Vermont Statutes Annotated

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 23, § 3205 (2026)

Snowmobile equipment; windshield; use of headlight; illegal noise level; exemption from equipment requirement

✓ current as of May 2026

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Subchapter 001 : SNOWMOBILES

(Cite as: 23 V.S.A. § 3205)

§ 3205. Snowmobile equipment; windshield; use of headlight; illegal noise level; exemption from equipment requirement

(a) Snowmobile; required equipment. All snowmobiles shall be equipped with one or more operational:

(1) headlight;

(2) red rear light;

(3) a fully functional brake in good mechanical condition;

(4) efficient muffler; and

(5) such other equipment and devices as may be required to meet the noise level specifications of subsection (d) of this section.

(b) Windshield. If the snowmobile is equipped with a windshield, it shall be free from sharp or jagged edges.

(c) Light. Lights shall be on during operation and the lenses of headlights shall be clear, as supplied by the manufacturer, and unimpaired by the installation of colored lenses or other devices that would impair the ability of the headlight to perform to its original equipment design specifications.

(d) Exhaust system; noise emissions. An individual shall not operate the following on the State Snowmobile Trail System:

(1) a snowmobile manufactured after February 1, 2007 that does not display a visible and unaltered marking of “SSCC Certified” issued by the Snowmobile Safety and Certification Committee (SSCC) on all critical components of the exhaust system; or

(2) a snowmobile, regardless of the date of manufacture, with an exhaust system that has been modified in a manner that amplifies or otherwise increases total noise emission above that of the snowmobile as originally constructed.

(e) Prohibited sale; illegal noise level; notice to consumer.
(1) No person shall sell for operation, or offer to sell for operation, within the State of Vermont, a snowmobile that does not comply with the exhaust system requirements specified in subsection (d) of this section.

(2) No snowmobile shall be equipped in any manner that permits the operator to bypass the muffler.

(3) No person shall sell or offer to sell a replacement exhaust system or component of an exhaust system that will not meet or exceed the exhaust noise reduction capabilities of the snowmobile manufacturer’s original equipment specifications for the snowmobile.

(4) Any person selling or offering to sell a snowmobile or replacement exhaust system shall include in the specifications precise information concerning the designed maximum sound levels of the snowmobile or replacement exhaust system as outlined by the SSCC.

(f) Exemption from equipment requirements; racing contest. This section shall not apply to any snowmobile entered in a racing contest sponsored by a racing or snowmobile club, organization, or association during the period the snowmobile is actually participating in or practicing or preparing for a racing event at an area especially provided for the purpose. (Added 1983, No. 212 (Adj. Sess.), § 2; amended 1993, No. 234 (Adj. Sess.), § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 1994; 2001, No. 126 (Adj. Sess.), § 3, eff. June 12, 2002; 2015, No. 47, § 46; 2021, No. 20, § 250; 2021, No. 76, § 8.)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 1 case, 2003–2003 · leading case: State v. Beauregard, 2003 VT 3 (Vt. 2003).

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State v. Beauregard, 2003 VT 3 (Vt. 2003). “He observes that while the state has established noise limits for snowmobiles, 23 V.S.A. § 3205, motorboats, 23 V.S.A. § 3309, and all-terrain vehicles, 23 V.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.