Title 23, Title 23: Motor Vehicles

§ 1451. Loads on passenger cars No person shall operate a passenger type motor vehicle upon any highway with any load carried thereon extending beyond the line of the fenders on the left side of such vehicle nor extending more than six inches beyond the line of the fenders on the…

§ 1452. Securing loads of wood or wood products (a) As used in this section: (1) “Load” means the total of wood or wood products being carried. (2) “Tier” means the total vertical height of all wood or wood products arranged individually or in layers, or in bundles placed one abo…

§ 1453. Baled products (a)(1) An individual shall not operate a motor vehicle loaded with baled hay or straw or other baled products with any portion of the load extending beyond the front end of the vehicle bed; with the exception that a load extension is permitted beyond the fr…

§ 1454. Securing loads (a) A person shall not operate a motor vehicle nor draw a trailer or semi-trailer on a highway unless the motor vehicle, trailer, or semi-trailer is so constructed and loaded that it will create no hazard to other users of the highway. (b) The Commissioner …

§ 1455. Carrying of permits in the permitted motor vehicle All permits issued pursuant to this subchapter shall be carried in the motor vehicle in either paper or electronic form. Use of a portable electronic device to display an electronic permit does not in itself constitute co…

§ 1492. Liability for damage defined; limitations The owner, driver, operator, or mover of any motor truck, tractor, trailer, wagon, cart, carriage, or other object or contrivance that is moved or operated on any highway in violation of any of the provisions of sections 1083, 109…

§ 1600. Definition Notwithstanding subdivision 4(4) of this title, as used in this chapter, “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Public Safety. (Added 2015, No. 47, § 36; included without changes in 2023, No. 135 (Adj. Sess.), § 1a, eff. July 1, 2025.)

§ 1601. Identification of motor vehicles The Commissioner, his or her deputies, and all enforcement officers may at all times, with or without process, stop any motor vehicle to examine identification numbers and marks thereon and raise the hood or engine cover if necessary to ac…

§ 1602. Traffic control The Commissioner and enforcement officers may control and direct motor vehicle traffic. They may arrest violators of the motor vehicle laws and the laws relative to lights on teams, on view without process, and take such persons before a court having juris…

§ 1603. Investigation of crashes The Commissioner of Public Safety shall immediately after receiving notice of a crash where a personal injury occurs, and, in case of notice of a crash where an injury occurs to property, may cause such crash to be investigated by an enforcement o…

§ 1603a. Reports of crashes (a) All crashes involving a commercial motor vehicle or any vehicle displaying a hazardous materials placard shall be reported to the Agency of Transportation by appropriate law enforcement personnel on forms and in a manner prescribed by the Secretary…

§ 1603b. Agency of Transportation repository for crash reports filed by law enforcement; Department of Motor Vehicles repository for operator crash reports The Agency of Transportation shall be the crash data repository for reports submitted by law enforcement agencies in the Sta…

§ 1604. Seizure of motor vehicles An enforcement officer, without process, may seize a motor vehicle, snowmobile, motorboat, or all-terrain vehicle found by him or her on which the manufacturer’s serial or motor number or any of the identifying numbers placed on the motor vehicle…

§ 1605. Definitions [Effective July 2, 2025 or July 1, 2027; see also 23 V.S.A. § 1605 effective until July 2, 2025 or July 1, 2027, set out above] As used in this subchapter: (1) [Repealed.] (2) “Automated license plate recognition system” or “ALPR system” means a system of one …

§ 1606. Automated traffic law enforcement systems; speeding [Effective July 1, 2025; Repealed effective July 2, 2025 or July 1, 2027] (a) Use. Deployment of ATLE systems on behalf of the Agency of Transportation by a third party pursuant to subsection (b) of this section is inten…

§ 1607. Automated license plate recognition systems [Effective July 1, 2025; see also 23 V.S.A. § 1607 effective until July 1, 2025 set out above] (a) Operation. A Vermont law enforcement officer shall be certified in ALPR operation by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council in orde…

§ 1608. Preservation of data [Effective July 1, 2025; see also 23 V.S.A. § 1608 effective until July 1, 2025 set out above] (a) Preservation request. (1) A law enforcement agency or the Department of Motor Vehicles or other person with a legitimate law enforcement purpose may app…

§ 1609. Prohibition on use of automated law enforcement [Effective July 2, 2025 or July 1, 2027] No State agency or department or any political subdivision of the State shall use automated license plate recognition systems or automated traffic law enforcement systems. (Added 2023…

§ 1701. Possession of motor vehicles with serial or motor numbers defaced A person shall not knowingly keep in his or her possession or ownership for more than 10 days a motor vehicle or vessel, the manufacturer’s serial or motor numbers or identifying numbers assigned by the Com…

§ 1702. Assignment of new number The application shall not be granted by the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles until he or she is satisfied that the person applying for the assignment of such new identifying number is the rightful owner of the motor vehicle described in the applicat…

§ 1703. Defacing identifying numbers A person who willfully changes or attempts to change, or who tampers with, obliterates, defaces, or in any manner interferes with the original or assigned motor number or manufacturer’s serial number of any motor vehicle or vessel, or with any…

§ 1704. Possession prima facie evidence of violation The possession by a person of a motor vehicle or vessel, the motor or manufacturer’s serial or Commissioner assigned identifying number of which has been changed, tampered with, obliterated, or defaced, shall be prima facie evi…

§ 1704a. Alteration of odometers (a) No person shall: (1) sell, attempt to sell, or cause to be sold any motor vehicle, highway building appliance, motorboat, all-terrain vehicle, or snowmobile if the odometer, hubometer reading, or clock meter reading has been changed, tampered …

§ 1705. Impersonating an inspector or examiner A person who falsely impersonates or attempts to impersonate a motor vehicle inspector, examiner, or State Police shall be imprisoned not more than six months or fined not more than $100.00, or both.

§ 1709. Report of convictions to Commissioner of Motor Vehicles (a) The Judicial Bureau and every court having jurisdiction over offenses committed under any law of this State or municipal ordinance regulating the operation of motor vehicles on the highways shall forward a record…

§ 1710. Nolo contendere pleas A plea of nolo contendere accepted by the court shall constitute a conviction for the purposes of this title. (Added 1975, No. 73.)

§ 1711. Felony or misdemeanor A person who, whether present or absent, aids, abets, induces, procures, or causes the commission of an act that, if done directly by him or her, would be a felony or a misdemeanor under a provision of this title, is guilty of the same felony or misd…

§ 1741. Definition As used in this chapter, the word “town” shall apply to a town or incorporated village only and the word “selectboard” shall apply to the selectboard of a town and the trustees of an incorporated village only. (Added 1961, No. 103, § 1.)

§ 1742. Creation A police court may be created by any town having a population of 1,000 or more according to the preceding U.S. census with the sole jurisdiction of receiving waiver of service of process and trial, admission of violation, and fines from violators of parking ordin…

§ 1743. Powers The chief of police designated by the selectboard of the town shall be the judge of the court and may exercise the powers and perform the functions and duties thereof. However, the judge shall appoint another police officer of the town to act as acting judge whenev…

§ 1744. Clerk The judge of the court shall act as the clerk thereof, and keep its files and records, or shall appoint his or her deputy or assistant to so act. (Added 1961, No. 103, § 4.)

§ 1745. Quarters The town shall maintain the police court and provide quarters for it in the town offices. (Added 1961, No. 103, § 5.)

§ 1746. Violations; admission; waiver (a) Any person who has violated any ordinance of the town that regulates, districts, or defines the time, place, or manner of parking vehicles in the town and who has not been convicted of any violation of the parking ordinances more than twi…

§ 1747. Signed statement The court shall treat the signed statement, if accepted and accompanied by the prescribed penalty, as a plea of guilty and shall make an entry thereof on its records. No costs, fees, or other charges may be assessed against any person so admitting a viola…

§ 1748. Collection record The court shall retain all such signed statements for a period of two years from the date thereof and shall keep a record, available to the public at any reasonable time, of all money collected and all other official acts done in connection therewith. (A…

§ 1749. Penalty (a) The penalty that may be voluntarily paid by any individual violating any ordinance regulating metered parking in the town shall be $1.00. For other violations involving parking, a penalty not to exceed $5.00 for the first violation and not to exceed $15.00 for…

§ 1750. Collections All money so collected by the court in any one month shall be covered into the treasury of the town on the first day of the following month with a statement of the names of the persons from whom the money was collected and the amount paid by each and the date …

§ 1751. Referendum Sections 1741-1750 and 1752 of this title shall take effect when they have been adopted by a majority of the voters of the town, present and voting at any regular or special meeting warned for that purpose. (Added 1961, No. 103, § 11, eff. May 3, 1961.)

§ 1752. Parked vehicles (a) Whenever a motor vehicle is parked on the highways of the town contrary to an ordinance of the town regulating parking so as to interfere with the policing, construction, or maintenance of the highways, including the removal of snow, the police departm…

§ 1753. Ordinances authorizing removal The selectboard of a town, the trustees of a village, or the board of aldermen of a city may enact ordinances authorizing the removal of motor vehicles parked without authorization on publicly or privately owned land and including, by illust…

§ 1754. Form of payment As a condition of employment on behalf of a municipality, a person hired to remove illegally parked motor vehicles may accept a personal check but in any case is required to accept cash or a certified or bank check, and must also recognize at least two nat…

§ 2001. Definitions Except when the context otherwise requires, as used in this chapter: (1) “Dealer” means a person as defined in subdivision 4(8) of this title. (2) “Commissioner” means the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. (3) “Identification number” means the numbers and letter…

§ 2002. Fees (a) The Commissioner shall be paid the following fees: (1) for any certificate of title, including a salvage certificate of title, $42.00; (2) for each security interest noted upon a certificate of title, including a salvage certificate of title, $14.00; (3) for a ce…

§ 2003. Power and duties of Commissioner (a) The Commissioner shall prescribe and provide suitable forms of applications, certificates of title, notices of security interests, and all other notices and forms necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. (b) The Commissio…

§ 2004. Hearing A person aggrieved by an act or omission to act of the Commissioner under this chapter is entitled, upon request, to a hearing in accordance with section 105 of this title. (Added 1969, No. 297 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1971.)

§ 2005. Appeal A person aggrieved by an act or omission of the Commissioner under this chapter may appeal to the Superior Court for Washington County in the same manner as is provided for in other civil actions. (Added 1969, No. 297 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1971; amended …