Vermont § 7606 - Effect of expungement

§ 7606. Effect of expungement

• (a) Order and notice. Upon finding that the requirements for expungement have been met, the court shall
  issue an order that shall include provisions that its effect is to annul the record
  of the arrest, conviction, and sentence and that such person shall be treated in all
  respects as if the person had never been arrested, convicted, or sentenced for the
  offense. The court shall provide notice of the expungement to the respondent, Vermont
  Crime Information Center (VCIC), the arresting agency, the Restitution Unit of the
  Vermont Center for Crime Victim Services, and any other entity that may have a record
  related to the order to expunge. The VCIC shall provide notice of the expungement
  to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Crime Information Center. (b) Effect. (1) Upon entry of an expungement order, the order shall be legally effective immediately
  and the person whose record is expunged shall be treated in all respects as if the
  person had never been arrested, convicted, or sentenced for the offense. (2) In any application for employment, license, or civil right or privilege or in an appearance
  as a witness in any proceeding or hearing, a person may be required to answer questions
  about a previous criminal history record only with respect to arrests or convictions
  that have not been expunged. A State entity that inquires about a person’s criminal
  history record shall advise the person of the person’s right not to disclose expunged
  records pursuant to this subdivision. (3) The response to an inquiry from any person regarding an expunged record shall be that
  “NO CRIMINAL RECORD EXISTS.” (4) Nothing in this section shall affect any right of the person whose record has been
  expunged to rely on it as a bar to any subsequent proceedings for the same offense. (c) Process. (1) The court shall remove the expunged offense from any accessible database that it maintains. (2) Until all charges on a docket are expunged, the case file shall remain publicly accessible. (3) When all charges on a docket have been expunged, the case file shall be destroyed
  pursuant to policies established by the Court Administrator. (d) Special index. (1) The court shall keep a special index of cases that have been expunged together with
  the expungement order. The index shall list only the name of the person convicted
  of the offense, the person’s date of birth, the docket number, and the criminal offense
  that was the subject of the expungement. (2) The special index and related documents specified in subdivision (1) of this subsection
  shall be confidential and shall be physically and electronically segregated in a manner
  that ensures confidentiality and that limits access to authorized persons. (3) Inspection of the expungement order may be permitted only upon petition by the person
  who is the subject of the case. The Chief Superior Judge may permit special access
  to the index and the documents for research purposes pursuant to the rules for public
  access to court records. (4) [Repealed.] (5) The Court Administrator shall establish policies for implementing this subsection. (Added 2011, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; amended 2015, No. 133 (Adj. Sess.), § 2a, eff. May 25, 2016; 2017, No. 57, § 6; 2017, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2017, No. 201 (Adj. Sess.), § 3; 2019, No. 32, § 5; 2021, No. 147 (Adj. Sess.), § 5, eff. May 31, 2022; 2025, No. 60, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025.)