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| FEE DESCRIPTION | CITATION | TOTAL CHARGES | MUNICIPALITY AND/OR CLERK RETAINS1 |
| Act 250 Disclosure Statement | $15.00/page | All2 | |
| Alcoholic Beverages | |||
| First Class License | 7 V.S.A. § 204(a)(4), (b)(2); 7 V.S.A. § 206 |
$230.00 | $110.00/$5.00 |
| Second Class License | 7 V.S.A. § 204(a)(5), (b)(2); 7 V.S.A. § 206 |
$140.00 | $65.00/$5.00 |
| Attachment Lien of Real Property | |||
| Discharge | 12 V.S.A. § 3293(d) | $4.00 | All |
| Recording | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) | $15.00/page | All2 |
| Big Game, Report | 10 App. V.S.A. § 2(b) | $1.00 (paid by commissioner) | All |
| Birth Certificate | |||
| Certified Copy | 18 V.S.A. § 5017; 32 V.S.A. § 1712(5) |
$10.00 | All |
| Search for Certified Copy | 32 V.S.A. § 1715(a) | $3.00 (credited toward fee for first certified copy) | All |
| Non-certified Copy | 18 V.S.A. § 4999(4); 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(7) |
at actual cost3 | All |
| Burial Certificate | 32 V.S.A. § 1714 | $5.00 | All |
| To entomb or move body | 32 V.S.A. § 1714 | $1.00 | All |
| Voter Checklist | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(7) | at actual cost3, 4 | All |
| Death Certificate | |||
| Certified copy | 18 V.S.A. § 5017; 32 V.S.A. § 1712(5) |
$10.00 | All |
| Search for certified copy | 32 V.S.A. § 1715(a) | $3.00 (credited toward fee for first certified copy) | All |
| Non-certified copy | 18 V.S.A. § 4999(4); 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(7) |
at actual cost3 | All |
| Dog and Wolf-Hybrid License | See VLCT Dog and Wolf-Hybrid License webpage and poster | ||
| Examination of Town Records | |||
| By clerk | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(3) | $5.00/hour, $25/day maximum | All |
| By others | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(4) | $4.00/hour | All |
| Grand List, Copy | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(7) | at actual cost3 | All |
| Green Mountain Passport | 31 V.S.A. § 1002(b) | $2.00 | All |
| Hunting/Fishing/Big Game/Combination License | 10 V.S.A. § 4254(e)(9) | see 10 V.S.A. § 4255 | All ($1.50 per regular license and $5.00 per super sport license) |
| Hunting License, Lost License Certificate | 10 V.S.A. § 4261(a) | $5.00 | All |
| Lien, Municipal Personal Property Tax, Recording Lien or Discharge of Lien | 32 V.S.A. § 5078 | $12.00 (paid by town) 5, 6 | $6.00 to clerk, $6.00 to tax collector |
| Recording of Judgment Lien, Assignment, or Discharge | 24 V.S.A. § 1158; 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) |
$15.00/page7 | All2 |
| Lumber | |||
| Lien, Recording | 9 V.S.A. § 2014 | $5.00 | All |
| Certified Registration, Recording | 9 V.S.A. § 2013 | $6.00 | All |
| Civil Marriage/Civil Union License | |||
| Certified copy | 18 V.S.A. § 5017; 32 V.S.A. §§ 1712(5) |
$10.00 | All |
| Search for certified copy | 32 V.S.A. § 1715(a) | $3.00 (credited toward fee for first certified copy) | All |
| Non-certified copy | 18 V.S.A. § 4999(4); 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(7) |
at actual cost3 | All |
| Issuing and Recording | 32 V.S.A. § 1712(1) | $60.00 | $10.00 |
| Military Honorable Discharges or Certificates of Service, Recording | 24 V.S.A. § 1175 | $0.50 (paid by town)5 | All |
| Minutes of Meetings | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(7) | at actual cost3 | All |
| Mobile Home Uniform Bill of Sale, Recording/Filing | $15.00/page | All2 | |
| Mortgage | |||
| Assignment of Mortgage, Recording | 24 V.S.A. § 1158; 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) |
$15.00/page | All2 |
| Complaint to Foreclose, Recording | 12 V.S.A. § 4932 (b); 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(2) |
$15.00/page | All2 |
| Discharge of Mortgage, Recording | 24 V.S.A. § 1158; 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) |
$15.00/page7 | All2 |
| Trust Mortgage Deed, Recording | 24 V.S.A. § 1155; 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(1) |
$15.00/page | All2 |
| Chattel Mortgage, Conditional Vendor’s Lien, Recording or Discharge | 24 V.S.A. § 1156; 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) |
$15.00/page | All2 |
| Motor Vehicle, Snowmobile or Motorboat Registration Renewal | 23 V.S.A. § 6 | see Title 23, Chapter 7, Subchapter 2 | $3.00 |
| Printed, Stamped, or Typed Name, failure to include on instrument to be recorded | 32 V.S.A. § 1405 | $2.00 | All |
| Name Change (regarding real estate), Recording of Certificate | $15.00/page | All2 | |
| Nonjudicial Foreclosure, Notice of Sale, and Recording of Sale | 12 V.S.A. § 4964; 12 V.S.A. § 4967; 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) |
$15.00/page | All2 |
| Posted Land, Recording | 10 V.S.A. § 5201(c) | $5.00 | All |
| Property Transfer Tax Return, Recording or Filing | 32 V.S.A. § 9606(a); 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) |
$15.00 | All2 |
| Public Document/Record, Certified copy | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) | $10.00/page | All |
| Recording/Filing any Public Record | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(6) | $15.00/page | All2 |
| Survey Plats, Recording | |||
| 11×17 inch, 18×24 inch, 24×36 inch | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(8) | $25.00/sheet | All |
| Tobacco License, or Renewal | 7 V.S.A. § 1002(d)(1)(B) | $110.00 | None |
| Tobacco Substitute Endorsement, or Renewal | 7 V.S.A. § 1002(d)(1)(C) | $50.00 | None |
| Uniform Commercial Code | |||
| Filing and indexing a record under Article 9 other than an initial financing statement | 9A V.S.A. § 9-525(a) | $35.008 | All |
| Filing and indexing an initial financing statement | 9A V.S.A. § 9-525(b) | $6.00 per page | All |
| Responding to information request or issuing certificate showing statement on file | 9A V.S.A. § 9-525(c) | $25.00 | All |
| Uncertified Copies of Recorded and Filed Documents | 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(7) | $1.00/page ($2.00 minimum) |
All |
| Veterans, Copy of records for VA benefits determination | 14 V.S.A. § 3116 | no charge | |
| Waterfowl Stamp | 10 V.S.A. § 4277(d) | $7.50 | $1.00 |
1. If clerk receives salary in lieu of fees, town retains entire amount. 32 V.S.A. § 1401.
2. Not less than $4.00 per page from the per-page recording fees established under 32 V.S.A. § 1671 shall be placed into the town’s Restoration and Preservation Reserve Fund. A town may allocate less than $4.00 per page from recording fees if the town clerk certifies that the town has sufficient dedicated reserve funds for the restoration, preservation, digitization, storage, and conservation of town records. A copy of such certification must be submitted to the House Committee on Government Operations on or before the third Monday of each year. 32 V.S.A. § 1671(c).
3. “Actual cost” means the fees established by the Secretary of State’s Uniform Schedule of Public Record Charges, unless the town has adopted its own schedule of fees, as set forth by 1 V.S.A. § 316(e). The Uniform Fee Schedule sets costs as follows: for photocopies, $.05 per single-sided page and $.09 per double-sided page for pages up to 8.5 by 14 inches; for computer-generated paper copies, $.02 per page for pages up to 8.5 by 14 inches; for color photocopies, $1 per single-sided page.
4. Upon request, one copy of checklist must be provided free of charge to the chair of each political party in town. 17 V.S.A. § 2141(c)(1).
5. If clerk receives salary in lieu of fees, there is no payment by the town and no funds are retained by the clerk.
6. If the municipal personal property lien is performed by the delinquent tax collector who receives salary in lieu of fees, there is no payment by the town and no funds retained by the delinquent tax collector.
7. The fee to record a mortgage or lien discharge applies only when filed as a separate instrument for recording. Alternatively, a mortgage or lien may be discharged by entry on the margin of the mortgage or lien document itself pursuant to 27 V.S.A. § 461 or 24 V.S.A. § 1158, in which case there is no charge for recording.
8. This fee is not applicable to a record of a mortgage which is effective as a financing statement filed as a fixture filing or as a financing statement covering as-extracted collateral or timber to be cut under 9A V.S.A. § 9-502(c). However, the recording and satisfaction fees that otherwise would be applicable to the record of the mortgage apply. 9A V.S.A. § 9-525(d).
- A schedule of all fees shall be posted in the town clerk’s office. 32 V.S.A. § 1671(b).
- Municipal clerks may require fees for all filing, recording, and copying to be paid in advance. 32 V.S.A. § 1671(a)(5).
- Under 32 V.S.A. § 1751, when no other provision is made, an officer or person whose duty it is to record documents shall be allowed:
(A) the sum of $.60 a folio thereof with a minimum fee of $1.00;
(B) the sum of $2.00 for each official certificate;
(C) for the authentication of documents, $2.00; and
(D) for other services such sum as is in proportion to the fees established by law.
These fees are subject to review by the General Assembly, so clerks should check current statutes to determine if the fees have been changed. You may also contact the Vermont League of Cities and Towns Municipal Assistance Center (MAC) at 800-649-7915 or info@vlct.org.