Vermont's Emergency Medical Services system – or EMS – responds to medical emergencies daily. EMS is an integrated system for emergency medical treatment and transportation of sick and injured patients.

The Vermont Office of Emergency Medical Services works on behalf of Vermonters to ensure that the EMS system is adequately equipped and prepared to provide the best out-of-hospital emergency care possible. There are nearly 180 ambulance and first responder agencies in the state, and most of our 3,000 licensed EMS personnel are volunteers.

The Vermont EMS Office is available to answer all your questions. Send us an email or call us at 802-863-7310.

 

Vermont EMS Policies

Policies are used to guide the EMS profession and refine the intent of the Vermont EMS Rule. You can see the current collection of Vermont EMS Policies in Policies, Documents, Forms and Meeting Minutes.

 

EMS Education

The State of Vermont requires that Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel adhere to the strictest standards of quality as it relates to education, training, testing, and service.  To ensure these efforts, Vermont requires certification by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) as a prerequisite for licensure at every license level, except for the Vermont Emergency First Responder (VEFR).  

For information concerning licensure courses, continuing education, psychomotor testing, leadership training and I/C continuing education, see EMS Education Resources.

 

2023 Vermont EMS Awards

(New as of 04/12/2023)

The 2023 Vermont EMS Winners have been determined and will be announced during National EMS Week, May 21st -27th, 2023. Awards will be presented at the award convocation and ceremony during the Vermont Healthcare and EMS Preparedness Conference in October. 
 

  • First Responder Service of the Year
  • Ambulance Service of the Year
  • First Responder Provider of the Year
  • BLS Provider of the Year
  • ALS Provider of the Year
  • EMS Educator of the Year
  • EMS for Children Champion of the Year
  • Vermont EMS Lifetime Award

 
Award presentations will be made both locally at the recipient’s agency as well as at an award convocation and ceremony during the Vermont Healthcare and EMS Preparedness Conference.  


2023 Personnel License Renewal Season is Now Open!

(New as of 11/17/2022)

If your Vermont EMS license will expire between now and June 30, we strongly encourage you to renew your National Registry certification and submit your license renewal application as soon as possible. Due to the expected high volume in May and June, applications submitted after May 31 might not be processed before the June 30 deadline, and you cannot practice on an expired license even if your renewal application has been submitted. 


Resources for First Response Services

(New as of 11/06/2022)

Reference materials designed to help support First Response services that have not previously submitted electronic patient care reports, are now available. 

 

 

LIGHTS - An Online EMS Licensing and Course Management System

The Vermont EMS LIGHTS database is an online EMS license management system built by ImageTrend, the creators of the Vermont SIREN incident reporting system. Its web-based functionality replaces paper applications and allows users to apply for and manage agency and personnel licenses, enroll in EMS courses and exam sites, update demographic information, and look up licensing records.     

Vermont Statewide EMS Protocols

The Vermont EMS Office is committed to supporting the delivery of excellent, evidence-based emergency care to all Vermonters and our visitors. To that end, we are constantly reviewing our treatment protocols, and we publish one major revision every two years. You can download the most recent version below:

Other Important Updates (updated 11/17/22)

SIREN Changes for the Transition to NEMSIS 3.5

(Updated 3/2/2023)
Vermont became the 10th state in the nation to go "green" by transitioning to NEMSIS 3.5 and information regarding this is now available

 

Interfacility Transfers Protocol

(Updated 02/23/2022)
This updated protocol aims to ensure interfacility transfers (IFT) comply with current VT law, licensure, and EMS protocols. It is intended to promote efficiency in IFT while maintaining patient safety. Check out the latest updates to interfacility transfer protocols.