What the state actually says
Utah has a handyman exemption. It stops before your furnace.
Under Utah Code § 58-55-305(1)(h)(i), a person can do alteration, repair, remodeling or improvement work on a building without a contractor license as long as the job is worth less than $7,000, including both labor and materials, and including every change and addition to it. That is a real, lawful exemption, and plenty of good people work under it.
Then subsection (1)(h)(ii) carves pieces back out, and these are the pieces most likely to be in your house:
- Plumbing and electrical. Work on a system has to be done by a licensed plumbing or electrical contractor. Work on a component — the statute names “a faucet, toilet, fixture, device, outlet, or electrical switch” — may be done by a licensed journeyman. Those are two different answers, and which one applies depends on the job, not on the price.
- Heating, ventilation and air conditioning. Installation, repair or replacement “must be performed by an HVAC contractor licensed by the division.” There is no dollar figure attached to that one. It applies to a $200 repair.
- Gas appliances and combustion systems. Must be done by someone certified under § 58-55-308(2).
- Alarm systems, fire sprinklers and radon mitigation. Each has its own licensed trade, named in the same subsection.
- Over $3,000, whoever is working under the exemption has to file a one-time affirmation with the state that they carry public liability insurance, and workers’ compensation if they have employees.
So the useful question is not “are you licensed.” It is “which license, and does it cover this job.” Ask that of anybody you call. Ask it of us.
Utah Code § 58-55-305, Exemptions from licensure, as effective May 7, 2025 (PDF) (opens in a new tab). Read on September 29, 2026. The ceiling was $3,000 until recently and a good deal of what is written about this online still says so; the figure above is the current text. Our working notes are in how to check a Utah contractor.
