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Vermont meeting minutes: what they must include and when they are due

Short answer

Minutes cover all topics and motions and give a true indication of the business of the meeting, including the members present, other active participants, all motions and what was done with them, and the results of votes. They are posted on the board's official website, if one exists, no later than 5 calendar days from the meeting, and available for inspection and copies after that many days, not counting the meeting day. As Clarivis reads the law, draft minutes count.(1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(1); 1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2))

This guide explains the law in plain words; it is not legal advice. For a question about your board, ask your municipal attorney.
By Clarivis · Checked against 1 V.S.A. §§ 138, 312(b) and 313, and 24 V.S.A. § 4461(a) on Sat, Oct 24, 2026.

Where this fits in your meeting cycle: Clarivis is software that helps a board follow these steps: it counts each agenda's posting deadline and the minutes deadline, records the posting with its link on the municipal website (as Clarivis reads the law, the board's website when it has none of its own), flags an executive session item until a Statutory basis is selected, and drafts the minutes for your board to correct and approve; it does not post the agenda or tell a newspaper or radio station for you, and it does not check the duties to post a recording of the meeting, the remote-attendance rules or the yearly training.

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Questions on this page

What must the minutes include?

Statute text

“Minutes shall include at least the following minimal information: (A) all members of the public body present; (B) all other active participants in the meeting; (C) all motions, proposals, and resolutions made, offered, and considered, and what disposition is made of same; and (D) the results of any votes, with a record of the individual vote of each member if a roll call is taken.”

1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(1)

The minutes also cover all topics and motions that arise at the meeting and give a true indication of its business (§ 312(b)(1)). When a member attends by electronic or other means, a vote that is not unanimous is taken by roll call (§ 312(a)(2)), so each member's vote then goes in the minutes.

When are minutes due?

Open to anyone for inspection and copies, on this timing:

Statute text

“Minutes of all public meetings shall be matters of public record, shall be kept by the clerk or secretary of the public body, and shall be available for inspection by any person and for purchase of copies at cost upon request after five calendar days from the date of any meeting.”

1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2)

As Clarivis reads it, "after five calendar days" sets the latest time the minutes may be made available: the end of the last of those days, the same moment the website posting below falls due. Clarivis counts one deadline for both.

How are the days counted?

The meeting day is not counted:

Statute text

“When time is to be reckoned from a day, date, or an act done, such day, date, or day when such act is done shall not be included in the computation, unless otherwise provided.”

1 V.S.A. § 138

So for a meeting on a Monday, the 5 calendar days end on the Saturday. Weekends and holidays count; if the office is closed that Saturday, have the minutes available and posted before it closes on Friday.

Do draft minutes count?

Yes, as Clarivis reads the law. The law speaks of posted draft minutes that are later substituted with updated minutes (§ 312(b)(2)), so draft minutes available within the 5 days meet the deadline. The board approves them later.

Do minutes have to go on the website?

Yes, if the board maintains or has designated an official website:

Statute text

“Meeting minutes shall be posted no later than five calendar days from the date of the meeting to a website, if one exists, that the public body maintains or has designated as the official website of the body.”

1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2)

As Clarivis reads the law, the municipal website counts as the board's website when the board has none of its own.

They stay there for at least a year:

Statute text

“Except for draft minutes that have been substituted with updated minutes, posted minutes shall not be removed from the website sooner than one year from the date of the meeting for which the minutes were taken.”

1 V.S.A. § 312(b)(2)

Are minutes filed with a state office?

No. The Open Meeting Law sets no duty to file minutes with a state office (§§ 310 to 314). A development review board, board of adjustment, or planning commission or legislative body doing development review also keeps minutes showing each member's vote on each question, or that the member was absent or did not vote, and files them immediately with the municipal clerk as a public record (§ 4461(a)).

What about executive session minutes?

They need not be taken, and if taken they are exempt from public inspection and copying:

Statute text

“Minutes of an executive session need not be taken, but if they are, the minutes shall, notwithstanding subsection 312(b) of this title, be exempt from public copying and inspection under the Public Records Act.”

1 V.S.A. § 313(a)

The vote to go into executive session is taken in the open meeting and its result goes in the open meeting's minutes (§ 313(a)).

Checklist after each meeting

  • The minutes list the members present and the other active participants, every motion and what was done with it, and the results of votes, with each member's vote on a roll call.
  • They are available for inspection no later than 5 calendar days from the meeting, not counting the meeting day. As Clarivis reads the law, draft minutes count.
  • They are on the board's official website, if one exists, by the same day, and stay there at least a year, unless they are drafts replaced by updated minutes.
  • The vote to go into any executive session is in the minutes.

What the law does not settle

These are questions to take to your municipal attorney; this guide does not answer them.

  • Whether "after five calendar days" sets the latest day minutes must be available, as Clarivis reads it, or reads differently from the website posting duty.
  • Whether a member of the public who spoke must be named in the minutes as an active participant.
  • Whether the municipal website counts as the board's website when the board has none of its own.
  • Whether draft minutes meet the 5-day duties, as Clarivis reads it.

How Clarivis helps

Clarivis drafts; people decide. Your board reviews, corrects and approves the minutes.

  • Records and transcribes the meeting, then drafts minutes from the transcript for your Committee Admin or Editor to read, correct and approve.
  • Tracks the minutes deadline for each meeting, counting calendar days from the day after the meeting, and reminds you before it.
  • Records when the minutes are available when you select Mark published… or, on the Compliance step, Record the date they were available…, for draft or approved minutes. Overview shows the date they were marked available, and Compliance shows the deadline as Met if that date is on time.
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