Vermont Expungement and Record Sealing: The Complete Guide

Vermont expanded its expungement and record sealing laws significantly in 2020. If you looked into this before that and were told you did not qualify, that answer may no longer be right. The 2020 law opened up sealing for Class D felonies for the first time, and expanded options for people with misdemeanors and lower-level offenses. This guide covers both Vermont processes — expungement and sealing — what the difference means for you, and exactly how to file.

Expungement vs. sealing in Vermont — the difference matters

Vermont has two separate legal processes, and they are not the same thing. This is one of the most important distinctions in Vermont record relief law, and a lot of people do not realize it until they are already in the process.

Expungement means the record is physically destroyed. The court, VCIC, and law enforcement agencies delete or destroy the records. Once an expungement order is entered, the official record is gone. You can legally answer "no" to conviction questions in virtually all non-federal contexts. This is the stronger of the two processes — and it has narrower eligibility.

Sealing means the record still exists, but it is hidden from public view. Employers, landlords, and most members of the public cannot see it. You can answer "no" to most application questions. But the record remains accessible to law enforcement, some licensing boards, and in certain legal proceedings. Sealing has broader eligibility — it covers some felonies that expungement does not.

Vermont courts use the correct term on your order. Before you file, know which one you are applying for. The forms are different, and the legal effect is different. If you are unsure, ask a clerk which process applies to your charge, or contact Vermont Legal Aid.

What Act 148 of 2020 changed

Vermont's Act 148 of 2020 was a meaningful expansion of who could access record relief. Before 2020, sealing was mostly limited to misdemeanor convictions. The new law changed several things that matter for real people.

The biggest change: Class D felonies became eligible for sealing. This was not possible before. Class D felonies are the lowest-level felonies in Vermont — things like simple possession of larger amounts of cannabis, some property offenses, and other lower-stakes felony charges. People with these convictions had no path to sealing before Act 148. Now they do, after a 10-year waiting period from sentence completion.

Act 148 also reduced waiting periods for some offense categories and clarified the rules around cannabis convictions in anticipation of legalization. Combined with Vermont's 2018 cannabis legalization (Act 86), this created a pathway for many people with cannabis-only convictions to have those records cleared entirely.

If you were told "no" before 2020, the law has changed. Vermont is a small state with a relatively accessible court system. It is worth checking again.

Who qualifies — and who does not

Vermont's eligibility rules differ between expungement and sealing. The charge type, the offense level, and your full criminal history all matter. Here is the general picture.

How long do you have to wait

Vermont measures the waiting period from when your sentence was fully completed — not your conviction date, not your release date, and not the day you stopped going to probation appointments. Sentence completion means the end of any incarceration, the end of probation or supervised release, and the payment of all fines, fees, and restitution. All three. If any one of those is not done, the clock has not started.

What expungement and sealing actually do in Vermont

After an expungement order is entered, the physical records are destroyed. You can legally say "no conviction" on most job applications, housing applications, and other forms. Vermont law protects your right to deny the conviction. For most everyday situations — renting an apartment, applying for jobs, getting a professional license that does not have specific statutory exceptions — the record is gone.

After a sealing order, the record still exists but the public cannot see it. Employers who run standard background checks will not find it. Landlords will not find it. You can answer "no" to most questions. The difference from expungement is that the record is not destroyed — it remains accessible to law enforcement, in future criminal proceedings, and to some licensing boards that have statutory access.

The petition process, step by step

Vermont is a small state with a unified court system and relatively accessible clerks. Filing a petition without a lawyer is genuinely possible here — more so than in many larger states. Here is the full process.

Cannabis offenses: retroactive relief

Vermont legalized adult-use cannabis in 2018 under Act 86. In 2020, Act 148 built on that by creating a specific retroactive expungement pathway for people with old cannabis convictions. This is handled under a separate statute and has different rules from standard expungement.

If your conviction involved cannabis possession or use in amounts that are now legal or decriminalized under Vermont law, you can petition for expungement of that conviction. There is no waiting period — the relief is available now, retroactively, for qualifying old convictions. You do not have to wait five or ten years. You can file today.

The process is similar to standard expungement: file a petition in the court where the conviction was entered. But the cannabis statute (13 V.S.A. § 7606) governs the proceeding, not the general expungement statute. The clerk can tell you which form to use.

Vermont had many cannabis convictions before 2018 for conduct that is now entirely legal. Those convictions followed people onto background checks and into housing and employment applications for years after the underlying behavior was decriminalized. The retroactive expungement pathway exists specifically to address that injustice. If this applies to you, do not wait — the process is available now.

What happens after your record is sealed or expunged

Once the judge signs the order, the court notifies VCIC and the Vermont State Police. State records are typically updated within 60 to 90 days. After that point, your official Vermont criminal history will not show the conviction.

For expungement: the records are destroyed. You can legally say you were not convicted. If someone asks about it on a job or housing application, you can honestly answer "no."

For sealing: the records are hidden. You can still generally answer "no" on most applications. The difference is that law enforcement retains access and certain licensing boards may as well.

Private background check companies — the ones employers and landlords often use — are separate from the state system. They have their own update timelines and may be slow. If a company still shows your record 90 days after the order was entered, send them a certified copy of the court order in writing and demand removal. Keep proof that you sent it.

Vermont is a small state. The court system is unified. Clerks at the Superior Court are generally reachable and often willing to answer procedural questions. Take advantage of that. Vermont Legal Aid has statewide offices and handles expungement and sealing cases for free if you may be eligible.

What to bring when you file

Fees and fee waivers

The filing fee for a sealing petition in Vermont is $250. The fee for expungement petitions varies by category — some categories have no filing fee. Ask the clerk before you pay.

If cost is the barrier, there is a path. Vermont courts have a fee waiver process. Ask the clerk for an Application for Waiver of Filing Fees before you pay anything. If your income is below the threshold — or if you receive means-tested public benefits — the court can waive the fee entirely.

Vermont Legal Aid also provides free help with the entire process for people who qualify, including help filling out forms, attending hearings, and navigating the system. You do not have to do this alone, and you do not have to pay a private attorney to get it done.

Vermont is a state that has chosen, through its legislature, to give people real paths forward. Act 148 was passed because lawmakers understood that records follow people long after sentences end — and that carrying an old conviction on your background check makes it harder to get work, find housing, and move forward. The process takes some paperwork and patience, but it is genuinely accessible in Vermont in ways it is not in many other states. If you have been sitting on this because it felt too complicated or too expensive, start by calling Vermont Legal Aid. Free help is available. The path is real.