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The three notices from the clerk

Once the court opens your case, the clerk usually emails back a small stack of forms. They look official and slightly alarming. They are mostly acknowledgements: you are confirming that you know what the rules require of you. Here is what each one is, whether it applies to you, and what to do with it.

The pattern is the same for all three. Fill it in, sign and date it, give a copy to your spouse, then email the signed notices back to the same court address you filed with — along with a Certificate of Service saying when and how your spouse got their copy. Your spouse does not have to reply or send anything back.
Which Certificate of Service? The same one that came in your filing packet. Print a fresh copy and fill it in for this delivery — the court expects that form, describing whichever documents you actually sent. You do not need a different version for the notices.
Notice 1

Notice of Disclosure Requirements in Domestic Relations Cases

Who it applies to: Everyone.

Utah Rule of Civil Procedure 26.1 requires the two of you to exchange financial information with each other — not just with the court. This notice is the court telling you so, and you signing it is you confirming you have been told.

What Rule 26.1 asks each of you to disclose to the other:

•Initial Disclosures (the court's own form, at utcourts.gov/init)
•A Financial Declaration with its required attachments (utcourts.gov/fin) — divvi generates yours
•Documents verifying every amount in the Financial Declaration, apart from monthly expenses
•Federal and state tax returns for the two tax years before the petition was filed
•Pay stubs and other evidence of income for the past 12 months
•Loan applications and financial statements from the 12 months before filing
•Proof of value for any real estate you have an interest in — an appraisal, tax valuation, or refinance paperwork

If you genuinely do not have one of those documents, you may estimate the amount. You have to say on the Financial Declaration how you arrived at the estimate and why the document is not available. Estimating is allowed; staying silent is not.

The part most people miss: the duty is ongoing. If something changes — a new job, a sold car, a corrected balance — you have to update what you disclosed. And if the two of you settle every term of the case, which is the whole premise of an uncontested divorce, you may not have to exchange the Initial Disclosures form and Financial Declaration at all.

Not disclosing an asset or a source of income is the one thing here with teeth. Rule 37 lets a judge award the hidden asset to the other person, order you to pay their attorney fees, or impose other sanctions.

How to complete it
  1. Fill in the caption at the top — your case number and judge, once the clerk has given them to you.
  2. Sign and date it. Only the Petitioner signs; the Respondent does not need to sign anything back.
  3. Give your spouse a copy by email, mail, or hand delivery.
  4. Complete the Certificate of Service with the date, the method, and who received it.
  5. Email the signed notice and the Certificate of Service back to the court.
Notice 2

Notice of Education Requirements

Who it applies to: Only cases with a minor child.

Utah requires both parents to complete two separate courses before a judge will sign a decree: the Divorce Orientation Course (§81-4-105) and the Parent Education Course (§81-9-103), sometimes called the mandatory parenting class. They are different classes with different fees and different certificates — four certificates in total across the two of you.

This notice is the court putting the deadline in writing. The petitioner has 60 days from filing; the respondent has 30 days from being served. The rule that actually decides your case, though, is the other one: a judge cannot sign your decree until both of you have finished both courses. Leaving them late does not buy time — it moves the delay to the end, where it holds up the only document you are waiting for.

If you take a course in person, the instructor files your certificate with the court for you. Online, it is yours to download and file. Either way, keep a copy.

The Utah Courts page for both courses →

How to complete it
  1. Fill in the caption with your case number and judge.
  2. Sign and date it.
  3. Serve a copy on your spouse and complete the Certificate of Service.
  4. Email it back to the court with your other notices.
  5. File your four course certificates as soon as you have them — they are what the judge is actually waiting for.
Notice 3

Notice to the Department of Human Services

Who it applies to: Only if the court asks for it, or if either of you receives state cash assistance.
Most people do not need this one. Complete it only if the clerk specifically asked for it, or if either of you receives cash assistance from the State of Utah. If neither is true, skip it — sending an unnecessary notice does not speed anything up.

When a parent receives public assistance, the State has a financial interest in the child support terms of the divorce, because it has effectively been supporting the child in the paying parent's place. This notice tells the Office of Recovery Services that a case affecting support exists, so the State can weigh in before a judge signs anything.

It is not a judgment about your case or your parenting. It is a routing slip.

How to complete it
  1. Confirm it applies. If it does not, do nothing.
  2. Fill in the caption with your case number and judge.
  3. Sign and date it.
  4. Serve it on your spouse and complete the Certificate of Service.
  5. Email it to the court with the others.

More about the Office of Recovery Services →

If a notice arrives that isn't one of these three, don't guess. Send it to uswith your case number and we'll tell you what it is and what it needs.
Back to your filing steps →