What if I win a Vermont lottery Game?
General Information On Winning
Instant scratch tickets must be claimed within one year of the announced game end date. All other game prizes must be claimed within 365 calendar days of the winning drawing date. Any prize not claimed within 365 calendar days shall be forfeited.
Valid Identification
If identification is required to claim your prize, you may provide one of the following as a source of valid identification:
- Drivers License
- Passport
- Expired Drivers License or Passport – Photo only
- Store Courtesy Cards – Photo only
- Employer Issued ID Cards - Photo only
- Military ID
- Vermont State Liquor ID
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Prizes over $5,000
(All Games)
These prizes must be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont.
The ticket must be signed by the claimant and submitted with a completed claim form and valid identification to Vermont Lottery Headquarters. Claim forms are available at Vermont Lottery Headquarters or any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent.
Lottery winnings over $5,000 are subject to Federal Income Tax Withholding of at least 25% and Vermont State Income Tax Withholding of at least 6%. Each January the Vermont Lottery Headquarters will issue W-2G's to all winners of $600 or more on a single ticket in the preceding calendar year.
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Prizes of $500 to $5,000
(Powerball, Megabucks Plus! Hot Lotto, Pick3, Pick4, and Weekly Grand only)
These prizes may be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont or at any Chittenden Bank located in Vermont.
The ticket must be signed by the claimant and submitted with a completed claim form and valid identification. The Chittenden Bank can pay claims during Vermont Lottery Headquarters business hours only which are 7:45 AM to 4:30 PM Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. Claim forms are available at Vermont Lottery Headquarters, Chittenden Bank or any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent.
Each January the Vermont Lottery Headquarters will issue W-2G's to all winners of $600 or more on a single ticket in the preceding calendar year.
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Prizes of $499 or less
(Powerball, Megabucks Plus!, Pick3, Pick4, and Weekly Grand only)
These prizes may be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont or at any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent.
The ticket should be signed by the claimant
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Powerball Jackpot
The Powerball Jackpot must be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont.
If you match 5 regular numbers and the Powerball number you win the Jackpot! In the case of multiple winning tickets, the jackpot is divided equally among the number of winning jackpot tickets.
The ticket must be signed by the claimant and submitted with a completed claim form and valid identification to Vermont Lottery Headquarters. Claim forms are available at Vermont Lottery Headquarters or any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent. Claimants may be individuals, groups, or trusts. When you make your claim, Lottery Headquarters will then validate your ticket. You have 60 calendar days following the date of the draw to elect whether to receive the Jackpot in one lump sum (cash option) or in 30 equal payments over 29 years (annuity option). Once you make that election it is final and cannot be revoked, withdrawn or otherwise changed. If you do not choose within those 60 calendar days, you will automatically receive the annuity option.
Funds for the initial payment of an annuitized prize or the lump sum cash prize shall be made no earlier than the fifteenth calendar day (or the next banking day if the fifteenth day is a holiday) following the drawing.
The Vermont Lottery strongly urges claimants to contact Financial and Tax professionals prior to making this decision. You can find information about financial planning from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. www.CFP.net.
Lottery winnings over $5,000 are subject to Federal Income Tax Withholding of at least 25% and Vermont State Income Tax Withholding of at least 6%. Each January the Vermont Lottery Headquarters will issue W-2G’s to all winners of $600 or more on a single ticket in the preceding calendar year.
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Megabucks Plus! Jackpot
The Megabucks Plus! Jackpot must be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont.
If you match 5 numbers plus the mega number you win the Megabucks Plus! Jackpot! In the case of multiple winning tickets, the jackpot is divided equally among the number of winning jackpot tickets.
The ticket must be signed by the claimant and submitted with a completed claim form and valid identification to Vermont Lottery Headquarters. Claim forms are available at Vermont Lottery Headquarters or any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent location. Claimants may be individuals, groups, or trusts. When you make your claim, Vermont Lottery Headquarters will then validate your ticket. You have 60 calendar days following the date of ticket validation to elect whether to receive the Jackpot (or your share of the jackpot) in one lump sum (cash option) or in 25 equal payments over 25 years (annuity option). Once you make that election it is final and cannot be revoked, withdrawn or otherwise changed. If you do not choose within those 60 calendar days, you will automatically receive the annuity option.
The Vermont Lottery strongly urges claimants to contact Financial and Tax professionals prior to making this decision. You can find information about financial planning from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (www.CFP.net) Once the option for payment is made, Lottery Headquarters has 5 working days to make payment to the claimant.
Lottery winnings over $5,000 are subject to Federal Income Tax Withholding of at least 25% and Vermont State Income Tax Withholding of at least 6%. Each January the Vermont Lottery Headquarters will issue W-2G’s to all winners of $600 or more on a single ticket in the preceding calendar year.
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Hot Lotto Jackpot
The Hot Lotto Jackpot must be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont.
If you match 5 regular numbers and the Hot Ball number you win the Jackpot! In the case of multiple winning tickets, the jackpot is divided equally among the number of winning jackpot tickets.
The ticket must be signed by the claimant and submitted with a completed claim form and valid identification to Vermont Lottery Headquarters. Claim forms are available at Vermont Lottery Headquarters or any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent. Claimants may be individuals, groups, or trusts. When you make your claim, Lottery Headquarters will then validate your ticket. You have 60 calendar days following the date of the draw to elect whether to receive the Jackpot in one lump sum (cash option) or in 30 equal payments over 29 years (annuity option). Once you make that election it is final and cannot be revoked, withdrawn or otherwise changed. If you do not choose within those 60 calendar days, you will automatically receive the annuity option.
Funds for the initial payment of an annuitized prize or the lump sum cash prize shall be made no earlier than the fifteenth calendar day (or the next banking day if the fifteenth day is a holiday) following the drawing.
The Vermont Lottery strongly urges claimants to contact Financial and Tax professionals prior to making this decision. You can find information about financial planning from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. www.CFP.net.
Lottery winnings over $5,000 are subject to Federal Income Tax Withholding of at least 25% and Vermont State Income Tax Withholding of at least 6%. Each January the Vermont Lottery Headquarters will issue W-2G’s to all winners of $600 or more on a single ticket in the preceding calendar year.
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Weekly Grand Jackpot
The Weekly Grand Jackpot must be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont.
If you match 4 regular numbers and the Lucky Ball number you win the Weekly Grand Jackpot ($1,000 a week for 20 years!). In the case of multiple winning tickets, the jackpot is divided equally among the number of winning jackpot tickets.
The ticket must be signed by the claimant and submitted with a completed claim form and valid identification to Vermont Lottery Headquarters. Claim forms are available at Vermont Lottery Headquarters or any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent location. Claimants may be individuals, groups, or trusts. When you make your claim, Vermont Lottery Headquarters will then validate your ticket. You have 60 calendar days following the date of ticket validation to elect whether to receive the Jackpot (or your share of the jackpot) in one $600,000 cash payment (cash option) or in 20 annual payments of $52,000 (annuity option) or in 240 monthly payments of $4,333 (monthly option). Once you make that election it is final and cannot be revoked, withdrawn or otherwise changed. If you do not choose within those 60 calendar days, you will automatically receive the annuity option.
The Vermont Lottery strongly urges claimants to contact Financial and Tax professionals prior to making this decision. You can find information about financial planning from the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (www.CFP.net) Once the option for payment is made, Lottery Headquarters has 5 working days to make payment to the claimant.
Lottery winnings over $5,000 are subject to Federal Income Tax Withholding of at least 25% and Vermont State Income Tax Withholding of at least 6%. Each January the Vermont Lottery Headquarters will issue W-2G’s to all winners of $600 or more on a single ticket in the preceding calendar year.
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 Instant Scratch Ticket Winnings
Prizes, Drawing and rules may be different on each Instant Ticket. For specific information a Instant Ticket, please visit the information page for that game listing.
Prizes of $101 to $5,000 (For Instant Tickets Only)
These prizes may be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont or at any Chittenden Bank located in Vermont.
The ticket must be signed by the claimant and submitted with a completed claim form and valid identification. The Chittenden Bank can pay claims during Vermont Lottery Headquarters business hours only. Claim forms are available at Vermont Lottery Headquarters, Chittenden Bank or any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent. Vermont Lottery Agents may, at their option, pay instant ticket winners up to $499 however they are not required to do so.
Each January the Vermont Lottery Headquarters will issue W-2G's to all winners of $600 or more on a single ticket in the preceding calendar year.
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Prizes of $100 or less (For Instant Tickets Only)
These prizes may be claimed at the Vermont Lottery Headquarters in Berlin, Vermont or at any authorized Vermont Lottery Agent that sells Instant tickets.
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