Vermont background check laws for employers

At a glance

The Vermont rules on each topic, in one line. Federal law applies to every topic.

When you may ask about criminal history

Who it covers: Employers with one or more individuals performing services in Vermont (21 V.S.A. 495d(1)).

In force since: July 1, 2017

Ban-the-box applies to every Vermont employer with one or more employees. An employer may not ask for criminal history record information on its initial application form. It may ask during an interview or once the applicant is deemed otherwise qualified, and must then give the applicant a chance to explain the record and any rehabilitation. Civil penalty up to $100 per violation.

Exceptions

• The application may ask about convictions when federal or state law creates a mandatory or presumptive disqualification, or bars employing persons with certain convictions, and the question is limited to those offense types (495j(b))
• The application-form exception applies even if the disqualifying law lets the employer seek a waiver (495j(b)(2))

21 V.S.A. 495j(a) · 21 V.S.A. 495j(b)(1)(B) · 21 V.S.A. 495j(c) · 21 V.S.A. 495j(d) · 21 V.S.A. 495j history note · 21 V.S.A. 495d(1)

What a background check report may include

Who it covers: Anyone obtaining a consumer report on a Vermont consumer; employers asking about criminal history.

In force since: July 1, 2025

Vermont has no state 7-year rule and no salary threshold. Its Fair Credit Reporting law (9 V.S.A. ch. 63, subch. 3) requires the consumer’s consent before anyone obtains a ‘credit report’, a term that covers any report bearing on character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living, so employment background reports are included. Sealed and expunged records: a person may be asked about criminal history only as to arrests or convictions that have not been sealed or expunged, and the official response to an inquiry is ‘NO CRIMINAL RECORD EXISTS’. Since July 1, 2025, a credit reporting agency may not report or keep medical-debt information in a consumer’s file (9 V.S.A. 2466d).

Exceptions

• Court order (2480e(a)(1))
• Prescreening as defined by the FTC (2480e(c)(2))

9 V.S.A. 2480a(3) · 9 V.S.A. 2480e(a) · 13 V.S.A. 7606(b)(2) · 13 V.S.A. 7607(b)(3) · 9 V.S.A. 2466d(a) (added by 2025 Act 21, eff. July 1, 2025)

Sealed and expunged records

Who it covers: All employers; governs what records show and what an applicant must disclose.

In force since: July 1, 2025

Vermont moved to sealing in most cases in 2025. Act 60 (S.12), effective July 1, 2025, converts the petition-based expungement system to sealing for an expanded list of qualifying crimes, with limited access for listed entities. It also requires automatic expungement of municipal-violation records two years after the judgment is satisfied, and clarifies automatic expungement of motor vehicle violations occurring on or after July 1, 2021. A person whose record is sealed or expunged is treated as never arrested or convicted, and may be asked about criminal history only as to records that are not sealed or expunged. State entities that ask about criminal history must tell the person of the right not to disclose sealed records. Unauthorized access to or disclosure of sealed records by state or municipal staff, court agents, or attorneys carries a civil penalty up to $1,000 per disclosure (13 V.S.A. 7611).

Exceptions

• Listed criminal-justice and litigation uses of sealed records (13 V.S.A. 7607(c)), not opened in detail

Act No. 60 (2025), S.12, Office of Legislative Counsel act summary · Act No. 60 (2025) act summary, effective date · 2025 Act 60 (S.12), as enacted, 13 V.S.A. 7607(b)(2) (second sentence; the first sentence matches 7606(b)(2) with 'sealed' for 'expunged') · 2025 Act 60, Sec. 6 · 13 V.S.A. 7606(b)(1) · 13 V.S.A. 7607(b)(3)

Credit checks for employment

Who it covers: All Vermont employers (one or more employees).

An employer may not refuse to hire, discharge, or otherwise discriminate because of a person’s credit report or credit history, and may not ask about an applicant’s or employee’s credit report or history. Exempt employers may still not use credit information as the sole factor. When an exempt employer does use credit information it must get written consent each time, disclose its reasons in writing, give written reasons for any adverse action, pay all costs, and keep the information confidential. A non-hired applicant or departing employee must get the report back or have it securely destroyed. Retaliation for complaining is barred.

Exceptions

• Information required by state or federal law
• Jobs with access to confidential financial information
• Financial institutions and credit unions
• Law enforcement, emergency medical, and firefighter jobs
• Jobs with financial fiduciary responsibility
• Where the employer can show the information is a valid and reliable predictor of performance
• Jobs with access to the employer’s payroll information (495i(c)(1))

21 V.S.A. 495i(b)(1) · 21 V.S.A. 495i(b)(2) · 21 V.S.A. 495i(c)(2) · 21 V.S.A. 495i(d)(1) · 21 V.S.A. 495i(d)(3)-(4)

Salary history questions

Who it covers: All Vermont employers (one or more employees) for the inquiry ban; employers with five or more employees for the advertisement rule.

An employer may not ask about or seek a prospective employee’s current or past compensation, from the applicant or a prior employer; may not require pay history to meet a minimum or maximum; and may not use pay history to decide whether to interview. If the applicant volunteers pay history, the employer may confirm it after making an offer with compensation. Asking about salary expectations is allowed. Since July 1, 2025 employers with five or more employees must also include the compensation or range in any advertisement of a Vermont job opening.

Exceptions

• Voluntary disclosure may be confirmed after an offer (495m(b))
• Salary expectations and the employer’s own pay offer may be discussed (495m(c))
• Commission-paid jobs must say so and need not post a range; tipped jobs must say so and post the base wage or range (495p(a)(2))

21 V.S.A. 495m(a)(1) · 21 V.S.A. 495m(b) · 21 V.S.A. 495m history note · 21 V.S.A. 495p(a)(1) and (c)(3) · 21 V.S.A. 495p history note · 21 V.S.A. 495p(a)(2)(A)-(B) · 21 V.S.A. 495p(c)(3)

Cannabis use and testing

Who it covers: All employers.

Vermont allows adult-use cannabis but gives employees no off-duty use protection. The possession statute says nothing in it requires an employer to permit or accommodate cannabis use, prevents a workplace cannabis policy, or creates a cause of action against an employer that discharges an employee for violating such a policy. The medical cannabis registry chapter (7 V.S.A. ch. 35) contains no employer provision. Pre-employment THC testing is governed by the general drug-testing statute (conditional offer, written notice, designated lab).

18 V.S.A. 4230a(e)(1) · 18 V.S.A. 4230a(e)(3)

Drug and alcohol testing procedures

Who it covers: All employers and employment agencies in Vermont.

In force since: September 1, 1987

Vermont restricts drug testing by statute (21 V.S.A. 511-520). An applicant may be tested only after a conditional offer of employment, with non-waivable written notice of the procedure and the drugs tested (stating that therapeutic levels of prescribed drugs will not be reported), and only under section 514 procedures. Random and company-wide testing is barred unless federal law requires it. An individual employee may be tested only on probable cause of on-the-job use or influence, where a bona fide rehabilitation program is available, with no discharge for a first positive if the employee completes the program (suspension up to three months), and under section 514. Section 514 requires a written policy, no blood draws by the employer, a Department of Health-designated laboratory, chain of custody, GC/MS (or equivalent) confirmation, sample preservation for 90 days, and a medical review officer who reports only confirmed results.

Exceptions

• Random or company-wide testing required by federal law or regulation (513(b))

21 V.S.A. 512(b) · 21 V.S.A. 512(b)(1) · 21 V.S.A. 512(b)(2) · 21 V.S.A. 513(c) · 21 V.S.A. 513(b) · 21 V.S.A. 514(4) · 21 V.S.A. 514(6)(A) · 21 V.S.A. 514(3)

The state consumer reporting law

Who it covers: Any person obtaining a credit report on a Vermont consumer; credit reporting agencies; VCIC record users.

Vermont’s Fair Credit Reporting law (9 V.S.A. 2480a-2480h) requires a consumer’s consent, limited to the purpose consented to, before anyone obtains a ‘credit report’ – a term broad enough to cover employment background reports. Credit reporting agencies must give consumers written file disclosures, a free copy every 12 months, a list of users in the prior 12 months, and a Vermont rights notice in 12-point type whenever a federal disclosure is made. Employers pulling conviction records from the Vermont Crime Information Center need a user agreement and may not make applicants obtain or pay for their own record. A violation is a consumer-fraud violation, and an aggrieved consumer may sue for damages, injunctive relief, punitive damages for willful violations, and attorney’s fees (2480f).

Exceptions

• Court order; account-review and collection uses within the same consent; FTC-defined prescreening (2480e)

9 V.S.A. 2480e(a) · 9 V.S.A. 2480b(c) Vermont consumer notice · 9 V.S.A. 2480a(4) · 20 V.S.A. 2056c(c)(10) · 9 V.S.A. 2480f(b)

Adverse action notices

Before you reject or act against someone because of a background check report, the FCRA requires a pre-adverse action notice, a wait, and then a final notice. The adverse action letter generator writes both notices and adds the Vermont requirements where they apply.

The waiting period calculator gives the date under the federal rule.

Paperwork at hire

Besides the federal Form I-9 and W-4, Vermont sets these for each new hire.

• State withholding. Have each new hire complete Form W-4VT in addition to the federal Form W-4. Form W-4VT
• New hire report. Report each new hire to Vermont within 10 days. State new hire reporting
• Notices at hire. Earned sick time notice at hire; Sexual harassment policy, individual written copy.

Build the new hire checklist for Vermont, with city rules, special cases and a due date for each item.

Sources

• 21 V.S.A. 495j(a)
• 21 V.S.A. 495d(1)
• 9 V.S.A. 2480a(3)
• 9 V.S.A. 2480e(a)
• 13 V.S.A. 7606(b)(2)
• 13 V.S.A. 7607(b)(3)
• 9 V.S.A. 2466d(a) (added by 2025 Act 21, eff. July 1, 2025)
• Act No. 60 (2025), S.12, Office of Legislative Counsel act summary
• 2025 Act 60 (S.12), as enacted, 13 V.S.A. 7607(b)(2) (second sentence; the first sentence matches 7606(b)(2) with ‘sealed’ for ‘expunged’)
• 21 V.S.A. 495i(b)(1)
• 21 V.S.A. 495m(a)(1)
• 21 V.S.A. 495p(a)(1) and (c)(3)
• 18 V.S.A. 4230a(e)(1)
• 21 V.S.A. 512(b)
• 21 V.S.A. 513(c)
• 21 V.S.A. 514(4)
• 9 V.S.A. 2480b(c) Vermont consumer notice
• 20 V.S.A. 2056c(c)(10)
• 9 V.S.A. 2480f(b)

Last reviewed October 20, 2026 · General information, not legal advice.

After the hire

Once a background check clears, payroll and onboarding come next. Rippling (paid link) runs payroll, benefits and onboarding from one employee record.