NEW HAMPSHIRE GUN LAWS
New Hampshire CCW Quick Facts
New Hampshire Pistol License
- New Hampshire CCW License Requirements
- New Hampshire CCW License Application
- New Hampshire CCW License Renewals
- New Hampshire CCW License Fee's
REQUIREMENTS
- Be at least 18 years old
- Give the names and addresses of three references.
- Provide your drivers license number
- Federal Law – Prohibits the following persons
Permit Information
New Hampshire gun laws operate on an Unrestricted" and “Shall Issue” policy, the later being used for reciprocity. There are no laws restricting the age at which a person can carry firearms. A licence is not required to open or conceal carry. For those that require a permit there are separate forms for residents and non-residents. Residents apply to the county sheriff’s office and non-residents to the State Department of Justice.
New Hampshire CCW Dashboard
Concealed Carry License
issued to
Residents
Non-Residents
Policy
Unrestricted
Shall Issue
gun laws
New Hampshire Reciprocity Map
new hampshire
New Hampshire CCW license recognition
New Hampshire Reciprocity List
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming
NON-RESIDENT
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wyoming
You must be a resident of the state they honor for your permit to be valid in New Hampshire
New Hampshire Permit Forms
Download Your Forms
Permitless Carry
Alaska, Arizona, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Vermont and West Virginia have “Permitless Carry.” If you can legally possess a firearm then you may carry it concealed in those states without a Permit/License.
New Hampshire Places Off-Limits
Places Off-Limits
- Courtroom or area used by a court
- Any place where the carrying of firearms is prohibited by Federal Law.
Title 12 § 159:19 Courtroom Security
Places you can carry
- State parks
- State and national forests
- Road side rest areas
- Vehicle
- All areas of the state except those in the Off-Limits section
New Hampshire Gun Laws
The application for a concealed carry permit/license must be processed within 14 days of the application being received.
There is nothing in New Hampshire gun laws that states you must inform a law enforcement officer you have a firearm when approached on official business. We always recommend that you carry photo ID, at all times during which you are in actual possession of a concealed handgun. Although that is not a legal requirement in New Hampshire.
“No Weapons” signs are not mentioned in New Hampshire gun laws. There are no legal penalties for entering a private property or business that has posted these signs. They have no force of law unless they are posted in areas that are mentioned by the law as being off limits.
GunsToCarry recommends that you do not enter a property displaying a “No Weapons” sign whether the law is for or against signage. If asked to leave a property and you refuse to do so then you are breaking the law and put yourself at risk of being charged.
There are no restrictions on vehicle carry. A lot of info on the web regarding vehicle carry pre-dates the new 2017 laws. Below is the latest law that clearly says you can carry in a vehicle.
159:6 License to Carry.
III. The availability of a license to carry a loaded pistol or revolver under this section or under any other provision of law shall not be construed to impose a prohibition on the unlicensed transport or carry of a firearm in a vehicle, or on or about one’s person, whether openly or concealed, loaded or unloaded, by a resident, nonresident, or alien if that individual is not otherwise prohibited by statute from possessing a firearm in the state of New Hampshire.
Open or concealed carry without a permit/license in New Hampshire is legal.
“Yes” or “No” states if you can carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol. Some restaurants may be posted with “NO GUN” signs. Check with the staff if this means just the bar area. If we have indicated a “Yes” then it should be legal to have a meal without drinking alcohol.
You are permitted to carry in state parks, state forests, WMA’s and roadside rest areas
New Hampshire Contacts
New Hampshire State Police
New Permits and Licensing Unit
Hours
Monday – Friday 8:15am – 4pm
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed
Contact
Address 33 Hazen Drive
CityConcord, NH 03305
Phone (603) 223-3873
Email PermitsandLicensing@dos.nh.gov
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Pistol permit no longer need for concealment or open carry, except if residents want reciprocated privilege and if you come within 1000 feet or pass through a school zone. This subject to change if any NH legislation becomes law?
Page needs update. New Hampshire concealed carry permits (although not required, but still issued for reciprocity reasons) are valid for 5 YEARS. Not four. The law was updated in 2017.
Knowing that you can carry in state parks is really helpful. People who want to make sure that they are honoring the rules that laws put in place is helpful. An uncle of mine that is thinking about getting a permit might want to know this for his area.
If he lives in NH, and doesn’t plan to cross another state border with it then no need! We just switched from a permit conceal (10 years valid, $15 to local police and quick background check) to a permit less state. So no matter where he is in the state he is golden. If he wants to jump to a state with the reciprocity laws (a state that recognizes/accepts NH), but they require permit then that’s when he should get one. We are surrounded though! So, really, he would need to fly with the pistol to get to one of… Read more »
I was given a firearm as a gift. Do I need to re-register it under my name to prove that it is mine. What is the correct order of operation for something like this?
If you are in NH there is NO registration for firearms and no paperwork for private sale or gifts
Not in new Hampshire there is no register in NH you just get a gun and carry it it is recommended to take a fire arms course but not required as long as you are able to own it you can carry it or conceal it no permits
No, No one has to know unless you are a felon.
Can someone tell me if I’m a resident of and permitted to carry in NH but don’t have a current CC permit because mine has lapsed but now I don’t need one, if I would need a physical permit to carry in a state with reciprocity with NH? Sorry for the long sentence.
What I mean is for the chance I was stopped by LE.
If you plan to carry in another state that honors NH, get your permit it is only $10
No NH does not require a permit of any kind you can carry concealed or open
Guns are going to be banned in schools and statehouses soon I’m pretty sure, am I wrong? I feel like there should be a permit for having a CCW in places like schools which requires extensive background checks because if someone shoots up the place at least someone can fight back.
It’s required by federal law that if you are 1000 feet or closer to a school you need to have a conceal carry permit issued by a police dept that conducted a background check within the state .
Guns are not allowed on in the House right now, that flip flops depending on whose in control. Comments from the Speaker of the House have been that they will not arrest you for violating this. They’ll just ask you to leave and bring yourself in order with the rules. So that sounds like the same general line of legal logic as private businesses that ban carry. You cannot be arrested for carrying on the grounds, but you can be asked to leave. If you refuse to leave, you can be arrested for trespassing. To be honest, I think that’s… Read more »
Can someone from out of state buy a long gun? What is needed to walk out same day with one? Thank you!
Ya. NH is very laid back with their gun laws. The problem is both Maine and Massachusetts are very strict typically. As a NH resident we have a weird rule that allows us to buy guns in Maine at Kittery Trading Post, and they have a transfer station on the border in NH (an old Uhaul building lol). So this is a weird exception that allows a NH resident to buy in Maine. Otherwise you nees to use a transfer agent from one FFL to another, and that costs money. So if an out of state resident wants to buy… Read more »
NH does no longer require toobtain a CCW permet. Is this correct ?
yes you are corectt
I had to discharge my firearm as a warning shot at an attacker that was on my property no one was injured cops were called and had arrested my attacker but the cops took my gun for papper work they told me my question is is that the real reason they took my gun and can I get it back ?
Yes, they likely took it for evidence as the guy gets charged, so once the investigation is over you should get it back.
“Warning shot,” being a key problem with this post. Warning shots are illegal. It’s not illegal to miss, albeit you’re responsible for the round… but warning shots are a deliberate miss. It’s the legal equivalent of saying, “I decided to take a random shot without a target.”
Now I’m not saying that there aren’t safe ways to do something like that, but I am saying that it’s not technically legal.
I checked with the North Hampton Pa. Sheriff’s Department and they told me that N.H. non resident CCW permits are not valid in Pa. The map here shows they are, this is probably also the case with other states, be careful.
Thanks for letting us know, that was definitely an error and we have corrected it.
The above indicates a non-resident requirement is to be fingerprinted by your resident State Police Department. I’m somewhat confused as there appears to be no such requirement since new legislation was passed in late 2017. There is no mention of it on NH’s Div of State Police website and I found the following “In addition, “[n]o photograph or fingerprint shall be required or used as a basis to grant, deny, or renew a license to carry for a resident or non-resident, unless requested by the applicant.” on other websites including anti-2A websites. Please advise.
Even though NH changed to a permitless state the application process for a CCW permit did not change. You are correct in that they do not mention fingerprints so we have removed that. As we are not from that state we are not a 100% sure about that, hopefully some one can update us on that requirement. Yes we are a bit confused too, you still need to give them a drivers license number on the application form and three references but it does not say anything about a photo being taken. Lastly this page is due for a complete… Read more »
There is NO fingerprint requirement. You do need to put your driver’s license number on the application, and there is NO picture requirement. (I have a non-resident permit)
I am a New Hampshire resident on active duty in MD, but I live southern PA. I obtained my CCW in NH earlier this year because it is recognized in PA. There is NO fingerprinting or photographing. I simply mailed in my application to the Manchester PD. Allowed for processing (about two weeks but can be quicker since permits aren’t required in NH). I went on leave to NH, went to the PD with my license and the $10. Walked out five minutes later. Pretty simple in the Live Free or Die state.
Excellent info . Thank you very much !!
Since NH allows permitless carry shouldn’t it just honor any other state’s permit? In my case I have a a CT resident permit
CT doesn’t honor NH permits. However, NH does honor 26 other states. I don’t believe NH honors Missouri, Vermont and Kansas permits, but they honor ours. I’m curious, when conservatives visit liberal states, they mind their business and probably do a lot of head shaking. But when liberals visit conservative states, they pick it apart and try to make them liberal. Why is that? My house, my rules. Your house, your rules. If I can’t accept your rules, I wouldn’t go to your house. If you can’t accept my rules, you keep coming back, each time trying to change my… Read more »
Because Liberals are intolerant totalitarians. The only way is their way.