Vermont's Order Against Stalking or Sexual Assault: Proving What the Harassment Made You Change
Reviewed by DocDraft Legal Team · Vermont · Last updated October 22, 2026
Vermont asks a pointed question of anyone seeking its order against stalking or sexual assault: what has the other person's conduct made you change? Under 12 V.S.A. ch. 178, a civil court order can direct someone you are not related to, and not in a domestic relationship with, to stop contacting you and to keep away. The limit comes first. The grounds are stalking or sexual assault, not harassment in general, and distress alone, simply asserted, is not the test. Where the claim rests on emotional distress, the statute wants it evidenced by a fear of unlawful sexual conduct, unlawful restraint, bodily injury or death, or by significant changes to your actions or routines, such as moving, altering your route to work, changing your schedule, or losing a job or time from work (12 V.S.A. 5131(6)). If the person is a spouse, partner, ex, or a family or household member, this is the wrong order and you want a relief-from-abuse order under 15 V.S.A. ch. 21 instead. Two acts can be enough, even on one day. The court sets a fixed period and may extend it later (12 V.S.A. 5133). This page is document preparation information, not legal advice, and an order directs behavior rather than guaranteeing safety. Attorney review is available through DocDraft.
Find out where you stand in Vermont
Who is harassing you?
DocDraft provides document preparation, not legal advice.
Does Vermont have a general civil harassment restraining order?
Not under the chapter this page covers. Vermont's civil route is an order against stalking or sexual assault under 12 V.S.A. ch. 178, and its grounds are those two situations. Harassment that does not amount to stalking or sexual assault is outside the grounds, which is a point for the court to weigh.
What counts as stalking for a Vermont order?
Purposefully engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that the actor knows or should know would cause a reasonable person to fear for their own or a family member's safety, or to suffer substantial emotional distress (12 V.S.A. 5131(6)). The distress branch has to be evidenced in particular ways.
Do the two acts have to happen on different days in Vermont?
No. The statute expressly says a course of conduct is not to be construed to require that the two or more acts occur on separate calendar days. Two acts in a single day can therefore make up a course of conduct, though whether they do on your facts is for the court.
How long does a Vermont stalking or sexual assault order last?
The order is granted for a fixed period set by the court, and the statute states no numeric maximum for it (12 V.S.A. 5133). At expiry, on the plaintiff's motion, the court may extend it for such additional time as it deems necessary to protect the plaintiff or the plaintiff's children.
Vermont order against stalking or sexual assault at a glance
Vermont turns the usual harassment question around. Its order against stalking or sexual assault, found in 12 V.S.A. chapter 178 and separate from the family-based relief-from-abuse chapter, is a civil order directing a person you are not domestically related to to stop contacting you and stay away. The distinctive part is how the emotional distress branch of stalking is proven. Section 5131(6) does not accept distress as a bare feeling. It asks for fear of unlawful sexual conduct, unlawful restraint, bodily injury or death, or for significant modifications in your actions or routines, and it lists examples: moving from an established residence, changing daily routes to and from work so as to seriously disrupt your life, changing your employment or work schedule, or losing a job or time from work. That list tells you what to document.
A Windham County cheesemaker, a former friend and a farmers market stall she no longer attends
A Windham County cheesemaker falls out with a former friend, who begins turning up at her Saturday market stall, filming her, and posting her home address online. One morning he does both within an hour. She moves her stall to a different market two towns away, changes her delivery route to avoid his road, and drops a weekday shift she needs. She keeps dated screenshots, her revised schedule and her sales records. Those details are what the distress branch asks for, because they show changes to her routine rather than just a feeling. The two acts in one morning can count, since the statute does not require separate days. Whether they meet the definition of stalking is for the court.
Relevant Laws
12 V.S.A. 5131 (definitions, including stalk and course of conduct)
Defines stalk as purposefully engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that the actor knows or should know would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or a family member's safety, or to suffer substantial emotional distress as evidenced by a fear of unlawful sexual conduct, unlawful restraint, bodily injury or death, or by significant modifications in the person's actions or routines. Also provides that a course of conduct need not involve acts on separate calendar days.
12 V.S.A. 5133 (relief, fixed period and extension)
Provides that an order shall be granted for a fixed period, at the expiration of which the court may extend any order, upon motion of the plaintiff, for such additional time as it deems necessary to protect the plaintiff or the plaintiff's children, or both. The statute states no numeric maximum for the period or for the extension.
12 V.S.A. chapter 178 (orders against stalking or sexual assault)
The chapter that holds both sections above. It is a civil order separate from the relief-from-abuse chapter, with no family or household relationship element, and it is built around stalking and sexual assault rather than harassment generally.
15 V.S.A. chapter 21 (relief from abuse, the domestic violence track)
Vermont's relief-from-abuse chapter, which requires a family or household relationship and is the order to use if the person harassing you is a spouse, partner, ex or household member. Cited here so the routing on this page rests on the statute rather than on assertion.
Regional Variances
Vermont civil harassment order rules at a glance
Instrument name
Order against stalking or sexual assault, under 12 V.S.A. ch. 178. Vermont does not offer a general harassment order under this chapter, so the name and the grounds are narrower than the harassment orders other states use.
Who it covers, and the relationship test
No relationship element. The family and household track is the relief-from-abuse chapter, 15 V.S.A. ch. 21, which requires a family or household member. If the person is a spouse, partner, ex or household member, that is the order to start with.
The standard
Stalking means purposefully engaging in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that the actor knows or should know would cause a reasonable person to fear for their safety or a family member's, or to suffer substantial emotional distress evidenced by a fear of unlawful sexual conduct, unlawful restraint, bodily injury or death, or by significant modifications in actions or routines (12 V.S.A. 5131(6)).
Course of conduct
Two or more acts, which the statute says are not to be construed to require separate calendar days, so two acts on one day can qualify (12 V.S.A. 5131).
Duration
A fixed period set by the court. Section 5133 states no numeric maximum for that period (12 V.S.A. 5133).
Renewal
On the plaintiff's motion, the court may extend any order for such additional time as it deems necessary to protect the plaintiff or the plaintiff's children, or both. There is no statutory cap on the extension (12 V.S.A. 5133).
Court and form
Filed in the Vermont courts. A form number was not confirmed for this page, so check the Judiciary's own pages at vermontjudiciary.org, which is the court system's site but not a .gov address, before you file.
Temporary order, fee, service, firearms and violation
This page does not state rules on a temporary order, filing fee, service, firearm provisions or the penalty for violation, because those were not confirmed in the sources behind it. Ask the clerk and read the order itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Other Vermont guides
Adult Guardianship in Vermont
Adverse Possession in Vermont: Fifteen Years and the Public, Pious or Charitable Use Exemption
Asset Protection Planning in Vermont (2026)
Dealing With Debt Collectors in Vermont (2026)
Delinquent Property Taxes in Vermont: Three Gates Before the Sale, Then One Percent a Month on the Bid
Expunging a Criminal Record in Vermont (2026)
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