UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED
MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

Investment Company Act file number: (811-05346)

Exact name of registrant as specified in charter: Putnam Variable Trust

Address of principal executive offices: One Post Office Square, Boston, Massachusetts 02109

Name and address of agent for service: Robert T. Burns, Vice President
One Post Office Square
Boston, Massachusetts 02109

Copy to:         Bryan Chegwidden, Esq.
Ropes & Gray LLP
1211 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10036

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (617) 292-1000

Date of fiscal year end: December 31, 2017

Date of reporting period: March 31, 2017

Item 1. Schedule of Investments:

Putnam VT Multi-Cap Growth Fund
The fund's portfolio
3/31/17 (Unaudited)
COMMON STOCKS (98.6%)(a)
			Shares	Value
Aerospace and defense (3.9%)
BWX Technologies, Inc.			49,100	$2,337,160
Northrop Grumman Corp.			50,846	12,093,213
Raytheon Co.			36,825	5,615,813
United Technologies Corp.			61,700	6,923,357
				26,969,543
Banks (2.9%)
Bank of America Corp.			653,600	15,418,424
PacWest Bancorp			89,000	4,740,140
				20,158,564
Beverages (2.7%)
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ADR (Belgium)(S)			32,500	3,567,200
Constellation Brands, Inc. Class A			34,100	5,526,587
Monster Beverage Corp.(NON)			70,801	3,268,882
PepsiCo, Inc.			57,500	6,431,950
				18,794,619
Biotechnology (4.8%)
Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(NON)			31,700	3,843,308
Amgen, Inc.			40,800	6,694,056
Biogen, Inc.(NON)			24,900	6,808,158
BioMarin Pharmaceutical, Inc.(NON)			23,500	2,062,830
Celgene Corp.(NON)			100,922	12,557,724
Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc.(NON)			13,100	1,432,485
				33,398,561
Building products (2.3%)
Johnson Controls International PLC			380,761	16,037,653
				16,037,653
Capital markets (2.7%)
Charles Schwab Corp. (The)			228,800	9,337,328
Hamilton Lane, Inc. Class A(NON)			83,211	1,553,549
KKR & Co. LP			113,100	2,061,813
Morgan Stanley			139,300	5,967,612
				18,920,302
Chemicals (3.1%)
Albemarle Corp.			64,500	6,813,780
Sherwin-Williams Co. (The)			16,900	5,242,211
Symrise AG (Germany)			95,628	6,359,673
W.R. Grace & Co.			48,700	3,394,877
				21,810,541
Commercial services and supplies (1.3%)
Stericycle, Inc.(NON)			47,000	3,895,830
Waste Connections, Inc. (Canada)			55,700	4,913,854
				8,809,684
Consumer finance (1.0%)
Oportun Financial Corp. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $349,105) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			122,493	345,614
Synchrony Financial			187,600	6,434,680
				6,780,294
Containers and packaging (1.2%)
RPC Group PLC (United Kingdom)			363,883	3,562,930
Sealed Air Corp.			105,700	4,606,406
				8,169,336
Distributors (0.7%)
LKQ Corp.(NON)			160,700	4,703,689
				4,703,689
Diversified telecommunication services (0.2%)
Zayo Group Holdings, Inc.(NON)			33,473	1,101,262
				1,101,262
Electronic equipment, instruments, and components (0.1%)
Jenoptik AG (Germany)			31,698	785,870
				785,870
Energy equipment and services (0.9%)
Halliburton Co.			123,800	6,092,198
				6,092,198
Equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) (0.5%)
Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc.(R)			99,900	3,338,658
				3,338,658
Food and staples retail (2.4%)
Costco Wholesale Corp.			19,400	3,253,186
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc.			162,297	13,478,766
				16,731,952
Health-care equipment and supplies (6.7%)
Becton Dickinson and Co.			48,700	8,933,528
Boston Scientific Corp.(NON)			200,872	4,995,687
C.R. Bard, Inc.			42,300	10,513,242
Danaher Corp.			119,200	10,195,176
GenMark Diagnostics, Inc.(NON)			160,720	2,060,430
Hoya Corp. (Japan)			60,000	2,886,553
Intuitive Surgical, Inc.(NON)			7,900	6,055,113
Penumbra, Inc.(NON)			13,533	1,129,329
				46,769,058
Health-care providers and services (0.7%)
Humana, Inc.			23,500	4,844,290
Premier, Inc. Class A(NON)			11,767	374,544
				5,218,834
Health-care technology (0.1%)
HTG Molecular Diagnostics, Inc.(NON)(S)			66,243	458,402
				458,402
Hotels, restaurants, and leisure (2.2%)
Dave & Buster's Entertainment, Inc.(NON)			64,200	3,921,978
Hilton Worldwide Holdings, Inc.			81,699	4,776,124
Las Vegas Sands Corp.			63,000	3,595,410
Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc.(NON)			330,814	2,964,093
				15,257,605
Household durables (0.6%)
PulteGroup, Inc.			177,100	4,170,705
				4,170,705
Insurance (0.5%)
Prudential PLC (United Kingdom)			155,399	3,282,633
				3,282,633
Internet and direct marketing retail (5.7%)
Amazon.com, Inc.(NON)			28,995	25,705,227
Ctrip.com International, Ltd. ADR (China)(NON)			39,400	1,936,510
Delivery Hero Holding GmbH (acquired 6/12/15, cost $1,216,916) (Private) (Germany)(F)(RES)(NON)			158	1,038,196
Expedia, Inc.			29,800	3,759,866
FabFurnish GmbH (acquired 8/2/13, cost $15) (Private) (Brazil)(F)(RES)(NON)			22	18
Global Fashion Holding SA (acquired 8/2/13, cost $702,128) (Private) (Brazil)(F)(RES)(NON)			16,574	145,038
New Bigfoot Other Assets GmbH (acquired 8/2/13, cost $15) (Private) (Brazil)(F)(RES)(NON)			11	9
New Middle East Other Assets GmbH (acquired 8/2/13, cost $5) (Private) (Brazil)(F)(RES)(NON)			4	3
Priceline Group, Inc. (The)(NON)			4,085	7,271,177
				39,856,044
Internet software and services (10.3%)
Alibaba Group Holding, Ltd. ADR (China)(NON)(S)			83,188	8,970,162
Alphabet, Inc. Class C(NON)			45,407	37,667,831
Facebook, Inc. Class A(NON)			138,689	19,700,772
Instructure, Inc.(NON)			36,500	854,100
Shopify, Inc. Class A (Canada)(NON)			48,200	3,281,938
Tencent Holdings, Ltd. (China)			59,700	1,711,531
				72,186,334
IT Services (4.4%)
Fidelity National Information Services, Inc.			86,000	6,847,320
Visa, Inc. Class A			272,400	24,208,188
				31,055,508
Life sciences tools and services (2.1%)
Agilent Technologies, Inc.			255,900	13,529,433
Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. Class A(NON)			4,725	941,882
				14,471,315
Machinery (2.2%)
Dover Corp.			52,300	4,202,305
Fortive Corp.			58,050	3,495,771
KION Group AG (Germany)			20,177	1,317,965
Middleby Corp. (The)(NON)			48,000	6,549,600
				15,565,641
Media (4.1%)
Charter Communications, Inc. Class A(NON)			22,100	7,233,772
Comcast Corp. Class A			93,800	3,525,942
DISH Network Corp. Class A(NON)			37,100	2,355,479
Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.(NON)			242,216	7,356,100
Walt Disney Co. (The)			73,800	8,368,182
				28,839,475
Metals and mining (0.4%)
Nucor Corp.			50,900	3,039,748
				3,039,748
Oil, gas, and consumable fuels (2.4%)
Anadarko Petroleum Corp.			96,500	5,983,000
Cheniere Energy, Inc.(NON)			46,900	2,216,963
EOG Resources, Inc.			31,400	3,063,070
Plains GP Holdings LP Class A(S)			101,551	3,174,484
Suncor Energy, Inc. (Canada)			86,300	2,653,725
				17,091,242
Personal products (0.4%)
Edgewell Personal Care Co.(NON)			38,725	2,832,347
				2,832,347
Pharmaceuticals (1.4%)
Allergan PLC			21,900	5,232,348
Cardiome Pharma Corp. (Canada)(NON)			151,000	453,000
Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC(NON)			27,948	4,056,093
				9,741,441
Professional services (0.5%)
Equifax, Inc.			26,900	3,678,306
				3,678,306
Real estate management and development (0.2%)
RE/MAX Holdings, Inc. Class A			24,665	1,466,334
				1,466,334
Road and rail (2.7%)
Norfolk Southern Corp.			170,293	19,067,707
				19,067,707
Semiconductors and semiconductor equipment (4.4%)
Applied Materials, Inc.			137,400	5,344,860
Broadcom, Ltd.			49,800	10,904,208
Cavium, Inc.(NON)			19,600	1,404,536
Micron Technology, Inc.(NON)			162,300	4,690,470
NVIDIA Corp.			25,200	2,745,036
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. ADR (Taiwan)			174,300	5,724,012
				30,813,122
Software (7.0%)
Adobe Systems, Inc.(NON)			66,400	8,640,632
Microsoft Corp.			399,800	26,330,828
Proofpoint, Inc.(NON)			38,100	2,833,116
RealPage, Inc.(NON)			60,800	2,121,920
salesforce.com, Inc.(NON)			85,400	7,044,646
ServiceNow, Inc.(NON)			22,800	1,994,316
				48,965,458
Specialty retail (3.5%)
Home Depot, Inc. (The)			96,300	14,139,729
TJX Cos., Inc. (The)			87,404	6,911,908
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance, Inc.(NON)			12,800	3,650,944
				24,702,581
Technology hardware, storage, and peripherals (4.1%)
Apple, Inc.			200,772	28,842,906
				28,842,906
Textiles, apparel, and luxury goods (0.5%)
NIKE, Inc. Class B			56,500	3,148,745
				3,148,745
Water utilities (0.3%)
Select Energy Services Class A(F)(NON)			104,053	2,263,153
				2,263,153
Wireless telecommunication services (0.5%)
T-Mobile US, Inc.(NON)			57,300	3,701,007
				3,701,007
Total common stocks (cost $566,037,023)				$689,088,377
INVESTMENT COMPANIES (0.5%)(a)
			Shares	Value
Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF			25,400	$3,517,138
Total investment companies (cost $3,377,270)				$3,517,138
CONVERTIBLE PREFERRED STOCKS (0.4%)(a)
			Shares	Value
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. A-1, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $952) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			334	$942
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. B-1, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $18,232) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			5,788	18,050
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. C-1, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $42,817) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			8,412	42,389
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. D-1, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $62,108) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			12,202	61,487
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. E-1, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $34,829) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			6,344	34,480
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. F, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $105,139) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			13,690	104,088
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. F-1, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $294,898) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			103,473	291,949
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. G, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 6/23/15, cost $372,897) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			130,841	369,168
Oportun Financial Corp. Ser. H, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 2/6/15, cost $1,165,568) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			409,359	1,153,901
Ovid Therapeutics, Inc. 144A Ser. B, 8.00% cv. pfd. (acquired 8/10/15, cost $786,064) (Private)(F)(RES)(NON)			126,174	766,507
Total convertible preferred stocks (cost $2,883,504)				$2,842,961
WARRANTS (0.0%)(a)(NON)
	Expiration date	Strike Price	Warrants	Value
Citigroup, Inc.	1/4/19	$106.10	359,195	$52,802
Neuralstem, Inc. Ser. J (acquired 1/3/14, cost $—)(F)(RES)	1/3/19	3.64	146,170	—
Total warrants (cost $362,787)				$52,802
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (2.9%)(a)
			Principal amount/shares	Value
Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC 1.03%(AFF)		Shares	12,410,423	12,410,423
Putnam Short Term Investment Fund 0.87%(AFF)		Shares	7,418,575	7,418,575
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.766%, 7/13/17(SEGSF)			$97,000	96,789
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.735%, 4/20/17(SEG)			172,000	171,941
U.S. Treasury Bills 0.619%, 4/6/17(SEGSF)			59,000	58,997
Total short-term investments (cost $20,156,718)				$20,156,725
TOTAL INVESTMENTS
Total investments (cost $592,817,302)(b)				$715,658,003

FORWARD CURRENCY CONTRACTS at 3/31/17 (aggregate face value $9,610,843) (Unaudited)
						Unrealized
		Contract	Delivery		Aggregate	appreciation/
Counterparty	Currency	type	date	Value	face value	(depreciation)
Bank of America N.A.
	British Pound	Sell	6/21/17	$3,639,945	$3,611,908	$(28,037)
JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.
	Euro	Sell	6/21/17	3,748,218	3,702,796	(45,422)
UBS AG
	Euro	Sell	6/21/17	2,315,680	2,296,139	(19,541)
Total						$(93,000)

FUTURES CONTRACTS OUTSTANDING at 3/31/17 (Unaudited)
				Unrealized
	Number of		Expiration	appreciation/
	contracts	Value	date	(depreciation)
NASDAQ 100 Index E-Mini (Long)	2	$217,540	Jun-17	$2,412
Russell 2000 Index Mini (Long)	1	69,220	Jun-17	1,433
S&P 500 Index E-Mini (Long)	5	589,800	Jun-17	3,665
S&P Mid Cap 400 Index E-Mini (Long)	1	171,820	Jun-17	2,345
Total				$9,855

Key to holding's abbreviations
ADR	American Depository Receipts: represents ownership of foreign securities on deposit with a custodian bank
ETF	Exchange Traded Fund

	Notes to the fund's portfolio
	Unless noted otherwise, the notes to the fund's portfolio are for the close of the fund's reporting period, which ran from January 1, 2017 through March 31, 2017 (the reporting period). Within the following notes to the portfolio, references to "ASC 820" represent Accounting Standards Codification 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, references to "Putnam Management" represent Putnam Investment Management, LLC, the fund's manager, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Putnam Investments, LLC and references to "OTC", if any, represent over-the-counter.
(a)	Percentages indicated are based on net assets of $699,203,310.
(b)	The aggregate identified cost on a tax basis is $594,121,693, resulting in gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation of $133,063,416 and $11,527,106, respectively, or net unrealized appreciation of $121,536,310.
(NON)	This security is non-income-producing.
(RES)	This security is restricted with regard to public resale. The total fair value of this security and any other restricted securities (excluding 144A securities), if any, held at the close of the reporting period was $4,371,839, or 0.6% of net assets.
(AFF)	Affiliated company. For investments in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC and Putnam Short Term Investment Fund, the rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield of the fund at the close of the reporting period. Transactions during the period with any company which is under common ownership or control were as follows:
	Name of affiliate	Fair value at the beginning of the reporting period	Purchase cost	Sale proceeds	Investment income	Fair value at the end of the reporting period
	Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC*#	$17,889,741	$43,967,775	$49,447,093	$46,111	$12,410,423
	Putnam Short Term Investment Fund**	5,077,247	40,295,451	37,954,123	9,452	7,418,575
	Totals	$22,966,988	$84,263,226	$87,401,216	$55,563	$19,828,998
	* No management fees are charged to Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC.
	# The fund may lend securities, through its agent, to qualified borrowers in order to earn additional income. The loans are collateralized by cash in an amount at least equal to the fair value of the securities loaned. The fair value of securities loaned is determined daily and any additional required collateral is allocated to the fund on the next business day. The remaining maturities of the securities lending transactions are considered overnight and continuous. The risk of borrower default will be borne by the fund's agent; the fund will bear the risk of loss with respect to the investment of the cash collateral. The fund received cash collateral of $12,410,423, which is invested in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC, a limited liability company managed by an affiliate of Putnam Management. Investments in Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC are valued at its closing net asset value each business day. There are no management fees charged to Putnam Cash Collateral Pool, LLC. The rate quoted in the security description is the annualized 7-day yield at the close of the reporting period. At the close of the reporting period, the value of securities loaned amounted to $12,036,125.
	** Management fees charged to Putnam Short Term Investment Fund have been waived by Putnam Management.
(SEG)	This security, in part or in entirety, was pledged and segregated with the broker to cover margin requirements for futures contracts at the close of the reporting period.
(SEGSF)	This security, in part or in entirety, was pledged and segregated with the custodian for collateral on certain derivative contracts at the close of the reporting period.
(F)	This security is valued by Putnam Management at fair value following procedures approved by the Trustees. Securities may be classified as Level 2 or Level 3 for ASC 820 based on the securities' valuation inputs.
(R)	Real Estate Investment Trust.
(S)	This security is on loan, in part or in entirety, at the close of the reporting period.
	At the close of the reporting period, the fund maintained liquid assets totaling $101,512 to cover certain derivative contracts.
	Unless otherwise noted, the rates quoted in Short-term investments security descriptions represent the weighted average yield to maturity.
	144A after the name of an issuer represents securities exempt from registration under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. These securities may be resold in transactions exempt from registration, normally to qualified institutional buyers.
	The dates shown on debt obligations are the original maturity dates.
	Security valuation: Portfolio securities and other investments are valued using policies and procedures adopted by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees have formed a Pricing Committee to oversee the implementation of these procedures and have delegated responsibility for valuing the fund's assets in accordance with these procedures to Putnam Management. Putnam Management has established an internal Valuation Committee that is responsible for making fair value determinations, evaluating the effectiveness of the pricing policies of the fund and reporting to the Pricing Committee.
	Investments for which market quotations are readily available are valued at the last reported sales price on their principal exchange, or official closing price for certain markets, and are classified as Level 1 securities under ASC 820. If no sales are reported, as in the case of some securities that are traded OTC, a security is valued at its last reported bid price and is generally categorized as a Level 2 security.
	Investments in open-end investment companies (excluding exchange-traded funds), if any, which can be classified as Level 1 or Level 2 securities, are valued based on their net asset value. The net asset value of such investment companies equals the total value of their assets less their liabilities and divided by the number of their outstanding shares.
	Market quotations are not considered to be readily available for certain debt obligations (including short-term investments with remaining maturities of 60 days or less) and other investments; such investments are valued on the basis of valuations furnished by an independent pricing service approved by the Trustees or dealers selected by Putnam Management. Such services or dealers determine valuations for normal institutional-size trading units of such securities using methods based on market transactions for comparable securities and various relationships, generally recognized by institutional traders, between securities (which consider such factors as security prices, yields, maturities and ratings). These securities will generally be categorized as Level 2.
	Many securities markets and exchanges outside the U.S. close prior to the scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange and therefore the closing prices for securities in such markets or on such exchanges may not fully reflect events that occur after such close but before the scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange. Accordingly, on certain days, the fund will fair value certain foreign equity securities taking into account multiple factors including movements in the U.S. securities markets, currency valuations and comparisons to the valuation of American Depository Receipts, exchange-traded funds and futures contracts. The foreign equity securities, which would generally be classified as Level 1 securities, will be transferred to Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy when they are valued at fair value. The number of days on which fair value prices will be used will depend on market activity and it is possible that fair value prices will be used by the fund to a significant extent. Securities quoted in foreign currencies, if any, are translated into U.S. dollars at the current exchange rate.
	To the extent a pricing service or dealer is unable to value a security or provides a valuation that Putnam Management does not believe accurately reflects the security's fair value, the security will be valued at fair value by Putnam Management in accordance with policies and procedures approved by the Trustees. Certain investments, including certain restricted and illiquid securities and derivatives, are also valued at fair value following procedures approved by the Trustees. These valuations consider such factors as significant market or specific security events such as interest rate or credit quality changes, various relationships with other securities, discount rates, U.S. Treasury, U.S. swap and credit yields, index levels, convexity exposures, recovery rates, sales and other multiples and resale restrictions. These securities are classified as Level 2 or as Level 3 depending on the priority of the significant inputs.
	To assess the continuing appropriateness of fair valuations, the Valuation Committee reviews and affirms the reasonableness of such valuations on a regular basis after considering all relevant information that is reasonably available. Such valuations and procedures are reviewed periodically by the Trustees. The fair value of securities is generally determined as the amount that the fund could reasonably expect to realize from an orderly disposition of such securities over a reasonable period of time. By its nature, a fair value price is a good faith estimate of the value of a security in a current sale and does not reflect an actual market price, which may be different by a material amount.
	Futures contracts: The fund used futures contracts to equitize cash.
	The potential risk to the fund is that the change in value of futures contracts may not correspond to the change in value of the hedged instruments. In addition, losses may arise from changes in the value of the underlying instruments, if there is an illiquid secondary market for the contracts, if interest or exchange rates move unexpectedly or if the counterparty to the contract is unable to perform. With futures, there is minimal counterparty credit risk to the fund since futures are exchange traded and the exchange's clearinghouse, as counterparty to all exchange traded futures, guarantees the futures against default. When the contract is closed, the fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed.
	Futures contracts are valued at the quoted daily settlement prices established by the exchange on which they trade. The fund and the broker agree to exchange an amount of cash equal to the daily fluctuation in the value of the futures contract. Such receipts or payments are known as "variation margin".
	For the fund's average number of futures contracts, see the appropriate table at the end of these footnotes.
	Forward currency contracts: The fund buys and sells forward currency contracts, which are agreements between two parties to buy and sell currencies at a set price on a future date. These contracts were used to hedge foreign exchange risk.
	The U.S. dollar value of forward currency contracts is determined using current forward currency exchange rates supplied by a quotation service. The fair value of the contract will fluctuate with changes in currency exchange rates. The contract is marked to market daily and the change in fair value is recorded as an unrealized gain or loss. The fund records a realized gain or loss equal to the difference between the value of the contract at the time it was opened and the value at the time it was closed when the contract matures or by delivery of the currency. The fund could be exposed to risk if the value of the currency changes unfavorably, if the counterparties to the contracts are unable to meet the terms of their contracts or if the fund is unable to enter into a closing position.
	For the fund's average contract amount on forward currency contracts, see the appropriate table at the end of these footnotes.
	Master agreements: The fund is a party to ISDA (International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc.) Master Agreements (Master Agreements) with certain counterparties that govern OTC derivative and foreign exchange contracts entered into from time to time. The Master Agreements may contain provisions regarding, among other things, the parties' general obligations, representations, agreements, collateral requirements, events of default and early termination. With respect to certain counterparties, in accordance with the terms of the Master Agreements, collateral posted to the fund is held in a segregated account by the fund's custodian and, with respect to those amounts which can be sold or repledged, is presented in the fund's portfolio.
	Collateral pledged by the fund is segregated by the fund's custodian and identified in the fund's portfolio. Collateral can be in the form of cash or debt securities issued by the U.S. Government or related agencies or other securities as agreed to by the fund and the applicable counterparty. Collateral requirements are determined based on the fund's net position with each counterparty.
	Termination events applicable to the fund may occur upon a decline in the fund's net assets below a specified threshold over a certain period of time. Termination events applicable to counterparties may occur upon a decline in the counterparty's long-term and short-term credit ratings below a specified level. In each case, upon occurrence, the other party may elect to terminate early and cause settlement of all derivative and foreign exchange contracts outstanding, including the payment of any losses and costs resulting from such early termination, as reasonably determined by the terminating party. Any decision by one or more of the fund's counterparties to elect early termination could impact the fund's future derivative activity.
	At the close of the reporting period, the fund had a net liability position of $93,000 on open derivative contracts subject to the Master Agreements. Collateral posted by the fund at period end for these agreements totaled $120,775 and may include amounts related to unsettled agreements.

ASC 820 establishes a three-level hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements. The valuation hierarchy is based upon the transparency of inputs to the valuation of the fund's investments. The three levels are defined as follows:
Level 1: Valuations based on quoted prices for identical securities in active markets.
Level 2: Valuations based on quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.
Level 3: Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.
The following is a summary of the inputs used to value the fund's net assets as of the close of the reporting period:
		Valuation inputs
Investments in securities:	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Common stocks*:
Consumer discretionary	$119,495,580	$—	$1,183,264
Consumer staples	38,358,918	—	—
Energy	23,183,440	—	—
Financials	48,796,179	—	345,614
Health care	110,057,611	—	—
Industrials	90,128,534	—	—
Information technology	212,649,198	—	—
Materials	33,019,625	—	—
Real estate	4,804,992	—	—
Telecommunication services	4,802,269	—	—
Utilities	—	2,263,153	—
Total common stocks	685,296,346	2,263,153	1,528,878
Convertible preferred stocks	—	—	2,842,961
Investment companies	3,517,138	—	—
Warrants	52,802	—	—
Short-term investments	7,418,575	12,738,150	—
Totals by level	$696,284,861	$15,001,303	$4,371,839
		Valuation inputs
Other financial instruments:	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3
Forward currency contracts	$—	$(93,000)	$—
Futures contracts	9,855	—	—
Totals by level	$9,855	$(93,000)	$—
* Common stock classifications are presented at the sector level, which may differ from the fund's portfolio presentation.
During the reporting period, transfers within the fair value hierarchy, if any (other than certain transfers involving non-U.S. equity securities as described in the Security valuation note above), did not represent, in the aggregate, more than 1% of the fund's net assets measured as of the end of the period. Transfers are accounted for using the end of period pricing valuation method.
At the start and close of the reporting period, Level 3 investments in securities represented less than 1% of the fund's net assets and were not considered a significant portion of the fund's portfolio.
Fair Value of Derivative Instruments as of the close of the reporting period
	Asset derivatives	Liability derivatives
Derivatives not accounted for as hedging instruments under ASC 815	Fair value	Fair value
Foreign exchange contracts	$—	$93,000
Equity contracts	62,657	—
Total	$62,657	$93,000
The volume of activity for the reporting period for any derivative type that was held at the close of the period is listed below and was based on an average of the holdings of that derivative at the end of each fiscal quarter in the reporting period:
Futures contracts (number of contracts)		7
Forward currency contracts (contract amount)		$22,800,000
Warrants (number of warrants)		510,000

	The following table summarizes any derivatives, repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements, at the end of the reporting period, that are subject to an enforceable master netting agreement or similar agreement. For securities lending transactions, if applicable, see note "(AFF)" above, and for borrowing transactions associated with securities sold short, if applicable, see the "Short sales of securities" note above.
		Bank of America N.A.	JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A.	Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc.	UBS AG	Total
	Assets:
	Futures contracts§	$—	$—	$—	$—	—
	Forward currency contracts#	—	—	—	—	—
	Total Assets	$—	$—	$—	$—	$—
	Liabilities:
	Futures contracts§	—	—	1,250	—	1,250
	Forward currency contracts#	28,037	45,422	—	19,541	93,000
	Total Liabilities	$28,037	$45,422	$1,250	$19,541	$94,250
	Total Financial and Derivative Net Assets	$(28,037)	$(45,422)	$(1,250)	$(19,541)	$(94,250)
	Total collateral received (pledged)##†	$—	$(45,422)	$—	$—
	Net amount	$(28,037)	$—	$(1,250)	$(19,541)
†	Additional collateral may be required from certain brokers based on individual agreements.
#	Covered by master netting agreement.
##	Any over-collateralization of total financial and derivative net assets is not shown. Collateral may include amounts related to unsettled agreements.
§	Includes current day's variation margin only, which is not collateralized.  Cumulative appreciation/(depreciation) for futures contracts is represented in the tables listed after the fund's portfolio.
	For additional information regarding the fund please see the fund's most recent annual or semiannual shareholder report filed on the Securities and Exchange Commission's Web site, www.sec.gov, or visit Putnam's Individual Investor Web site at www.putnaminvestments.com

Item 2. Controls and Procedures:

(a) The registrant's principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded, based on their evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report, that the design and operation of such procedures are generally effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the registrant in this report is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Commission's rules and forms.

(b) Changes in internal control over financial reporting: Not applicable

Item 3. Exhibits:

Separate certifications for the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the registrant as required by Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, are filed herewith.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Putnam Variable Trust

By (Signature and Title):

/s/ Janet C. Smith
Janet C. Smith
Principal Accounting Officer
Date: May 26, 2017

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

By (Signature and Title):

/s/ Jonathan S. Horwitz
Jonathan S. Horwitz
Principal Executive Officer
Date: May 26, 2017

By (Signature and Title):

/s/ Janet C. Smith
Janet C. Smith
Principal Financial Officer
Date: May 26, 2017