Vermont Police Report: How to Get a Crash Report, Incident Report, or Body Camera Video

Vermont splits crash-report access three ways, more than most states in this batch. Depending on who investigated, a request goes to Vermont State Police, to DMV Driver Control, or to a local police department, and Vermont's motor vehicle code carries no confidentiality clause pointing all three toward the same rule.

That is not a gap in this guide's research. Vermont routes crash-report and incident-report disclosure through the general exemption in its Public Records Act at 1 V.S.A. 317(c)(5) and, for records the Department of Public Safety holds, through the separate release-and-fee provision at 20 V.S.A. 1815, rather than through a dedicated Title 23 confidentiality clause the way many other states do.

Information last verified on 2026-08-10. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Getting a Copy of a Vermont Crash Report

Which office to contact for a Vermont crash report depends entirely on who investigated it. For a Vermont State Police crash, VSP's own record-request intake is the starting point. For a crash where DMV maintains the record, contact Driver Control at 802-828-2000, by email at DMV.DriverControl@Vermont.gov, or by mail to 120 State Street, Montpelier, VT 05603. For a crash a local city or town police department investigated, that department's own records unit handles the request.

The prices you will see are statutory. 20 V.S.A. 1815(a) sets the fee for a Department of Public Safety report at $20.00, for an accident or fire photo disc at $20.00, for a photographic print at $8.00, and for an audiotape or videotape at $45.00, with subsection (c) adding $0.05 per page beyond 20 pages plus $0.33 per minute of staff time beyond 30 minutes. The Department's public records order form at secure.vermont.gov is the mechanism for placing and paying for that order rather than the source of the price, and it notes that orders are not refunded once shipped. The order form itself does not appear to restrict who may submit a request, listing categories like law firm, insurance company, victim, family member, accused party, and involved party as options rather than eligibility gates, though DMV's own fulfillment practice for DMV-maintained records was not independently confirmed.

Unlike most states in this batch, Vermont's motor vehicle code carries no crash-report confidentiality clause. The filing duty itself is set out at 23 V.S.A. 1129, which requires a driver involved in a crash causing injury or at least $3,000 in total property damage to file a written report with the Commissioner, but that section governs the filing obligation, not who can later obtain a copy. Disclosure of the resulting report runs through Vermont's general Public Records Act exemption and, for files the Department of Public Safety holds, through 20 V.S.A. 1815, both covered below.

Why Vermont's Motor Vehicle Code Has No Crash-Report Confidentiality Clause

Most states in this cluster have a dedicated crash-report confidentiality clause sitting in their motor vehicle code. Vermont does not, which is not the same as saying no crash-report statute exists in Vermont law. Two other provisions do that work instead.

The first is the exemption in Vermont's Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. 317(c)(5)(A), which exempts "records dealing with the detection and investigation of crime, but only to the extent that the production of such records . . . could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings" or a similar listed harm. That language is explicitly modeled on the federal FOIA law-enforcement exemption.

This is a narrow, fact-specific test, not a blanket rule that all law-enforcement records are secret. Subsection (c)(5)(B) carves back out a category of information that stays public even during an active investigation: initial arrest and charge records. So while the underlying investigative file behind a Vermont crash or incident report can be withheld to the extent disclosure would interfere with the case, the basic fact that an arrest happened and what someone was charged with generally remains available.

The second provision is 20 V.S.A. 1815, and for crash material it points in a more permissive direction. Subsection (a) states that photographic prints taken by the Department of Public Safety, or photostatic copies of investigation reports or other material on file relating to motor vehicle accidents or fires, "may be furnished to any interested person." Investigation reports unrelated to fires or crashes are treated differently. Section 1815(a)(4) makes those available "at the discretion of the Commissioner when the Commissioner determines that the release of the material would not be detrimental to the best interests of the Department." A Vermont State Police crash file therefore sits under an affirmative any-interested-person authorization, a general incident report the Department holds sits under a discretionary standard, and the 317(c)(5) exemption applies on top of both.

Vermont Body Camera Footage

Vermont has no dedicated body camera access statute. 20 V.S.A. 1819 requires the Department to ensure that troopers assigned to the Vermont State Police Field Force Division are equipped with "a body camera or other video recording device," but that provision is an equipment mandate, not a disclosure rule. Requests for the resulting footage run through the general 1 V.S.A. 317(c)(5) exemption covering crash and incident reports above, applied case by case. Where the footage sits in a Department of Public Safety investigation file unrelated to a crash or fire, 20 V.S.A. 1815(a)(4) also places release at the Commissioner's discretion and prices an audiotape or videotape at $45.00.

For the broader access framework and how other states structure bodycam disclosure by statute, see How to Request Body Cam Footage and Vermont Body Camera Laws.

Deadlines, Denials, and Appeals

Vermont's Public Records Act sets both a clock and a remedy. Under 1 V.S.A. 318, an agency must respond promptly to a request, which the section defines as immediately, with little or no delay, and not more than three business days from receipt. In unusual circumstances, such as a search across separate facilities, a voluminous request, or a required consultation with another agency, the agency may extend that to not more than ten business days from receipt.

A denial has to be in writing. It must identify the records withheld, include the asserted statutory basis for the denial along with a brief statement of the reasons and supporting facts, give the names and titles of the people responsible for the decision, and notify you of your appeal rights.

The first appeal goes to the head of the agency, who must issue a written determination within five business days after receiving it. If the denial is upheld, that determination must again state its statutory basis and reasoning and point you toward judicial review under the next section.

From there, 1 V.S.A. 319 lets an aggrieved requester petition the Civil Division of the Superior Court, in the county where you reside or have your business, or where the records are located. The court reviews the matter de novo, may examine the withheld records privately to decide whether an exemption applies, and places the burden of proof on the public agency to sustain its action. These cases take precedence on the docket over other cases, and a complainant who substantially prevails is entitled to an award of attorney's fees and litigation costs against the agency.

Related Resources

Police Reports by State covers the full 50-state picture. See also How to File a Police Report, How to Read a Police Report, Are Police Reports Public?, Vermont Body Camera Laws, Vermont Car Accident Laws, Vermont Public Records Laws, and Vermont Court Records.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about how to request police crash reports, incident reports, and body camera video in Vermont. It is not legal advice. Fees, portals, and statutes change; confirm current details with Vermont State Police, DMV Driver Control, the responding agency, or a Vermont attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.

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Last updated: 2026-08-10. Fees and portals reflect their published status as of August 2026.