New Hampshire Ordinances (2026)

New Hampshire RSA 674:71 to 674:73 requires every municipality that allows single-family homes to permit at least one accessory dwelling unit. A 2025 amendment makes one ADU allowed as…

New Hampshire does not require beekeepers to register their hives. Apiary registration with the Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food is voluntary and free. RSA 429 and the Agr…

New Hampshire makes it a violation to knowingly, recklessly, or negligently let your sheep, goats, cattle, horses, swine, or domestic fowl trespass onto another person's improved or…

New Hampshire RSA 207:14 and Fish and Game rules Fis 800 govern possession of exotic and wildlife species statewide. A permit from the Fish and Game Department is required for most…

New Hampshire RSA 644:8 criminalizes animal cruelty including hoarding-type neglect statewide. The statute applies universally across all municipalities, providing uniform definitions…

New Hampshire restricts feeding wildlife: Fish and Game rules prohibit attracting black bears once the department notifies you to stop, and RSA 208:8-b restricts feeding wild deer. The…

New Hampshire RSA 483-B, the Shoreland Water Quality Protection Act, imposes statewide minimum setbacks of 50 feet from public waters that municipalities cannot reduce, regardless of…

RSA 126-K regulates e-cigarettes alongside tobacco, requiring licensed sales, age verification, and packaging standards for vape retailers across New Hampshire.

New Hampshire RSA 126-X licenses a limited number of Alternative Treatment Centers for therapeutic cannabis. State licensing controls dispensary siting in coordination with local…

New Hampshire law prohibits home cultivation of cannabis statewide. Recreational cannabis remains illegal, and the therapeutic cannabis program under RSA 126-X does not authorize…

New Hampshire's RSA 31:43-a to 31:43-g subdivision lets municipalities adopt juvenile curfew ordinances. A town or city that adopts the curfew law (RSA 31:43-a) may set a curfew for…

Recreational drone operation in New Hampshire is governed primarily by FAA regulations under 14 CFR Part 107 and Section 44809, with state-level RSA 207:57 prohibiting drone use to…

RSA 279:21 sets the minimum wage by reference to federal law, currently $7.25, and effectively bars cities or towns from imposing higher local minimums.

New Hampshire RSA 483-B establishes statewide minimum standards for development within 250 feet of public waters, including the Atlantic coast, lakes, ponds, and fourth-order streams…

New Hampshire RSA 485-A:17 and shoreland protection laws require erosion and sediment controls during land disturbance, with NHDES setting uniform best management practices that…

New Hampshire RSA 485-A:17 requires state Alteration of Terrain (AoT) permits from NHDES for projects disturbing 100,000+ square feet, establishing uniform stormwater management…

New Hampshire RSA 473 governs partition fences between adjoining landowners, establishing shared maintenance obligations and a process for fence viewers to resolve disputes statewide.

New Hampshire authorizes sale and use of permissible consumer fireworks under RSA 160-C, but municipalities may further restrict or prohibit them. The state defines what qualifies as…

RSA 227-L:17 requires a written fire permit from the local Forest Fire Warden or Fire Department before kindling any open fire when ground is not snow-covered. The Division of Forests…

RSA 159:6 allows residents and nonresidents to carry concealed loaded firearms without a license, while still offering optional permits for reciprocity.

RSA 159:26 reserves all firearm and ammunition regulation to the state, voiding most local New Hampshire ordinances on guns, knives, and related items.

Under RSA 143-A:4 it is unlawful to operate a food truck in New Hampshire without a food service license issued by the DHHS commissioner. The Division of Public Health Services issues…

New Hampshire lets nonprofits and veterans' groups run licensed "casino night" games of chance, poker, blackjack, roulette, for up to 10 days a year under RSA 287-D, with the Lottery…

RSA 647:2 makes gambling a misdemeanor statewide unless a game falls under a listed exemption. The only carve-out for casual social gambling is a poker game hosted at a private…

New Hampshire legalized sports wagering in 2019 under RSA 287-I, putting the state lottery commission in sole charge of the market. The commission contracts with competitively bid…

New Hampshire condominium associations get a statutory assessment lien under RSA 356-B:46, including a limited 6-month priority over first mortgages. There is no comprehensive…

New Hampshire condominium boards face detailed governance rules: RSA 356-B:37 mandates open annual meetings with notice and member comment, and RSA 356-B:37-e and 356-B:46 give unit…

New Hampshire guarantees the outdoor display of one flag and one flag only: the flag of the United States. RSA 356-B:47-a bars a condominium unit owners' association from prohibiting…

New Hampshire's Condominium Act does not set a fine cap. A condo association's enforcement and rule-making powers flow from its bylaws under RSA 356-B:35, and violations are enforced…

New Hampshire runs two condominium lien regimes at once, split by the date September 10, 1977, and only one of them lets an association foreclose like a mortgage. Under RSA 356-B:46…

New Hampshire places no statutory ceiling on an association's power to prohibit or cap leasing. RSA 356-B contains no rental cap, no minimum lease term, and no grandfathering for…

New Hampshire puts no dollar ceiling on homestead food sales. RSA 143-A:12 as it now stands contains no revenue figure of any kind, and a full text search of the Revised Statutes…

New Hampshire RSA 170-E requires state licensing of family child care homes by the Department of Health and Human Services, establishing uniform health, safety, and capacity standards…

New Hampshire has no microenterprise home kitchen permit, but it does have two real routes to cooking meals for the public in a home kitchen, and both are written into the food service…

New Hampshire allows sobriety checkpoints, but only after a judge has approved the specific one. RSA 265:1-a forbids any law enforcement officer or agency from establishing or…

New Hampshire never enacted a right-to-record law, so the question is answered by its wiretap chapter. RSA 570-A:2, I makes intercepting an oral communication without the consent of…

New Hampshire has no general stop-and-identify offence. RSA 594:2 lets a peace officer stop anyone the officer has reason to suspect of a crime and request a name and address, but it…

RSA 595-A:10 makes a consent search of a motor vehicle lawful in New Hampshire only if the officer first expressly tells the driver four things: that there is a right to refuse, that…

New Hampshire RSA 79 governs timber harvesting statewide through the timber tax system. Landowners must file an Intent to Cut for commercial harvests, and the state preempts…

New Hampshire RSA 231:139-145 governs trimming of shade and ornamental trees within public rights-of-way. Tree wardens have statewide authority, and removal of public shade trees…

The phrase "golf cart" does not appear anywhere in the New Hampshire motor vehicle laws, and there is no provision letting a town designate streets for cart use. The only cart-sized…

New Hampshire RSA 466:31 makes it a violation for any owner to keep a dog that habitually disturbs the peace by barking or howling, with enforcement available statewide regardless of…

New Hampshire RSA 262 governs abandoned vehicles statewide, allowing law enforcement and authorized parties to remove vehicles left on public ways or private property without consent…

New Hampshire sets no dollar limit on a hookup, mileage or storage charge. RSA 262:35-a, I requires only that every fee for a tow ordered by an authorized official or taken from…

New Hampshire requires a written notice to quit before eviction. RSA 540:3 sets 7 days' notice for nonpayment of rent and the most serious grounds, and 30 days for other reasons. For…

New Hampshire recognizes an implied warranty of habitability in every residential lease under Kline v. Burns, 111 N.H. 87 (1971). RSA chapter 48-A backs this with housing standards and…

New Hampshire RSA 540:2 establishes statewide just-cause eviction requirements. For restricted property, a landlord must prove one of the eight enumerated grounds in RSA 540:2, II(a)…

New Hampshire sets no specific number of hours or days of advance notice for landlord entry. RSA 540-A:3, V prohibits a landlord from willfully entering without prior consent except…

A New Hampshire landlord ends a month-to-month tenancy with a 30-day notice to quit under RSA 540:3, and on "restricted property" must also have good cause under RSA 540:2. Tenants…

New Hampshire has no rent control and no standalone rent-increase notice statute. RSA 540:2, II(e) ties an increase to eviction "good cause": a tenant's refusal to accept an increase…

New Hampshire caps a residential security deposit at one month's rent or $100, whichever is greater. A landlord must return the deposit, plus any interest due, within 30 days after the…

New Hampshire requires 20 years of possession before a squatter can claim land by adverse possession. RSA 508:2, I bars any action to recover real estate "after 20 years" from when the…

New Hampshire limits municipal zoning over agriculture. RSA 672:1, III-b declares agriculture a beneficial use not to be unreasonably limited, and RSA 674:32-a to 674:32-c keep farming…

RSA 432:32 protects established New Hampshire farms from nuisance suits when operations follow generally accepted agricultural practices and predate complainants.

New Hampshire RSA 664:17 establishes statewide rules for political advertising signs, governing placement on public rights-of-way, removal deadlines, and preempting conflicting local…

New Hampshire has never enacted a solar-access law that overrides private covenants. Nothing in RSA 356-B, the Condominium Act, mentions solar, and RSA 356-B:30, I runs the other way…

New Hampshire RSA 155-A adopts the State Building Code requiring solar installations to meet uniform structural and electrical standards. While municipalities issue permits, the…

New Hampshire adopts the International Swimming Pool and Spa Code 2021 as part of its statewide building code under RSA 155-A:1, IV, so every residential pool must be enclosed by a…

RSA 126-K:4 prohibits the sale, gift, or distribution of any tobacco or vape product to persons under 21 years old throughout New Hampshire.

RSA 149-M establishes a statewide solid waste management hierarchy prioritizing source reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting before disposal. The state has set a 40% diversion…

RSA 266:37 lets a New Hampshire vehicle carry no more than 2 spot lamps and no more than 3 auxiliary driving lamps, mounted on the front between 12 and 42 inches above the ground…

New Hampshire never wrote a list of items you may stick to a windshield. RSA 265:95 instead bans driving with any sign, poster, sticker or other nontransparent material upon or…

Lane splitting is expressly illegal in New Hampshire and the ban has no conditions attached to it. RSA 265:121, III says no person shall drive a motorcycle on a roadway between lanes…

New Hampshire outlaws license plate covers by their tint, not by whether the plate can still be read. RSA 261:176, II makes it a violation to apply, or to permit anyone to apply, "any…

The word radar does not appear anywhere in the New Hampshire Revised Statutes. The General Court's own full-text search of the RSAs returns zero sections for radar and zero for radar…

New Hampshire is one of the northern states that never wrote a studded tire season into law. The words "studded," "studs" and "snow tires" return no hits at all in a full text search…

RSA 266:58-a makes it unlawful to sell, inspect, install or drive with after market tinting on the windshield of a vehicle registered in New Hampshire, with one exception: a strip no…