Quick answer: generally no for an ordinary sale to an unrelated buyer — Utah's UPC gives the personal representative default authority to sell without a court order. Self-dealing sales are a different question entirely. Run your own numbers in the Utah probate real estate sale calculator.
Default authority under the UPC
As a Uniform Probate Code state, Utah gives an appointed personal representative in informal, unsupervised administration broad, default powers over estate property — including the authority to sell real estate to an unrelated buyer without filing a separate petition or attending a hearing.
Self-dealing is voidable, not automatically blocked
Two ways to make a self-dealing sale stick
A self-dealing transaction survives a challenge only if the will or a contract the decedent entered into expressly authorized it, or if the court approved the transaction after notice to interested persons — without one of those two, any interested person can void it later.
Supervised administration is the exception, not the rule
Most Utah estates proceed through informal, unsupervised administration. Supervised administration involves more court oversight generally, including for distributions, but it's reserved for cases with a genuine dispute or oversight concern rather than the typical path.
A local probate attorney can review your estate — many offer a free consultation.
Salt Lake, Utah, and Davis County each administer these sales through their own district court, but Title 75's rules apply identically statewide.