice of sale (Utah Code § 57-1-24).
  3. Reinstatement. For those three months the buyer can cure by paying what is past due plus costs and fees actually incurred — not the whole balance (Utah Code § 57-1-31).
  4. Notice of sale. Published once a week for three consecutive weeks, the last 10 to 30 days before the sale, and posted at least 20 days before (Utah Code § 57-1-25).
  5. Sale and trustee's deed. A public auction; the deed conveys title without right of redemption (Utah Code § 57-1-28).
  6. Deficiency. A suit for any shortfall must be filed within three months, and it's capped by fair market value at the sale date (Utah Code § 57-1-32).
Use the date you'd send the first notice.
Is the home owner-occupied (the buyer lives there)?
Earliest sale dateFeb 22, 2027147 days after default · 116 days after the notice of default
  1. Mon, Sep 28, 2026
    30-day pre-default notice sent
    Required for owner-occupied residential loans. The cure date must be at least 30 days out — here, Oct 28, 2026. Utah Code § 57-1-24.3
  2. Thu, Oct 29, 2026
    Notice of default recorded
    Recorded with the county recorder where the property sits. Utah Code § 57-1-24
  3. Sun, Nov 8, 2026
    Notice of default mailed
    Mailed within 10 days of recording to anyone who requested notice. Utah Code § 57-1-26
  4. Fri, Jan 29, 2027
    Reinstatement window closes
    Until now the buyer can cure by paying what's past due plus costs and fees actually incurred — not the whole balance. Utah Code § 57-1-31
  5. Fri, Jan 29, 2027
    Notice of sale — first publication and posting
    Published once a week for three weeks, and posted on the property and at the recorder's office at least 20 days before the sale. Utah Code § 57-1-25
  6. Mon, Feb 22, 2027
    Earliest trustee's sale
    A public auction. The beneficiary can credit-bid. There is no redemption after a Utah trustee's sale. Utah Code § 57-1-28
  7. Mon, Mar 1, 2027
    Trustee's deed recorded
    Recorded within five business days of the sale. Utah Code § 57-1-28
  8. Sat, May 22, 2027
    Deficiency suit deadline
    A suit for any shortfall must be filed within three months of the sale, and it's capped by fair market value at the sale date. Utah Code § 57-1-32

These are the earliest dates the statutes allow. Real files run longer: title work, publication schedules, postponements, and a buyer who reinstates all add time.

This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm with an attorney before you rely on it.

How the alternatives compare

Contract for deed. No Utah statute governs forfeiture (Utah Code Title 57, Chapter 1). The timeline comes from the contract's own notice terms, and courts refuse a forfeiture so excessive it would shock the conscience (Jensen v. Nielsen, 26 Utah 2d 96, 485 P.2d 673 (1971)). Read the contract-for-deed guide.

Judicial foreclosure. A trust deed can also be foreclosed in court like a mortgage (Utah Code § 57-1-23). After a sheriff's sale the owner has 180 days to redeem (Utah R. Civ. P. 69C), so it usually takes much longer.

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