• All UVM students who drive UVM owned, leased or rented vehicles
• UVM faculty and staff where driving is indicated as an essential function of their job per the Human Resources Job Description Form
• UVM faculty or staff who drive University owned, rented or leased vehicles six or more times per year
• All UVM faculty, staff and students driving an 8-12 passenger van (vehicles larger than 12 passenger vans are not allowed)
• UVM faculty or staff who drive UVM students
• UVM Students driving other UVM students in personal vehicles for University-sponsored activities (personal vehicles use for UVM activities is not recommended.  See FAQ below.)

It can take up to 30 days to complete the driver authorization process.  Please ensure that you have allocated sufficient time between the date you send your driver training application and the date you need a vehicle.

UVM Driver Authorization needs to be renewed annually to maintain driving privileges. You will receive an email from Risk Management when it's time for your reauthorization, or you can request reauthorization online. A driver's license check and motor vehicle record review is required for reauthorization. Please email driving@uvm.edu with any questions about driver training and authorization.

Check your Authorized Driver status and Request Reauthorization 

If you do not request annual reauthorization, your authorization to drive UVM vehicles will be deactivated. You can request reactivation at any time, however, remember Motor Vehicle Record reviews can take up to two weeks; please plan accordingly. 

The University of Vermont, as per the terms of its Officers and Employee Indemnification Policy, will provide its officers and employees a legal defense and pay judgments or settlement expenses incurred in connection with civil claims brought against such persons, provided that the individual was acting within the scope of University employment, in compliance with University Policies, and in good faith. 

University insurance or self-insurance shall be used to finance such protection. Any student with claims or actions brought against him/her and resulting from the authorized use of a UVM owned or leased vehicle will be indemnified only to the extent that insurance coverage applies, and only if the student follows the driver safety requirements noted in this policy. UVM reserves its right to subrogate its interest against any personal auto insurance a student may have that would respond to such claims. 

All physical damage claims are subject to a $1,000 deductible to be borne by the department or unit. Risk Management reserves the right to charge all physical damage costs to the employee/student’s department or organization if the driver was not authorized to drive. Risk Management may revoke future driving privileges if employee/student no longer meets criteria for driving. Employees who are furnished with a UVM vehicle are to use the vehicle for University work purposes only. Students who are furnished with a UVM vehicle are to use the vehicle for University related purposes only.

Additional training is required before driving a UVM GEM (Global Electric Motorcars) vehicle. Current UVM Driver Certification status is a prerequisite for GEM driving. GEM drivers must complete two trainings - an online course and a driving test. Log in with your NET ID and Password. GEM Electric Car Training is under Specific Hazards. 

Once you have completed the online portion, email driving@uvm.edu to schedule the driving test. 

Towing a trailer with a UVM vehicle or towing a UVM owned trailer with any vehicle require additional training. 

Complete the online training for trailer towing

Choose "Trailer Towing Safety" under the "Specific Hazards" menu: 

The Department of Risk Management recommends hands-on trailer training to be provided by your department in addition to the online training. If this is not an option, reach out to Risk Management for support at driving@uvm.edu 

You can check the completion status of your Trailer trainings via UVM Laboratory Safety Training Records Look Up. 

Note:  Our contracted rental agencies, Enterprise and Hertz do not allow towing with their vehicles.  This holds true for most rental agencies.  If a UVM tow vehicle or trailer is not available, one solution is to rent through U-Haul. When doing so, select the additional CDW/Safetow insurance options. Using a personal vehicle to tow is highly discouraged because all liability of vehicle, trailer, and contents will rest on the driver's personal automobile insurance. 

Supervisors 

Supervisors and advisors are responsible for checking the Driver Certification status of their supervisees/advisees. This includes advisors for student clubs. 

Supervisees are responsible for alerting their supervisor/advisor of all moving violations and accidents even if these occur in a non-UVM vehicle because this may affect the supervisees’ eligibility to drive UVM vehicles and to be covered by UVM's automobile insurance. 

The Supervisor Tool allows supervisors to view the status of all drivers for whom they are listed as a supervisor. 

Fleet Managers 

The AllCert List provides real time information on the Authorized Driver status of all drivers. 

We recommend each department designate one or two people. To request access to the AllCert List, email driving@uvm.edu. 

Tips for using the AllCert List: 

• This report provides the training record, driver’s license expiration date and Authorized Driver expiration date 
• Yellow dates indicate expiration is within the month 
• Red dates indicate expired status 

Commercial Driver's Licenses 

A commercial driver’s license (CDL) is required of anyone who drives a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of more than 26,000 pounds; a vehicle designed to transport more than 16 passengers, including driver, or any size vehicle that requires a hazardous materials placard. UVM employees who are required to hold a CDL as part of their jobs must receive information about UVM's Guidelines for Commercial Drivers Concerning Alcohol and Substance Abuse. 

When driving in Canada, a CDL is required to drive a 12-passenger van. The Canadian fines for driving a 12-passenger van without a CDL are substantial and will not be reimbursed by UVM. A CDL is not needed to drive a minivan in Canada; minivans are the largest vehicle that can be driven in Canada without a CDL. 

• UVM students who drive UVM owned, leased, or rented vehicles
• UVM faculty and staff where driving is indicated as an essential function of your job per the Human Resources Job Description Form
• Anyone driving a UVM owned, rented, or leased vehicle six or more times per year
• Any driving an 8-12 passenger van (vehicles larger than 12 passenger vans are not allowed)
• Anyone driving UVM students for University sponsored events or travel.

Risk Management recommends employees and students organizations do NOT use their personal vehicles for travel for UVM sponsored events or UVM business travel. Using personal vehicles exposes students and employees financially if there is an accident. Vehicle insurance follows the vehicle, so any claims arising from the use of a personal vehicle will be processed through the vehicle owner’s automobile insurance rather UVM's automobile insurance.

It can take up to 30 days to complete the Driver Authorization process. Please assure that you have allocated sufficient time between the date you send your application and the date you need a vehicle.

The Driver Authorization Self-Status Check provides this information.

Risk Management will contact you via email when your application has been approved. You will receive another email authorizing you to drive once you have successfully passed the National Safety Council (NSC) Defensive Driving course. Note that it can take several days for the NSC to notify us of your successful completion of the Defensive Driving course. Please be patient.

Your sponsor/supervisor/advisor needs to be a current UVM staff or faculty member. You cannot list a student as your sponsor or your application will be flagged as invalid. UVM faculty and staff should choose their current supervisor as their sponsor. Students should choose the advisor of the club or sport if they are driving for that purpose, or an academic advisor or professor if they are driving for a class or department.

Please enter the address that is printed on your driver's license, even if you no longer live there. If the address we provide when requesting your Motor Vehicle Record (MVR) does not match the address on file for your state's DMV, our MVR request will be denied. Do not use your University address or dorm address.

If there are any injuries, call 911 and notify local police. Inform your supervisor or advisor as soon as possible. If you are driving a rental vehicle, notify the rental company immediately. Notify UVM Risk Management within THREE days of the accident by called 802-656-3242 or emailing risk.management@uvm.edu.

Yes. However, a CDL is required to drive a van designed to hold 7 or more passengers. For example, you may drive a minivan to Canada but not a 12-passenger van. The Canadian fines are substantial, and you will not be reimbursed by UVM.

You can make changes to your driver profile at any time by logging into your driver profile page and clicking on the button at the bottom of the page that says, "you may edit the above information".  You may need to update your profile when you renew your driver's license, change your address, or get a new advisor/sponsor.

Please let us know by emailing driving@uvm.edu and we will deactivate your driver certification.

Please check Driver Safety and Motor Vehicle Use.