All 50 state notices remain on publication hold.
This is independent public-interest research, not legal advice, an official agency form, attorney-reviewed material or certified legal guidance. A notice does not initiate an appeal, pause a deadline, prevent an investigation or override court authority. Follow the actual notice and verify the current rule, case posture, recipient and delivery method.
Utah — 30 days from receipt to challenge a supported finding
What the sources establish
- Utah Code §80-2-707, effective May 7, 2025, requires notice of a supported finding to the alleged perpetrator, subject to the separate severe-abuse process in §80-2-708. The notice must identify the finding, state that facts support it, and explain the right to request the report and challenge the finding.
- The challenge request must be made within 30 days after the alleged perpetrator receives the notice. The notice warns that failure to request a challenge in time makes the finding unappealable unless the person can show good cause why compliance was virtually impossible or unreasonably burdensome.
- The Office of Administrative Hearings conducts an adjudicative proceeding under Utah's Administrative Procedures Act. The Division bears the burden to prove by a preponderance of evidence that abuse, neglect or dependency occurred and that the alleged perpetrator was substantially responsible.
- A person generally cannot use this administrative challenge if a court of competent jurisdiction has already made a finding, in a proceeding in which that person was a party, that the person was substantially responsible. The statute excludes pleas in abeyance and diversion agreements from that bar. The administrative proceeding may be stayed while a related judicial action or active criminal investigation is pending.
- Judicial review is available from final agency action under the Administrative Procedures Act; the review proceeding is closed to the public. The statute says a person who misses the initial challenge generally loses agency review, an adjudicative hearing and judicial review of the finding.
Separate severe-abuse pathway and expungement
Section 80-2-708 establishes a separate process for supported findings of severe abuse or neglect, including a juvenile-court petition or a notice pathway. Do not assume §80-2-707's ordinary challenge procedure applies unchanged. Utah Administrative Rule R512-76 also sets out allegation-specific expungement criteria, including one-, five- and ten-year periods and categories that are never eligible. Those are record-expungement rules, not a substitute for the 30-day challenge deadline.
Utah Code §80-2-707 text (2025 edition) · Utah Administrative Rule R512-76 text reproduction
Nebraska — 14-day pre-registry appeal, with a 2026 statutory amendment
What the sources establish
- Effective July 18, 2026, LB 668 amended §§28-713.01, 28-718 and 28-720. The amended §28-713.01 requires notice before a subject's name is entered in the Central Registry and states that the person may request an appeal within 14 calendar days after the date the Department's determination notice is sent.
- The statute allows certified mail with return receipt requested or first-class mail to the last-known address. It also requires notice at least 14 days before registry entry; no person may be entered without first being notified of the right to contest the determination.
- DHHS's current public guidance describes the appeal period as 14 calendar days from the date on the notice. If a timely appeal is requested, the name is not placed on the Central Registry while the appeal is pending, and the DHHS Hearing Office conducts a hearing on whether the evidence supports registry entry.
- Section 28-720 separates court-substantiated, court-pending and agency-substantiated registry classifications. An agency-substantiated finding requires a preponderance-of-the-evidence determination following investigation. Reports that do not meet the registry classifications are treated as unfounded and kept in the tracking system rather than the Central Registry.
- After a proper appeal request, registry placement is stayed until a final Department order. This is a specific registry safeguard; it should not be described as an automatic pause of every other CPS process or deadline.
- Separate from the initial placement appeal, §28-723 permits a subject to request amendment, expungement or removal after the investigation. If DHHS refuses or does not act within 30 days, the subject has a right to an internal fair hearing; the Department bears the burden of proving the record's accuracy and consistency. A written decision is due at the close of the hearing or within 30 days, and may be appealed under the Administrative Procedure Act.
- For a subject aged 12 to under 19, §28-721 provides a mandatory expungement hearing within 60 days after receipt of the notice, unless the subject and specified representative(s) sign and return a waiver within 30 days after receipt.
Audit action / remaining hold
Older Nebraska materials may omit the July 18, 2026 amendments. The 14-day appeal period is tied by statute to the date the determination notice is sent, while the agency page describes the date printed on the notice. The actual notice and proof of sending therefore matter. This pass did not fully reconcile all changes in LB 668 with the current implementing regulations or every notice template; do not rely on pre-July 2026 guidance without checking it against the amended law.
Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-713.01 (amended 2026) · Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-720 · Neb. Rev. Stat. §28-723 · Nebraska DHHS Central Registry and appeal guidance
Tennessee — two separate 20-business-day filing windows
What the sources establish
- Tennessee DCS distinguishes a substantiated finding from an unsubstantiated finding. Its public guidance describes two levels of due process for a person substantiated as a perpetrator: first, a formal file review; if upheld, a possible administrative hearing before an administrative law judge.
- Under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0250-07-09-.07, a request for formal file review must be received within 20 business days from the date of service of the notice. The rule says that absent good cause, missing the deadline waives formal review and makes the report final. The Department must respond to a timely request within 10 business days; the person then has 30 business days from the date of that follow-up notice to submit additional written or documentary material.
- The formal file review is based on whether a preponderance of the evidence supports substantiation. If the review reverses the finding, the report is classified unsubstantiated and DCS says it will not release information identifying the person as a perpetrator. The rule does not require expungement of all internal case records.
- If the formal file review upholds substantiation, Rule .07(11) provides a second 20-business-day period, measured from the date of the notice of the review outcome, to request an administrative hearing. Rule .09 likewise says the hearing request must be received by the twentieth business day.
- After an administrative judge's initial order, the Tennessee Courts' 2025 DCS training describes two further routes: request agency review by the Commissioner or designee within 15 days, or seek judicial review in chancery court within 60 days of the final order. The applicable final-order status and current statutory procedure must be checked before filing.
- Emergency procedures under Rule .08 can alter the ordinary nondisclosure protections and process. The ordinary timelines above should not be applied without checking whether the case was designated for emergency procedures.
Audit action / remaining hold
The two 20-business-day clocks are not one continuous deadline. One is for requesting formal file review after service of the original notice; the second is for requesting the administrative hearing after the formal review decision. DCS's FAQ says the specific hearing form and instructions are supplied with the review decision. The exact current official Tennessee rule compilation and any later amendments still require confirmation; the cited rule reproductions show amendments effective January 4, 2018, so the text is treated as a strong procedural lead, not a final current-rule certification.
Tennessee DCS alleged-perpetrator FAQ · Tennessee DCS alleged-perpetrator guidance · Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0250-07-09-.07 · Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0250-07-09-.09 · Tennessee Courts DCS due-process training (Apr. 4, 2025)
Cross-state findings
- Utah: 30 days from receipt of supported-finding notice; an existing court finding can bar the administrative challenge, subject to statutory exceptions.
- Nebraska: 14 calendar days from the date the determination notice is sent; a timely appeal prevents registry entry pending a final Department order. LB 668 took effect July 18, 2026.
- Tennessee: two distinct 20-business-day periods—first to request formal file review, then, if substantiation is upheld, to request an administrative hearing.
- Records: Utah's allegation expungement rule, Nebraska's Central Registry removal process and Tennessee's limits on disclosure/internal record retention are not equivalent.
Scope and release decision
This pass focused on supported/substantiated findings, registry placement and review/appeal routes. It did not complete a full audit of initial response, interviews, home entry, emergency removal, records access or all retention rules in these three states. The state notice PDFs were not edited.
Release decision: HOLD. No state is cleared by this pass. All 50 state notices remain research drafts. No attorney review, legal certification or case-specific legal suitability is claimed.
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