New Hampshire Beekeeping Registration and Apiary Law

Under RSA 429, every person who keeps bees in New Hampshire must register their apiary annually with the Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food. The registration supports disease monitoring, particularly for American foulbrood and other regulated pests. The State Apiarist conducts inspections and may quarantine, treat, or destroy infected colonies. Importation of bees, used equipment, and queens requires certification from origin states. While municipalities may apply general nuisance ordinances, the state preempts most substantive regulation of hive management and disease control. Hobbyist and commercial beekeepers alike must comply with registration regardless of local zoning permissiveness.

Failure to register or refusal to permit inspection is a violation under RSA 429:21 with fines, plus potential destruction of infected colonies without compensation.