Vermont Pardon and Clemency

What a Vermont Pardon Actually Does

A governor's pardon in Vermont is an act of executive clemency — a formal declaration that the governor has reviewed your case and determined you've demonstrated sufficient rehabilitation to warrant official forgiveness. It does not erase the conviction from your record on its own, but it opens the door to something that does: a petition to expunge the pardoned conviction.

Under 13 V.S.A. § 7601(4)(P), a person who receives an unconditional pardon from the governor becomes eligible to petition the court for expungement of the pardoned offense. If granted, the court orders the physical destruction of records — a remedy that, since Act 60 took effect on July 1, 2025, is otherwise reserved only for convictions involving conduct that has been decriminalized.

This makes the pardon pathway the only route to full record destruction for serious offenses that haven't been decriminalized. For violent felonies, sex offenses, and other convictions permanently excluded from the standard sealing track, a governor's pardon is the sole remaining option for record relief.

Who Can Apply

Vermont does not restrict pardon applications by offense type. Anyone convicted of a crime in Vermont can apply, including people convicted of offenses that are otherwise ineligible for sealing (domestic assault, stalking, sex offenses, and other excluded categories). There's no statutory waiting period for applying, though practically speaking, the governor's office looks for a substantial period of demonstrated rehabilitation.

That said, pardons are extremely rare. Vermont governors have historically granted fewer than a handful per year, and some years grant none at all. The process is entirely discretionary — there's no right to a pardon, and no appeal if the governor declines.

The Application Process

Vermont's governor's office publishes pardon guidelines and an application checklist. The application packet typically must include:

A completed pardon application and written explanation addressed to the governor, explaining what you were convicted of, how you've changed since the conviction, why record relief matters to your current circumstances, and why the standard sealing process under 13 V.S.A. § 7602 isn't available to you (usually because the offense is categorically excluded).

Certified court documents showing the charging document, plea or verdict, sentencing order, and proof of sentence completion (including probation/parole discharge and full restitution payment).

At least four letters of recommendation from community members, employers, clergy, treatment providers, or other people who can speak to your rehabilitation. These letters carry significant weight — the governor's office uses them to gauge community support for the pardon.

Proof of compliance with civil obligations including current tax compliance, child support obligations satisfied, and no pending criminal charges.

A criminal background check from the Vermont Crime Information Center (VCIC), showing your complete criminal history.

The completed packet is submitted to the governor's office. There's no filing fee.

What Happens After You Apply

The governor's office reviews the application and may refer it to the Department of Corrections, the State's Attorney in the county of conviction, or the Vermont Parole Board for input. Victim notification may also be required — if the crime involved a victim, the prosecutor typically contacts them for a statement.

There's no guaranteed timeline. Some applications sit for months; others are never acted on at all. If the governor grants the pardon, it's issued as a formal executive order. An unconditional pardon restores core civil rights, including the right to vote (though Vermont felons never lose voting rights) and, in most cases, firearm rights under state law.

After receiving the pardon, you must still file a separate petition with the court to expunge the pardoned conviction. The pardon itself doesn't automatically clear your record — it authorizes you to ask the court to do so.

Pardon vs. Sealing: When Each Makes Sense

For most Vermont residents with a criminal record, sealing under Act 60 is the practical path to record relief. It's faster, more predictable, and available for qualifying misdemeanors (3-year wait), non-violent felonies (7-year wait), and DUIs (10-year wait). You don't need the governor's involvement, and the petition process has clear statutory criteria.

A pardon makes sense in a narrow set of circumstances:

• Your offense is permanently excluded from sealing — domestic assault, stalking, sexual offenses, hate crimes, and other categorically barred convictions can only be cleared through a pardon followed by expungement.
• You need full record destruction, not just sealing — sealing hides your record from public databases but preserves it for law enforcement access. Expungement after a pardon destroys it entirely. This distinction matters for some professional licensing applications and immigration cases.
• You've been denied sealing and want an alternative — if a court denied your sealing petition and the two-year re-filing period feels unworkable, a pardon application runs on a separate track entirely.

For everyone else — which is the majority of people with a sealable Vermont conviction — the standard petition process is faster, cheaper, and far more likely to succeed.

The Vermont Expungement & Record Sealing Guide covers both the standard sealing process and the pardon pathway, with a decision tree that helps you determine which route applies to your specific situation.

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