Constitutional Carry in Vermont: What the Law Allows

Constitutional Carry in Vermont

Vermont is the original constitutional carry state. The practice of carrying a concealed firearm without a government-issued permit was so closely associated with Vermont that it was historically called "Vermont carry" before the term "constitutional carry" entered common use around 2010. Unlike every other constitutional-carry state, Vermont never had a carry permit system to repeal - it has been permitless since statehood in 1791.

Constitutional Foundation

Vermont's right to bear arms is grounded in Vt. Const. Ch. I, Art. 16:

"That the people have a right to bear arms for the defence of themselves and the State - and as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the military should be kept under strict subordination to and governed by the civil power."

This text has been part of the Vermont Constitution since 1777. A separate provision in Chapter II of the Vermont Constitution preserves a right to hunt, fish, and fowl on open lands.

State v. Rosenthal (1903)

The Vermont Supreme Court's interpretation of Art. 16 is anchored in State v. Rosenthal, 75 Vt. 295, 55 A. 610 (1903).

Andrew Rosenthal was prosecuted under a Rutland city ordinance that prohibited carrying weapons without written permission from the mayor or chief of police. The Vermont Supreme Court struck down the ordinance as applied to a pistol, holding that the right to carry a weapon - openly or concealed - for self-defense is protected by Art. 16, and that a municipality could not impose a permit requirement.

Rosenthal remains the foundational Vermont decision on carry. It has not been overruled, and the Vermont Legislature has never enacted a statute requiring a permit to carry.

What Constitutional Carry Means in Vermont

A person who is legally allowed to possess a firearm under both federal law and Vermont law may carry it - openly or concealed, on foot or in a vehicle - without a permit, license, training course, registration, or fee.

• No permit application. No state agency processes carry permit applications because no carry permit exists.
• No training requirement. Vermont does not require a firearms safety course as a condition of carry.
• No registration. Vermont maintains no firearms registry.
• No duty to inform. Vermont law imposes no duty to volunteer the presence of a firearm to a law enforcement officer during a routine stop.

Limits on Carry Despite Permitless Status

Constitutional carry is not unlimited. Vermont law and federal law impose restrictions that apply regardless of permit status:

• 13 V.S.A. § 4003 - Carrying a dangerous or deadly weapon with intent to injure another: This is the core Vermont weapon-carry crime. It does not criminalize carrying a firearm; it criminalizes carrying with intent to injure another person. Penalty: up to two years and a $2,000 fine for the standard offense; up to 10 years and a $25,000 fine if the intent is to injure multiple persons.
• 13 V.S.A. § 4004 - Possession of firearms on school property: Prohibits knowing possession of a firearm or dangerous or deadly weapon in a school building, on a school bus, or (with intent to injure) on school property. Penalties scale by offense and intent.
• 13 V.S.A. § 4017 - Persons posing a risk to themselves or others: A statutory framework for removing firearms from individuals who pose a danger.
• 13 V.S.A. § 4053 - Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO): A court order may prohibit firearm possession.
• 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) - Federal prohibited persons: Felons, persons subject to qualifying domestic-violence restraining orders, persons convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, unlawful drug users, persons adjudicated as mentally defective or involuntarily committed, illegal aliens, persons dishonorably discharged from the armed forces, and others.
• 18 U.S.C. § 930 - Federal facilities.
• 18 U.S.C. § 922(x) - Possession of a handgun by a person under 18: Generally prohibited at the federal level with narrow exceptions.

Reciprocity Consequence of Having No Permit

Because Vermont does not issue carry permits, there is no Vermont permit for other states to recognize. Vermont residents who want to carry in states that require a permit must obtain a non-resident permit from a state that issues them. Common choices for Vermont residents are Florida, Utah, Arizona, New Hampshire, and Maine, each of which has its own application, training, and fee requirements.

Act 94 of 2018 (S.55) - Did Not Change Carry Status

In April 2018, Vermont enacted Act 94 of 2018 (S.55), which added several firearm laws while leaving constitutional carry intact:

• Universal background checks (13 V.S.A. § 4019): Most unlicensed-to-unlicensed firearm transfers must go through a licensed dealer.
• Large-capacity magazine ban (13 V.S.A. § 4021): Caps at 10 rounds for long guns and 15 rounds for handguns, with grandfathering for devices lawfully possessed on or before April 11, 2018.
• Minimum purchase age (13 V.S.A. § 4020): 21 years old to purchase a firearm, with exceptions for law enforcement, military, and persons who have completed a Vermont hunter safety course or an equivalent course.
• Bump-fire stock ban (13 V.S.A. § 4022).

None of these provisions created a carry permit, and none of them imposed a permit-style precondition on carry by lawful possessors.

Act 45 of 2023 - Added Waiting Period and Expanded ERPO

Act 45 of 2023 added a 72-hour waiting period between background-check initiation and firearm transfer, added a safe-storage statute, and expanded ERPO petitioner eligibility to include family and household members (in addition to state's attorneys and the Attorney General). The 72-hour waiting period was upheld at the district court level in 2024 (Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs v. Birmingham, D. Vt.) and is on appeal before the Second Circuit as of 2025-2026. Like Act 94, Act 45 did not create a carry permit.

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