Vermont data privacy and data broker removal

Vermont now has a comprehensive privacy law and the nation's first data-broker registry. Here's what they give you and how to use both.

Your rights in Vermont

Vermont residents are protected by the Vermont Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act (S.71), signed in June 2026 and effective January 1, 2028, alongside the state's data-broker registration law (9 V.S.A. Chapter 62).

• Rights from January 1, 2028: Access, correct, delete, and download the personal information a company holds about you, and opt out of data sales, targeted advertising, and profiling.

Does this cover the company that has my data?

Most companies that collect or sell personal data in Vermont are likely covered.

The data-broker law covers any business that knowingly collects and sells or licenses the personal information of consumers it has no direct relationship with (9 V.S.A. § 2430). The comprehensive law reaches further, covering most companies that handle Vermonters' personal data.

How to remove yourself from data brokers in Vermont

Vermont gives you more tools than most states. Here's how to use them, strongest first.

1. Use the data-broker registry

Vermont requires data brokers to register with the state. The public registry shows which companies collect and sell your information and gives you a starting point for opt-out requests. Vermont does not offer a single-request deletion mechanism, so you contact each broker separately.

2. Enable Global Privacy Control

Global Privacy Control is a free browser setting that tells every site you visit not to sell or share your data. It takes two minutes to enable. Many major companies already honor it voluntarily, and from January 1, 2028 Vermont's new law will require covered businesses to honor it too.

3. Submit direct opt-out requests

For brokers the registry or GPC doesn't reach, submit requests directly. Look for the "Do Not Sell My Personal Information" link in each company's footer; most major brokers have one. You can also file access, deletion, or correction requests through each company's privacy policy page.

4. Automate ongoing removal

Removal is not a one-time task. Even after you finish every step above, brokers rebuild your profile from public records and commercial databases, and your listings reappear within a few months. Staying removed means checking again and re-filing, which is hard to keep up by hand.

Vermont's data broker law: what it means for you

Vermont passed the nation's first data-broker registration law in 2018, a transparency measure that forced brokers to identify themselves publicly for the first time. It does not give you a right to delete, but it tells you who has your data.

• Data brokers must register with the Vermont Secretary of State each year by January 31 and disclose how they collect data, how you can opt out (including whether you can authorize an agent to opt out for you), and any breaches involving brokered data. The annual fee is $100, rising to $900 in 2027.
• A broker that fails to register faces a $50-per-day penalty, capped at $10,000 a year; the cap rises to $200 per day with no annual cap in 2027. The Attorney General enforces it.
• You can browse every registered broker at the Vermont Secretary of State's Data Broker Search.
• The 2026 overhaul (H.211, Act 138) takes effect January 1, 2027. It raises the annual fee to $900, adds a $20,000 surety bond, and requires brokers to vet who receives your data and why. Lawmakers funded a study of a future centralized deletion tool instead of building one.
• There is no centralized deletion tool today. Residents contact each registered broker individually.

Other privacy protections in Vermont

Vermont residents can draw on several overlapping protections:

• The nation's first data-broker registry, in effect since 2019 and strengthened by Act 138 in 2027.
• Comprehensive consumer rights under the Vermont Data Privacy and Online Surveillance Act, effective January 1, 2028.
• Security breach notification under 9 V.S.A. § 2435.
• The Safe at Home Address Confidentiality Program, run by the Secretary of State for survivors of domestic violence, stalking, and sexual assault.
• Federal safeguards such as the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which still apply.

How to file a privacy complaint in Vermont

File with the Vermont Attorney General's Consumer Assistance Program. To see who holds your data, use the Vermont Secretary of State's Data Broker Search.

State agencies enforce privacy laws in the aggregate, investigating patterns of violations rather than resolving individual disputes. Filing a complaint still matters, because it creates a record that helps trigger enforcement.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• legislature.vermont.gov
• bizfilings.vermont.gov
• recordinglaw.com
• recordinglaw.com (H.211 data broker law)
• privacylawmap.com