Utah PA Collaboration Requirements Summary

Utah requires a PA to collaborate until they reach 10,000 hours of post-graduate clinical practice experience, and it structures that period in two stages. For the first 4,000 hours the collaborator must be a physician. Between 4,000 and 10,000 hours the PA needs a written collaborative agreement, and the other party can be a physician or a licensed PA who has more than 10,000 hours in the same specialty. Nothing is filed with the state at any stage — the agreement stays at the PA’s practice location. Utah also sets out a distinct path for PAs specializing in mental health, and requires a PA changing specialties to collaborate for 4,000 hours in the new one. This page covers Utah’s rules on the collaborative relationship, the collaborative agreement, board filing, ongoing compliance, prescribing, and specialty and telehealth requirements.

Source: Utah Code Ann. 58-70a-307(3)(a)

Type of Collaborative Relationship

Utah requires collaboration for a PA’s first 10,000 hours of post-graduate clinical practice experience, with the requirements easing at the 4,000-hour mark. Below 4,000 hours, the PA collaborates with a physician and practices under written policies and procedures established at the practice level. Between 4,000 and 10,000 hours, the PA needs a written collaborative agreement, and an experienced PA can serve as the other party. Past 10,000 hours, no collaboration is required. PAs specializing in mental health follow a different track.

Source: Utah Code Ann. 58-70a-307(2)(c)

What is a PA’s scope of practice in Utah?

A PA with fewer than 10,000 hours practices under written policies and procedures established at the practice level, which describe how collaboration will occur and how the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills will be evaluated. Specialty shapes scope directly: a PA moving into a specialty where they have fewer than 4,000 hours of experience must collaborate in that specialty first.

Do PAs need a collaborating physician in Utah?

Yes, for the first 4,000 hours of post-graduate clinical practice experience. Between 4,000 and 10,000 hours, the collaborator may instead be a licensed PA with more than 10,000 hours of practice experience in the same specialty.

Can PAs practice independently in Utah?

Yes, once the PA has 10,000 or more hours of post-graduate clinical practice experience. Below that threshold, collaboration is required, and PAs specializing in mental health must complete their 10,000 hours within mental health practice.

How many PAs can a physician collaborate with in Utah?

Utah sets no limit on the number of PAs a physician may collaborate with.

Who can be a collaborating physician in Utah?

It depends on the PA’s hours. For the first 4,000 hours of post-graduate clinical practice experience, the collaborator must be a physician. From 4,000 to 10,000 hours, the written collaborative agreement may be with a physician or with a licensed PA who has more than 10,000 hours of practice experience in the same specialty as the PA.

Are there proximity or in-person requirements in Utah?

No, Utah sets no distance, travel, or on-site presence requirement. Utah also sets no standard for how quickly or by what means the collaborator must be reachable; how collaboration happens is described in the practice-level written policies and procedures and in the collaborative agreement.

Collaboration Agreement Requirements

Utah’s written agreement is called a collaborative agreement, and it applies to PAs with more than 4,000 but fewer than 10,000 hours of practice experience. It must describe how collaboration will occur and must be kept on file at the PA’s practice location. Separately, every PA with fewer than 10,000 hours practices under written policies and procedures established at the practice level, which cover both how collaboration happens and how the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills are evaluated. Utah provides a template, sets no signature requirement, requires no backup physician, and sets no review or renewal schedule.

Source: Utah Code Ann. 58-70a-307(3)(b)

What must be included in a PA collaborative agreement in Utah?

The collaborative agreement must describe how collaboration will occur, and it must be kept on file at the PA’s practice location. The practice-level written policies and procedures that accompany it must describe how collaboration will occur and the methods for evaluating the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills. Utah provides a state template.

What is the collaborative agreement called in Utah?

It is called a collaborative agreement. It is required for PAs with more than 4,000 and fewer than 10,000 hours of practice experience.

Who has to sign the collaborative agreement in Utah?

Utah sets no signature requirement for the collaborative agreement.

How often must the agreement be reviewed or renewed in Utah?

Utah sets no review or renewal schedule for the collaborative agreement.

Is a backup physician required in Utah?

No, Utah sets no backup or alternate collaborator requirement.

Board Filing Requirements

Utah requires no board filing for the collaborative relationship. The collaborative agreement is not submitted to the state; it is kept on file at the PA’s practice location instead. No additional documents are required, there is no recurring filing, and no notice is required when a collaborative relationship ends. Utah’s rules also give no guidance on any filing or process for reaching the 10,000-hour threshold.

Do you have to file the collaborative agreement with the board in Utah?

No. Utah does not require the collaborative agreement to be filed, and no additional documents are required. The agreement must be kept on file at the PA’s practice location.

Can a PA start practicing as soon as they file in Utah?

There is nothing to file for the collaborative relationship, so no waiting period applies. A PA needs a Utah license, the practice-level written policies and procedures, and a collaborative agreement once past 4,000 hours.

What are the termination and notice requirements in Utah?

Utah sets no termination or notice requirement when a collaborative relationship ends. There is also no grace period provision for an unexpected termination.

Collaboration Compliance

Utah sets no fixed ongoing compliance numbers — no chart review, no meeting cadence, no chart co-signature, no availability standard, no supervision documentation, and no records retention period. The continuing obligation is evaluation: the practice-level written policies and procedures must describe methods for evaluating the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills, and how collaboration will occur.

Source: Utah Code Ann. 58-70a-307(2)(a)(ii)

How many charts must a collaborating physician review in Utah?

None — Utah requires no chart review. There is no chart co-signature requirement either. The practice’s written policies and procedures must describe methods for evaluating the PA’s competency, knowledge, and skills, which the parties define themselves.

How often must a PA and collaborating physician meet in Utah?

Utah sets no required meeting cadence. The practice-level written policies and procedures describe how collaboration will occur, and the collaborative agreement must do the same once a PA passes 4,000 hours.

How long must collaboration records be kept in Utah?

Utah sets no retention period for collaboration records. The collaborative agreement must be kept on file at the PA’s practice location.

Prescribing Rules

Utah’s master regulatory data records no state-specific prescribing requirements for PAs. There is no state controlled-substance registration, no additional credential for prescriptive authority, no separate conditions on controlled-substance prescribing, and no prescription form requirements. What a PA may prescribe follows from the practice-level written policies and procedures and the collaborative agreement, where those apply.

Can a PA prescribe controlled substances in Utah?

Utah’s master regulatory data sets no additional state requirements for PA controlled-substance prescribing. There is no extra credential, no state registration, and no heightened oversight requirement tied to controlled substances.

Can a PA prescribe Schedule II drugs in Utah?

Utah’s master regulatory data does not address drug schedules individually for PAs.

What schedule drugs can a PA prescribe in Utah?

Utah’s master regulatory data sets no schedule-by-schedule limits on PA prescribing. Prescribing sits within how collaboration is described in the practice’s written policies and procedures and the collaborative agreement.

Does a PA need a DEA license in Utah?

Utah imposes no state controlled-substance registration requirement on PAs. Federal DEA registration requirements apply independently of state law and are not addressed in Utah’s rules. Utah sets no prescription form or prescription pad requirements.

Can a PA prescribe independently (without physician sign-off) in Utah?

Utah requires no physician sign-off, co-signature, or prescription-level review. Below 10,000 hours, prescribing sits within a collaborative relationship governed by the practice’s written policies and procedures.

Specialty & Telehealth Requirements

Utah sets no telehealth-specific requirements for PAs but has detailed rules for PAs specializing in mental health, and a separate rule for any PA changing specialties. Mental health PAs must complete all 10,000 hours within mental health practice, structured across psychiatrist supervision, psychotherapy, and collaboration.

Source: Utah Code Ann. 58-70a-501.1(4)(d)

Are there telehealth or telemedicine requirements for PAs in Utah?

Utah sets no telehealth-specific requirement for PAs in the master regulatory data. Utah also sets no in-person or proximity requirement that telehealth would need an exemption from.

Are there specialty-specific requirements for PAs in Utah?

Yes, for mental health and for anyone changing specialties. A PA specializing in mental health must complete 10,000 hours of clinical practice in mental health: at least the first 4,000 under a psychiatrist’s supervision, at least 2,000 in psychotherapy under a mental health therapist or a psychiatrist trained in and with at least two years of practice experience in psychotherapy, and the remainder in collaboration with a psychiatrist. Separately, a PA who wants to change to a specialty in which they have fewer than 4,000 hours of experience must collaborate for at least 4,000 hours with a physician trained and experienced in that specialty.