Agency Appeals to the Civil Division

Appeals of Vermont Government Agency Decisions to the Civil Division under Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 74

An appeal of a decision of a Vermont governmental agency is a review by the state court of the agency’s decision. Some agency appeals are handled by the Vermont Superior Court. Others are handled by the Vermont Supreme Court.

The best source of information about which court would handle an appeal is the letter sent by the agency with its decision. Many agencies specify which court would hear an appeal and how much time a party has to file an appeal. Sometimes the information is provided on the agency's website.

An appeal to the state court usually may be filed only after all administrative proceedings have been completed, including any available appeal or review proceedings within the agency. This is sometimes called "exhausting all administrative remedies."

This page is focused on appeals handled by the Civil Division of the Vermont Superior Court under Vermont Rule of Civil Procedure 74. (choose Vermont Court Rules from the box at the right, then scroll down to Rules of Civil Procedure)

Agency appeals can be complicated. Consider talking to an attorney. The Finding Legal Help web page has  information about ways to get the help of an attorney.

The person appealing the agency decision is the appellant. The other party is the appellee. There may be other interested parties in the case.

Steps in an agency appeal

1. File a Notice of Appeal with the clerk of the agency. You will also file the Notice of Appeal with the Superior Court, but you must first file it with the agency.  

At a minimum, the Notice of Appeal should include your name, the name of the order, the name of the agency which made the decision, the date of the order, and that you are appealing to the Vermont Superior Court. For example:

Riley Smith appeals the Final Order of the Agency of Transportation entered on January 2, 2025 to the Vermont Superior Court.

2. File the Notice of Appeal with the Superior Court. See the Filing Procedures web page for information about filing options and requirements for each method.  
3. Pay the $295 filing fee to the Vermont Superior Court, or ask to waive the filing fee by filing an Application to Waive Filing Fees and Service Costs  (form 600-00228).
4. Serve all of the interested parties a copy of the Notice of Appeal. The clerk of the agency will give you a list of interested parties in the case.
5. Interested parties must enter their appearance with the Superior Court within 21 days of being served the Notice of Appeal. A party who is representing themselves can enter their appearance by filing a Notice of Appearance for Self-Represented Litigant  (form 100-00265).
6. The agency will send the record of the case to the court within 30 days of the filing the Notice of Appeal. The record on appeal will include the original filings, and (if required by law) a statement of the questions which the appellant wants to have determined.

If a party would like to have a transcript be part of the record on appeal, they must notify all of the parties in writing. They must order and pay for the transcript and file it within 30 days of filing the Notice of Appeal. See the Transcript web page for information about the process to order transcripts.

7. The court will schedule a trial. Some courts may schedule a hearing before the trial.

Serving Papers

Serving papers means getting a copy of the papers filed with the court to the other parties in the case. Parties must serve copies of all the papers they file with the court on the other party. If a party is represented by an attorney, serve the attorney.

Parties are also required to provide proof to the court the papers were served. Parties can serve each other by email (if the party agreed to be served by email), by first class mail, or in person. The serving party must fill out and file a Certificate of Service  (form 600-00264) to tell the court how they got the documents to the other party.

Asking to Stay the Agency’s Decision

Filing a Notice of Appeal does not automatically stay the agency’s decision. If the appellant would like to ask to stay the agency decision, they must file a written motion with the Superior Court. They may use the Civil Division Motion  (form 100-00053) to make the request.

Keep Your Contact Information Current

Parties must notify the court and each other – in writing – about any changes to your contact information. If you don’t update your information, you may miss important court notices and other papers.

Use the Notice of Name Change or Change of Address  (form 600-00846) to update your information any time it changes.