How to get police and traffic camera video of a crash in Vermont

The public records law that gets you the video

Vermont Public Records Act, 1 V.S.A. §§ 315 to 320

3 business days; up to 10 if unusual

The right: “Any person may inspect or copy any public record of a public agency” (1 V.S.A. § 316(a)), and a public record is “any written or recorded information, regardless of physical form or characteristics,” produced or acquired in the course of agency business (§ 317(b)), which covers video. The law is to be liberally construed and the burden of proof is on the agency (§ 315(a)). Deadline: the custodian must produce the record “promptly,” which means “immediately, with little or no delay, and, unless otherwise provided in this section, not more than three business days” from receipt of the request (§ 318(a)(1), (b)). If the record is in active use or storage, the custodian must say so in writing and set a date and hour within one calendar week of the request (§ 318(b)(1)). In unusual circumstances (records held at field facilities, a voluminous request, or consultation with another agency or the Attorney General), the agency may extend the time by written notice giving the reasons and the expected date, but not to more than ten business days from receipt (§ 318(b)(5)). A custodian who misses the time limit is deemed to have denied the request (§ 318(a)(2)). A denial must be in writing, identify the records withheld, give the statutory basis, reasons and supporting facts, name the people responsible, and tell you of your right to appeal (§ 318(b)(2)). The agency must consult with you to clarify the request (§ 318(d)) and may not withhold a whole record because part is exempt; it must redact and explain (§ 318(e)). Fees: for a copy, the agency may charge the actual cost of the copy and of mailing or transmitting it, and, unless another law provides otherwise, staff time when complying takes more than 30 minutes, when it agrees to create a record, or when it agrees to provide a nonstandard format and that takes more than 30 minutes; it may require such requests in writing and payment in advance, and must give an estimate on request (§ 316(b), (c)). A fee set by another statute replaces these charges (§ 316(b)). State agencies use the Secretary of State’s uniform schedule (in effect since December 1, 2003): staff time duplicating a record $0.33 a minute after the first 30 minutes, senior-level staff time, and information technology staff time spent extracting data to create a new record, $0.57 a minute, other staff time $0.45 a minute, and $2.00 for a write-once DVD; a town or city sets its own schedule after a public hearing, or uses the Secretary of State’s until it does (§ 316(d), (e)). Inspection: the Vermont Supreme Court held in Doyle v. City of Burlington Police Department, 2019 VT 66, a case about a request to inspect body camera footage, that agencies “may not charge for staff time spent responding to requests to inspect public records,” so asking to view a video can cost less than asking for a copy. The Secretary of State gives advice to the public on the Act (§ 318(g)).

Police body camera and dashcam video

No bodycam release law found; PRA

We found no Vermont statute that sets its own release rules for police body camera or dashcam video, so the Public Records Act and its exemptions govern. What the law does require: the Department of Public Safety must equip State Police Field Force Division members who routinely deal with the public in enforcing the law with a body camera or other video recording device (20 V.S.A. § 1819), and since January 1, 2022, every law enforcement agency that lets its officers use body cameras must adopt, follow and enforce the model body camera policy set by the Vermont Criminal Justice Council, and each officer who uses one must follow it (20 V.S.A. § 2369(a)(1)). The Council’s current statewide policy, approved and in effect December 7, 2022, says recordings must be kept at least as long as the State Archives record schedule for the agency requires, and that “When appropriate and not exempt under 1 V.S.A. 317, recordings shall be released, or released with redaction, upon request to members of the public or media.” It also says agencies must make a good faith effort to locate recordings of interest to the public, and that if an event captured on a body camera is identified with reasonable specificity, the agency will make the recording available for review or release consistent with § 317; recordings of officer-involved shootings, major incidents such as mass arrests, homicide cases, active missing persons cases and offenses listed in 33 V.S.A. § 5204(a) are kept indefinitely. Retention: the State Archives schedules for municipal police departments, the Department of Public Safety (State Police) and the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs treat dash-mounted or body-mounted camera video gathered as evidence as kept until the matter is completed or closed, and the municipal police and Public Safety schedules treat stand-by and non-incident video as logs kept until obsolete; none sets a fixed number of days. A custodian may not destroy a record except as a law or an approved record schedule allows (1 V.S.A. § 317a(b)), and willfully destroying a public record without authority carries a fine of $50.00 to $1,000.00 for each offense (§ 320(c)). Fees: the State Police list “Video: $45.00” and “Photo CD: $20.00” on their records page and cite 20 V.S.A. § 1815. That statute sets $45.00 for each audiotape or videotape in fire investigation reports and in investigation reports unrelated to fires or motor vehicle accidents (§ 1815(a)(3), (4)), and, for photographs related to accidents or fires, $8.00 per print and $20.00 per disc (§ 1815(a)(1)); it names no separate video fee for crash material, so ask the State Police which charge applies before you pay. Example from its own page: Barre City lists “Video: $45.00.” Where to ask: the State Police take requests online through the Department of Public Safety records portal or in writing to Vermont State Police, Attn: Record Request, 45 State Drive, Waterbury, VT 05671-1300, with the case number, date, parties and type of incident; for a city police department or sheriff, ask that agency.

When police can hold video back

Crime records: may withhold if harm

Records “dealing with the detection and investigation of crime” are exempt “but only to the extent that the production of such records” could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings; would deprive a person of a fair trial or an impartial adjudication; could reasonably be expected to be an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; could reasonably be expected to disclose a confidential source; would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or guidelines for them if disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law; or could reasonably be expected to endanger anyone’s life or physical safety (1 V.S.A. § 317(c)(5)(A)). Records reflecting the initial arrest of a person, “including any ticket, citation, or complaint issued for a traffic violation,” and records reflecting the charge of a person are public notwithstanding those exemptions (§ 317(c)(5)(B)). Courts are to be guided by federal court decisions construing the similar terms of the federal Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(7) (§ 317(c)(5)(C)). An agency may not reveal information that could be used to facilitate a crime, or the identity of a private individual who is a witness to or victim of a crime, unless withholding it would conceal government wrongdoing, but a record may not be withheld in its entirety because such information has been redacted (§ 317(c)(5)(D)). Records relevant to litigation to which the agency is a party are exempt until a court rules them discoverable, and in any event when the litigation ends (§ 317(c)(14)). The agency carries the burden of justifying a denial (§§ 315(a), 319(a)). The statute sets no date when a crash investigation stops being covered; because the exemption turns on harm, such as interference with enforcement proceedings, rather than on a fixed period, if video is withheld while charges are pending, ask again when the case is closed. We found no official guidance on when the exemption ends for a crash.

Do traffic cameras in Vermont record?

No VTrans recording statement found

The Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans) runs closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras and Road Weather Information System cameras that feed its Transportation Management Center, and their images are published on New England 511. We found no official VTrans or New England 511 statement on whether those cameras record or how long any images are kept, and the State Archives record schedule for the Agency of Transportation lists no series for camera images. Because any stored images could be overwritten quickly, ask VTrans right away under the Public Records Act: its Contact Us page lists Public Records Requests, Karen Haines, AOT.PublicRecordsManager@vermont.gov, and gives the Agency’s address as 219 North Main Street, Barre, VT 05641. Give the road, nearest exit or mile marker, direction and the exact time. Cameras run by a city, town or private business are separate systems; ask the owner directly. License plate reader data is not a source for a private claim: while 23 V.S.A. § 1607 is in effect, active and historical plate reader data “shall not be subject to subpoena or discovery, or be admissible in evidence, in any private civil action” (§ 1607(b)(3)), and Act 135 repeals § 1607 together with the work zone pilot, after which § 1609 bars state and local agencies from using plate readers at all.

Red-light and speed cameras

Work-zone pilot law; ban follows repeal

Vermont’s only law authorizing camera tickets is the automated traffic law enforcement (ATLE) work zone speed pilot in 23 V.S.A. § 1606, added by Act 135 of 2024 (S.184) and in effect from July 1, 2025. It allows a vendor, on behalf of the Agency of Transportation, to use radar and cameras only near a work zone on a limited-access highway, only when workers are present, and only for vehicles going more than 10 miles per hour over the limit, with signs and website notice required (§§ 1605(3), 1606(c)). Penalties fall on the registered owner: $0.00 for a first violation within 12 months, $80.00 for a second and $160.00 for a third or later, not counted on the driving record or for insurance (§ 1606(f)). Recorded images may be used only for this purpose and kept only for 12 months or until the violation and any appeal are resolved, then destroyed (§ 1606(j), (l)). Act 135, Sec. 5 repeals §§ 1606 to 1608 on July 1, 2027, or on July 2, 2025 if the Agency was unable to secure federal funding for the pilot by June 30, 2025; on that repeal, § 1609 takes effect: “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.” We found no official VTrans statement that the funding condition was met or that any ATLE system has issued a ticket. We found no Vermont statute authorizing red-light cameras. If any agency says a camera captured your crash, ask it for the images under the Public Records Act.

If your request is denied

Appeal to agency head, then court

Any denial by the custodian may be appealed to the head of the agency, who must make a written determination within five business days after receiving the appeal; a decision upholding the denial must state the statutory basis, the reasons and supporting facts, and tell you how to seek court review (1 V.S.A. § 318(c)). If the agency head misses that deadline, the appeal is deemed denied (§ 318(a)(2)). The State Police say to send appeals in writing to Department of Public Safety Commissioner, Attn: Records Request Appeal, 45 State Drive, Waterbury, Vermont 05671-1300. Court: any person aggrieved by a denial may sue in the Civil Division of the Superior Court in the county where you live or have your place of business, where the records are, or in Washington County; the court decides the matter fresh, may review the records privately, and puts the burden of proof on the agency; except for cases the court considers more important, these cases take precedence on the docket and are expedited (§ 319(a), (b)). The statute sets no deadline for filing. If you substantially prevail, the court must award reasonable attorney’s fees and litigation costs against the agency, except that the award is discretionary if the agency concedes the records are public and provides them within the time to answer the complaint (§ 319(d)). The Act provides no appeal to the Attorney General or an ombudsman; the Secretary of State offers information and advice (§ 318(g)). You may want to ask a lawyer about a subpoena or discovery request if you are already in a lawsuit over the crash.

What to do now

1. 1

   Request police video right away

   Ask the responding agency in writing for body camera and cruiser video, giving the date, time, place and case number, and ask that the video be kept. Schedules set no fixed number of days.

2. 2

   Ask to inspect if a copy costs too much

   Agencies may not charge staff time for a request to inspect a record (Doyle, 2019 VT 66); copy requests can carry staff-time charges after 30 minutes.

3. 3

   Email VTrans about camera images now

   We found no statement on whether VTrans cameras record. Write to AOT.PublicRecordsManager@vermont.gov with the road, direction, location and time.

4. 4

   Appeal a denial to the agency head

   If there is no answer within three business days (ten with a written extension), treat it as denied and appeal in writing to the head of the agency.

5. 5

   Post the crash on the bounty board

   Dashcam and business camera footage is not in any public agency’s files and is often overwritten within days.

Frequently asked questions