Insurance — Vermont Permit Test

Vermont has a law called Maintenance of Financial Responsibility, which means the vehicle you drive must be covered by liability insurance.

The insurance is there for whoever you hit, which is why it is a condition of driving at all.

Vermont has a law called "Maintenance of Financial Responsibility." This means that the vehicle you drive MUST be covered by liability insurance.

Coverage must be at least $25,000 for the death or injury of one person, $50,000 for the death or injury of 2 or more people, and $10,000 for property damage.

These are floors rather than recommendations, and a serious injury costs far more than any of them.

The amount of coverage MUST be at least $25,000 for death or injury of one person; $50,000 for death or injury of 2 or more persons; $10,000 for property damage.

You must carry a card from your insurance company in the vehicle showing there is coverage on it, and you have to show it to a police officer who stops you or to an examiner at a driving test.

The card is the only proof that travels with the car, and both an officer and an examiner will ask for it.

If you are stopped by a police officer you will have to show the card. If you are going to take a driving test you will also have to show the card.

A driver stopped without insurance is given a ticket, is fined and has two points assessed on their driving record.

Driving uninsured is treated as a moving offense, so it costs points as well as money.

You will be fined and assessed two points on your driving record.

If you have insurance but cannot show the card when an officer stops you, you have 15 days to produce it, and the card must show you were insured at the time of the stop.

The grace period is for a card left at home, not for insurance bought afterwards.

If you have insurance on your vehicle and a police officer stops you, and you cannot show the card to the officer, you have 15 days to do so.

Driving without insurance and then being in a crash, driving under the influence, taking a vehicle without consent, driving while suspended, causing a death or leaving the scene, means the Commissioner takes your license until you prove insurance for a full 3 years.

Three years of proof is the price of having been uninsured when it mattered.

You will have to prove to the Commissioner that you have insurance for a full 3 years.

What does Vermont's Maintenance of Financial Responsibility law require?

That the vehicle you drive carries liability insurance. The insurance is there for whoever you hit, which is why it is a condition of driving at all. 2025 Vermont Driver's Manual, p.67: “Vermont has a law called "Maintenance of Financial Responsibility." This means that the vehicle you drive MUST be covered by liability insurance.”