Utah Code § 9-8-801 Short title.
9-8-801. Short title.
This part is known as the "Preserve Our Heritage Act."
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 241, 1992 General Session
Preserve Our Heritage Act
Utah Code tit. 9, ch. 9-8, pt. 9-8-P8
in effectUtah Code § 9-8-802 Definitions.
9-8-802. Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1) "Agency" means any administrative unit of Utah's state government or local government.
(2) "Collecting institutions" means historical societies, museums, archives, and libraries that:
(a) are operated by nonprofit corporations in Utah or by any Utah agency; and
(b) preserve our heritage and benefit society by acquiring and preserving reposited materials.
(3) "Reposited materials" means materials of historical, artistic, literary, or scientific value that are deposited in a collecting institution.
Renumbered and Amended by Chapter 241, 1992 General Session
Utah Code § 9-8-803 Ownership of reposited materials -- Rebuttable presumption.
9-8-803. Ownership of reposited materials -- Rebuttable presumption.
(1) There is established a rebuttable presumption that any reposited materials held by a collecting institution are the property of that collecting institution.
(2) Any person seeking to claim reposited materials from a collecting institution shall comply with the requirements of this part.
Amended by Chapter 4, 1993 General Session
Utah Code § 9-8-804 Statute of limitations for claiming reposited materials from a collecting institution.
9-8-804. Statute of limitations for claiming reposited materials from a collecting institution.
(1) Any reposited materials in a collecting institution that are not accompanied by a transfer of title to those materials are considered a gift to the collecting institution when more than 25 years have passed from the date of the last written contact between the depositor or the depositor's successors and the collecting institution.
(2) No depositor or any of the depositor's successors may bring an action against the collecting institution to recover the reposited materials from the collecting institution after 25 years have passed from the date of the last written contact between the depositor or the depositor's successors and the collecting institution.
Amended by Chapter 302, 2025 General Session
Utah Code § 9-8-805 Collecting institutions -- Perfecting title -- Notice.
9-8-805. Collecting institutions -- Perfecting title -- Notice.
(1)
(a) A collecting institution wishing to perfect title in any reposited materials held by it shall send, by registered mail, a notice containing the information required by Subsection (2) to the last-known address of the last-known owner of the property.
(b) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (1)(a), a collecting institution shall publish a notice containing the information required by Subsection (2) if:
(i) the owner or the address of the owner of the reposited materials is unknown;
(ii) the mailed notice is returned to the collecting institution without a forwarding address; or
(iii) the owner does not claim the reposited materials within 90 days after the day on which the notice was mailed.
(c) If required to publish a notice under Subsection (1)(b), the collecting institution shall publish the notice for two weeks:
(i) for the county where the collecting institution is located, as a class A notice under Section 63G-30-102; and
(ii) as required in Section 45-1-101.
(2) Each notice required by this section shall include:
(a) the name, if known, and the last-known address, if any, of the last-known owner of the reposited materials;
(b) a description of the reposited materials;
(c) the name of the collecting institution that has possession of the reposited materials and a person within that institution whom the owner may contact; and
(d) a statement that if the reposited materials are not claimed within 90 days from the day on which the notice is published in accordance with Subsection (1)(b), the reposited materials are considered abandoned and become the property of the collecting institution.
(3) If no one claims reposited materials within 90 days after the day on which notice is published in accordance with Subsection (1)(b), the reposited materials are considered abandoned and are the property of the collecting institution.
Amended by Chapter 435, 2023 General Session
Utah Code § 9-8-806 Claiming reposited materials held by a collecting institution.
9-8-806. Claiming reposited materials held by a collecting institution.
(1) Any person claiming title to reposited materials held by a collecting institution shall demonstrate that the person owns all right, title, and interest in the reposited materials to the reasonable satisfaction of the collecting institution.
(2)
(a) Any person claiming to represent a person claiming title to reposited materials held by a collecting institution shall demonstrate, to the reasonable satisfaction of the collecting institution, that:
(i) the person claiming to represent a person claiming title to the reposited material represents every person who owns any right, title, or interest in the reposited materials; and
(ii) the represented persons own all right, title, and interest in the reposited materials.
(b) Any person claiming to represent persons holding all right, title, and interest in the reposited materials may demonstrate that representation by providing the collecting institution with a notarized authorization from every person having any right, title, or interest in the reposited materials.
Amended by Chapter 302, 2025 General Session
Source: Utah Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel (le.utah.gov)URL: https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title9/Chapter8/9-8-P8.html?v=C9-8-P8_1800010118000101Fetched: 10/26/2026