States
Jury duty in Vermont: pay, employer rules and excuses
Independent site, not a court. Answer your summons and ask for an excuse only through the court that summoned you.
See what Vermont pays jurors on request, $30 a day, how its two-year term caps your trips to court, and why no one is excused automatically.
What jury duty in Vermont will pay you
You receive for 3 days
$90
| Court fee | $90 |
| Employer, by law | No duty to keep paying wages under this law |
| A normal 3 days of work | $600 |
| Income lost | $510 |
| Age rule | no age exemption |
Vermont: Superior Court jurors get $30 a day on request, unless their employer already paid them. Before tax. No wage requirement. The employee keeps seniority, fringe benefits and vacation credit while serving.
All jury rules in VermontVermont Superior Court jurors receive $30 a day on request under 32 V.S.A. § 1511, unless their employer already paid them for the day, and mileage at the state-employee rate is paid only on request with a showing of hardship. Employers have no duty to pay wages, but 21 V.S.A. § 499 lets you keep seniority, fringe benefits and vacation credit while serving. There is no age exemption: under 4 V.S.A. § 962 nobody is excused automatically, and the judge may excuse a person who asks and shows undue hardship. Service runs on a two-year term, during which you can be called to jury selection at most 3 times and to a trial date at most 3 times, and your name can go on a state court venire only once in any two-year period. An individual hardship request can excuse you for part of the term. Not appearing without a satisfactory excuse brings a civil penalty of up to $200, which can be waived for good cause (4 V.S.A. §§ 958, 961).
Statutes and court pages read by Radif Partners on October 29, 2026 · Method and sources
Vermont's two-year term with built-in limits
Instead of a single date, a Vermont summons places you on a two-year term. During that period, the court can call you to jury selection no more than 3 times and to a trial date no more than 3 times. Your name may be placed on a venire for a state court only once in any two-year period. The $30 daily fee must be requested and is not paid if your employer already paid you; mileage is paid only on request and on a showing of hardship.
Asking a Vermont judge for an excuse
Vermont grants no automatic exemptions, by age or by occupation. You make an individual request to the presiding judge and show undue hardship, either on you or on your employer. A judge may excuse you for part of the two-year term, which in practice works as a postponement. People who are not physically or mentally able to serve are not qualified at all. The court's own procedure for these requests could not be read when we checked. Ignoring an order to return the questionnaire can be treated as contempt.
The rules in Vermont, law by law
| Rule | What the law or court says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Juror pay | $30 a day | 32 V.S.A. § 1511 |
| Mileage | On request and on a showing of hardship, travel from home to court and back at the state-employee rate | 32 V.S.A. § 1511 |
| Employer must keep paying | No | 21 V.S.A. § 499 |
| Job protected | Yes | 21 V.S.A. § 499 |
| Age | No age exemption | 4 V.S.A. § 962 |
| Length of service | Two-year term: during it you can be called to jury selection at most 3 times and to serve on a trial date at most 3 times. | legislature.vermont.gov |
| Before another summons | 24 months | legislature.vermont.gov |
| Postponing | On an individual request showing undue hardship, the judge may excuse you for part of the two-year term, which works as a postponement. The court's own procedure (online questionnaire, Jury Administration) could not be read. | legislature.vermont.gov |
| Not showing up | A summoned juror who doesn't appear and gives no satisfactory excuse faces a civil penalty of up to $200, which can be waived for good cause. Ignoring a questionnaire order can be contempt. | 4 V.S.A. §§ 958, 961 |
Excuses and postponement in Vermont
Nobody is excused automatically. Make an individual request to the presiding judge showing undue hardship. People not physically or mentally able to serve are not qualified. On an individual request showing undue hardship, the judge may excuse you for part of the two-year term, which works as a postponement. The court's own procedure (online questionnaire, Jury Administration) could not be read.
Can I be excused or postpone?
Vermont
No ground named: ask to postpone
| Age rule | none |
Nobody is excused automatically. Make an individual request to the presiding judge showing undue hardship. People not physically or mentally able to serve are not qualified. On an individual request showing undue hardship, the judge may excuse you for part of the two-year term, which works as a postponement. The court's own procedure (online questionnaire, Jury Administration) could not be read.
A request is decided by the court, often with proof (a doctor's note, a school schedule). Ignoring a summons is not an excuse.
Official juror page: vermontjudiciary.org. Answer your summons and file any request there or as your summons says.