Guidelines for Administrative Hearings Held by the Vermont Agency of Transportation Hearings Section

The Vermont Agency of Transportation Hearing Section’s goal is to ensure that a fair hearing is held to enable relevant information to be gathered in order to provide the Hearings Examiner with all of the information needed to issue the appropriate decision. In order to meet this goal, the following rules shall be followed when requesting, and attending a hearing held by our office.  

1. Requests for a hearing must be in writing. Mail all requests to 219 N. Main St. Barre, VT 05641. Use the Hearing Request form below when requesting a hearing.
2. Once you request a hearing, you will be sent a letter, via USPS mail, indicating whether your request has been accepted.
3. If your request is granted, the Hearings Section will then begin to compile your hearings record. Once all the information available is gathered, we will mail you a packet containing the documents, marked as exhibits, and notify you of the time and date of the hearing. You will have at least 15 days’ notice (from the date of postmark of the evidence packet). You must inform us at least seven (7) days prior to the hearing whether you will be represented by an attorney at the hearing.
4. After you receive your packet with evidence, please let us know as soon as possible whether you have any additional exhibits to submit. If you do have additional exhibits, mail it to our office. We will not accept evidence any later than seven (7) days prior to your scheduled hearing. 
5. Most hearings will be held over the phone. Specific types of hearings may require personal appearance hearings, where you will need to appear in person at our offices in Barre, Vermont. Your notice informing you of the date and time of your hearing will indicate whether it is a phone or personal appearance hearing.
6. If you cannot make the date and time scheduled for your hearing, please let us know as soon as possible so that we can reschedule.
7. If you are having a phone hearing, be sure to call our office (802.622.1313) and let us know what your phone number is. If you do not supply us with your phone number, we cannot hold the hearing and your request for hearing will be dismissed.
8. During the hearing, please have all of the exhibits in the packet we sent accessible to you. The hearing will be recorded (audio), and you will be sworn in to give testimony under oath. You may have other people testify at these hearings if you think that it is necessary to help explain the situation. Please give at least seven (7) days’ notice if you plan to have any additional witnesses, including their name and what the subject of the testimony will be.
9. The rules of evidence do not apply to these hearings, however, any objections that you have to items entered into the record as an exhibit should be raised; these arguments will go to the weight rather than the admissibility of the exhibit. Exhibits should be credible; something that a reasonably prudent person would rely on while making a decision.
10. Please do not speak over other people, use vulgar language, or engage in otherwise inappropriate behavior. The Hearings Examiner will end a hearing if participants are not able to behave in an appropriate manner, and the decision will be written based on the documents entered into the record.
11. After the hearing, the Hearings Examiner will issue a written decision which will be mailed to you via USPS. If the decision is in your favor, it will be forwarded to the appropriate individuals within the Agency to act in compliance with the decision. If it is adverse, it will also be forwarded for processing, and the DMV will contact you regarding the status of your suspension, recall, refund, etc.. The Petitioner has the right to appeal the decision of the Hearings Examiner to Vermont Superior Court-Civil Division. 
12. Those requesting a hearing may be represented by an attorney, at their own expense, if they so choose. Attorneys should enter a notice of appearance as soon as they are retained. Notices of appearances should be entered no less than seven (7) days prior to the date of the scheduled hearing. 
13. Please feel free to contact our office with any questions regarding this process, as well as any questions regarding your file.
    • 802.622.1313
    • AOT.Hearings@vermont.gov