Vermont (VT) · Open house rules

Open house rules for Vermont agents

What Vermont asks of an agent at the door: the Mandatory Consumer Disclosure owed before you show a visitor the property, the state rule that writes the federal Do Not Call rules into consumer protection law, the written brokerage agreement, and the seven year records duty.

Last reviewed September 1, 2026Every claim links to a primary source

This is not legal advice

We are software people, not lawyers. This page is a plain reading of public Vermont sources, gathered so you can go read them yourself. Rules change, and how any rule applies to your situation is a question for your broker, your association, or an attorney licensed in Vermont.

Hand over the Mandatory Consumer Disclosure, or post it

Give any unrepresented visitor you have substantial contact with a true copy of the Vermont Real Estate Commission's current consumer disclosure form at the first reasonable opportunity, and in every case before you show them the property or enter into a brokerage service agreement. Rule 4.6(h)(1) gives open houses one narrow alternative: the form is not required for unrepresented persons at an open house where the host brokerage firm conspicuously displays a poster containing a replica of the disclosure form, with copies available on request. At first contact with a member of the public who expresses an interest in buying or selling, also give an oral or written disclosure that there is no confidentiality between you and them until and unless there is a signed brokerage service agreement. If the person who has to receive the written form does not sign it, note that on the form, sign and date it yourself, and give them a copy. A form given more than twelve months ago has to be given again.

A brokerage firm, and its licensees, shall provide to any unrepresented person with whom a licensee of the brokerage firm has substantial contact, including via electronic communication, a true copy of the most recent consumer disclosure form adopted by vote of the Commission. The disclosure shall occur at the first reasonable opportunity, and it must occur before: (1) entering into a brokerage service agreement; or (2) showing a property.
Administrative Rules for Real Estate Commission, Rule 4.6 (Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation) (opens the source in a new tab)

Checked at the source on September 1, 2026

Screen follow-up calls against the Do Not Call rules

Vermont writes the federal Do Not Call rules into its own consumer protection law: no person may make a telephone call to a Vermont number that violates the FTC or FCC Do Not Call rule, a violation of that section is a violation of 9 V.S.A. section 2453, and each prohibited call is a separate violation. So before you dial a visitor who did not ask you to call, screen the number against what 16 C.F.R. 310.4(b)(1)(iii) and 47 C.F.R. 64.1200(c)(2) and subsection (d) require, including the internal do-not-call list and written procedures in subsection (d). The same Vermont section's definition of "telephone solicitation" excludes telephone calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called customer, so a visitor who ticks "please contact me" on your sign-in form stands on different ground from one who only wrote down a name. Autodialed and prerecorded calls that would violate the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act or the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act are separately barred by 9 V.S.A. section 2464e, where the court may award the person called the greater of their damages or a civil penalty of $500 for a first violation and $1,000 for each subsequent one.

No person shall make any telephone call to a telephone number in Vermont that violates the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call Rule, 16 C.F.R. subdivision 310.4(b)(1)(iii), or the Federal Communication Commission's Do Not Call Rule, 47 C.F.R. subdivision 64.1200(c)(2) and subsection (d), as amended from time to time.
9 V.S.A. § 2464a, Prohibited telephone solicitations (Vermont Statutes Online, Vermont General Assembly) (opens the source in a new tab)

Checked at the source on September 1, 2026

A written buyer agreement before you work for the buyer

Vermont has required written brokerage agreements since long before the 2024 NAR settlement, so nothing here is new: the Commission's posted rules are effective December 1, 2015. Rule 4.8(a) requires the brokerage firm, before rendering any brokerage services, to have a written seller service agreement, or a written buyer service agreement, or a written cooperation agreement between brokerage firms. That requirement is disjunctive and written at the firm level, so when you host on your own listing the written seller service agreement already satisfies it, and Rule 4.8 does not separately call for a buyer agreement in order to show the house to an unrepresented visitor; what that visitor is owed at the door is the Rule 4.6 consumer disclosure. Once you begin acting for that visitor as their agent, the firm needs the written buyer service agreement first, and Rule 4.8(b) requires a specific expiration date not to exceed one year from the effective date, with no provision for automatic extension or renewal.

Before rendering any brokerage services, a brokerage firm must have: (1) a written seller service agreement; or (2) a written buyer service agreement; or (3) a written cooperation agreement between brokerage firms.
Administrative Rules for Real Estate Commission, Rule 4.8 (Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation) (opens the source in a new tab)

Checked at the source on September 1, 2026

Check the seven-year records rule before you promise deletion

Vermont's records rule is written at the firm level and never names sign-in sheets: Rule 4.14(a) requires the brokerage firm to maintain all records, paper or electronic, of brokerage services provided for at least seven years at its usual place of business, and to keep them available to the Commission and its agents during regular business hours. Rule 4.14(b) adds that the Commission's agent may not be denied access to the records if the principal broker, broker in charge, or a designee is not present. Practically, that means a digital sign-in list should stay exportable and retrievable by the firm rather than sitting only in one agent's personal phone or account. Before you promise visitors at the door that their details get deleted after the event, check with your principal broker whether the firm treats that list as a record it has to retain.

A brokerage firm shall maintain for at least seven years at its usual place of business all records (paper or electronic) of brokerage services provided and they shall be available to the Commission and its agents during regular business hours.
Administrative Rules for Real Estate Commission, Rule 4.14 (Vermont Secretary of State, Office of Professional Regulation) (opens the source in a new tab)

Checked at the source on September 1, 2026

How this page is put together

  • Every claim above carries a link to a primary source, plus the exact words from that source that support it. If a claim cannot be quoted, it is not on this page.
  • Each claim shows the date a human last opened that link and confirmed the quote still says what it says.
  • We only cover what we could source. A topic you were hoping to find may be one we have not confirmed yet, so treat this as a starting point rather than a complete list of everything Vermont expects of you.

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