Vermont Fair Credit Reporting Act (including security freeze and medical debt provisions)
VT FCRA
Credit reporting · Financial · Health
Vermont's credit reporting law goes beyond the federal FCRA by requiring a consumer's consent (or a court order) before anyone pulls their credit report. It gives consumers free disclosures, dispute rights and free security freezes, including freezes for protected consumers such as minors. Since July 1, 2025, credit reporting agencies may not report or keep medical debt in a consumer's file.
- Where
- Vermont
- Citation
- 9 V.S.A. §§ 2480a-2480n, 2466d, 2483-2483b
- Status
- In force
- Last amended
- 2025-07-01
- Enforced by
- Vermont Attorney General; private plaintiffs
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- A violation is a § 2453 unfair and deceptive act. Aggrieved consumers may sue for damages, injunctive relief, punitive damages for willful violations and attorney's fees; against a credit reporting agency, or for a willful violation, the court may award the greater of actual damages or $100 (§ 2480f(b)).
- Applies to
- Credit reporting agencies compiling reports on Vermont consumers
- Any person obtaining a Vermont consumer's credit report
- State agencies and political subdivisions posting public documents (SSN redaction, § 2480m)
Rights it gives people
- On request, credit reporting agencies must disclose all file information, including credit scores and the users who requested the consumer's report in the past 12 months, with a Vermont notice of rights.9 V.S.A. § 2480b(a), (c)
- Consumers may place, lift or remove a security freeze for free; agencies must place it within five business days of a written request and lift it temporarily within three business days.9 V.S.A. § 2480h(a)-(b), (f)
- Representatives may place a security freeze for a protected consumer (such as a minor), and the agency must create a record if none exists and place the freeze within 30 days.9 V.S.A. § 2483a(a)-(c)
Practices it requires
- Do not obtain a consumer's credit report without the consumer's consent, used only for the consented purpose, or a court order; prescreening allowed by the FTC is still permitted.9 V.S.A. § 2480e(a), (c)
- Credit reporting agencies may not report or maintain information about medical debt in a consumer's file.9 V.S.A. § 2466d(a) · From 2025-07-01
- State and local agencies must redact SSNs before posting documents in places of general public circulation.9 V.S.A. § 2480m
Sources
- Official text
- 9 V.S.A. § 2480b
- 9 V.S.A. § 2480e
- 9 V.S.A. § 2480f
- 9 V.S.A. § 2480h
- 9 V.S.A. § 2483a
- 9 V.S.A. § 2466d
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Effective date of the original 1992 enactment (1991 Acts No. 246 (Adj. Sess.)) not confirmed, so effective_date is null. | Federal FCRA preemption (15 U.S.C. § 1681t) may limit parts of the state law; Vermont's § 2480e consent requirement is grandfathered by 15 U.S.C. § 1681t(b)(1)(F), which was not re-verified here.
Research reference, not legal advice.