Every one of the 29 counties in Utah has an elected sheriff, and that one office usually carries more work than people expect. The sheriff runs the county jail, serves court papers, staffs courtrooms, and patrols unincorporated land. In many rural counties the sheriff is also the main police presence for everyone. Our directory lists 51 sheriff locations across the state, including main offices, jails, precincts and substations. This page explains how they are organized, how metro and rural offices differ, and what to do before you drive to one.

How Utah's Elected County Sheriffs Are Organized

Utah sheriffs are elected by county voters to four-year terms, and their duties come mainly from state law in Title 17 of the Utah Code, which governs counties. The sheriff answers to voters rather than to a county commission or manager. As a result, each office sets its own hours, forms and procedures. Two neighboring counties can handle the same request differently.

Other state bodies set the outer limits. Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training, part of the Utah Department of Public Safety, certifies deputies and corrections officers. The Utah Highway Patrol, also under Public Safety, enforces traffic law on interstates and state highways. The Bureau of Criminal Identification issues concealed firearm permits and runs state background checks. The Utah Department of Corrections operates the state prisons, while the sheriff holds people in county jail before trial and for shorter sentences.

In practice, a Utah sheriff's office does four main things. It books and houses people arrested in the county. It serves civil process such as subpoenas, summonses and eviction orders. It provides security at district and justice courts. And it patrols unincorporated areas, where no city police department exists, and leads county search and rescue. Cities and towns may run their own police departments, but the sheriff usually still keeps the jail and the courts.

Salt Lake County and the Wasatch Front: Neighborhood Precincts and Large Jails

Salt Lake County is where most Utahns live, and its sheriff operation looks different from the rest of the state. Our database lists the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office - Millcreek Station at 1580 East 3900 South (801-272-5225), the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office - Holladay Precinct at 4570 South 2300 East (801-272-0426), the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office Herriman Precinct at 13272 South 5600 West (801-302-2080), and the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Office - Kearns Precinct at 4250 West 5415 South (801-967-4420). You will also find the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Department-Cottonwood Heights Precinct at 7480 South 2700 East (801-944-1830) and the Salt Lake County Sheriffs Department-Magna Substation on the west side.

These are neighborhood stations, not one central counter. The station that serves you depends on your address, so check your street before heading out. Walk-in hours at precinct buildings vary, and tasks such as booking or inmate questions are normally handled through the county jail instead. A short phone call saves a wasted trip across the valley.

North of the capital, the Davis County Corrections / Davis County Sheriffs Office sits at 800 West State Street in Farmington (801-451-4200). Farther up the Wasatch Front, the Cache County Sheriffs Office / Cache County Jail is at 1225 West 200 North in Logan (435-750-7424). Both counties combine the jail and sheriff's administration, so one address can handle many kinds of requests. For the Provo and Orem area, see the Utah County page, and for Logan and the Cache Valley, see Cache County.

Rural Utah: Small Sheriff's Offices Covering Very Large Territory

Outside the Wasatch Front, a single county can be larger than some eastern states and still have only a few thousand residents. The sheriff's office may be the only law enforcement agency for dozens of miles. Several listings reflect that reality. The Emery County Sheriff's Office in Castle Dale lists PO Box 817 and 435-381-2404, and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office in Loa lists PO Box 189 and 435-836-1308. A post office box works for mail but is not a place to walk in. Call first to learn the physical location and office hours. Emery County also has a Green River office at 80 Farrer Street (435-564-3432), and Wayne County has its own page for local detail.

Tourism shapes the workload in southern and eastern Utah. The Grand County Sheriff's Office at 25 South 100 East in Moab (435-259-8115) serves the area around Arches and Canyonlands, where search and rescue calls for hikers, climbers and off-road drivers are routine. The Garfield County Sheriffs Office / Garfield County Jail at 375 North 700 West in Panguitch (435-676-2678) covers a county that includes Bryce Canyon. In the Zion region, the Kane County Sheriffs Office / Kane County Jail at 76 North Main Street in Kanab (435-644-2349) and the Washington County Sheriffs Office / Washington County Jail at 750 South 5400 West in Hurricane (435-656-6500) handle both residents and heavy visitor traffic. See Grand County and Garfield County for their listings.

In the Uinta Basin, the Uintah County Sheriff's Office is at 641 East 300 South in Vernal (435-789-2511), and the Duchesne County Sheriffs Office / Duchesne County Jail is at 21554 West 9000 South in Duchesne (435-738-2015). Little Piute County is served by the Piute County Sheriffs Office at 550 North Main Street in Junction (435-577-2893). Rural offices are often staffed by a handful of deputies, so response times to remote addresses can be long, and dispatchers may route calls through a regional center rather than the local building. Learn more on the Uintah County page.

Before You Go: What to Bring and When to Visit a Utah Sheriff's Office

Most sheriff business is routine and handled on weekdays. Preparing a few items makes the visit quick:

Go in the morning on a weekday if you can, and avoid the lunch hour in small offices where one clerk may cover the counter. Never use the office number for an emergency. Call 911 and let the dispatcher send the right agency, whether that is a deputy, a city officer or the Utah Highway Patrol.

Sheriff offices in Utah are independently elected county agencies responsible for law enforcement, jail operations, and civil process service. Each county in Utah elects its own sheriff, who serves as the chief law enforcement officer for that county's unincorporated areas.

Sheriff locations are available in 41 cities across Utah. They are spread across 29 counties.

Cities with the highest concentration of sheriff office listings include Salt Lake, Vernal, Manti, reflecting the population centers where multiple sub-offices or specialty divisions may be located.

Utah residents should note that sheriff offices handle civil law enforcement functions — such as serving eviction notices and foreclosure papers — in addition to criminal law enforcement, so the sheriff office is often the correct point of contact for civil legal matters at the county level.

Sheriff by Counties

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If you are a Utah resident looking to obtain a concealed carry permit, request a background check clearance letter, or serve legal documents through official channels, your county sheriff office is the starting point — contact them directly to confirm required documentation and current processing times.

Browse Sheriff by county across Utah to find the nearest location.

Matching Your Situation to the Right Utah Sheriff Location

Many people lose time because they call the wrong office. Start with the county where the event happened or where the person is held, not where you live. A jail question goes to the county jail in that county. A civil paper is served where the recipient lives or works. A report is requested from the agency that responded, which might be a city department instead of the sheriff.

Several county seats in our directory combine the sheriff and jail at one address. The Beaver County Sheriffs Office / Beaver County Jail is at 2270 525 West in Beaver (435-438-2466). The Box Elder County Sheriffs Office / Box Elder County Jail is at 52 1000 West in Brigham (435-734-3800). The Sanpete County Sheriffs Office / Sanpete County Jail is at 160 North Main Street in Manti (435-835-2191). The Iron County Sheriffs Office / Iron County Jail is at 2132 North Main Street in Cedar (435-867-7500). The Wasatch County Sheriffs Office / Wasatch County Jail is at 1361 U.s. 40 in Heber (435-654-1411). Millard County has two points of contact: the Millard County Sheriffs Office / Millard County Jail at 765 Utah 99 in Fillmore (435-743-5302) and the Delta Substation at 76 North 200 West (435-864-4523).

Some requests do not belong to the sheriff at all. Driver licenses go through the state Driver License Division, and concealed firearm permits go through the Bureau of Criminal Identification. Browse the pages for Beaver County, Box Elder County, Sanpete County and Millard County to see every office we list there.

Utah Sheriff Questions Answered

Each of Utah's 29 counties elects its own sheriff in a countywide vote, and the term is four years. Because the sheriff is elected separately from the county commission, the office controls its own budget priorities, hiring and policies within state law. Deputies and jail officers must be certified through Utah Peace Officer Standards and Training. If you have a complaint or a suggestion about service, the sheriff is directly accountable to local voters, so you can raise it at the office or at a public county meeting.

Call 911 and let dispatch decide. As a general rule, the Utah Highway Patrol handles crashes on interstates and state highways, a city police department handles incorporated streets, and the county sheriff responds on county roads and in unincorporated areas. In rural counties such as Garfield, Wayne or Grand, a deputy may arrive first and the Highway Patrol may follow. Afterward, ask which agency wrote the report, since that agency is the one you contact for a copy for insurance purposes.

Contact the jail in the county where the arrest happened. Have the person's full legal name and date of birth ready. Many Utah jails publish an inmate roster on the county website, but smaller counties may only answer by phone. For example, you could call the Cache County Jail in Logan at 435-750-7424 or the Washington County Jail in Hurricane at 435-656-6500. Ask about visiting rules, how to deposit money for commissary, and how bail is handled, because each jail sets its own schedule and procedures.

Civil process is a core sheriff duty, though in some areas a licensed constable or a private process server may also deliver papers. A sheriff's deputy generally carries out court-ordered evictions after a judge has issued the order, and landlords cannot skip that step. To use the sheriff, bring the original documents, the case number and the recipient's address to the county office, for instance the Millard County office in Fillmore at 435-743-5302. Fees are set by law and vary by service, so ask the civil division for the current amount.

Reports are public records governed by the Government Records Access and Management Act, or GRAMA. Submit a written request with the date, location, names involved and any report number. Agencies generally respond within about ten business days, though some information may be withheld to protect victims, juveniles or active investigations, and copying fees may apply. Offices that list only a PO Box, such as Emery County in Castle Dale or Wayne County in Loa, may accept requests by mail, but calling first will tell you the correct procedure.

No. Utah concealed firearm permits are issued by the Bureau of Criminal Identification within the Department of Public Safety, not by individual sheriffs. Utah also allows many adults who may lawfully possess a firearm to carry concealed without a permit, but some people still apply because a permit can help when traveling to states that honor it. Your sheriff's office can answer general questions or provide fingerprinting in some cases, yet the application itself goes through the state bureau, so start on its website.