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, but the Governor's guidelines generally require 10 years since conviction for a felony and five years for a misdemeanor. They generally do not consider applications from people who are incarcerated or under sentence, except in very unusual circumstances where there is independent evidence of a gross miscarriage of justice that is not reviewable through the courts.

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, notarized pardon application with all questions answered. The form asks applicants to describe each arrest and conviction for which they seek a pardon, explain their compelling need, and describe their conduct and contributions since conviction.

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 guidelines say applications that generally meet the criteria will be referred to the Department of Corrections and the Vermont Parole Board for investigation and recommendation. For a person in confinement under sentence for a term of one year or more, 28 V.S.A. § 809 requires a written application; if the Governor finds the stated reasons, if proved true, could constitute cause for a pardon, the Governor must set a hearing and notify the applicant and the State's Attorney. Victims and affected persons may request notification from the agency holding the defendant if a pardon is granted (13 V.S.A. § 5305).

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 (after three years), qualifying felony offenses (after seven years), and qualifying DUI misdemeanors (after 10 years), measured from completion of the sentence terms and conditions. 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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