State Resources
Vermont
Online criminal conviction report for $30 on anyone, a free statewide court portal, and free business and UCC search. Land records are held by 246 town clerks rather than by county.
At a glance
| Record | Held by | Cost | Online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business and entity search | Corporations Division, Secretary of State | Free to search | Yes |
| UCC filings | Secretary of State, UCC Lien Services | Free for uncertified searches | Yes |
| Professional licenses | Office of Professional Regulation, Secretary of State | Free | Yes |
| Property and land records | 246 town and city clerks | Copy fees set by the town | Varies by town |
| Court records | Vermont Judiciary Public Portal | Free to search | Yes |
| Criminal records | Vermont Crime Information Center, Dept. of Public Safety | $30, non-refundable | Yes |
| Vital records | Any town or city clerk; Vermont State Archives; Dept. of Health | About $10 per certified copy | Yes |
| Unclaimed property | Office of the State Treasurer | Free | Yes |
| Voter and resident records | Secretary of State, Elections Division; town clerks | Fee set by the Division | By request |
Worth knowing about Vermont
Anyone can pull anyone’s conviction report
Vermont sells a criminal conviction report on any person to any requester, provided you have the subject’s name and date of birth. No signed release, no permissible purpose, no relationship required.
The fee is $30, and it is non-refundable whether the search returns a record or comes back "record not found". Order it online through the Vermont Crime Information Center’s record service, in person at 45 State Drive in Waterbury, or by post.
Payment differs by route. Online is card only. In person takes cash, card, certified check or money order. By post it is cashier’s check or money order only, payable to the Department of Public Safety.
What it returns is convictions. Your own full criminal history — which is broader — is free, but only if you appear in person at Waterbury.
There are no county land records. There are 246 town clerks.
Vermont does not record deeds at county level. Every deed, mortgage, lien and attachment is filed with the clerk of the town where the land sits, and each of the 246 towns keeps its own index.
That means there is no statewide land records search and no county-level shortcut. To find property you need the town, and if you do not know the town you are calling clerks or working backwards from the grand list.
The upside is that Vermont town clerks are generally small offices, they answer the phone, and they will often check the index for you while you wait. The downside is that online coverage is patchy and many towns are still paper.
Property valuations come from the town’s grand list, maintained by the listers or the assessor.
Record by record
Business and entity search
Open search →- Held by
- Corporations Division, Secretary of State
- Cost
- Free to search
Search corporations, LLCs and partnerships by business name or by registered agent name. Filings, status and agent detail are free to view.
Vermont is a small state and a small number of agents and attorneys front a large share of entities. Running a person as a registered agent is often more productive than running them as an officer.
UCC filings
Open UCC liens →- Held by
- Secretary of State, UCC Lien Services
- Cost
- Free for uncertified searches
The Secretary of State runs the statewide UCC registry. Uncertified search reports are free; the advanced report gives you the listing, the expanded view and the attached documents.
A UCC-1 names the debtor, the secured party and the collateral, which means it frequently names the bank. In Vermont expect dairy herds, sugaring and logging equipment, and lenders that are local savings banks, farm credit institutions or co-operatives rather than national names.
Professional licenses
Open license lookup →- Held by
- Office of Professional Regulation, Secretary of State
- Cost
- Free
OPR regulates most professions from inside the Secretary of State’s office. Licence status, licence history and disciplinary action are public and free to look up.
Disciplinary decisions are published in full, which is more than many states do.
Property and land records
- Held by
- 246 town and city clerks
- Cost
- Copy fees set by the town
Land records are recorded at town level. Deeds, mortgages, discharges, liens and attachments are indexed by grantor and grantee in each town’s own land records.
There is no statewide search. Establish the town first. If you do not know it, work from the grand list, a tax bill, a utility, or the subject’s own filings elsewhere.
Court records
Open public portal →- Held by
- Vermont Judiciary Public Portal
- Cost
- Free to search
Free statewide portal covering case actions, hearing calendars and documents filed in civil cases. Search by party name.
It also shows future scheduled hearings, which is genuinely useful — a scheduled hearing is a date and place your subject is expected to appear.
Criminal records
Open record service →- Held by
- Vermont Crime Information Center, Dept. of Public Safety
- Cost
- $30, non-refundable
- Turnaround
- Immediate online
A conviction report on anyone, for anyone, with a name and date of birth. No release required.
Three routes: online through the VCIC record service, in person at 45 State Drive in Waterbury, or by post.
Your own full criminal history is free but in person at Waterbury only.
Vital records
Open ordering →- Held by
- Any town or city clerk; Vermont State Archives; Dept. of Health
- Cost
- About $10 per certified copy
Vermont certified copies are issued on state security paper with a raised seal. The statutory fee is around $10, with a small extra processing charge if you order online.
Any Vermont town or city clerk can issue a record, not only the town where the event happened. Going to a clerk is normally the fastest and cheapest route.
Unclaimed property
Open search →- Held by
- Office of the State Treasurer
- Cost
- Free
Free name search over dormant accounts, uncashed cheques and insurance proceeds. Each record carries the address the holder had on file when the property was reported.
Voter and resident records
- Held by
- Secretary of State, Elections Division; town clerks
- Cost
- Fee set by the Division
Vermont maintains a statewide voter checklist. Copies are available under conditions set by statute, with restrictions on commercial use. Town clerks hold the local checklist.
Public records requests in Vermont
- Statute
- Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. §§ 315–320
- Response deadline
- 3 business days — the tightest in New England
- Appeal to
- Head of the agency first, then Civil Division of Superior Court
- Appeal window
- Agency head must decide within 5 business days
Vermont gives an agency three business days to produce the record or certify that it is exempt. That is the shortest deadline in the region. The agency can extend by written notice explaining why, but not beyond ten business days.
A denial goes first to the head of the agency, who has five business days to decide in writing. Only after that does it go to the Civil Division of Superior Court under 1 V.S.A. § 319.
Silence counts. If the agency blows the deadline, that is treated as a denial and you can move on to the next step rather than waiting.
What Vermont will not give you
- Driver and vehicle records. Closed under the federal Driver’s Privacy Protection Act.
- Non-conviction criminal data. The public report is convictions only. Arrests, dismissals and pending cases are not in it.
- Your own full history, remotely. Free, but in person at Waterbury only.
- Statewide land records. They do not exist. Records live in 246 separate town offices.
- Expunged and sealed records. Vermont expunges relatively broadly, and an expunged record will not appear.
Related
- New Hampshire — the neighbouring state
- Massachusetts — a very different set of answers
- UCC filings name the lender
- Finding the owner of record on a property
- Appealing a public records denial
Fees and procedures verified August 2026. Clerks change their counter rules more often than the statutes change — call before you drive.