How We Can Help

Vermont Legal Aid and Legal Services Vermont work together to provide free civil (not criminal) legal help to low-income people who live in Vermont. Our services are free.

Legal Services Vermont screens all requests for legal help. If we can help with a legal problem, we will refer you to lawyers and advocates at Vermont Legal Aid or Legal Services Vermont. We also might refer you to other programs.

Please contact us to find out if we can help you. We may be able to give you advice. We may be able to tell you where to find information to help you represent yourself in court.

We can’t help everyone who needs help. We may not be able to help you based on your income. We do not have enough lawyers to help everyone who asks us.

Problems we cannot help with: We can’t help you with traffic violations. We can’t help you with most personal injury cases, workers compensation, and real estate law. We can’t help you if you are a landlord with a tenant problem. We also can’t defend you in a criminal case or if you are a defendant in a Relief from Abuse case. (However, we can help if you need legal help due to being a victim of crime or abuse.)

How to get help

Use the Legal Help Tool. Use our anonymous guide to finding legal information and fill out a form to ask for legal advice on problems that we might help with.
Explore our web pages. Choose from the menu of legal and health care topics.
Contact us and leave a message.

You may get the fastest response if you fill out our Legal Help Request Form at any time. If possible, include your email address and/or a phone number where you can get a text message. This will help us reach you.

Or, leave a message on our legal helpline at 1-800-889-2047 during these hours:

Monday: 8 - 1
Tuesday: 12:30 - 7
Wednesday: 8 - 1
Thursday: 12:30 - 7
Friday: 8 - 1

If you contact us today, most people should expect to hear from us within about 7 to 10 days.

Please look at the information on our website at VTLawHelp.org to see if your questions are answered here.
If you have an urgent problem, please give us as much detail as possible, including important dates and deadlines.
Please do not leave a second message.
Look for a call back from a phone number that you may not recognize! Your caller ID might say Legal Services, VT Legal Aid, 802-503-0028 or 1-800-889-2047.

We will call you back during regular business hours as soon as we can.

When you leave a message or use the online form:

Tell us your name and phone number.
Tell us the safest way to reach you and whether we can leave you a message, send an email or send a text.
Tell us the best time to reach you. We make callbacks from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.
Give us a description of the problem. Let us know if it’s an emergency.
Let us know if you received paperwork, court papers or a hearing date and what the dates are on those documents.
Keep those documents nearby so we can talk about them when we call you back.

We may not be able to call you back right away, so don't wait until the last minute to contact us about an emergency!

What if you don’t speak English?

українська мова / Ukrainian

Tiếng Việt / Vietnamese

If you don’t speak English, ask us for an interpreter. We will provide an interpreter for free.

American Sign Language video with narrator and closed captions

Go to descriptive transcript.

What to expect

We will ask you to answer some questions to see if you are eligible to speak with one of our lawyers. This is called the “intake” process.

For example, we will ask you questions about:

personal information such as address, telephone number, date of birth, Social Security number and how many people are in your household
the problem or issue you are calling about
your income and assets to determine if we can help you

All information you give us is protected by attorney/client privilege and will not be shared without your permission.

Our staff will decide how best to help you.

Depending on your situation and if you qualify for help, you may:

get legal advice over the telephone
get information sent to you by mail or email
get limited legal research
be represented by one of our lawyers or a volunteer lawyer
be directed to information to help you represent yourself in court
be referred to a private lawyer for advice or representation
be referred to other agencies that can help you

What are civil legal services?

Vermont Legal Aid, Legal Services Vermont and other civil legal services organizations help people with “civil legal matters.” Civil legal matters are lawsuits and other legal issues that aren’t about crimes.

For example, civil legal matters include most landlord/tenant and family court issues, bankruptcy, credit cards, unlawful discrimination, Reach Up and SSI benefits cases and similar issues.

On the other hand, Public Defenders and other legal services organizations represent people in criminal cases – when the government has accused a person of committing a crime.

Please note: We can't help you with traffic violations. We can’t help you with most personal injury cases and real estate law. We also can't defend you in a criminal case. (However, we can help if you need legal help due to being a victim of crime.)

Are you a victim of crime?

If you have a legal problem due to being a victim of crime or abuse, visit our Legal Help for Victims of Crime page to see how we can help.

Advice from lawyers

We hope this website will help you understand the law better. The information you find here is no substitute for meeting with a lawyer or paralegal, if you can, when you have a legal problem. We may be able to help some people find a lawyer who may work for free or low cost.

About this website

This website was created by and is maintained by Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid. Legal Services Vermont and Vermont Legal Aid are nonprofit legal services law firms. The website is supported in part by a grant from the Legal Services Corporation.

Please use our feedback form to tell us how we can make our website better.

This VTLawHelp.org website used to be called the Vermont Law Help website. We dropped the Vermont Law Help name in January 2019.

Other help

Legal clinics and workshops in Vermont

Legal clinics by phone for Vermont seniors 60+

Vermont Legal Aid hosts virtual legal advice clinics by phone. Vermont seniors — age 60 or more — can ask legal questions about any civil legal question. See our Seniors page for announcements about upcoming clinics.

Chittenden County small claims clinic

An opportunity to speak with a lawyer about small claims court and to discuss your case. Not open to people representing businesses in collection cases. The lawyer does not provide legal advice or represent you in your case. Clinic is held online via Zoom on the first Tuesday of each month from 2 - 4 p.m. except for holidays. Email Edward D. Fitzpatrick, Esq. at efitzpatrick@bpflegal.com to ask for a Zoom invitation. If you are new to Zoom, mention that in your email and provide your phone number.

Immigration

For help with immigration issues in Vermont, contact Vermont Immigrant Assistance Project at Vermont Law School’s South Royalton Legal Clinic and in Burlington. Call 802-831-1500 or email VIAclinic@vermontlaw.edu. Or contact the Association of Africans Living in Vermont in Burlington. Call 802-985-3106 or email info@aalv-vt.org.

Legal clinics in Newport and St. Johnsbury

A Vermont Legal Aid lawyer takes part in monthly legal clinics at the restorative justice centers in Newport and St. Johnsbury. Learn more and make an appointment.

Vermont Veterans

Vermont Veterans facing eviction or foreclosure can contact the Safely Home project for advice and help.

Disability Rights

Disability Rights Vermont works to defend and advance the rights of people with disabilities and mental health issues. Call them at 1-800-834-7890.

ACLU

ACLU of Vermont works to protect the constitutional rights of all Vermonters. Call them at 802-223-6304.

Other clinics and projects in Vermont

You can view a list of other legal clinics and projects around Vermont at the bottom of this page on the Vermont Bar Association (VBA) website.

Other legal help

Help from other Vermont lawyers:

Vermont Judiciary Access and Resource Center (ARC)

The new Vermont Judiciary Access and Resource Center is run by the Vermont courts. Their services are free and they serve the whole state. They do not give legal advice. See what they can help with, below.

Location

Costello Courthouse, Ground Floor (view map)
32 Cherry Street, Burlington
It’s down the street from the main bus terminal, called Burlington Downtown Transit Center on the map.

Hours

Hours for May 29 - June 30, 2023: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Contact

jud.selfhelp@vermont.gov

Services

information about court processes
help with court forms
information about how to get the help of a lawyer
public computers for court-related use
workstation to attend a remote hearing

Case types

divorce
eviction
guardianship
name change
parentage
relief from abuse
small claims
traffic cases
other court issues