As governor, Herbert was responsible for appointing judges to Utah state courts. In Utah, the governor makes a judicial appointment after candidates are recommended by a judicial nominating commission. After the governor appoints a judge, she or he must be confirmed by the Utah State Senate. Judges then stand for retention in the next general election more than three years after appointment. For an up-to-date list of all of Herbert's appointees, see Judges appointed by Gary Herbert.

A June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals ranked 45 governors based on the annual private sector growth rate in all 50 states using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Herbert was ranked number 3. The five governors omitted from the analysis all assumed office in 2013.

On July 22, 2014, the Republican governors of Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah and Wisconsin sent a letter to President Obama expressing concerns about how the administration was handling the increase in unaccompanied children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border between 2013 and 2014. The governors argued that a failure to return the children to their home countries would “send a message that will encourage a much larger movement towards our southern border. We fear that this will put a significant number of children at risk of abuse and neglect on their journey to the United States.”