At any time more than 14 days before the trial begins or within such shorter time as the court may approve, a party may serve upon an adverse party an offer to allow judgment to be entered for the money or property or to the effect specified in the offer, with costs then accrued. If within 14 days after the service of the offer or within such shorter time as the court may order the adverse party serves written notice that the offer is accepted, either party may then file the offer and notice of acceptance together with proof of service thereof and thereupon the clerk shall enter judgment. An offer not accepted shall be deemed withdrawn and evidence thereof is not admissible except in a proceeding to determine costs. If the judgment finally entered is not more favorable than the offer, the offeree must pay the costs incurred after the making of the offer. The fact that an offer is made but not accepted does not preclude a subsequent offer. When the liability of one party to another has been determined by verdict or order or judgment, but the amount or extent of the liability remains to be determined by further proceedings, the party adjudged liable may make an offer of judgment, which shall have the same effect as an offer made before trial if it is served within a reasonable time not less than 14 days, or such shorter time as the court may approve, prior to the commencement of hearings to determine the amount or extent of liability.
Rule 68.Offer of judgment
Group VIII: Provisional and Final Remedies and Special Proceedings · Last amended June 20, 2022 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 68 lets either party in a Vermont civil case offer to let judgment be entered on stated terms, and if the other side turns it down but does no better at trial, that side pays the costs that piled up after the offer.
Full Text of Rule 68
Notes
Reporter’s Notes—2022 Amendment: Rule 68 is amended to allow plaintiffs to make offers of judgment as previously provided in the rule only for defendants. The change was initially adopted as an emergency amendment to make the practice more widely available at a time when in-person civil jury trials were largely on hold pursuant to Administrative Order No. 49, ¶ 24. The present amendment makes the change permanent. Vermont will not be alone in making the formal offer of judgment process available to plaintiffs. Among the 46 states and the federal system that provide an offer of judgment procedure, 21 states make it available to plaintiffs and two provide a partial role for them. The present amendment continues to award to a successful offering party only costs accruing since the offer was made, thus following F.R.C.P. 68, the rules of the 21 other states that provide the procedure only for defendants, and eight of the states allowing plaintiffs to invoke the procedure. The present amendment does not allow additional recoveries not part of costs, such as interest, attorney’s fees, and expert witness fees that may otherwise be available only as an exercise of judicial discretion under Vermont law. See d'Arc Turcotte v. Estate of LaRose, 153 Vt. 196, 569 A.2d 1086, 1989 Vt. LEXIS 243 (1989) (ages result in prejudgment interest as of right); Estate of Fleming v. Nicholson, 168 Vt. 495, 724 A.2d 1026 (1998) affirming monetary award to compensate for delay; see also Marek v. Chesny, 473 U.S. 1 (1985) (under F.R.C.P. 68, attorney’s fees defined as “costs” in underlying statute); Rule v. Tobin, 168 Vt. 166, 171, 719 A.2d 869, 872 (1998) (following Marek and holding that where Rule 68 offer in civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 was silent on costs and attorney’s fees, plaintiffs could recover attorney’s fees as part of the costs in addition to judgment amount specified in offer).
Reporter’s Notes—2018 Amendment: Rule 68 is amended to extend its 10-day time periods to 14 days consistent with the simultaneous “day is a day” amendments to V.R.C.P. 6.
Reporter’s Notes: This rule is substantially identical to Federal Rule 68, with a modification taken from the Maine rule. The rule is similar in effect to former County Court Rule 37, which permitted defendant to pay all or part of a contract claim into court as an offer to accept judgment for the sum paid, and to 12 V.S.A. § 2140 (now superseded), which permitted tender of the amount of the demand at least three days before trial. The rule, however, applies to all actions and all forms of relief and permits an offer to be made not only before trial but after a decision on liability alone has been reached. The rule differs from Federal Rule 68 in giving the court discretion to permit an offer less than 10 days prior to trial or hearing. This more flexible provision is desirable in light of the simpler nature of much state-court litigation.
Amendment History
Amended Sept. 20, 2017, eff. Jan. 1, 2018; Apr. 18, 2022, eff. June 20, 2022.
Plain-English Summary
At any point more than 14 days before trial -- or a shorter time if the court approves -- a party may serve an adverse party with an offer to let judgment be entered for money, property, or other specified relief, plus costs accrued so far. If the adverse party accepts in writing within 14 days (or a shorter court-ordered window), either side can file the offer and the notice of acceptance, along with proof of service, and the clerk enters judgment. An offer that is not accepted is deemed withdrawn, and nobody can bring it up at trial except in a later proceeding over costs. Making an offer that gets rejected does not stop a party from making another one later.
The rule's teeth come from what happens next. If the judgment finally entered is not more favorable than the rejected offer, the offeree has to pay the costs incurred after the offer was made. Vermont's 2022 amendment made this available to plaintiffs as well as defendants, following a trial run adopted as an emergency measure when in-person jury trials were on hold. Vermont did not blaze a new trail here -- among the states and the federal system that allow an offer-of-judgment procedure, a substantial number extend it to plaintiffs too -- but Vermont, like the federal rule, keeps the award to costs alone, not interest, attorney's fees, or expert witness fees, unless some other rule of law makes those recoverable.
Rule 68 also reaches past trial. Once a court or jury has decided that one party is liable to another but the amount or extent of that liability still needs to be worked out, the party found liable can make an offer of judgment on the same terms as before trial, so long as it is served a reasonable time -- not less than 14 days, or a shorter time the court approves -- before hearings begin on how much is owed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can make an offer of judgment under Vermont's Rule 68?
Either party. A 2022 amendment made the offer-of-judgment procedure available to plaintiffs as well as defendants, making permanent a change first adopted as an emergency measure.
What happens if the other side accepts the offer?
Either party files the offer and the notice of acceptance, together with proof of service, and the clerk enters judgment accordingly.
What is the penalty for rejecting an offer and then doing no better at trial?
The offeree must pay the costs incurred after the offer was made. Rule 68 limits the award to costs -- it does not by itself provide for interest, attorney's fees, or expert witness fees beyond what other Vermont law otherwise allows.
Can a party make a second offer of judgment after the first one is rejected?
Yes. An unaccepted offer is deemed withdrawn, but the fact that it was made and not accepted does not stop a party from making a later offer.
Can an offer of judgment be made after liability is decided but before damages are set?
Yes. Once liability has been determined by verdict, order, or judgment but the amount or extent still needs further proceedings, the party found liable can make an offer with the same effect as a pretrial offer, as long as it is served a reasonable time -- not less than 14 days, or a shorter time the court approves -- before the hearings on the amount or extent of liability begin.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Reporter's Notes, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Vermont Rules of Civil Procedure,
adopted by the Vermont Supreme Court. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
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