Vermont at a glance
Rules, not your dateChild sexual abuse: the civil deadline
No deadline. The rule reaches abuse before July 1, 2019; for those older claims, damages against an employer or supervisor need a finding of gross negligence. The rule is in 12 V.S.A. § 522.
That is the deadline for a civil lawsuit, a claim for money damages. A criminal prosecution runs on a separate clock set by the state’s criminal code, and a report to police can be made whether or not a civil claim is still open. How the two differ.
Adult sexual assault: the civil deadline
3 years (assault and battery, and personal injury from discovery). The rule is in 12 V.S.A. § 512(1), (4).
Revival and lookback windows
A window that revives expired sexual abuse claims is open in Vermont. It opened on July 1, 2019. The law is 2019 Acts and Resolves No. 37 (H.330), § 1; 12 V.S.A. § 522(d).
A revival window, sometimes called a lookback window, lets survivors file claims that had already expired, for a set period. Closed windows stay listed here with their dates, because a claim filed while one was open may still be moving through the courts. Every state’s window, side by side.
Claims against public entities
No notice-of-claim step in the State or municipal tort statutes read. The State is not liable for assault or battery claims except to the extent it is insured. See 12 V.S.A. § 5601; 24 V.S.A. §§ 901, 901a.
A claim against a public body often needs a written notice filed with that body first, and the notice period can be far shorter than the deadline for the lawsuit itself.
Active lawsuits and institutions in Vermont
- Catholic diocese abuse claims: Diocesan Chapter 11 case
The deadlines described here are general rules, and most of them have exceptions. The date that governs a particular claim turns on the state, the person’s age when the abuse happened, when they connected it to the harm it caused, and who the defendant is. A claim against a public agency or a public school can carry a written notice requirement that runs out long before the ordinary deadline.
Nothing on this page can tell you your own date. A lawyer who looks at your facts can, and there is no charge to ask.
- 12 V.S.A. § 522 (childhood claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- 12 V.S.A. § 512(1), (4) (adult claims). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- 2019 Acts and Resolves No. 37 (H.330), § 1; 12 V.S.A. § 522(d) (revival window). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- 12 V.S.A. § 5601; 24 V.S.A. §§ 901, 901a (notice to public entities). Accurate as of October 7, 2026.
- CHILD USA, statute of limitations research (used as a cross-check, not as the source of any rule above).
