Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 13, § 7171 (2026)

Subchapter 001 : COLLECTION OF FINES, COSTS, PENALTIES, AND FORFEITURES

• § 7171. Collection by complaint, information, or indictment

  (a) Fines, forfeitures, and penalties incurred or imposed by statute may be recovered by complaint, information, or indictment, unless some other mode of recovery is specially provided.

  (b) The Court Administrator is authorized to contract with private collection agencies for collection of penalties, fines, surcharges, court costs, and any other assessment authorized by law incurred or imposed by statute on persons who fail to pay, at or after time of judgment, after notice that failure to pay the debt will result in the debt being referred to a collection agency and that the debtor will be liable for the collection agency’s fee. The Court Administrator may agree to pay collection agencies a fee based on a fixed rate for services rendered or a percentage of the amount actually collected by such agencies and remitted to the state. The debtor shall be liable for the collection agency’s fee, in addition to the judgment amount. The collection agency shall deduct its fee from the collected amount and remit the balance to the judiciary. All collection agency fees shall be governed by the contract with the Court Administrator and shall be clearly disclosed in all notices sent by the collection agency to the debtor. (Amended 1985, No. 266 (Adj. Sess.), § 7, eff. June 4, 1986; 2007, No. 51, § 4; 2009, No. 4, § 117, eff. April 29, 2009.)