The Vermont military affidavit

How Vermont handles it

The rule comes first in Vermont because it explains the form. V.R.C.P. 55 was rewritten by a Supreme Court order dated November 5, 2019 and effective January 6, 2020, and the order moved the affidavit requirement into Rule 55(c)(5), captioned "Affidavits Required by Servicemembers Civil Relief Act." The same order abolished clerk-entered default as a separate step and turned Rule 55(a) into a motion for default judgment, so in Vermont the affidavit travels with a motion a judge sees, not with a praecipe a clerk stamps.

For a family case the standalone document is form 400-00231, Affidavit as to Military Service on Default of Appearance by Defendant. It is captioned Superior Court, Family Division, with blanks for the unit and docket number. The affiant swears to residence and county, then picks among three numbered statements: the defendant is not in military or other service, the defendant is in such service, or the affiant is unable to determine. It asks for the defendant name in each numbered paragraph rather than once at the top, so all three lines have to be handled deliberately.

For a civil case the statement is folded into form 100-00262, Motion for Default Judgment and Affidavit, filed in the Civil Division. Item 3 reads: "I state, under oath, that on information and belief the defendant is not a person in military service." Below it are two choices. Box a is a free-text explanation. Box b is "Diligent search of Department of Defense database found at: https://www.dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra/scraHome.do. Proof of search attached." That is the only Vermont form that tells you where to search and requires the printout.

The same civil motion asks for the rest of the default record in one page: that the defendant is at least 18 and not mentally incompetent, whether the affiant is the plaintiff or an officer or employee of the plaintiff, and an itemization splitting damages, prejudgment interest, filing fees, and service costs. The whole thing is sworn before a notary at the bottom, so the military statement and the damages math carry one oath.

What trips filers up here

• The family form has not been revised since 03/2007 and shows it. Its footnote reads "Required by Title 50 App. USCA 520," paragraph 2 refers to the "Solders’ and Sailors’ Civil Relief Act of 1940," typo included, and paragraph 1 spells the statute "Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act" with a possessive the federal title does not use.
• Vermont has no single statewide military affidavit. Which document you file depends on the division: 400-00231 in Family, item 3 of 100-00262 in Civil. Filers who download the family form for a debt case get sent back.
• The DMDC link printed on the civil form is the retired dmdc.osd.mil/appj/scra path. The current search lives at scra.dmdc.osd.mil, and the printout you attach will carry that address instead.
• Vermont notarization is not optional on either form, which matters for out-of-state creditors who are used to signing a declaration under penalty of perjury and mailing it in.

Signing it: notarization required

The family form closes with "Signed and sworn to before me," a date, a commission expiration date, and a notary signature line. The civil division motion is the same: "Subscribed and sworn to this ___ day of ___, 20__, Before me ___ Notary Public." Neither Vermont form offers the unsworn declaration route.

This form carries a notary block, so budget for a notary before your filing date. Federal law sets a floor, not a ceiling: 50 U.S.C. § 3931(b)(4) permits an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury, but a state is free to require more on its own form, and this one does.

Vermont law on top of the federal rule

20 V.S.A. 609: A civil or administrative proceeding involving a Vermont National Guard member ordered to state active duty by the governor may be stayed by the court on its own motion and shall be stayed on the member’s application, unless the court finds the case would not be materially affected or the member can appear by telephone or other electronic means. Any stay ends 30 days after state active duty finishes.

Getting the military-status answer right

The affidavit is only as good as the search behind it. The Defense Manpower Data Center runs the free lookup that courts and creditors rely on, and since 2026 it requires a free account even for a single record. Our guide to the DMDC SCRA website covers the search itself, what a "no information found" result does and does not prove, and the batch route for high-volume filers. The federal rules behind this form, including what happens when you genuinely cannot determine status, sit on the hub page.

If one was filed against you

A false affidavit is not a technicality. In May 2026 the Justice Department settled with a Florida property manager that swore a Navy sailor was not on active duty, took a default eviction judgment, and left him with an eviction on his record that a dozen landlords then refused to rent around: $60,000 to one servicemember plus a civil penalty . If a default judgment was entered against you while you were serving, it can be reopened; the default-judgment shield walks the deadlines.

Serving in Vermont and looking for what the state adds to your own protections rather than court procedure? That is a different page: Vermont SCRA benefits.