Court portal, certified copy fees, and expungement laws for Vermont
In Vermont, an eviction case lives with the Superior Court (Civil Division) in the county where the rental sits, or with the Judicial Bureaulimited online access, so most people confirm a record the old-fashioned way, with an in-person visit or a written request to the court clerk. That makes the county courthouse, not a web portal, the practical starting point for any record lookup.
The expungement picture is just as direct. Vermont has no statutory right to expunge or seal an eviction record, so a filing that lands in the court file generally stays there and remains discoverable. For renters that means a single case can follow them for years; for landlords it means a record found here is fair game to consider, but only within the limits the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act sets. The sections below explain how to pull a record, how to read it correctly, and what the missing expungement law means on both sides of the lease.
Because Vermont provides only limited online access, the reliable path is the courthouse itself. Identify the county where the rental is located, then contact the Superior Court (Civil Division) clerk in that county; if the matter ran through the Judicial Bureau, direct your request there instead. You can typically search by party name in person at the public terminal, or submit a written request to the clerk by mail.
Have the tenant's full name and, ideally, the approximate filing year ready, since clerks search by name and date. Court staff can confirm whether a case exists and pull the docket. If you need an official document, ask for a certified copy: Vermont charges $1 per page for certified copies. Plan for processing time on mailed requests, as turnaround varies by county and clerk workload.
The single most important habit when reviewing a Vermont court record is to read the disposition, not just the existence of a case. A filing is not a judgment. A landlord can open an eviction action that is later dismissed, settled, withdrawn, or decided in the tenant's favor, and the docket entry alone does not tell you who prevailed.
Look for how the case closed: a judgment for the landlord, a dismissal, a stipulated agreement, or a voluntary withdrawal each mean very different things. Note the case number, the parties, the filing date, and the final order. If the docket is ambiguous, the certified copy from the Superior Court (Civil Division) is the authoritative version. Treating an unresolved or dismissed filing as a proven eviction is both inaccurate and a screening risk.
Vermont has no statutory eviction-record expungement or sealing right. There is no automatic process that clears a case after a set period and no general petition a tenant can file to seal an eviction from the public file. In practice, a record entered with the Superior Court (Civil Division) tends to remain accessible indefinitely.
For landlords, that permanence is exactly why care matters. Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, tenant-screening reports generally cannot report most civil cases older than seven years, so an old courthouse record may legitimately appear in person yet be excluded from a compliant screening report. Do not base a denial on stale or dismissed records, and follow FCRA adverse-action rules whenever a report drives the decision. The age of a case and its outcome both belong in your evaluation.
Because Vermont offers no sealing statute, a tenant cannot simply petition to erase an eviction filing. The most effective steps are practical. If a case was dismissed, withdrawn, or decided in your favor, make sure the docket reflects that outcome clearly, and keep a certified copy as proof, the same $1-per-page document a landlord would pull.
When you apply for a new unit, you can hand a prospective landlord that certified disposition up front to show the case did not end in a judgment against you. You can also dispute inaccurate or out-of-date entries on a tenant-screening report directly with the screening company under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. With average rent in Vermont around $1,107, getting ahead of a misread record can be the difference in a competitive application.
This guide was prepared by the Eviction Risk Map research team using public information from the Vermont Judiciary, which administers the Superior Court (Civil Division) and the Judicial Bureau. Vermont has no statutory eviction-record expungement law, and certified-copy fees and access procedures can change, so confirm current details with the relevant county court clerk. Last reviewed June 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; consult a licensed Vermont attorney for guidance on a specific situation.
Contact the Superior Court (Civil Division) in the county where the rental is located, or the Judicial Bureau if the case was filed there. Vermont offers only limited online access, so most lookups happen in person at the courthouse public terminal or by a written request to the clerk, searched by the tenant's name and approximate filing date.
Yes. Eviction case files held by the Superior Court (Civil Division) are generally public records. Because Vermont provides only limited online access and no statewide portal, the public typically reaches them in person or by written request to the county court clerk rather than through a single search website.
No. Vermont has no statutory eviction-record expungement or sealing right, so there is no general process to erase a filing from the public court file. A tenant's best option is to ensure the docket accurately shows a dismissal or favorable outcome and to dispute inaccurate or outdated entries on screening reports under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Vermont charges $1 per page for certified copies from the court. The total depends on the length of the document, and mailed requests may take additional processing time depending on the county clerk's workload.
Court portal information sourced from the Vermont court administrative office official website. Expungement laws from published Vermont statutes (see citations above). Last updated July 14, 2026. For informational purposes only, not legal advice.
