diff --git a/.pending/breaking/sdk/4488-client-s-tx-res b/.pending/breaking/sdk/4488-client-s-tx-res
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..03b815c30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.pending/breaking/sdk/4488-client-s-tx-res
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+#4488 Decouple client tx, REST, and ultil packages from auth. These packages have
+been restructured and retrofitted into the `x/auth` module.
diff --git a/client/alias.go b/client/alias.go
index 5ce2ab057..04aa203bd 100644
--- a/client/alias.go
+++ b/client/alias.go
@@ -18,10 +18,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/input"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/keys"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/lcd"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rpc"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/tx"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -94,7 +91,6 @@ var (
 	NewInMemoryKeyBase                 = keys.NewInMemoryKeyBase
 	NewRestServer                      = lcd.NewRestServer
 	ServeCommand                       = lcd.ServeCommand
-	WriteGenerateStdTxResponse         = rest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse
 	BlockCommand                       = rpc.BlockCommand
 	GetChainHeight                     = rpc.GetChainHeight
 	BlockRequestHandlerFn              = rpc.BlockRequestHandlerFn
@@ -109,27 +105,6 @@ var (
 	GetValidators                      = rpc.GetValidators
 	ValidatorSetRequestHandlerFn       = rpc.ValidatorSetRequestHandlerFn
 	LatestValidatorSetRequestHandlerFn = rpc.LatestValidatorSetRequestHandlerFn
-	BroadcastTxRequest                 = tx.BroadcastTxRequest
-	GetBroadcastCommand                = tx.GetBroadcastCommand
-	EncodeTxRequestHandlerFn           = tx.EncodeTxRequestHandlerFn
-	GetEncodeCommand                   = tx.GetEncodeCommand
-	SearchTxCmd                        = tx.SearchTxCmd
-	QueryTxCmd                         = tx.QueryTxCmd
-	QueryTxsByTagsRequestHandlerFn     = tx.QueryTxsByTagsRequestHandlerFn
-	QueryTxRequestHandlerFn            = tx.QueryTxRequestHandlerFn
-	RegisterTxRoutes                   = tx.RegisterTxRoutes
-	SearchTxs                          = tx.SearchTxs
-	ValidateTxResult                   = tx.ValidateTxResult
-	GenerateOrBroadcastMsgs            = utils.GenerateOrBroadcastMsgs
-	CompleteAndBroadcastTxCLI          = utils.CompleteAndBroadcastTxCLI
-	EnrichWithGas                      = utils.EnrichWithGas
-	CalculateGas                       = utils.CalculateGas
-	PrintUnsignedStdTx                 = utils.PrintUnsignedStdTx
-	SignStdTx                          = utils.SignStdTx
-	SignStdTxWithSignerAddress         = utils.SignStdTxWithSignerAddress
-	ReadStdTxFromFile                  = utils.ReadStdTxFromFile
-	GetTxEncoder                       = utils.GetTxEncoder
-	PrepareTxBuilder                   = utils.PrepareTxBuilder
 	BufferStdin                        = input.BufferStdin
 	OverrideStdin                      = input.OverrideStdin
 	GetPassword                        = input.GetPassword
@@ -153,7 +128,4 @@ type (
 	RestServer             = lcd.RestServer
 	ValidatorOutput        = rpc.ValidatorOutput
 	ResultValidatorsOutput = rpc.ResultValidatorsOutput
-	BroadcastReq           = tx.BroadcastReq
-	EncodeResp             = tx.EncodeResp
-	GasEstimateResponse    = utils.GasEstimateResponse
 )
diff --git a/client/cmd.go b/client/cmd.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..afddf20fe
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/cmd.go
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package client
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+
+	"github.com/pkg/errors"
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+)
+
+// ValidateCmd returns unknown command error or Help display if help flag set
+func ValidateCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+	var cmds []string
+	var help bool
+
+	// construct array of commands and search for help flag
+	for _, arg := range args {
+		if arg == "--help" || arg == "-h" {
+			help = true
+		} else if len(arg) > 0 && !(arg[0] == '-') {
+			cmds = append(cmds, arg)
+		}
+	}
+
+	if !help && len(cmds) > 0 {
+		err := fmt.Sprintf("unknown command \"%s\" for \"%s\"", cmds[0], cmd.CalledAs())
+
+		// build suggestions for unknown argument
+		if suggestions := cmd.SuggestionsFor(cmds[0]); len(suggestions) > 0 {
+			err += "\n\nDid you mean this?\n"
+			for _, s := range suggestions {
+				err += fmt.Sprintf("\t%v\n", s)
+			}
+		}
+		return errors.New(err)
+	}
+
+	return cmd.Help()
+}
diff --git a/client/cmd_test.go b/client/cmd_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3ca286f64
--- /dev/null
+++ b/client/cmd_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package client_test
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
+)
+
+func TestValidateCmd(t *testing.T) {
+	// setup root and subcommands
+	rootCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use: "root",
+	}
+	queryCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use: "query",
+	}
+	rootCmd.AddCommand(queryCmd)
+
+	// command being tested
+	distCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:                        "distr",
+		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
+		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
+	}
+	queryCmd.AddCommand(distCmd)
+
+	commissionCmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use: "commission",
+	}
+	distCmd.AddCommand(commissionCmd)
+
+	tests := []struct {
+		reason  string
+		args    []string
+		wantErr bool
+	}{
+		{"misspelled command", []string{"comission"}, true},
+		{"no command provided", []string{}, false},
+		{"help flag", []string{"comission", "--help"}, false},
+		{"shorthand help flag", []string{"comission", "-h"}, false},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		err := client.ValidateCmd(distCmd, tt.args)
+		require.Equal(t, tt.wantErr, err != nil, tt.reason)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/client/rest/errors.go b/client/rest/errors.go
deleted file mode 100644
index a3ac8fb29..000000000
--- a/client/rest/errors.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-package rest
-
-import "errors"
-
-var errInvalidGasAdjustment = errors.New("invalid gas adjustment")
diff --git a/client/routes.go b/client/routes.go
index d8c07b67b..ded91ca89 100644
--- a/client/routes.go
+++ b/client/routes.go
@@ -9,5 +9,4 @@ import (
 // Register routes
 func RegisterRoutes(cliCtx context.CLIContext, r *mux.Router) {
 	RegisterRPCRoutes(cliCtx, r)
-	RegisterTxRoutes(cliCtx, r)
 }
diff --git a/client/tx/broadcast.go b/client/tx/broadcast.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 20654c59d..000000000
--- a/client/tx/broadcast.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,95 +0,0 @@
-package tx
-
-import (
-	"net/http"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
-
-	"io/ioutil"
-
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/flags"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
-)
-
-// BroadcastReq defines a tx broadcasting request.
-type BroadcastReq struct {
-	Tx   auth.StdTx `json:"tx"`
-	Mode string     `json:"mode"`
-}
-
-// BroadcastTxRequest implements a tx broadcasting handler that is responsible
-// for broadcasting a valid and signed tx to a full node. The tx can be
-// broadcasted via a sync|async|block mechanism.
-func BroadcastTxRequest(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
-	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		var req BroadcastReq
-
-		body, err := ioutil.ReadAll(r.Body)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		err = cliCtx.Codec.UnmarshalJSON(body, &req)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		txBytes, err := cliCtx.Codec.MarshalBinaryLengthPrefixed(req.Tx)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		cliCtx = cliCtx.WithBroadcastMode(req.Mode)
-
-		res, err := cliCtx.BroadcastTx(txBytes)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, res)
-	}
-}
-
-// GetBroadcastCommand returns the tx broadcast command.
-func GetBroadcastCommand(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
-	cmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "broadcast [file_path]",
-		Short: "Broadcast transactions generated offline",
-		Long: strings.TrimSpace(`Broadcast transactions created with the --generate-only
-flag and signed with the sign command. Read a transaction from [file_path] and
-broadcast it to a node. If you supply a dash (-) argument in place of an input
-filename, the command reads from standard input.
-
-$ <appcli> tx broadcast ./mytxn.json
-`),
-		Args: cobra.ExactArgs(1),
-		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) (err error) {
-			cliCtx := context.NewCLIContext().WithCodec(cdc)
-			stdTx, err := utils.ReadStdTxFromFile(cliCtx.Codec, args[0])
-			if err != nil {
-				return
-			}
-
-			txBytes, err := cliCtx.Codec.MarshalBinaryLengthPrefixed(stdTx)
-			if err != nil {
-				return
-			}
-
-			res, err := cliCtx.BroadcastTx(txBytes)
-			cliCtx.PrintOutput(res) // nolint:errcheck
-			return err
-		},
-	}
-
-	return flags.PostCommands(cmd)[0]
-}
diff --git a/client/tx/query.go b/client/tx/query.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 931808f08..000000000
--- a/client/tx/query.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,213 +0,0 @@
-package tx
-
-import (
-	"fmt"
-	"net/http"
-	"strings"
-
-	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
-	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/types"
-
-	"github.com/spf13/viper"
-
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/flags"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
-	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
-)
-
-const (
-	flagTags  = "tags"
-	flagPage  = "page"
-	flagLimit = "limit"
-)
-
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// CLI
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-// SearchTxCmd returns a command to search through tagged transactions.
-func SearchTxCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
-	cmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "txs",
-		Short: "Search for paginated transactions that match a set of tags",
-		Long: strings.TrimSpace(`
-Search for transactions that match the exact given tags where results are paginated.
-
-Example:
-$ <appcli> query txs --tags '<tag1>:<value1>&<tag2>:<value2>' --page 1 --limit 30
-`),
-		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			tagsStr := viper.GetString(flagTags)
-			tagsStr = strings.Trim(tagsStr, "'")
-
-			var tags []string
-			if strings.Contains(tagsStr, "&") {
-				tags = strings.Split(tagsStr, "&")
-			} else {
-				tags = append(tags, tagsStr)
-			}
-
-			var tmTags []string
-			for _, tag := range tags {
-				if !strings.Contains(tag, ":") {
-					return fmt.Errorf("%s should be of the format <key>:<value>", tagsStr)
-				} else if strings.Count(tag, ":") > 1 {
-					return fmt.Errorf("%s should only contain one <key>:<value> pair", tagsStr)
-				}
-
-				keyValue := strings.Split(tag, ":")
-				if keyValue[0] == types.TxHeightKey {
-					tag = fmt.Sprintf("%s=%s", keyValue[0], keyValue[1])
-				} else {
-					tag = fmt.Sprintf("%s='%s'", keyValue[0], keyValue[1])
-				}
-				tmTags = append(tmTags, tag)
-			}
-
-			page := viper.GetInt(flagPage)
-			limit := viper.GetInt(flagLimit)
-
-			cliCtx := context.NewCLIContext().WithCodec(cdc)
-			txs, err := SearchTxs(cliCtx, tmTags, page, limit)
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-
-			var output []byte
-			if cliCtx.Indent {
-				output, err = cdc.MarshalJSONIndent(txs, "", "  ")
-			} else {
-				output, err = cdc.MarshalJSON(txs)
-			}
-
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-
-			fmt.Println(string(output))
-			return nil
-		},
-	}
-
-	cmd.Flags().StringP(flags.FlagNode, "n", "tcp://localhost:26657", "Node to connect to")
-	viper.BindPFlag(flags.FlagNode, cmd.Flags().Lookup(flags.FlagNode))
-	cmd.Flags().Bool(flags.FlagTrustNode, false, "Trust connected full node (don't verify proofs for responses)")
-	viper.BindPFlag(flags.FlagTrustNode, cmd.Flags().Lookup(flags.FlagTrustNode))
-
-	cmd.Flags().String(flagTags, "", "tag:value list of tags that must match")
-	cmd.Flags().Uint32(flagPage, rest.DefaultPage, "Query a specific page of paginated results")
-	cmd.Flags().Uint32(flagLimit, rest.DefaultLimit, "Query number of transactions results per page returned")
-	cmd.MarkFlagRequired(flagTags)
-
-	return cmd
-}
-
-// QueryTxCmd implements the default command for a tx query.
-func QueryTxCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
-	cmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:   "tx [hash]",
-		Short: "Find a transaction by hash in a committed block.",
-		Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(1),
-		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-			cliCtx := context.NewCLIContext().WithCodec(cdc)
-
-			output, err := queryTx(cliCtx, args[0])
-			if err != nil {
-				return err
-			}
-
-			if output.Empty() {
-				return fmt.Errorf("No transaction found with hash %s", args[0])
-			}
-
-			return cliCtx.PrintOutput(output)
-		},
-	}
-
-	cmd.Flags().StringP(flags.FlagNode, "n", "tcp://localhost:26657", "Node to connect to")
-	viper.BindPFlag(flags.FlagNode, cmd.Flags().Lookup(flags.FlagNode))
-	cmd.Flags().Bool(flags.FlagTrustNode, false, "Trust connected full node (don't verify proofs for responses)")
-	viper.BindPFlag(flags.FlagTrustNode, cmd.Flags().Lookup(flags.FlagTrustNode))
-
-	return cmd
-}
-
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// REST
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-// QueryTxsByTagsRequestHandlerFn implements a REST handler that searches for
-// transactions by tags.
-func QueryTxsByTagsRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
-	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		var (
-			tags        []string
-			txs         []sdk.TxResponse
-			page, limit int
-		)
-
-		err := r.ParseForm()
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest,
-				sdk.AppendMsgToErr("could not parse query parameters", err.Error()))
-			return
-		}
-
-		cliCtx, ok := rest.ParseQueryHeightOrReturnBadRequest(w, cliCtx, r)
-		if !ok {
-			return
-		}
-
-		if len(r.Form) == 0 {
-			rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, txs)
-			return
-		}
-
-		tags, page, limit, err = rest.ParseHTTPArgs(r)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		searchResult, err := SearchTxs(cliCtx, tags, page, limit)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, searchResult)
-	}
-}
-
-// QueryTxRequestHandlerFn implements a REST handler that queries a transaction
-// by hash in a committed block.
-func QueryTxRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
-	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		vars := mux.Vars(r)
-		hashHexStr := vars["hash"]
-
-		cliCtx, ok := rest.ParseQueryHeightOrReturnBadRequest(w, cliCtx, r)
-		if !ok {
-			return
-		}
-
-		output, err := queryTx(cliCtx, hashHexStr)
-		if err != nil {
-			if strings.Contains(err.Error(), hashHexStr) {
-				rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusNotFound, err.Error())
-				return
-			}
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		if output.Empty() {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusNotFound, fmt.Sprintf("no transaction found with hash %s", hashHexStr))
-		}
-
-		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, output)
-	}
-}
diff --git a/client/tx/root.go b/client/tx/root.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 446902b53..000000000
--- a/client/tx/root.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,15 +0,0 @@
-package tx
-
-import (
-	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
-
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-)
-
-// register REST routes
-func RegisterTxRoutes(cliCtx context.CLIContext, r *mux.Router) {
-	r.HandleFunc("/txs/{hash}", QueryTxRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx)).Methods("GET")
-	r.HandleFunc("/txs", QueryTxsByTagsRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx)).Methods("GET")
-	r.HandleFunc("/txs", BroadcastTxRequest(cliCtx)).Methods("POST")
-	r.HandleFunc("/txs/encode", EncodeTxRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx)).Methods("POST")
-}
diff --git a/client/utils/errors.go b/client/utils/errors.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 58d925692..000000000
--- a/client/utils/errors.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,5 +0,0 @@
-package utils
-
-import "errors"
-
-var errInvalidSigner = errors.New("tx intended signer does not match the given signer")
diff --git a/x/auth/client/cli/broadcast.go b/x/auth/client/cli/broadcast.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a445c88a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x/auth/client/cli/broadcast.go
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+package cli
+
+import (
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/flags"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
+)
+
+// GetBroadcastCommand returns the tx broadcast command.
+func GetBroadcastCommand(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "broadcast [file_path]",
+		Short: "Broadcast transactions generated offline",
+		Long: strings.TrimSpace(`Broadcast transactions created with the --generate-only
+flag and signed with the sign command. Read a transaction from [file_path] and
+broadcast it to a node. If you supply a dash (-) argument in place of an input
+filename, the command reads from standard input.
+
+$ <appcli> tx broadcast ./mytxn.json
+`),
+		Args: cobra.ExactArgs(1),
+		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) (err error) {
+			cliCtx := context.NewCLIContext().WithCodec(cdc)
+			stdTx, err := utils.ReadStdTxFromFile(cliCtx.Codec, args[0])
+			if err != nil {
+				return
+			}
+
+			txBytes, err := cliCtx.Codec.MarshalBinaryLengthPrefixed(stdTx)
+			if err != nil {
+				return
+			}
+
+			res, err := cliCtx.BroadcastTx(txBytes)
+			cliCtx.PrintOutput(res) // nolint:errcheck
+
+			return err
+		},
+	}
+
+	return flags.PostCommands(cmd)[0]
+}
diff --git a/client/tx/encode.go b/x/auth/client/cli/encode.go
similarity index 53%
rename from client/tx/encode.go
rename to x/auth/client/cli/encode.go
index 74e3abbda..508a8eae8 100644
--- a/client/tx/encode.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/cli/encode.go
@@ -1,64 +1,16 @@
-package tx
+package cli
 
 import (
 	"encoding/base64"
-	"io/ioutil"
-	"net/http"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/flags"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 )
 
-type (
-	// EncodeReq defines a tx encoding request.
-	// Use auth.StdTx directly
-
-	// EncodeResp defines a tx encoding response.
-	EncodeResp struct {
-		Tx string `json:"tx"`
-	}
-)
-
-// EncodeTxRequestHandlerFn returns the encode tx REST handler. In particular,
-// it takes a json-formatted transaction, encodes it to the Amino wire protocol,
-// and responds with base64-encoded bytes.
-func EncodeTxRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
-	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-		var req auth.StdTx
-
-		body, err := ioutil.ReadAll(r.Body)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		err = cliCtx.Codec.UnmarshalJSON(body, &req)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		// re-encode it via the Amino wire protocol
-		txBytes, err := cliCtx.Codec.MarshalBinaryLengthPrefixed(req)
-		if err != nil {
-			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
-			return
-		}
-
-		// base64 encode the encoded tx bytes
-		txBytesBase64 := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(txBytes)
-
-		response := EncodeResp{Tx: txBytesBase64}
-		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, response)
-	}
-}
-
 // txEncodeRespStr implements a simple Stringer wrapper for a encoded tx.
 type txEncodeRespStr string
 
diff --git a/x/auth/client/cli/query.go b/x/auth/client/cli/query.go
index 0227e30d1..f5da295f1 100644
--- a/x/auth/client/cli/query.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/cli/query.go
@@ -1,14 +1,28 @@
 package cli
 
 import (
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
 
+	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
+	"github.com/spf13/viper"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/flags"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
+
+	tmtypes "github.com/tendermint/tendermint/types"
+)
+
+const (
+	flagTags  = "tags"
+	flagPage  = "page"
+	flagLimit = "limit"
 )
 
 // GetTxCmd returns the transaction commands for this module
@@ -18,15 +32,16 @@ func GetQueryCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Querying commands for the auth module",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
+
 	cmd.AddCommand(GetAccountCmd(cdc))
+
 	return cmd
 }
 
 // GetAccountCmd returns a query account that will display the state of the
 // account at a given address.
-// nolint: unparam
 func GetAccountCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 	cmd := &cobra.Command{
 		Use:   "account [address]",
@@ -53,5 +68,114 @@ func GetAccountCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 			return cliCtx.PrintOutput(acc)
 		},
 	}
+
 	return flags.GetCommands(cmd)[0]
 }
+
+// QueryTxsByTagsCmd returns a command to search through tagged transactions.
+func QueryTxsByTagsCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "txs",
+		Short: "Query for paginated transactions that match a set of tags",
+		Long: strings.TrimSpace(`
+Search for transactions that match the exact given tags where results are paginated.
+
+Example:
+$ <appcli> query txs --tags '<tag1>:<value1>&<tag2>:<value2>' --page 1 --limit 30
+`),
+		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			tagsStr := viper.GetString(flagTags)
+			tagsStr = strings.Trim(tagsStr, "'")
+
+			var tags []string
+			if strings.Contains(tagsStr, "&") {
+				tags = strings.Split(tagsStr, "&")
+			} else {
+				tags = append(tags, tagsStr)
+			}
+
+			var tmTags []string
+			for _, tag := range tags {
+				if !strings.Contains(tag, ":") {
+					return fmt.Errorf("%s should be of the format <key>:<value>", tagsStr)
+				} else if strings.Count(tag, ":") > 1 {
+					return fmt.Errorf("%s should only contain one <key>:<value> pair", tagsStr)
+				}
+
+				keyValue := strings.Split(tag, ":")
+				if keyValue[0] == tmtypes.TxHeightKey {
+					tag = fmt.Sprintf("%s=%s", keyValue[0], keyValue[1])
+				} else {
+					tag = fmt.Sprintf("%s='%s'", keyValue[0], keyValue[1])
+				}
+
+				tmTags = append(tmTags, tag)
+			}
+
+			page := viper.GetInt(flagPage)
+			limit := viper.GetInt(flagLimit)
+
+			cliCtx := context.NewCLIContext().WithCodec(cdc)
+			txs, err := utils.QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx, tmTags, page, limit)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			var output []byte
+			if cliCtx.Indent {
+				output, err = cdc.MarshalJSONIndent(txs, "", "  ")
+			} else {
+				output, err = cdc.MarshalJSON(txs)
+			}
+
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			fmt.Println(string(output))
+			return nil
+		},
+	}
+
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flags.FlagNode, "n", "tcp://localhost:26657", "Node to connect to")
+	viper.BindPFlag(flags.FlagNode, cmd.Flags().Lookup(flags.FlagNode))
+	cmd.Flags().Bool(flags.FlagTrustNode, false, "Trust connected full node (don't verify proofs for responses)")
+	viper.BindPFlag(flags.FlagTrustNode, cmd.Flags().Lookup(flags.FlagTrustNode))
+
+	cmd.Flags().String(flagTags, "", "tag:value list of tags that must match")
+	cmd.Flags().Uint32(flagPage, rest.DefaultPage, "Query a specific page of paginated results")
+	cmd.Flags().Uint32(flagLimit, rest.DefaultLimit, "Query number of transactions results per page returned")
+	cmd.MarkFlagRequired(flagTags)
+
+	return cmd
+}
+
+// QueryTxCmd implements the default command for a tx query.
+func QueryTxCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
+	cmd := &cobra.Command{
+		Use:   "tx [hash]",
+		Short: "Query for a transaction by hash in a committed block",
+		Args:  cobra.ExactArgs(1),
+		RunE: func(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
+			cliCtx := context.NewCLIContext().WithCodec(cdc)
+
+			output, err := utils.QueryTx(cliCtx, args[0])
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+
+			if output.Empty() {
+				return fmt.Errorf("No transaction found with hash %s", args[0])
+			}
+
+			return cliCtx.PrintOutput(output)
+		},
+	}
+
+	cmd.Flags().StringP(flags.FlagNode, "n", "tcp://localhost:26657", "Node to connect to")
+	viper.BindPFlag(flags.FlagNode, cmd.Flags().Lookup(flags.FlagNode))
+	cmd.Flags().Bool(flags.FlagTrustNode, false, "Trust connected full node (don't verify proofs for responses)")
+	viper.BindPFlag(flags.FlagTrustNode, cmd.Flags().Lookup(flags.FlagTrustNode))
+
+	return cmd
+}
diff --git a/x/auth/client/cli/tx.go b/x/auth/client/cli/tx.go
index 83b6d4606..7ee246c38 100644
--- a/x/auth/client/cli/tx.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/cli/tx.go
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ package cli
 import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
 )
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ func GetTxCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Auth transaction subcommands",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 	txCmd.AddCommand(
 		GetMultiSignCommand(cdc),
diff --git a/x/auth/client/cli/tx_multisign.go b/x/auth/client/cli/tx_multisign.go
index c1a88a6a0..34c5630da 100644
--- a/x/auth/client/cli/tx_multisign.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/cli/tx_multisign.go
@@ -15,10 +15,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/flags"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/keys"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	crkeys "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/crypto/keys"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
 )
 
diff --git a/x/auth/client/cli/tx_sign.go b/x/auth/client/cli/tx_sign.go
index f7be33501..f18cc4de7 100644
--- a/x/auth/client/cli/tx_sign.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/cli/tx_sign.go
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/flags"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
 )
 
diff --git a/x/auth/client/rest/broadcast.go b/x/auth/client/rest/broadcast.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a625d440
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x/auth/client/rest/broadcast.go
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+package rest
+
+import (
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"net/http"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
+)
+
+// BroadcastReq defines a tx broadcasting request.
+type BroadcastReq struct {
+	Tx   types.StdTx `json:"tx"`
+	Mode string      `json:"mode"`
+}
+
+// BroadcastTxRequest implements a tx broadcasting handler that is responsible
+// for broadcasting a valid and signed tx to a full node. The tx can be
+// broadcasted via a sync|async|block mechanism.
+func BroadcastTxRequest(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
+	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		var req BroadcastReq
+
+		body, err := ioutil.ReadAll(r.Body)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		err = cliCtx.Codec.UnmarshalJSON(body, &req)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		txBytes, err := cliCtx.Codec.MarshalBinaryLengthPrefixed(req.Tx)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		cliCtx = cliCtx.WithBroadcastMode(req.Mode)
+
+		res, err := cliCtx.BroadcastTx(txBytes)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, res)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/x/auth/client/rest/encode.go b/x/auth/client/rest/encode.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..36e546902
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x/auth/client/rest/encode.go
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+package rest
+
+import (
+	"encoding/base64"
+	"io/ioutil"
+	"net/http"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
+)
+
+// EncodeResp defines a tx encoding response.
+type EncodeResp struct {
+	Tx string `json:"tx"`
+}
+
+// EncodeTxRequestHandlerFn returns the encode tx REST handler. In particular,
+// it takes a json-formatted transaction, encodes it to the Amino wire protocol,
+// and responds with base64-encoded bytes.
+func EncodeTxRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
+	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		var req types.StdTx
+
+		body, err := ioutil.ReadAll(r.Body)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		err = cliCtx.Codec.UnmarshalJSON(body, &req)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		// re-encode it via the Amino wire protocol
+		txBytes, err := cliCtx.Codec.MarshalBinaryLengthPrefixed(req)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		// base64 encode the encoded tx bytes
+		txBytesBase64 := base64.StdEncoding.EncodeToString(txBytes)
+
+		response := EncodeResp{Tx: txBytesBase64}
+		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, response)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/x/auth/client/rest/query.go b/x/auth/client/rest/query.go
index 4cc23d63e..a6900969c 100644
--- a/x/auth/client/rest/query.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/rest/query.go
@@ -1,14 +1,16 @@
 package rest
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
+	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
-
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
 )
 
@@ -19,19 +21,6 @@ type AccountWithHeight struct {
 	Height int64 `json:"height"`
 }
 
-// register REST routes
-func RegisterRoutes(cliCtx context.CLIContext, r *mux.Router, storeName string) {
-	r.HandleFunc(
-		"/auth/accounts/{address}",
-		QueryAccountRequestHandlerFn(storeName, context.GetAccountDecoder(cliCtx.Codec), cliCtx),
-	).Methods("GET")
-
-	r.HandleFunc(
-		"/bank/balances/{address}",
-		QueryBalancesRequestHandlerFn(storeName, context.GetAccountDecoder(cliCtx.Codec), cliCtx),
-	).Methods("GET")
-}
-
 // query accountREST Handler
 func QueryAccountRequestHandlerFn(
 	storeName string, decoder types.AccountDecoder, cliCtx context.CLIContext,
@@ -118,3 +107,76 @@ func QueryBalancesRequestHandlerFn(
 		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, account.GetCoins())
 	}
 }
+
+// QueryTxsByTagsRequestHandlerFn implements a REST handler that searches for
+// transactions by tags.
+func QueryTxsByTagsRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
+	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		var (
+			tags        []string
+			txs         []sdk.TxResponse
+			page, limit int
+		)
+
+		err := r.ParseForm()
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest,
+				sdk.AppendMsgToErr("could not parse query parameters", err.Error()))
+			return
+		}
+
+		cliCtx, ok := rest.ParseQueryHeightOrReturnBadRequest(w, cliCtx, r)
+		if !ok {
+			return
+		}
+
+		if len(r.Form) == 0 {
+			rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, txs)
+			return
+		}
+
+		tags, page, limit, err = rest.ParseHTTPArgs(r)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		searchResult, err := utils.QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx, tags, page, limit)
+		if err != nil {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, searchResult)
+	}
+}
+
+// QueryTxRequestHandlerFn implements a REST handler that queries a transaction
+// by hash in a committed block.
+func QueryTxRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
+	return func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+		vars := mux.Vars(r)
+		hashHexStr := vars["hash"]
+
+		cliCtx, ok := rest.ParseQueryHeightOrReturnBadRequest(w, cliCtx, r)
+		if !ok {
+			return
+		}
+
+		output, err := utils.QueryTx(cliCtx, hashHexStr)
+		if err != nil {
+			if strings.Contains(err.Error(), hashHexStr) {
+				rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusNotFound, err.Error())
+				return
+			}
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
+			return
+		}
+
+		if output.Empty() {
+			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusNotFound, fmt.Sprintf("no transaction found with hash %s", hashHexStr))
+		}
+
+		rest.PostProcessResponse(w, cliCtx, output)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/x/auth/client/rest/rest.go b/x/auth/client/rest/rest.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..707750fa3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x/auth/client/rest/rest.go
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+package rest
+
+import (
+	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
+
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
+)
+
+// RegisterRoutes registers the auth module REST routes.
+func RegisterRoutes(cliCtx context.CLIContext, r *mux.Router, storeName string) {
+	r.HandleFunc(
+		"/auth/accounts/{address}",
+		QueryAccountRequestHandlerFn(storeName, context.GetAccountDecoder(cliCtx.Codec), cliCtx),
+	).Methods("GET")
+
+	// TODO: Change path or mount under x/bank if possible
+	r.HandleFunc(
+		"/bank/balances/{address}",
+		QueryBalancesRequestHandlerFn(storeName, context.GetAccountDecoder(cliCtx.Codec), cliCtx),
+	).Methods("GET")
+}
+
+// RegisterTxRoutes registers all transaction routes on the provided router.
+func RegisterTxRoutes(cliCtx context.CLIContext, r *mux.Router) {
+	r.HandleFunc("/txs/{hash}", QueryTxRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx)).Methods("GET")
+	r.HandleFunc("/txs", QueryTxsByTagsRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx)).Methods("GET")
+	r.HandleFunc("/txs", BroadcastTxRequest(cliCtx)).Methods("POST")
+	r.HandleFunc("/txs/encode", EncodeTxRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx)).Methods("POST")
+}
diff --git a/x/auth/client/utils/errors.go b/x/auth/client/utils/errors.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a0fc7a0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/x/auth/client/utils/errors.go
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+package utils
+
+import "errors"
+
+var (
+	errInvalidSigner        = errors.New("tx intended signer does not match the given signer")
+	errInvalidGasAdjustment = errors.New("invalid gas adjustment")
+)
diff --git a/client/tx/utils.go b/x/auth/client/utils/query.go
similarity index 88%
rename from client/tx/utils.go
rename to x/auth/client/utils/query.go
index b16412db3..b79465298 100644
--- a/client/tx/utils.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/utils/query.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package tx
+package utils
 
 import (
 	"encoding/hex"
@@ -11,13 +11,13 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
 )
 
-// SearchTxs performs a search for transactions for a given set of tags via
+// QueryTxsByTags performs a search for transactions for a given set of tags via
 // Tendermint RPC. It returns a slice of Info object containing txs and metadata.
 // An error is returned if the query fails.
-func SearchTxs(cliCtx context.CLIContext, tags []string, page, limit int) (*sdk.SearchTxsResult, error) {
+func QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx context.CLIContext, tags []string, page, limit int) (*sdk.SearchTxsResult, error) {
 	if len(tags) == 0 {
 		return nil, errors.New("must declare at least one tag to search")
 	}
@@ -69,6 +69,43 @@ func SearchTxs(cliCtx context.CLIContext, tags []string, page, limit int) (*sdk.
 	return &result, nil
 }
 
+// QueryTx queries for a single transaction by a hash string in hex format. An
+// error is returned if the transaction does not exist or cannot be queried.
+func QueryTx(cliCtx context.CLIContext, hashHexStr string) (sdk.TxResponse, error) {
+	hash, err := hex.DecodeString(hashHexStr)
+	if err != nil {
+		return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
+	}
+
+	node, err := cliCtx.GetNode()
+	if err != nil {
+		return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
+	}
+
+	resTx, err := node.Tx(hash, !cliCtx.TrustNode)
+	if err != nil {
+		return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
+	}
+
+	if !cliCtx.TrustNode {
+		if err = ValidateTxResult(cliCtx, resTx); err != nil {
+			return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
+		}
+	}
+
+	resBlocks, err := getBlocksForTxResults(cliCtx, []*ctypes.ResultTx{resTx})
+	if err != nil {
+		return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
+	}
+
+	out, err := formatTxResult(cliCtx.Codec, resTx, resBlocks[resTx.Height])
+	if err != nil {
+		return out, err
+	}
+
+	return out, nil
+}
+
 // formatTxResults parses the indexed txs into a slice of TxResponse objects.
 func formatTxResults(cdc *codec.Codec, resTxs []*ctypes.ResultTx, resBlocks map[int64]*ctypes.ResultBlock) ([]sdk.TxResponse, error) {
 	var err error
@@ -130,7 +167,7 @@ func formatTxResult(cdc *codec.Codec, resTx *ctypes.ResultTx, resBlock *ctypes.R
 }
 
 func parseTx(cdc *codec.Codec, txBytes []byte) (sdk.Tx, error) {
-	var tx auth.StdTx
+	var tx types.StdTx
 
 	err := cdc.UnmarshalBinaryLengthPrefixed(txBytes, &tx)
 	if err != nil {
@@ -139,38 +176,3 @@ func parseTx(cdc *codec.Codec, txBytes []byte) (sdk.Tx, error) {
 
 	return tx, nil
 }
-
-func queryTx(cliCtx context.CLIContext, hashHexStr string) (sdk.TxResponse, error) {
-	hash, err := hex.DecodeString(hashHexStr)
-	if err != nil {
-		return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
-	}
-
-	node, err := cliCtx.GetNode()
-	if err != nil {
-		return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
-	}
-
-	resTx, err := node.Tx(hash, !cliCtx.TrustNode)
-	if err != nil {
-		return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
-	}
-
-	if !cliCtx.TrustNode {
-		if err = ValidateTxResult(cliCtx, resTx); err != nil {
-			return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
-		}
-	}
-
-	resBlocks, err := getBlocksForTxResults(cliCtx, []*ctypes.ResultTx{resTx})
-	if err != nil {
-		return sdk.TxResponse{}, err
-	}
-
-	out, err := formatTxResult(cliCtx.Codec, resTx, resBlocks[resTx.Height])
-	if err != nil {
-		return out, err
-	}
-
-	return out, nil
-}
diff --git a/client/rest/rest.go b/x/auth/client/utils/rest.go
similarity index 75%
rename from client/rest/rest.go
rename to x/auth/client/utils/rest.go
index 12cb79018..c86933873 100644
--- a/client/rest/rest.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/utils/rest.go
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-package rest
+package utils
 
 import (
 	"log"
@@ -6,15 +6,11 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/flags"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/types"
 )
 
-// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-// Building / Sending utilities
-
 // WriteGenerateStdTxResponse writes response for the generate only mode.
 func WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w http.ResponseWriter, cliCtx context.CLIContext, br rest.BaseReq, msgs []sdk.Msg) {
 	gasAdj, ok := rest.ParseFloat64OrReturnBadRequest(w, br.GasAdjustment, flags.DefaultGasAdjustment)
@@ -28,8 +24,8 @@ func WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w http.ResponseWriter, cliCtx context.CLIContext
 		return
 	}
 
-	txBldr := auth.NewTxBuilder(
-		utils.GetTxEncoder(cliCtx.Codec), br.AccountNumber, br.Sequence, gas, gasAdj,
+	txBldr := types.NewTxBuilder(
+		GetTxEncoder(cliCtx.Codec), br.AccountNumber, br.Sequence, gas, gasAdj,
 		br.Simulate, br.ChainID, br.Memo, br.Fees, br.GasPrices,
 	)
 
@@ -39,7 +35,7 @@ func WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w http.ResponseWriter, cliCtx context.CLIContext
 			return
 		}
 
-		txBldr, err = utils.EnrichWithGas(txBldr, cliCtx, msgs)
+		txBldr, err = EnrichWithGas(txBldr, cliCtx, msgs)
 		if err != nil {
 			rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
 			return
@@ -57,7 +53,7 @@ func WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w http.ResponseWriter, cliCtx context.CLIContext
 		return
 	}
 
-	output, err := cliCtx.Codec.MarshalJSON(auth.NewStdTx(stdMsg.Msgs, stdMsg.Fee, nil, stdMsg.Memo))
+	output, err := cliCtx.Codec.MarshalJSON(types.NewStdTx(stdMsg.Msgs, stdMsg.Fee, nil, stdMsg.Memo))
 	if err != nil {
 		rest.WriteErrorResponse(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, err.Error())
 		return
diff --git a/client/utils/utils.go b/x/auth/client/utils/tx.go
similarity index 88%
rename from client/utils/utils.go
rename to x/auth/client/utils/tx.go
index f55793e4c..7dcb43ec1 100644
--- a/client/utils/utils.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/utils/tx.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/pkg/errors"
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/spf13/viper"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
@@ -60,7 +59,7 @@ func CompleteAndBroadcastTxCLI(txBldr authtypes.TxBuilder, cliCtx context.CLICon
 		}
 
 		gasEst := GasEstimateResponse{GasEstimate: txBldr.Gas()}
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", gasEst.String())
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", gasEst.String())
 	}
 
 	if cliCtx.Simulate {
@@ -83,12 +82,12 @@ func CompleteAndBroadcastTxCLI(txBldr authtypes.TxBuilder, cliCtx context.CLICon
 			json = cliCtx.Codec.MustMarshalJSON(stdSignMsg)
 		}
 
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n\n", json)
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n\n", json)
 
 		buf := input.BufferStdin()
 		ok, err := input.GetConfirmation("confirm transaction before signing and broadcasting", buf)
 		if err != nil || !ok {
-			fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", "cancelled transaction")
+			_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "%s\n", "cancelled transaction")
 			return err
 		}
 	}
@@ -120,26 +119,31 @@ func EnrichWithGas(txBldr authtypes.TxBuilder, cliCtx context.CLIContext, msgs [
 	if err != nil {
 		return txBldr, err
 	}
+
 	return txBldr.WithGas(adjusted), nil
 }
 
 // CalculateGas simulates the execution of a transaction and returns
 // both the estimate obtained by the query and the adjusted amount.
-func CalculateGas(queryFunc func(string, []byte) ([]byte, int64, error),
-	cdc *codec.Codec, txBytes []byte, adjustment float64) (estimate, adjusted uint64, err error) {
+func CalculateGas(
+	queryFunc func(string, []byte) ([]byte, int64, error), cdc *codec.Codec,
+	txBytes []byte, adjustment float64,
+) (estimate, adjusted uint64, err error) {
 
 	// run a simulation (via /app/simulate query) to
 	// estimate gas and update TxBuilder accordingly
 	rawRes, _, err := queryFunc("/app/simulate", txBytes)
 	if err != nil {
-		return
+		return estimate, adjusted, err
 	}
+
 	estimate, err = parseQueryResponse(cdc, rawRes)
 	if err != nil {
 		return
 	}
+
 	adjusted = adjustGasEstimate(estimate, adjustment)
-	return
+	return estimate, adjusted, nil
 }
 
 // PrintUnsignedStdTx builds an unsigned StdTx and prints it to os.Stdout.
@@ -225,17 +229,21 @@ func SignStdTxWithSignerAddress(txBldr authtypes.TxBuilder, cliCtx context.CLICo
 // Read and decode a StdTx from the given filename.  Can pass "-" to read from stdin.
 func ReadStdTxFromFile(cdc *codec.Codec, filename string) (stdTx authtypes.StdTx, err error) {
 	var bytes []byte
+
 	if filename == "-" {
 		bytes, err = ioutil.ReadAll(os.Stdin)
 	} else {
 		bytes, err = ioutil.ReadFile(filename)
 	}
+
 	if err != nil {
 		return
 	}
+
 	if err = cdc.UnmarshalJSON(bytes, &stdTx); err != nil {
 		return
 	}
+
 	return
 }
 
@@ -263,7 +271,8 @@ func GetTxEncoder(cdc *codec.Codec) (encoder sdk.TxEncoder) {
 	if encoder == nil {
 		encoder = authtypes.DefaultTxEncoder(cdc)
 	}
-	return
+
+	return encoder
 }
 
 // nolint
@@ -273,6 +282,7 @@ func simulateMsgs(txBldr authtypes.TxBuilder, cliCtx context.CLIContext, msgs []
 	if err != nil {
 		return
 	}
+
 	estimated, adjusted, err = CalculateGas(cliCtx.QueryWithData, cliCtx.Codec, txBytes, txBldr.GasAdjustment())
 	return
 }
@@ -286,6 +296,7 @@ func parseQueryResponse(cdc *codec.Codec, rawRes []byte) (uint64, error) {
 	if err := cdc.UnmarshalBinaryLengthPrefixed(rawRes, &simulationResult); err != nil {
 		return 0, err
 	}
+
 	return simulationResult.GasUsed, nil
 }
 
@@ -316,6 +327,7 @@ func PrepareTxBuilder(txBldr authtypes.TxBuilder, cliCtx context.CLIContext) (au
 		}
 		txBldr = txBldr.WithSequence(accSeq)
 	}
+
 	return txBldr, nil
 }
 
@@ -330,7 +342,7 @@ func buildUnsignedStdTxOffline(txBldr authtypes.TxBuilder, cliCtx context.CLICon
 			return stdTx, err
 		}
 
-		fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "estimated gas = %v\n", txBldr.Gas())
+		_, _ = fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, "estimated gas = %v\n", txBldr.Gas())
 	}
 
 	stdSignMsg, err := txBldr.BuildSignMsg(msgs)
@@ -350,33 +362,3 @@ func isTxSigner(user sdk.AccAddress, signers []sdk.AccAddress) bool {
 
 	return false
 }
-
-// ValidateCmd returns unknown command error or Help display if help flag set
-func ValidateCmd(cmd *cobra.Command, args []string) error {
-	var cmds []string
-	var help bool
-
-	// construct array of commands and search for help flag
-	for _, arg := range args {
-		if arg == "--help" || arg == "-h" {
-			help = true
-		} else if len(arg) > 0 && !(arg[0] == '-') {
-			cmds = append(cmds, arg)
-		}
-	}
-
-	if !help && len(cmds) > 0 {
-		err := fmt.Sprintf("unknown command \"%s\" for \"%s\"", cmds[0], cmd.CalledAs())
-
-		// build suggestions for unknown argument
-		if suggestions := cmd.SuggestionsFor(cmds[0]); len(suggestions) > 0 {
-			err += "\n\nDid you mean this?\n"
-			for _, s := range suggestions {
-				err += fmt.Sprintf("\t%v\n", s)
-			}
-		}
-		return errors.New(err)
-	}
-
-	return cmd.Help()
-}
diff --git a/client/utils/utils_test.go b/x/auth/client/utils/tx_test.go
similarity index 79%
rename from client/utils/utils_test.go
rename to x/auth/client/utils/tx_test.go
index b0cc27fa3..3ae79f7bd 100644
--- a/client/utils/utils_test.go
+++ b/x/auth/client/utils/tx_test.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"testing"
 
-	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/crypto/ed25519"
@@ -112,49 +111,6 @@ func TestReadStdTxFromFile(t *testing.T) {
 	require.Equal(t, decodedTx.Memo, "foomemo")
 }
 
-func TestValidateCmd(t *testing.T) {
-	// Setup root and subcommands
-	rootCmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use: "root",
-	}
-	queryCmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use: "query",
-	}
-	rootCmd.AddCommand(queryCmd)
-
-	// Command being tested
-	distCmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use:                        "distr",
-		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
-		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-	}
-	queryCmd.AddCommand(distCmd)
-
-	commissionCmd := &cobra.Command{
-		Use: "commission",
-	}
-	distCmd.AddCommand(commissionCmd)
-
-	tests := []struct {
-		reason  string
-		args    []string
-		wantErr bool
-	}{
-		{"misspelled command", []string{"comission"}, true},
-		{"no command provided", []string{}, false},
-		{"help flag", []string{"comission", "--help"}, false},
-		{"shorthand help flag", []string{"comission", "-h"}, false},
-	}
-
-	for _, tt := range tests {
-		err := ValidateCmd(distCmd, tt.args)
-		assert.Equal(t, tt.wantErr, err != nil, tt.reason)
-	}
-
-}
-
-// aux functions
-
 func compareEncoders(t *testing.T, expected sdk.TxEncoder, actual sdk.TxEncoder) {
 	msgs := []sdk.Msg{sdk.NewTestMsg(addr)}
 	tx := authtypes.NewStdTx(msgs, authtypes.StdFee{}, []authtypes.StdSignature{}, "")
diff --git a/x/bank/client/cli/tx.go b/x/bank/client/cli/tx.go
index 6d2335256..9383341a9 100644
--- a/x/bank/client/cli/tx.go
+++ b/x/bank/client/cli/tx.go
@@ -5,18 +5,13 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
-	auth "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/bank/internal/types"
 )
 
-const (
-	flagTo     = "to"
-	flagAmount = "amount"
-)
-
 // GetTxCmd returns the transaction commands for this module
 func GetTxCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 	txCmd := &cobra.Command{
@@ -24,7 +19,7 @@ func GetTxCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Bank transaction subcommands",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 	txCmd.AddCommand(
 		SendTxCmd(cdc),
diff --git a/x/bank/client/rest/tx.go b/x/bank/client/rest/tx.go
index 682cfcf00..9bc9bc345 100644
--- a/x/bank/client/rest/tx.go
+++ b/x/bank/client/rest/tx.go
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	clientrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/bank/internal/types"
 )
@@ -60,6 +60,6 @@ func SendRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 		}
 
 		msg := types.NewMsgSend(fromAddr, toAddr, req.Amount)
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/x/crisis/client/cli/tx.go b/x/crisis/client/cli/tx.go
index 4cd41c4f1..ab16b0bfe 100644
--- a/x/crisis/client/cli/tx.go
+++ b/x/crisis/client/cli/tx.go
@@ -6,10 +6,10 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
-	auth "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/crisis/types"
 )
 
@@ -40,7 +40,7 @@ func GetTxCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Crisis transactions subcommands",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	txCmd.AddCommand(client.PostCommands(
diff --git a/x/distribution/client/cli/query.go b/x/distribution/client/cli/query.go
index f227e1159..36d12e57f 100644
--- a/x/distribution/client/cli/query.go
+++ b/x/distribution/client/cli/query.go
@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
@@ -24,7 +23,7 @@ func GetQueryCmd(queryRoute string, cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Querying commands for the distribution module",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	distQueryCmd.AddCommand(client.GetCommands(
diff --git a/x/distribution/client/cli/tx.go b/x/distribution/client/cli/tx.go
index 98756eb82..4f99777bc 100644
--- a/x/distribution/client/cli/tx.go
+++ b/x/distribution/client/cli/tx.go
@@ -10,12 +10,12 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
-	auth "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
-	gov "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/distribution/client/common"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/distribution/types"
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func GetTxCmd(storeKey string, cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Distribution transactions subcommands",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	distTxCmd.AddCommand(client.PostCommands(
diff --git a/x/distribution/client/cli/tx_test.go b/x/distribution/client/cli/tx_test.go
index 699646408..af09d5445 100644
--- a/x/distribution/client/cli/tx_test.go
+++ b/x/distribution/client/cli/tx_test.go
@@ -7,10 +7,10 @@ import (
 	"github.com/tendermint/tendermint/crypto/secp256k1"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
-	auth "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 )
 
 func createFakeTxBuilder() auth.TxBuilder {
diff --git a/x/distribution/client/rest/rest.go b/x/distribution/client/rest/rest.go
index d9ea00c47..3b09478ec 100644
--- a/x/distribution/client/rest/rest.go
+++ b/x/distribution/client/rest/rest.go
@@ -6,9 +6,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	clientrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/distribution/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov"
 	govrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov/client/rest"
@@ -48,6 +48,6 @@ func postProposalHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/x/distribution/client/rest/tx.go b/x/distribution/client/rest/tx.go
index 89abb08fc..7f1410b4d 100644
--- a/x/distribution/client/rest/tx.go
+++ b/x/distribution/client/rest/tx.go
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	clientrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/distribution/client/common"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/distribution/types"
 
@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ func withdrawDelegatorRewardsHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext, queryRoute str
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, msgs)
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, msgs)
 	}
 }
 
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ func withdrawDelegationRewardsHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerF
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ func setDelegatorWithdrawalAddrHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.Handler
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ func withdrawValidatorRewardsHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFu
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, msgs)
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, msgs)
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/x/genutil/client/cli/gentx.go b/x/genutil/client/cli/gentx.go
index bb04bc2ff..545b0cecc 100644
--- a/x/genutil/client/cli/gentx.go
+++ b/x/genutil/client/cli/gentx.go
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/server"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/module"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/genutil"
@@ -117,7 +118,7 @@ func GenTxCmd(ctx *server.Context, cdc *codec.Codec, mbm module.BasicManager, sm
 				return err
 			}
 
-			txBldr := auth.NewTxBuilderFromCLI().WithTxEncoder(client.GetTxEncoder(cdc))
+			txBldr := auth.NewTxBuilderFromCLI().WithTxEncoder(utils.GetTxEncoder(cdc))
 			cliCtx := client.NewCLIContext().WithCodec(cdc)
 
 			// Set the generate-only flag here after the CLI context has
@@ -140,14 +141,14 @@ func GenTxCmd(ctx *server.Context, cdc *codec.Codec, mbm module.BasicManager, sm
 
 			if info.GetType() == kbkeys.TypeOffline || info.GetType() == kbkeys.TypeMulti {
 				fmt.Println("Offline key passed in. Use `tx sign` command to sign:")
-				return client.PrintUnsignedStdTx(txBldr, cliCtx, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+				return utils.PrintUnsignedStdTx(txBldr, cliCtx, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 			}
 
 			// write the unsigned transaction to the buffer
 			w := bytes.NewBuffer([]byte{})
 			cliCtx = cliCtx.WithOutput(w)
 
-			if err = client.PrintUnsignedStdTx(txBldr, cliCtx, []sdk.Msg{msg}); err != nil {
+			if err = utils.PrintUnsignedStdTx(txBldr, cliCtx, []sdk.Msg{msg}); err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
 
@@ -158,7 +159,7 @@ func GenTxCmd(ctx *server.Context, cdc *codec.Codec, mbm module.BasicManager, sm
 			}
 
 			// sign the transaction and write it to the output file
-			signedTx, err := client.SignStdTx(txBldr, cliCtx, name, stdTx, false, true)
+			signedTx, err := utils.SignStdTx(txBldr, cliCtx, name, stdTx, false, true)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err
 			}
diff --git a/x/gov/client/cli/query.go b/x/gov/client/cli/query.go
index e6b3b7489..28b957e41 100644
--- a/x/gov/client/cli/query.go
+++ b/x/gov/client/cli/query.go
@@ -10,7 +10,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
@@ -26,7 +25,7 @@ func GetQueryCmd(queryRoute string, cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Querying commands for the governance module",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	govQueryCmd.AddCommand(client.GetCommands(
diff --git a/x/gov/client/cli/tx.go b/x/gov/client/cli/tx.go
index 144085688..b7ff43bd3 100644
--- a/x/gov/client/cli/tx.go
+++ b/x/gov/client/cli/tx.go
@@ -9,11 +9,11 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	govutils "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov/types"
 )
@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ func GetTxCmd(storeKey string, cdc *codec.Codec, pcmds []*cobra.Command) *cobra.
 		Short:                      "Governance transactions subcommands",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	cmdSubmitProp := GetCmdSubmitProposal(cdc)
diff --git a/x/gov/client/rest/rest.go b/x/gov/client/rest/rest.go
index 297b21de9..212cc455b 100644
--- a/x/gov/client/rest/rest.go
+++ b/x/gov/client/rest/rest.go
@@ -8,9 +8,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	clientrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	gcutils "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov/types"
 )
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ func postProposalHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -144,7 +144,7 @@ func depositHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -187,7 +187,7 @@ func voteHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/x/gov/client/utils/query.go b/x/gov/client/utils/query.go
index 8675b9705..d1605b801 100644
--- a/x/gov/client/utils/query.go
+++ b/x/gov/client/utils/query.go
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"fmt"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/tx"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov/tags"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov/types"
 )
@@ -44,7 +44,7 @@ func QueryDepositsByTxQuery(cliCtx context.CLIContext, params types.QueryProposa
 
 	// NOTE: SearchTxs is used to facilitate the txs query which does not currently
 	// support configurable pagination.
-	searchResult, err := tx.SearchTxs(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
+	searchResult, err := utils.QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -86,7 +86,7 @@ func QueryVotesByTxQuery(cliCtx context.CLIContext, params types.QueryProposalPa
 
 	// NOTE: SearchTxs is used to facilitate the txs query which does not currently
 	// support configurable pagination.
-	searchResult, err := tx.SearchTxs(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
+	searchResult, err := utils.QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ func QueryVoteByTxQuery(cliCtx context.CLIContext, params types.QueryVoteParams)
 
 	// NOTE: SearchTxs is used to facilitate the txs query which does not currently
 	// support configurable pagination.
-	searchResult, err := tx.SearchTxs(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
+	searchResult, err := utils.QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ func QueryDepositByTxQuery(cliCtx context.CLIContext, params types.QueryDepositP
 
 	// NOTE: SearchTxs is used to facilitate the txs query which does not currently
 	// support configurable pagination.
-	searchResult, err := tx.SearchTxs(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
+	searchResult, err := utils.QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ func QueryProposerByTxQuery(cliCtx context.CLIContext, proposalID uint64) (Propo
 
 	// NOTE: SearchTxs is used to facilitate the txs query which does not currently
 	// support configurable pagination.
-	searchResult, err := tx.SearchTxs(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
+	searchResult, err := utils.QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx, tags, defaultPage, defaultLimit)
 	if err != nil {
 		return Proposer{}, err
 	}
diff --git a/x/ibc/client/cli/ibctx.go b/x/ibc/client/cli/ibctx.go
index 0b706cbed..7716e2157 100644
--- a/x/ibc/client/cli/ibctx.go
+++ b/x/ibc/client/cli/ibctx.go
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
-	auth "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/ibc"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
diff --git a/x/ibc/client/cli/relay.go b/x/ibc/client/cli/relay.go
index 071a91109..224d7e9c4 100644
--- a/x/ibc/client/cli/relay.go
+++ b/x/ibc/client/cli/relay.go
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"time"
 
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 
 	bam "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/baseapp"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
diff --git a/x/ibc/client/rest/transfer.go b/x/ibc/client/rest/transfer.go
index 49d3e67b9..f9e363eab 100644
--- a/x/ibc/client/rest/transfer.go
+++ b/x/ibc/client/rest/transfer.go
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	clientrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/ibc"
 
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
@@ -55,6 +55,6 @@ func TransferRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 		packet := ibc.NewIBCPacket(from, to, req.Amount, req.BaseReq.ChainID, destChainID)
 		msg := ibc.MsgIBCTransfer{IBCPacket: packet}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/x/mint/client/cli/query.go b/x/mint/client/cli/query.go
index b50e37096..335070636 100644
--- a/x/mint/client/cli/query.go
+++ b/x/mint/client/cli/query.go
@@ -7,7 +7,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/mint/internal/types"
@@ -20,7 +19,7 @@ func GetQueryCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Querying commands for the minting module",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	mintingQueryCmd.AddCommand(
diff --git a/x/params/client/cli/tx.go b/x/params/client/cli/tx.go
index d974f02b9..a493e4628 100644
--- a/x/params/client/cli/tx.go
+++ b/x/params/client/cli/tx.go
@@ -7,11 +7,11 @@ import (
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
-	auth "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov"
 	paramscutils "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/params/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/params/types"
diff --git a/x/params/client/rest/rest.go b/x/params/client/rest/rest.go
index 3f84823fa..4d95932b1 100644
--- a/x/params/client/rest/rest.go
+++ b/x/params/client/rest/rest.go
@@ -4,9 +4,9 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	clientrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov"
 	govrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/gov/client/rest"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/params"
@@ -42,6 +42,6 @@ func postProposalHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/x/slashing/client/cli/query.go b/x/slashing/client/cli/query.go
index 5ca6004af..07b55458b 100644
--- a/x/slashing/client/cli/query.go
+++ b/x/slashing/client/cli/query.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 
@@ -23,7 +22,7 @@ func GetQueryCmd(queryRoute string, cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Querying commands for the slashing module",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	slashingQueryCmd.AddCommand(
diff --git a/x/slashing/client/cli/tx.go b/x/slashing/client/cli/tx.go
index 01663254a..ccc57275c 100644
--- a/x/slashing/client/cli/tx.go
+++ b/x/slashing/client/cli/tx.go
@@ -5,10 +5,10 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/slashing/types"
 )
 
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ func GetTxCmd(cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Slashing transactions subcommands",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	slashingTxCmd.AddCommand(client.PostCommands(
diff --git a/x/slashing/client/rest/tx.go b/x/slashing/client/rest/tx.go
index 51b44004a..39b330ab6 100644
--- a/x/slashing/client/rest/tx.go
+++ b/x/slashing/client/rest/tx.go
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	clientrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/slashing/types"
 )
 
@@ -65,6 +65,6 @@ func unjailRequestHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/x/staking/client/cli/query.go b/x/staking/client/cli/query.go
index 8f4258b75..e0fb7417c 100644
--- a/x/staking/client/cli/query.go
+++ b/x/staking/client/cli/query.go
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
@@ -22,7 +21,7 @@ func GetQueryCmd(queryRoute string, cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Querying commands for the staking module",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 	stakingQueryCmd.AddCommand(client.GetCommands(
 		GetCmdQueryDelegation(queryRoute, cdc),
diff --git a/x/staking/client/cli/tx.go b/x/staking/client/cli/tx.go
index 3f39e481d..5baf19304 100644
--- a/x/staking/client/cli/tx.go
+++ b/x/staking/client/cli/tx.go
@@ -14,11 +14,11 @@ import (
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/codec"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/version"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/staking/types"
 )
 
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ func GetTxCmd(storeKey string, cdc *codec.Codec) *cobra.Command {
 		Short:                      "Staking transaction subcommands",
 		DisableFlagParsing:         true,
 		SuggestionsMinimumDistance: 2,
-		RunE:                       utils.ValidateCmd,
+		RunE:                       client.ValidateCmd,
 	}
 
 	stakingTxCmd.AddCommand(client.PostCommands(
diff --git a/x/staking/client/rest/tx.go b/x/staking/client/rest/tx.go
index 1e7d8f27b..e755c9a4e 100644
--- a/x/staking/client/rest/tx.go
+++ b/x/staking/client/rest/tx.go
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	clientrest "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/rest"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/staking/types"
 )
 
@@ -85,7 +85,7 @@ func postDelegationsHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -119,7 +119,7 @@ func postRedelegationsHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFunc {
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
 
@@ -153,6 +153,6 @@ func postUnbondingDelegationsHandlerFn(cliCtx context.CLIContext) http.HandlerFu
 			return
 		}
 
-		clientrest.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
+		utils.WriteGenerateStdTxResponse(w, cliCtx, req.BaseReq, []sdk.Msg{msg})
 	}
 }
diff --git a/x/staking/client/rest/utils.go b/x/staking/client/rest/utils.go
index 6730346c9..1d07c04a2 100644
--- a/x/staking/client/rest/utils.go
+++ b/x/staking/client/rest/utils.go
@@ -7,9 +7,9 @@ import (
 	"github.com/gorilla/mux"
 
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/context"
-	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/client/tx"
 	sdk "github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/types/rest"
+	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/auth/client/utils"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/staking/tags"
 	"github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk/x/staking/types"
 )
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ func queryTxs(cliCtx context.CLIContext, tag string, delegatorAddr string) (*sdk
 		fmt.Sprintf("%s='%s'", tags.Sender, delegatorAddr),
 	}
 
-	return tx.SearchTxs(cliCtx, tags, page, limit)
+	return utils.QueryTxsByTags(cliCtx, tags, page, limit)
 }
 
 func queryBonds(cliCtx context.CLIContext, endpoint string) http.HandlerFunc {