Vermont GPS Tracking Laws: Is It Legal to Put a Tracker on a Car? (2026)

Vermont's criminal code has no standalone offense that names GPS tracking devices. That does not make hidden trackers legal. Prosecutors reach them through the state's stalking statute, which was deliberately rewritten in 2015 to cover monitoring "by any action, method, device, or means." Vermont's civil stalking-order law is different: a 2025 amendment to 12 V.S.A. 5131 named tracking devices and apps directly, giving victims an easier path to a protective order.

The short version: tracking a car you own is generally fine. Secretly tracking someone else's movements, whether with a hardwired GPS unit or an AirTag in a wheel well, can be charged as stalking, punishable by up to two years in prison. Do it in violation of a court order that prohibits stalking and the maximum jumps to five years.

This guide explains how Vermont law actually applies to vehicle trackers, what the pending tracking-technology bill would change, and what to do if you find a device on your car. It is part of our GPS Tracking Laws by State series.

Is It Legal to Put a GPS Tracker on a Car in Vermont?

It depends entirely on whose car it is and why you are tracking it.

If you own the vehicle, you can put a tracker on it. That covers your own car, a car titled in your name that someone else drives, and business vehicles your company owns.

If the car belongs to someone else and you hide a tracker on it to follow their movements, you are running headfirst into Vermont's stalking law. Vermont's criminal stalking statute never passed language that specifically names electronic tracking devices; the legislature instead wrote the criminal stalking definition broadly enough to absorb new technology, and GPS trackers fit squarely inside it. Vermont's civil stalking-order law went further: a 2025 amendment to 12 V.S.A. 5131 added tracking by an electronic, digital, or geolocation device or app as its own basis for a civil stalking order.

That gap matters in one direction: a single act of placing a tracker, with no pattern and no fear caused, is harder to charge in Vermont than in states with a device-specific statute. But the moment a tracker is used to monitor someone over time, the stalking statute applies with full force.

Vermont's Broad Stalking Definition Covers Tracking (13 V.S.A. 1061-1062)

Vermont's stalking law starts with definitions in 13 V.S.A. 1061. A "course of conduct" means two or more acts over any period of time, however short, in which a person "follows, monitors, surveils, threatens, or makes threats about another person, or interferes with another person's property." The statute adds that these acts can occur "directly or indirectly, and by any action, method, device, or means."

That language is not an accident. The legislature modernized the definition in 2015 through Act 162 specifically so the law would keep up with electronic surveillance. A GPS tracker that pings a location every few minutes is monitoring and surveilling by a device, exactly what the text describes.

To "stalk" under 13 V.S.A. 1061(4) means to engage purposefully in that course of conduct, directed at a specific person, when you know or should know it would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or suffer substantial emotional distress.

Put together, the elements line up neatly with covert tracking:

• Planting the device and then checking its location data supplies the two or more acts.
• The continuous monitoring is the surveillance "by any device."
• Secretly following someone's movements is the kind of conduct a reasonable person finds frightening or deeply distressing.

One important carve-out: 13 V.S.A. 1061 expressly excludes constitutionally protected activity from the definition of course of conduct. Lawful newsgathering or observing someone in public is not stalking. Hiding a tracker on their car is a different matter.

The Pending Tracking-Technology Bill (H.223)

Vermont lawmakers know the current setup leaves gaps. In February 2025, Representatives Angela Arsenault and Monique Priestley introduced H.223, "an act relating to stalking through the use of tracking technology."

The bill would address tracking devices and tracking applications directly, rather than forcing prosecutors to fit AirTag cases into the general stalking framework.

As of June 2026, H.223 has not become law. It was read for the first time and referred to the House Committee on Judiciary on February 14, 2025, where it received testimony in February and May 2025 but never advanced to a floor vote. If you are reading this later, check the bill's status page on the Vermont General Assembly website, since a future session could revive the concept.

Until something like H.223 passes, the stalking statute remains the main criminal tool against covert trackers in Vermont.

Who CAN Legally Track a Vehicle in Vermont

Plenty of GPS tracking is perfectly lawful. Common examples:

• Your own vehicle. Owners and co-owners can track cars titled in their names, including for theft recovery.
• Parents tracking minor children. Parents can monitor a minor child's phone or a car the parent owns.
• Businesses tracking company vehicles. Fleet tracking of employer-owned vehicles is standard practice.
• Police with a warrant. After the US Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Jones (2012), attaching a GPS device to a vehicle and using it to monitor the vehicle's movements is a Fourth Amendment search, so law enforcement generally needs a warrant to do that.
• Consensual tracking. Family members or couples who knowingly share locations through an app are not victims of stalking. Consent is the dividing line.

The riskiest gray zone is a spouse tracking a jointly owned car during a separation or divorce. Ownership gives a colorable right to install a device, but using it to monitor the other spouse can still look like a course of conduct under 13 V.S.A. 1061, and family courts take a dim view of it. Talk to a Vermont attorney before relying on joint title.

Can My Employer Track My Car in Vermont?

Vermont has no statute regulating employer GPS tracking, so the general rules control.

If you drive a company-owned vehicle, your employer can track it, and most fleet employers disclose this in a vehicle policy. Tracking during work hours in an employer's own vehicle is lawful.

Your personal vehicle is different. An employer that hides a tracker on an employee's personal car, without consent, has no ownership interest to fall back on and risks the same stalking analysis as anyone else, plus a civil invasion-of-privacy claim. The safe and standard approach is written consent, typically through a mileage-tracking app the employee installs voluntarily.

Workplace monitoring questions often overlap with audio and video rules, which we cover in our guide to Vermont recording laws.

AirTags and Item Trackers

Apple AirTags, Tile trackers, and Samsung SmartTags are covered by the same analysis as a dedicated GPS unit. The statute's "any action, method, device, or means" language does not care whether the tracker costs $29 or $300.

AirTag stalking cases follow a familiar pattern: an ex drops a tracker into a bag or magnet-mounts it under a bumper, then shows up wherever the victim goes. In Vermont, each check of that tracker's location feeds the course of conduct, and the unexplained appearances supply the fear element.

Apple and Google have built anti-stalking alerts that notify nearby phones about unknown trackers traveling with them. If your iPhone or Android phone shows an "unknown tracker detected" alert, treat it seriously and preserve the alert with screenshots.

Penalties for Illegal Tracking in Vermont

Stalking becomes aggravated stalking under 13 V.S.A. 1063 when any of five factors is present: the conduct violates a court order that prohibits stalking and is in effect at the time of the offense, it is a second or subsequent stalking or aggravated-stalking conviction, the stalker has a prior conviction for an offense involving an act of violence against the same victim, the victim is under 16, or the stalker had a deadly weapon. Tracking an ex in violation of an order that prohibits stalking, such as a civil stalking order or an abuse prevention protective order, is the classic path from the two-year offense to the five-year one. An order that does not prohibit stalking, such as a parenting-time or property order, does not by itself make the offense aggravated.

Federal law can also apply. 18 U.S.C. 2261A reaches stalking that uses an "electronic communication service or electronic communication system of interstate commerce," which courts have applied to GPS and cellular trackers.

Civil Stalking Orders Without a Conviction

Vermont gives victims a civil track that does not depend on the criminal case. Under 12 V.S.A. chapter 178 (section 5131 and following), a person who has been stalked can petition the Civil Division of the Superior Court for an order against stalking.

The petitioner only needs to prove stalking by a preponderance of the evidence, a far lower bar than beyond a reasonable doubt, and no criminal conviction is required. The court can order the stalker to stay away from the victim, their home, and their workplace. Violating the order is itself a crime and converts any continued tracking into aggravated stalking.

A found GPS tracker, photographs of it, and location alerts from your phone are exactly the kind of evidence these petitions are built on. If the person tracking you is a family or household member, an abuse prevention order may fit instead; see our guide to Vermont restraining order laws.

What to Do If You Find a Tracker on Your Car

1. Do not destroy it. The device is evidence, and it may carry the owner's account information.
2. Photograph everything. Capture the device in place, the mounting location, and any serial numbers before touching it.
3. Call local police or the Vermont State Police. Ask them to document the device. If you have an idea who placed it, say so and explain the history.
4. Save phone alerts. Screenshot any unknown-tracker notifications, including dates and locations.
5. Consider a civil stalking order. You can file under 12 V.S.A. chapter 178 even while a criminal investigation is pending.
6. Get the car swept if needed. A mechanic can check wheel wells, bumpers, the OBD-II port, and under the dash for hardwired units.

Be cautious about confronting the person you suspect. If you are in danger, work through police and the courts rather than tipping off the tracker's owner.

Cameras pointed at your driveway raise related but separate rules, covered in our guide to surveillance camera laws.

Sources

Disclaimer: This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Laws change, and pending bills like H.223 can alter the rules described here. For advice about a specific situation, consult a licensed Vermont attorney or, if you are in danger, contact law enforcement.

More Vermont Laws

• Vermont Dashcam Laws
• Vermont Data Privacy Laws
• Vermont Drone Laws
• Vermont Employee Monitoring Laws
• Vermont Recording Laws
• Vermont Restraining Order Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to put a GPS tracker on someone's car in Vermont?

There is no standalone tracking-device crime in Vermont, but using a hidden tracker to monitor someone can be charged as stalking under 13 V.S.A. 1062. The stalking definition expressly covers monitoring or surveilling a person by any device, and penalties run up to 2 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Can I put a tracker on my spouse's car during a divorce?

It is risky. If the car is solely in your spouse's name, hidden tracking can support a stalking charge and a civil stalking order. Even with a jointly titled car, monitoring your spouse's movements can be treated as a course of conduct under 13 V.S.A. 1061 and will hurt you in family court. Ask a Vermont attorney first.

Are AirTags treated differently from GPS trackers in Vermont?

No. Vermont's stalking statute covers monitoring by any action, method, device, or means, so an AirTag, Tile, or SmartTag used to follow a person is analyzed the same way as a dedicated GPS unit.

Does Vermont have a specific GPS tracking law?

Not for a criminal charge. H.223, a 2025 bill that would create a stand-alone crime of stalking through tracking technology, was referred to the House Judiciary Committee in February 2025 and had not passed as of June 2026; until it does, prosecutors rely on the general stalking statute. Vermont's civil law is further along: a 2025 amendment to 12 V.S.A. 5131 already names electronic, digital, and geolocation tracking devices and apps as a basis for a civil stalking order.

Can my employer track my car in Vermont?

Employers can track vehicles the company owns. No Vermont statute addresses employer GPS tracking of personal vehicles, but hiding a tracker on an employee's own car without consent invites stalking liability and a privacy lawsuit. Legitimate employers get written consent.

Can Vermont police put a GPS tracker on my car without a warrant?

Generally no. In United States v. Jones (2012), the US Supreme Court held that attaching a GPS device to a vehicle and using it to monitor movements is a Fourth Amendment search, so police normally need a warrant.

Can I get a protective order against someone tracking me without a criminal conviction?

Yes. Under 12 V.S.A. chapter 178, you can petition the Civil Division of the Superior Court for an order against stalking using the civil preponderance standard. No arrest or conviction is required, and violating the order is a crime.

What are the penalties for tracking someone in violation of a court order in Vermont?

Tracking that violates a court order prohibiting stalking, such as a civil stalking order or an abuse prevention order, that is in effect at the time qualifies as aggravated stalking under 13 V.S.A. 1063, punishable by up to 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $25,000, or both. An order that does not prohibit stalking, such as a parenting-time or property order, does not by itself trigger the aggravated offense.