Administering Entity
Department of Public Safety Forensic Laboratory
Recent / Pending Legislation
- H 639 (2026, delivered to governor) – Genetic Privacy Act –Requires warrant or consent in order to disclosure to law enforcement.
- HB 904 – Automated DNA tracking system. (2026, introduced, legislature has adjourned)
Arrestees: No. See State v. Medina (2014).
Convicted Offenders: Yes – adults and minors.
Qualifying Crimes: Convictions for: any felony; domestic assault; any crime requiring sex offender registration; stalking; reckless endangerment; violation of an abuse prevention order; a misdemeanor violation relating to abuse, neglect, or exploitation of vulnerable adults; attempts to commit any of these; and any other offense where, as part of a plea agreement, the original charge was a listed crime and the court found probable cause.
Time of Collection: For incarcerated persons: at a time designated by the Commissioner of Corrections or by a court. For those not incarcerated: at a place and time designated by the Commissioner of Corrections, the Commissioner of Public Safety, or a court.
Expungement: Where the conviction tied to the incident that produced the sample is reversed and the case dismissed, or the person receives a full pardon for it, the court or the governor (as applicable) must notify the Department of Public Safety, which removes and destroys the person’s DNA record and sample. A match made to another sample during a criminal investigation is not expunged even if the sample itself is.
Statutes / Case Law
20 VSA § 1932. Definitions
20 VSA § 1933. DNA sample required
20 VSA § 1940. Expungement of records and destruction of samples
Legislative History
- H.89 (1997) → 1997, No. 160 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, “An act relating to a state DNA data bank and to genetic testing” (eff. Apr. 29, 1998). Created 20 V.S.A. ch. 113, subchapter 4 (§§ 1931–1945), establishing the State DNA Database and Data Bank under the Department of Public Safety Forensic Laboratory. The § 1933 mandate keyed to conviction of a “violent crime” — an enumerated list of roughly seventeen offenses, not all felonies. State v. Martin, 2008 VT 53, cites the Jan. 22, 1997 House Judiciary hearing on H.89 as the legislative history.
- S.15 (2005) → 2005, No. 83, §§ 7–8, “An act relating to community safety” (eff. June 28, 2005). Replaced “violent crime” with “designated crime” in § 1932(12) and conformed § 1933, expanding the mandate to all felonies and attempted felonies. Upheld against a Chapter I, Article 11 challenge in State v. Martin, 2008 VT 53.
- S.13 (2009) → 2009, No. 1, §§ 20–21, 23–24, “An act relating to improving Vermont’s sexual abuse response system.” Omnibus criminal justice act. Sections 20–21 amended §§ 1932 and 1933 effective Mar. 4, 2009; §§ 23–24, effective July 1, 2011, extended collection to any person for whom the court found probable cause at arraignment that they committed a felony — warrantless, suspicionless pre-conviction collection.
- S.10 (2015 Adj. Sess.) → 2015, No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), §§ 1–3, “An act relating to the State DNA database” (signed May 23, 2016; eff. on passage). Post-Medina cleanup. Section 2 struck the arraignment category from § 1933(a) and deleted the arraignment scheduling subsection; § 1 removed the parallel arraignment language from the “DNA sample” definition and added domestic assault, stalking, reckless endangerment, abuse prevention order violations, and misdemeanor vulnerable-adult abuse to “designated crime.” Section 3 revised the § 1940 expungement grounds.
No program or law.
Vermont is one of few states that prohibits law enforcement agencies from creating or maintaining local/independent DNA databases. https://codes.findlaw.com/vt/title-20-internal-security-and-public-safety/vt-st-tit-20-sect-1938/
No program or law.
No program or law.
No program or law. But, pending legislation – HB 904 – Automated DNA tracking system. (February 2026)