Data Brokers

Whether filing online or by mail, an Annual Registration is required between January 1st and January 31st following each calendar year in which you meet the definition a data broker (as defined on this page). Please allow 7-10 business days for the processing of any filings received by mail.

Definitions & Law

A Data Broker is a business, or unit or units of a business, separately or together, that knowingly collects and sells or licenses to third parties the brokered personal information of a consumer with whom the business does not have a direct relationship. 9 V.S.A. § 2430(4)(A).

Examples of a direct relationship with a business include if the consumer is a past or present; 9 V.S.A. § 2430(4)(B):

customer, client, subscriber, user, or registered user of the business’s goods or services;
employee, contractor, or agent of the business;
investor in the business; or
donor to the business.

The following activities conducted by a business, and the collection and sale or licensing of brokered personal information incidental to conducting these activities, do not qualify the business as a data broker; 9 V.S.A. § 2430(4)(C):

developing or maintaining third-party e-commerce or application platforms;
providing 411 directory assistance or directory information services, including name, address, and telephone number, on behalf of or as a function of a telecommunications carrier;
providing publicly available information related to a consumer’s business or profession; or
providing publicly available information via real-time or near-real-time alert services for health or safety purposes.

The phrase “sells or licenses” does not include; 9 V.S.A. § 2430(4)(D):

a one-time or occasional sale of assets of a business as part of a transfer of control of those assets that is not part of the ordinary conduct of the business; or
a sale or license of data that is merely incidental to the business.

Vermont Data Broker Law (9 V.S.A. ch. 62, subch. 5):