Vermont
Vermont Security Camera Laws
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited November 1, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of November 1, 2026. · 2 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Vermont has no specific security camera statute, so legality turns on the voyeurism law (13 V.S.A. 2605) and federal wiretap rules. Silent video surveillance of your own property is generally legal; the voyeurism statute bars recording people's intimate areas, or secretly recording people inside a home, where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy and without their knowledge and consent, and audio recording requires one-party consent under 18 U.S.C. 2511.
Vermont does not have a specific security camera statute. Legality is determined by the voyeurism statute (13 V.S.A. 2605), federal wiretap law (18 U.S.C. 2511), and Vermont case law.
Residential Cameras
Homeowners can install exterior and interior cameras, but 13 V.S.A. 2605(d) bars recording a person without their knowledge and consent while they are in a place within a home or residence where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, so guests and household members should know about interior cameras. Cannot place cameras in guest bathrooms or bedrooms, or aim directly at neighbors' private areas. Doorbell cameras are legal. Audio is different from video: if a camera records a private conversation you are not part of, and no one in it has agreed, that can be a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 2511(1)(a) carrying up to five years in prison, plus civil liability under 18 U.S.C. 2520. Turn off audio on indoor cameras or tell people it is on.
Business Cameras
Permitted: Retail, warehouses, parking lots, lobbies. Prohibited: Recording people's intimate areas without their knowledge and consent in bathrooms, locker rooms, or changing areas, including as part of a security or theft-prevention program (13 V.S.A. 2605(c), (f)). No notification statute, but signage recommended.
Privacy Protections
The voyeurism statute (13 V.S.A. 2605) bars secret surveillance or recording of a person inside a home or residence where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and bars viewing or recording intimate areas where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, in each case without the person's knowledge and consent. It is also a crime to show or share with anyone else an image recorded in violation of the intimate-areas rule, punishable by up to five years in prison or a $5,000 fine. That offense already existed; Act 89, effective July 1, 2026, moved it to 13 V.S.A. 2605(e) and limited it to images recorded in violation of 2605(c). Sharing nude or sexual images without consent can also be a crime under 13 V.S.A. 2606.
Camera Footage as Evidence
Authenticate, preserve chain of custody, keep unaltered. Regularly used in Vermont courts.
More Vermont Recording Laws
Audio Recording | Video Recording | Voyeurism & Hidden Cameras | Workplace Recording | Recording Police | Phone Call Recording | Security Cameras | Recording in Public | Landlord-Tenant | Dashcam Laws | Schools | Medical Recording
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See Also
- Vermont Surveillance Camera Laws covers home, HOA, neighbor, workplace, and landlord camera rules in Vermont.
More Vermont Laws
- Vermont AI Meeting Recording Laws
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- Vermont Employee Monitoring Laws
- Vermont GPS Tracking Laws
- Vermont Police Bodycam Laws
- Vermont Smart Glasses Recording Laws
Frequently Asked Questions
Are security cameras legal in Vermont?
Yes. Homeowners and businesses can install cameras. The voyeurism statute (13 V.S.A. 2605) bars recording people's intimate areas, or secretly recording people inside a home, where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy and without their knowledge and consent.
Do I need to tell neighbors about cameras?
No. Vermont does not require notification. Point cameras at your own property.
Can my camera record audio?
Audio follows federal one-party consent. Recording your own conversations is legal. Recording a private conversation you are not part of, when no one in it has agreed, can be a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. 2511, so turn off audio indoors or tell people it is on.
Can police access my doorbell camera without a warrant?
You do not have to hand footage over voluntarily. Police can still obtain it with a warrant, subpoena, or other court order. Voluntary cooperation is your choice.
Can my landlord install cameras in my apartment?
Not secretly. 13 V.S.A. 2605(d) makes it a crime to surveil or record a person without their knowledge and consent while they are in a place within a home or residence where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Updates
We corrected a statement that sharing unlawfully recorded intimate images became a crime in July 2026; it was already a crime, and Act 89 renumbered and narrowed it.
We updated the page for Vermont's July 1, 2026 voyeurism amendments, which limit the image-sharing crime to intimate-area recordings and renumbered the subsections, and clarified that a camera recording others' private conversations without anyone's consent can be a federal crime.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Corrected how we describe Vermont's voyeurism statute (13 V.S.A. 2605) and replaced a misattributed case citation with the statute's actual rule on secret recording inside a home.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes
Governing law re-checked for recent changes
Reviewed and approved by an editor
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 13: Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Chapter 59: Lewdness and Prostitution, Subchapter: LEWD AND INDECENT CONDUCT
§ 2605VoyeurismIn forcecited in 15 of our articles
(a) As used in this section: (1) “Bona fide private investigator or bona fide security guard” means an individual lawfully providing services, whether licensed or unlicensed, pursuant to 26 V.S.A. §§ 3151 and 3151a. (2) “Female breast” means any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola. (3) “Circumstances in which a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy” means circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that his or her intimate areas would not be visible to the public, regardless of whether that person is in a public or private area. This definition includes circumstances in which a person knowingly disrobes in front of another, but does not expect nor give consent for the other person to photograph, film, or record his or her intimate areas. (4) “Intimate areas” means the naked or undergarment-clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or female breast of a person.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-24 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at legislature.vermont.gov
Cited in 6 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2022
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):In State v. DEVOID (2010) the Vermont Supreme Court reversed an attempted voyeurism conviction under section 2605(b)(1), holding the evidence could not show the defendant, on the ground, was able to see the complainant's intimate areas as the statute defines them, so looking at her window was not an overt act.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- State v. DEVOID (Supreme Court of Vermont 2010, 188 Vt. 445)✓A man stared up at a second-floor shower window from the parking lot; a photograph taken inside the bathroom showed the complainant's intimate areas, as the statute defines them, were below the sill, so the court reversed his attempted-voyeurism conviction as unsupported.
- State v. Squiers (Supreme Court of Vermont 2006, 179 Vt. 388)“…r any object into the genital or anal opening of another”); 13 V.S.A. § 2605(a)(4) & (b) (prohibiting the viewing or…”
- State v. Beaudoin (Supreme Court of Vermont 2008, 185 Vt. 164)“…ter 1 includes §§ 2601 and 2602 and a section on voyeurism, 13 V.S.A. § 2605. Section 2601 makes it a felony to enga…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Vermont Smart Glasses Recording Laws 2025, Vermont Recording Laws (2026): No Wiretap Statute, One-Party Default, Vermont Medical Recording Laws
United States Code Title 18
§ 2511Interception and disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications prohibitedIn forcecited in 441 of our articles
Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter any person who— intentionally intercepts, endeavors to intercept, or procures any other person to intercept or endeavor to intercept, any wire, oral, or electronic communication; intentionally uses, endeavors to use, or procures any other person to use or endeavor to use any electronic, mechanical, or other device to intercept any oral communication when— such device is affixed to, or otherwise transmits a signal through, a wire, cable, or other like connection used in wire communication; or such device transmits communications by radio, or interferes with the transmission of such communication; or such person knows, or has reason to know, that such device or any component thereof has been sent through the mail or transported in interstate or foreign commerce; or such use or endeavor to use (A) takes place on the premises of any business or other commercial establishment the operations of which affect interstate or foreign commerce; or (B) obtains or is for the purpose of obtaining information relating to the operations of any business or other commercial establishment the operations of which affect interstate or foreign…
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-17 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov
Cited in 2,045 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):Griggs-Ryan v. Smith (1990) applied the Section 2511(2)(d) prior-consent exception, treating a tenant repeatedly told that all incoming calls were taped as having impliedly consented. United States v. United States District Court (1972) read the then-current Section 2511(3) as conferring no presidential surveillance power.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Mitchell v. Forsyth (Supreme Court of the United States 1985, 472 U.S. 511)✓The Attorney General authorized a warrantless 1970 national security wiretap that caught the plaintiff's calls; the Court held the since-repealed Section 2511(3) disclaimer left the tap lawful under Title III, and that Mitchell had qualified immunity.
- United States v. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan (Supreme Court of the United States 1972, 407 U.S. 297)✓The Attorney General approved warrantless wiretaps on members of a domestic group accused of bombing a CIA office; the Court read Section 2511(3) as a congressional disclaimer conferring no surveillance power, then held the Fourth Amendment required prior judicial approval.
- Forsyth v. Barr (Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit 1994, 19 F.3d 1527)✓Dallas police used, in an internal affairs probe of an officer, calls private parties allegedly intercepted illegally; assuming that was unlawful, the Fifth Circuit held Section 2517(1) and (2) allowed the disclosure and use, defeating the Section 2511(1)(c) and (d) claims.
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Can an Employer Record Conversations Without Consent? (2026), Can I Record My Boss Harassing Me? State-by-State Legal Guide (2026), Can I Sue Someone for Recording Me on Private or Public Property?
Sources and References
- 13 V.S.A. 2605 -- Voyeurism(legislature.vermont.gov).gov
- 18 U.S.C. 2511 -- Federal Wiretap Act(law.cornell.edu)
- Vermont Constitution -- Article 11(legislature.vermont.gov).gov