Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest and crime counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Burlington, Vermont, in Chittenden County, has about 44,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). In Vermont the public criminal record is the court file, kept by the clerk of each division; the statewide criminal history kept by the Vermont Crime Information Center is open to anyone who asks. This guide says where each record of a criminal case from Burlington is kept and how it is seen.
This guide covers the court file, the statewide record, local arrest records, the crimes behind the records, the prosecutor, sex offender registry, records requests and common questions.
Related guides: Burlington public records, Chittenden County criminal records, Burlington arrest records, Burlington warrants, Burlington inmate search, Burlington court records, Vermont arrest records and Vermont inmate search.
Criminal Cases in the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit
A criminal case from Burlington is filed in the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit or the Judicial Bureau, which takes traffic tickets and other civil violations, and the court file, kept by the clerk of each division, is the record of it that the public may see.
For Chittenden County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at vtcourts.gov/court-locations/chittenden-civil-division (page title: Chittenden Civil Division | Vermont Judiciary), phone 800-540-9990, 154 Main Street, Hyde Park, VT 05655, Monday - Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Statewide, Vermont Judiciary Public Portal is the courts' free statewide case search.
The Vermont Criminal History and Your Own Copy
Vermont is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: Vermont criminal conviction records are public and can be ordered online on anyone by name, through the Vermont Crime Information Center. The result is the repository record, what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Arrest Records Kept Locally in Burlington
The Chittenden County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Burlington (filed by the FBI as Burlington Police Department) keep the arrest records in and around Burlington: the report and the booking record of each arrest stay with the agency that made it, separate from the court file and from the state repository.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Chittenden County: the University of Vermont (campus police); Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations (other agency); the Williston State Police (state police); each keeps the records of its own arrests.
Together, the ten agencies in Chittenden County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 3,497 arrests to the FBI that year; how each case ended is in the court file, not in the arresting agency's.
The agencies and their counts, year by year, are in Burlington arrest records.
The Crimes Behind the Records: Burlington in 2025
The agency that reports for Burlington had 214 violent and 1,820 property crimes reported for 2025; each one is a report on file with it, and each arrest that follows is the start of a criminal record.
The State's Attorney for Chittenden County
The State's Attorney decides which arrests in Chittenden County become charges and files them in the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit or the Judicial Bureau; the office answers questions about pending prosecutions, and the case files themselves are court records.
The office's page SearchSystems verified is at acluvt.org/getting-know-vermonts-states-attorneys (page title: Getting to Know Vermont's State's Attorneys | ACLU of Vermont), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
The Sex Offender Registry for Burlington
Registered sex offenders living in Burlington are listed on the Vermont Sex Offender Registry, run by the Vermont Crime Information Center at vcic.vermont.gov/sor. Only some registrants, chosen by offense and risk, are listed online.
Registration itself is done in person with the local agency where the registrant lives: the town police, the county sheriff or the Vermont State Police, whichever took the call.
Asking an Agency in Chittenden County for a Record
An arrest report, a booking record or a local criminal history letter comes from the agency that holds it, not from the court.
Under the Vermont Public Records Act a county office must answer a request within 3 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying, and staff time after the first 30 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are criminal records public in Burlington?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Vermont Crime Information Center: Vermont criminal conviction records are public and can be ordered online on anyone by name. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Vermont Public Records Act.
Can I search Burlington criminal cases online?
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at vtcourts.gov (page title: Chittenden Civil Division | Vermont Judiciary). Statewide, Vermont Judiciary Public Portal is the courts' free statewide case search.
How do I get my own Vermont criminal history?
Through the same record request, run on yourself.
Who prosecutes crimes in Burlington?
The State's Attorney, which files its cases in the Vermont Superior Court, Chittenden Unit or the Judicial Bureau.
Is this the official Burlington website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.