Bennington County, Vermont local guide: This county or county-equivalent page applies the state and national guidance and official resources below to people looking for accident information in Bennington County, Vermont. The agency responsible for a police report or records request can depend on where the incident occurred and which agency investigated it. Confirm the agency shown on the report or incident information before requesting a record.
Short answer
Getting a Vermont car accident report starts with the Vermont DMV Record Request, form VG-116. The form specifically offers a certified copy of a police car accident report for $22 and a certified copy of an individual car accident report for $15. Complete the request, include a copy of state-issued identification, sign it, choose the applicable Driver Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) authorization category, and send payment by check or money order payable to the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. Vermont State Police directs car accident-report requests to DMV’s Driver Improvement Unit in Montpelier rather than to the State Police records portal. 1 2 3
The route matters. A copy request is not the same as an operator’s car accident report, a police notification, an insurance claim, or a court deadline. The steps below separate those jobs so that a request for a record does not accidentally replace a separate obligation.
Immediate checklist
- Preserve the basics: keep the car accident date, approximate time, location, names, vehicle plate numbers, and any report or case number. The DMV form asks for as much identifying information as possible. 2
- Choose the correct record on form VG-116: select either a certified police car accident report or a certified individual car accident report, depending on the record sought. Do not select a record type by guessing. 2
- Attach identification and authorization information: the form requires proof of identification for all requests, a requester signature, and an initialed DPPA disclosure category. 2
- Pay the listed fee: the form lists $22 for a certified police car accident report and $15 for a certified individual car accident report. It directs requesters to make a check or money order payable in U.S. funds to the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. 2
- Allow for the stated police-report availability period: Vermont State Police says a car accident report that includes the police report is available 30 days from the car accident date. The source does not give the same timing statement for an individual car accident report. 3
- Use the public car accident-data tool only to locate non-personal data or a report number: it is not a narrative-and-diagram copy service. 5
For scene documentation while the information is still available, use the car accident evidence checklist. The site’s what to do after a car accident guide is a separate practical overview.
Who reports what in Vermont
The words “report a car accident” can describe several different actions. They have different recipients, thresholds, and timeframes.
| Action | Who / recipient | What the official source says | Time stated by source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stop and exchange information | Motor-vehicle operator; injured person, property owner, and an enforcement officer when applicable | An operator involved in a car accident causing injury to someone other than the operator or damage to property other than the operator’s vehicle must immediately stop, render reasonably necessary assistance, and provide specified identifying information. | Immediately for the statutory stop duty. This provision is not a general police-call deadline. 7 |
| Operator’s DMV car accident report | Operator / Commissioner of Motor Vehicles | A written report on the Commissioner’s form is required for a car accident involving injury or total property damage of $3,000 or more. | Within 72 hours after the car accident. 6 |
| Police investigation | Commissioner of Public Safety / enforcement officer / State’s Attorney | After notice of a personal-injury car accident, the Commissioner of Public Safety must cause an investigation; for property injury, the Commissioner may do so. If an investigation indicates culpability, facts are reported to the county State’s Attorney. | The statute says immediately after receiving notice for the Commissioner’s response to a personal-injury car accident. It does not create an operator’s police-notification deadline. 8 |
| Insurance-information disclosure | Insured owner/operator / injured person or owner of damaged property | The owner and operator of a vehicle covered by liability insurance must provide the name and address of insurers that may cover the incident and policy numbers. | Within five days after injury or damage. This is disclosure to the injured person or property owner, not an insurer claim-reporting deadline. 6 |
| Car accident-report copy request | Requester / Vermont DMV | Form VG-116 is the DMV’s record-request form for certified police and individual car accident reports. | The form states no processing turnaround. For police car accident reports, VSP says availability is 30 days after car accident. 2 3 |
A police investigation and an operator’s form are therefore not interchangeable. The operator-report rule is the $3,000-or-injury rule in 23 V.S.A. § 1129; it does not say that a later request for a certified copy fulfills the report itself. 6
Exact statewide request path for a car accident-report copy
1. Get the official form
Download Vermont DMV Record Request, VG-116 from the DMV’s record-request page. DMV identifies this as the form to request certified police and individual car accident reports. 1 2
2. Identify the record you need
On the form’s “Documents Requested” list, choose one of the two car accident-report entries:
- Certified Copy of police car accident report — $22.00
- Certified Copy of individual car accident report — $15.00
The form also lists insurance information of car accident — $10.00, which is a different request from a car accident-report copy. A requester should state the desired record rather than treating that entry as a substitute for either certified car accident-report option. 2
3. Complete the request and identification fields
The form says that all applicable sections on the front and back must be completed. It asks for requester contact information and, for the record sought, fields such as vehicle identification number, vehicle make and year, Vermont plate and expiration date, name, Vermont license number, date of birth, dates to be covered, and a description of the specific information requested. It asks the requester to provide as much information as possible. 2
Every request must include proof of identification, such as a copy of state-issued identification. The form requires a signature on the back. It also requires the requester to initial an applicable DPPA disclosure category and gives categories including government functions, certain motor-vehicle or safety uses, litigation-related use, insurer claim activities, written consent, and a use specifically authorized by law. The form says DMV will review the request for DPPA conformity and may deny a request that does not meet the qualifications or lacks enough information for a determination. 2
This eligibility structure does not make every car accident-report record available to every requester. 2
4. Prepare payment and mail the request to DMV
Use a check or money order in U.S. funds payable to the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, as the form instructs. Vermont State Police’s car accident-report directions say to complete the DMV record request and mail it to:
Department of Motor Vehicles
Driver Improvement Unit
120 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05603
3
VG-116 lists DMV at 120 State Street, Montpelier, Vermont 05603-0001; the State Police page identifies the Driver Improvement Unit as the car accident-report destination. 2 3
5. Do not use the wrong online portal
The Vermont State Police online records service handles police reports and other public records, but its order page expressly says motor-vehicle-car accident reports investigated by Vermont State Police must be requested through the Vermont DMV. The VSP online form has a different $20 police-report fee and different request fields; it is not the official car accident-report copy route. 3 4
DMV’s general online Public Records Request form is also the wrong route. It expressly says it is not for car accident reports and describes itself as a way to request statistical information from DMV records. 9
If the report is not yet available or you cannot identify it
For a police car accident report, wait for the availability point stated by Vermont State Police: 30 days from the car accident date. The VSP page does not state a DMV turnaround after request or say that the 30-day timing applies to an individual car accident report. Those timing gaps should not be filled with an estimate. 3
If you lack a Vermont State Police case number for a VSP police record, the State Police records page says to contact the local VSP barracks that handled the case; it says case numbers also appear in VSP news releases. That instruction is a case-number lookup option, not a redirection of the car accident-copy request away from DMV. 3
The Vermont Public Car accident Data Query Tool can also help you narrow a record. It permits queries of non-personal statewide law-enforcement-reported motor-vehicle car accident data from 2010 to the present, with filters including date, town/county, route, and reporting agency. Its result table includes a report-number field and can export the data. It expressly excludes the law-enforcement car accident-report narrative and car accident diagrams, so it cannot replace the certified DMV copy. 5
No reviewed source states a statewide municipal or county alternative for a certified car accident copy. The verified fallback is limited to contacting the relevant VSP barracks for a missing VSP case number. 3
Separate legal time rules: report, notice, and lawsuit are different
The 72-hour operator report and five-day insurance-information disclosure in § 1129 are not lawsuit deadlines. Vermont’s general statute states that claims for personal injury caused by another’s act or default, and damage to personal property caused by another’s act or default, must be commenced within three years after accrual. For personal injury, the statute specifies discovery-of-injury accrual. The statute’s language and exceptions must be assessed against the actual claim. 10
A narrow public-entity rule is different again. For an action against a town involving injuries or damages from an insufficient or unrepaired bridge or culvert, Vermont law requires a written, signed notice to one or more selectboard members of the town where it is located within 20 days. The notice must state when and where the injury occurred, how the bridge or culvert was insufficient or out of repair, and that satisfaction will be claimed; the following section adds injury-description requirements. This is a bridge-or-culvert rule, not a general police-report, DMV-report, insurer-notice, or all-public-entity rule. 11
For claims involving the State, 12 V.S.A. § 5601 addresses State liability, exclusive Superior Court jurisdiction, limits, and listed exceptions. It is distinct from the town bridge-or-culvert notice statute. The effect of either provision turns on the particular facts and statutory exceptions. 12
Documents and identifiers to gather
| Item | Why it helps |
|---|---|
| Car accident date and location | The DMV form asks for dates; the query tool filters by date and location. 2 5 |
| Names of people involved | The form has name fields and a detailed-request field. 2 |
| Vehicle VIN, make/year, Vermont plate, and expiration | These are listed identifiers on VG-116. 2 |
| VSP case number, if applicable | VSP says it is needed for a VSP record request and can be obtained from the handling barracks if missing. 3 |
| Report number from the public query tool | The tool’s result table contains a report-number field; it can help identify the incident for the DMV request. 5 |
| Copy of state-issued ID, completed DPPA section, and signature | Required elements under VG-116. 2 |
| Check or money order | Required payment method on VG-116. 2 |
What changes for a car accident
Use this version when a private passenger car is involved. The official reporting or record-request procedure still depends on the event location, investigating agency, and facts.
For insurance, start with the applicable personal auto policy and the crash-state rules. Keep the declarations page, insurance cards, claim number, estimates, and insurer communications.
Keep these additional records
- Confirm which agency investigated or holds the report.
- Keep the other vehicle and driver information with the report number.
- Keep police, motor-vehicle agency, and insurer tasks separate.
Browse the Car Accident Guides collection for related pages.
Accident-type official sources
- Auto Insurance — National Association of Insurance Commissioners
Official resources
| Resource | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Vermont DMV’s crash-report and records materials | Operator-report instructions and the VG-116 record-request route. 1 2 |
| Vermont State Police Record Requests | 30-day police-report availability statement, DMV routing, and VSP case-number lookup. 3 |
| Vermont Public Crash Data Query Tool | Non-personal crash data, search filters, and report-number discovery; not narratives or diagrams. 5 |
| Vermont Legislature statutes | The operator-report rule, stop duty, investigation provisions, civil limitations, and the limited bridge/culvert notice rule. 6 7 8 10 11 12 |