Does Vermont require an operating agreement?
No. Vermont's LLC law doesn't require an LLC to have one: an operating agreement regulates the company's affairs and the conduct of its business and governs relations among the members, the managers and the company, and to the extent it doesn't provide otherwise, the chapter does (11 V.S.A. § 4003(a)). It's still worth having. Without one, the Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 11, Chapter 25 decides how profits are shared, who can act for the LLC and what happens when a member leaves, and banks often ask to see a signed agreement before opening an account for an LLC.
Under the Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 11, Chapter 25, the agreement must be in writing (11 V.S.A. § 4001(20)).
Vermont's LLC law and this template
Vermont LLCs are governed by the Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 11, Chapter 25 (Limited Liability Companies) (11 V.S.A. § 4001 et seq.). Where your agreement is silent, the act's default rules apply. Where the act lets an operating agreement change one of its rules, your agreement controls.
Choose Vermont in the form and the agreement names the State of Vermont as the LLC's home and governing law, refers to the Articles of Organization filed with the Vermont Secretary of State, and defines “the Act” as the Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 11, Chapter 25. Everything else adapts to your answers: one member or several, run by the members or by managers, with or without a buyout when a member dies.
What the Vermont agreement covers
The agreement follows the order most operating agreements use: formation, name, principal office, registered agent, purpose and term; each member's contribution and, with several members, capital accounts and percentage interests; how profits, losses and cash are shared; management by the members or by managers, with the major decisions that need every member's consent; taxes, books, records and a separate bank account; transfers, new members, withdrawal and what happens when a member dies; and dissolution. Schedule A lists each member's contribution and share.
Forming and keeping a Vermont LLC
The operating agreement stays with the LLC's records; these are the filings that go to the state. Check that the name is free first with our Vermont LLC name search.
| Vermont | |
|---|---|
| Forming the LLC | Articles of Organization, $155, filed with the Vermont Secretary of State |
| Name must end with | “Limited Liability Company”, “LLC”, “Ltd. Liability Co.”, “Limited Company”, “LC”, “Ltd. Co.”, “(the designator must come at the end of the name)” |
| Recurring report | $45 each year (due within 3 months after the fiscal year ends) |
| Name reservation | $25, 120 days (unconfirmed) |
| Good standing certificate | Certificate of Existence, $35 |
How to finish your Vermont agreement
- Type the LLC's name exactly as it appears on its Articles of Organization, ending included.
- Fill in or strike out anything left as a blank line, and make Schedule A's percentages add up to 100%.
- Have every member read and sign it. Electronic signatures count, and members can sign separate copies.
- Keep the signed agreement with the LLC's records; don't send it to the Vermont Secretary of State. Give each member a copy.
For an LLC with one owner, see the single-member operating agreement; with partners, the multi-member version explains shares, voting and buyouts.
Sources
Checked on 2026-10-08 against the state's own pages:
- https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/11/025
- https://bizfilings.vermont.gov/
- https://sos.vermont.gov/business-services/business-filings/annualbiennial-reports/
- https://sos.vermont.gov/business-services/fees-statutes
Common questions
Does Vermont require an LLC operating agreement?
No. Vermont's LLC law doesn't require one, but it's worth having: without it, the Vermont Statutes Annotated, Title 11, Chapter 25's default rules decide how profits are shared and who can act for the LLC.
Do I file the operating agreement with the Vermont Secretary of State?
No. The Vermont Secretary of State receives the Articles of Organization; the operating agreement is an internal document that stays with the LLC's records.
Is this Vermont operating agreement template free?
Yes. There's no sign-up and no email address, and the agreement is built in your browser, so nothing you type is sent to us.