Laws vary from state to state, but in states that recognize a claim for negligent entrustment of a motor vehicle, the plaintiff generally must show that:

• the owner of the vehicle entrusted the vehicle to another person;

• the person to whom the motor vehicle was entrusted was an unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless driver;

• at the time of the entrustment, the owner of the motor vehicle knew or should have known that the person to whom the motor vehicle was entrusted was an unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless driver;

• the person to whom the motor vehicle was entrusted was negligent on the occasion in question; and

• the negligence of the person to whom the motor vehicle was entrusted proximately caused the accident.

Even the lack of a required legal license does not establish incompetence or recklessness. Whether a driver has a license does not determine whether a driver is in fact incompetent. Some incompetent drivers are licensed, and some competent drivers are unlicensed.

If a state’s statutes require an operator of a given motor vehicle to be legally licensed to operate it, then permitting the driver to operate it without a legal license may constitute negligence per se.

Although state laws require licensing to operate some motor vehicles (automobiles), they often do not require licensing to operate other motor vehicles (forklifts). In the absence of a licensing requirement, the plaintiff must show the defendant knew or should have known the operator of the motor vehicle was incompetent or reckless, not that he was uncertified or lacked formal training to operate the motor vehicle.

In Vermont, the concept of negligent entrustment of a motor vehicle is recognized under the common law. This means that if a vehicle owner entrusts their vehicle to another person who is unlicensed, incompetent, or reckless, and the owner knew or should have known about the driver's inability to operate the vehicle safely, the owner can be held liable if the driver causes an accident due to their negligence. To establish a claim for negligent entrustment in Vermont, the plaintiff must demonstrate that the owner entrusted the vehicle to another, the recipient was unfit to drive, the owner was aware or should have been aware of the recipient's unfitness, the recipient was negligent, and this negligence was the proximate cause of the accident. It is important to note that the mere absence of a driver's license does not automatically prove incompetence or recklessness. In cases where a license is legally required to operate a vehicle, allowing an unlicensed person to drive may be considered negligence per se. However, for vehicles that do not require a license, such as forklifts, the plaintiff must show that the owner had actual or constructive knowledge of the operator's incompetence or recklessness.