# Vermont S.12: An act relating to sealing criminal history records Vermont S.12, An act relating to sealing criminal history records, is a 2025-2026 Session Senate bill sponsored by Nader A Hashim (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-06-13 (Senate Message: Signed by Governor June 12, 2025) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S12-2026 - As of: 2026-11-01 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Vermont S.12 - State: Vermont - Session: 2025-2026 Session - Title: An act relating to sealing criminal history records - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-01-17 - Last action: 2025-06-13, Senate Message: Signed by Governor June 12, 2025 - Sponsor: Nader A Hashim (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Touches household money: no - Economic provisions PRIA read: 19 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Automatic clearing of eligible municipal violations: benefit, high. For eligible municipal violations occurring on or after July 1, 2025, expungement is automatic two years after satisfying the judgment. You must have no later municipal violation adjudication during those two years; offenses adopted under state planning law are excluded. The Judicial Bureau must no… - Faster record sealing for young adults: benefit, high. Beginning July 1, 2025, people who committed a qualifying crime at ages 18–21 can seek faster sealing. They can petition 30 days after completing all sentence terms. Restitution and surcharges for any conviction must be paid, except surcharges the court waives. The court must grant relief unless th… - Expungement when conduct stops being criminal: benefit, medium. The court must grant expungement when the underlying conduct is no longer prohibited by law or treated as a crime. You must first complete your sentence or supervision. Court-ordered restitution and surcharges must be paid in full, except surcharges waived under the law. Expungement cancels the arr… - Sealing relief after three or seven years: benefit, medium. You can petition to seal a qualifying misdemeanor three years after completing all sentence terms. For a qualifying felony, the wait is seven years, with no new conviction during that period. You must pay court-ordered restitution and surcharges for any conviction, except surcharges the court waive… - Stronger privacy for sealed criminal records: benefit, medium. After receiving a sealing order, record holders other than courts must block public access or remove sealed offenses from public databases. They must label those records “SEALED”; ordinary public criminal-record queries return “NO CRIMINAL RECORD EXISTS.” Beginning July 1, 2025, knowing unauthorize… - State inquiries must explain nondisclosure rights: benefit, low. When Vermont state entities ask about criminal history, they must explain that you can leave out sealed or expunged records. You and your lawyer can still access and use your own sealed records. Beginning July 1, 2025, the Secretary of Administration must notify state administrative entities about… - Vehicle record relief reaches back further: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, the motor vehicle violation expungement rule covers qualifying violations occurring on or after July 1, 2021. This date rule does not itself state additional eligibility requirements. - Victims keep notice and restitution protections: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, reasonable victim-contact efforts for sealing petitions include first-class mail, phone, and email using last-known contact information. Known victims can give statements before an agreement or to the court, but cannot needlessly delay the petition. Failure to locate a victi… - Police must log sealed record use: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, the Criminal Justice Council must develop a statewide model policy by December 15, 2025. The policy must define accessible sealed records, including arrest, prosecution, dispatch, and record-system materials. It must require logs of each access or use and comply with state a… - Sealing fees support record processing costs: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2025, the law creates a Criminal History Record Sealing Special Fund. Specified filing fees for petitions to seal drunk-driving records go into the fund. The Office of the Court Administrator administers it with participating state agencies to offset sealing costs. Money left at y… - Pending charges and denials delay relief: cost, low. Courts must pause sealing or expungement petitions while another criminal charge is pending. They cannot act until that charge is resolved. After a petition is denied, you generally must wait at least two years to file another petition. The court can allow an earlier filing. - Sealing leaves wildlife license penalties intact: cost, low. Sealing a fish and wildlife offense does not remove related license points. It also does not cancel a suspension or revocation caused by those points. You must still complete any required remedial course. - Cases without convictions get sealing instead: mixed, medium. Courts must seal listed cases within 60 days after final disposition unless a party objects in the interests of justice. These include dismissals with or without prejudice, acquittals, and cases with no probable-cause determination at arraignment. An objection leads to a hearing. Courts may also gr… - Drunk-driving sealing excludes commercial license holders: mixed, medium. You can petition to seal a qualifying drunk-driving misdemeanor 10 years after completing all sentence terms. Restitution and surcharges for any conviction must be paid, except surcharges the court waives. The court must grant relief unless the responding party shows sealing is against the interest… - More sealing options, fewer expungement options: mixed, medium. The law expands which convictions qualify for sealing, but this process no longer allows expungement of qualifying-crime convictions. Most misdemeanors qualify, except listed serious offenses; specified property, drug, and burglary felonies also qualify. Burglary of an occupied home and offenses re… - Police employers can inspect sealed records: mixed, low. Law enforcement agencies can inspect and copy sealed records when someone applies to become an officer. They can also inspect and copy a current employee's sealed records during an internal investigation. This supports hiring and workplace investigations, but limits record privacy for those applica… - Court cases can use sealed records: mixed, low. Record holders and their lawyers can use sealed records in claims arising from the same incident, including reasonably expected litigation. Defendants can use another person's sealed record in their own criminal case. Before sharing, they must warn recipients that unauthorized access or disclosure… - Protective services keep separate investigation records: mixed, low. Child and adult protective services materials from joint police investigations are not criminal history records under this law. The departments can keep and use them under their separate record laws. They can also produce them in response to a court order. This preserves protective-services use, bu… - Sealed records remain available for checks: mixed, low. Vermont criminal justice agencies and the Attorney General can use sealed records for criminal justice work. Outside sharing generally requires a court order supported by a petition and affidavit, except agency-to-agency sharing or required evidence disclosures. Recipients must receive notice about… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Nader A Hashim (Democratic), Senate ## Bill text - As Enacted (ACT 60)Opens in a new window, 2025-06-18: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT060/ACT060%20As%20Enacted.pdf) - As Passed by Both Chambers, 2025-06-03: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf) - As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial), 2025-06-03: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf) - House Proposal of Amendment, 2025-05-21: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 House proposal of amendment Official.pdf) - House Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial), 2025-05-21: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 House Proposal of Amendment Unofficial.pdf) - As Passed by the Senate, 2025-03-26: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As passed by the Senate Official.pdf) - As Passed by the Senate (Unofficial), 2025-03-26: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As Passed by the Senate Unofficial.pdf) - As Introduced, 2025-01-16: [PDF](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As Introduced.pdf) ## Related bills - H.955: An act relating to next steps in transforming Vermont’s education system (signed) - H.951: An act relating to making appropriations for the support of the government (signed) - H.957: An act relating to approval of amendments to the charter of the Town of Williston (signed) - H.952: An act relating to capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment (signed) - H.921: An act relating to alcoholic beverages (signed) - H.915: An act relating to establishing an extended producer responsibility program for beverage containers (signed) ## Sources - [As Enacted (ACT 60)Opens in a new window (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/ACTS/ACT060/ACT060%20As%20Enacted.pdf) - [As Passed by Both Chambers (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As Passed by Both House and Senate Official.pdf) - [As Passed by Both Chambers (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As Passed by Both House and Senate Unofficial.pdf) - [House Proposal of Amendment (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 House proposal of amendment Official.pdf) - [House Proposal of Amendment (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 House Proposal of Amendment Unofficial.pdf) - [As Passed by the Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As passed by the Senate Official.pdf) - [As Passed by the Senate (Unofficial) (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As Passed by the Senate Unofficial.pdf) - [As Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2026/Docs/BILLS/S-0012/S-0012 As Introduced.pdf) ## Related - [H.955: An act relating to next steps in transforming Vermont’s education system](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H955-2026) - [H.951: An act relating to making appropriations for the support of the government](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H951-2026) - [H.957: An act relating to approval of amendments to the charter of the Town of Willist…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H957-2026) - [H.952: An act relating to capital construction and State bonding budget adjustment](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H952-2026) - [H.921: An act relating to alcoholic beverages](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H921-2026) - [H.915: An act relating to establishing an extended producer responsibility program for…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-H915-2026) - [Vermont bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont/bills) - [Vermont state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/vermont) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/VT-S12-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).