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New Hampshire Concealed Carry Permit

New Hampshire allows permitless carry for non-prohibited adults 18+. A P/R License is still available and is what other states recognize.

Permitless carry is legal in New Hampshire

A non-prohibited adult aged 18 or older may carry a concealed handgun without a permit (since 2017). CONFIRMED FROM PRIMARY SOURCES. No permit of any kind is required to carry a concealed, loaded handgun in New Hampshire. RSA 159:6, III states verbatim: '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.' RSA 159:4 (the former concealed-carry-without-license offense) was repealed outright by 2017, 1:3, effective Feb. 22, 2017. The NH State Police Permits and Licensing FAQ confirms this in its own words: 'Effective February 22, 2017, NH RSA 159:6 License to Carry was amended to no longer require a resident or non-resident to obtain a license to carry a pistol or revolver concealed. A license to carry a pistol or revolver concealed is now voluntary.' Permitless carry extends to residents, non-residents, and aliens alike. The only condition is that the person not be otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm (see RSA 159:3 for the state felon-in-possession bar, plus federal prohibitions). Age: NH statute sets no minimum age for unlicensed carry; the practical floor of 18 comes from federal 18 U.S.C. 922(x) (handgun possession by persons under 18) and NH's age of majority, not from any NH carry statute -- see minAgeNotes.

Getting the permit anyway is still worth it for most people: other states recognize the permit, not your residency, so without one you generally cannot carry across state lines.

RSA 159:6, III; RSA 159:4 repealed by 2017, 1:3, eff. Feb. 22, 2017 (SB 12)

There are 10 details on this page we could not confirm from a primary source. Read what they are before relying on this.

Requirements at a glance

Permit name Pistol/Revolver License (statutory title: "License to Carry")
Issuing authority Residents: the selectmen of the town, the mayor or chief of police of the city (or a full-time police officer they designate), or the county sheriff for residents of unincorporated places / towns with no police chief. Non-residents: the Director of the NH Division of State Police (NH State Police Permits and Licensing Unit, 33 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03305).
System shall-issue
Minimum age 18 — IMPORTANT CAVEAT: New Hampshire statute sets NO explicit minimum age for the Pistol/Revolver License. RSA 159:6 contains no age provision whatsoever, and the administrative rules (Saf-C 2100) do not add one. I read both official application forms in full -- DSSP 85 (resident) and DSSP 260 (non-resident) -- and neither asks the applicant to attest to any minimum age; they collect date of birth only as identifying information. The figure 18 is therefore a derived floor, not a quoted NH statutory number: it reflects federal 18 U.S.C. 922(x), which generally bars handgun possession by persons under 18, together with NH's age of majority of 18. Separately, RSA 159:12 makes it a misdemeanor to sell, barter, hire, lend or give a pistol or revolver to a minor (with exceptions for parents/grandparents/guardians, supervised firearms training, accompanied hunting, and supervised shooting events) -- but that provision penalizes the transferor, not possession by the minor, and it is not a carry-age rule. Note also that federal law bars licensed dealers from selling a handgun to anyone under 21, so 21 is the practical floor for buying a handgun from an FFL. Finally, the NH State Police reciprocity notice flags that several other states will only honor a NH license if the holder is 21 or older (Arizona, Colorado, Florida, West Virginia are asterisked on NH's own page).
Training required No
State fee $10 initial / $10 renewal — the state's own charge, not the total
Valid for 5 years
Processing time Statutory deadline is 14 days: RSA 159:6, I(b) provides 'The license shall be issued within 14 days after application, and, if such application is denied, the reason for such denial shall be stated in writing.' NOTE A DISCREPANCY: the NH State Police Permits and Licensing FAQ states that applications submitted to the Permits and Licensing Unit (i.e. non-resident applications) 'are processed within 30 days of receipt.' The 14-day figure is the binding statutory deadline; the 30-day figure is the State Police's own stated administrative practice for non-resident applications. RSA 159:6-e gives an aggrieved applicant a right to petition superior court for injunctive relief against a licensing entity that violates the licensing sections, and such petitions get calendar priority.
Fingerprints Not required
Non-resident permit Available

What it actually costs

The state fee is rarely the whole bill. Fingerprinting is usually charged by a private vendor, training is bought from an instructor, and several states add photographs, notarisation or other requirements on top.

State fee $10
Non-resident licence $100 — residents pay $10, non-residents $100
Realistic total $10

RSA 159:6, I(b) sets a single $10 fee for residents that applies to both original and renewal applications — there is no separate renewal rate. No training and no fingerprints are required. Because New Hampshire requires no licence to carry at all, the $10 buys nothing but the document's out-of-state reciprocity value, which is the only reason to hold one.

RSA 159:6, I(b): 'The fee for licenses issued to residents of the state shall be $10, which fee shall be for the use of the town or city granting said licenses; the fee for licenses granted to out-of-state residents shall be $100, which fee shall be for the use of the state.' So: resident $10, non-resident $100 (DSSP 260 instructions confirm '$100.00 (Five Year Permit)'). The statute sets a single fee that applies to both original and renewal applications -- it does not create a separate discounted renewal rate, so renewal is $10 for residents and $100 for non-residents. Ancillary non-resident fees per the NH State Police FAQ: $3.00 for a duplicate license, and $3.00 if you want a reissued license reflecting an address change. Because carry requires no license at all in NH, these fees are entirely optional and are effectively paid only for the license's out-of-state reciprocity value.

What disqualifies you

Where to get the required training

New Hampshire does not publish a central list of certified instructors. Confirm directly with Residents: the selectmen of the town, the mayor or chief of police of the city (or a full-time police officer they designate), or the county sheriff for residents of unincorporated places / towns with no police chief. Non-residents: the Director of the NH Division of State Police (NH State Police Permits and Licensing Unit, 33 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03305). that a course will be accepted before you pay for it.

Training providers in New Hampshire

Businesses in our directory that offer firearms training. These are not state-verified as certified permit instructors — check against the official list above, or ask the provider directly.

All firearms training in New Hampshire →

Reciprocity

Carrying into New Hampshire

New Hampshire publishes no recognition list, because it does not need one: a non-prohibited adult may carry here without any permit, visitor or resident. Your home-state permit is neither required nor relevant while you are in New Hampshire.

30 jurisdictions honor a New Hampshire permit

Derived from what each of those states officially publishes.

Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Wyoming

Official New Hampshire reciprocity page Full reciprocity matrix →

Building your own in New Hampshire

Build for personal use
Allowed
Serial number required
No

New Hampshire law is SILENT on the personal manufacture of firearms, so it is lawful by default for a person not otherwise prohibited from possessing a firearm. I verified this by pulling the complete section list of RSA chapter 159 and the chapter list of Title XII: there is no section anywhere addressing firearm manufacture, home-built or 'ghost' guns, unfinished frames or receivers, or a serialization/registration mandate. Title XII's firearm chapters are 159 (Pistols and Revolvers), 159-A (Purchase of Shotguns and Rifles), 159-B (Shooting Ranges), 159-C (Sale of Handguns; Criminal Record Check), 159-D (Criminal Background Checks), 159-E (Presidential Executive Orders and Statutory Law Relating to the Right to Keep and Bear Arms), and 159-F (Firearm Purchaser's Privacy) -- none regulates manufacture. NO STATE SERIAL NUMBER OR REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED on a self-made firearm; New Hampshire operates no firearm registry at all. Note carefully what RSA 159:13 (Changing Marks) does and does not do: it prohibits changing, altering, removing or obliterating 'the name of the maker, model, manufacturer's number or other mark of identification on any pistol or revolver' (misdemeanor, with possession of such a firearm being presumptive evidence the possessor did it). That is a defacement offense applying to marks that already exist on a manufactured firearm -- it does not impose an affirmative duty to serialize a firearm you build yourself, which by definition never bore a manufacturer's mark. RSA 159:26 preempts political subdivisions from regulating firearms, firearms components, or firearms supplies, so no NH city or town may impose its own home-manufacture or serialization rule. FEDERAL LAW STILL GOVERNS INDEPENDENTLY and is the real constraint: personal manufacture for one's own use by a non-prohibited person is federally permitted without a license or serial number, but the Undetectable Firearms Act, the National Firearms Act (short-barreled and automatic weapons), and the prohibition on manufacturing for sale/distribution without an FFL all continue to apply, as does ATF Final Rule 2021R-05F where a commercial transaction is involved.

No NH statute on point; permitted by absence of prohibition. Relevant surrounding provisions: RSA 159 (Pistols and Revolvers) generally; RSA 159:13 (Changing Marks); RSA 159:26 (state preemption).

Federal law, gunsmithing schools, and tools →

Statutes

What we could not confirm

  • MINIMUM AGE IS NOT SET BY NH LAW. This is the weakest field in this record. RSA 159:6 contains no age provision, Saf-C 2100 contains none, and neither official application form (DSSP 85, DSSP 260) asks the applicant to attest to a minimum age. The value 18 is DERIVED from federal 18 U.S.C. 922(x) and NH's age of majority, not quoted from any New Hampshire statute or agency page. I could not locate any official NH source stating a minimum age for either the license or for permitless carry. Anyone near the age boundary should contact the issuing town/city or the State Police directly.
  • PROCESSING TIME CONFLICT between two official sources. RSA 159:6, I(b) commands issuance 'within 14 days after application,' while the NH State Police Permits and Licensing FAQ says applications to that unit 'are processed within 30 days of receipt.' I did not find an official reconciliation. The most likely reading is that the 14-day statutory deadline binds and the 30-day figure describes actual State Police practice for non-resident applications, but I could not confirm that from a primary source that addresses the discrepancy head-on.
  • RENEWAL FEE is inferred, not separately stated. RSA 159:6 sets one fee ($10 resident / $100 non-resident) without distinguishing original from renewal applications, and the forms use a single 'Original / Renewal' checkbox with no separate fee schedule. I found no official source quoting a distinct renewal price, so I carried the same amount forward.
  • APPLICATION PDFs WERE READ FROM WAYBACK MACHINE ARCHIVE COPIES, not fetched live. The live host (dos.nh.gov / nhsp.dos.nh.gov) returns HTTP 403 to non-browser clients, so DSSP 85 and DSSP 260 could not be downloaded directly. The copies I read are the Rev. 03/17 versions at the exact filenames the live official page still links to today. Risk of staleness is low because RSA 159:6, I(b) statutorily freezes the form's content ('The form shall require no more information than was required on ... form DSSP 85, as revised in December 2009'), but I did not byte-verify the currently served files.
  • VALIDITY PERIOD IS A FLOOR, NOT A FIXED TERM. RSA 159:6 says the license runs 'not less than 5 years from the date of issue' and that renewal 'shall take place within the month of the fifth anniversary of the license holder's date of birth following the date of issuance.' Saf-C 2100 states expiration is whichever is LATER of five years from issuance or the last day of the month of the fifth birthday anniversary. Actual validity can therefore exceed five years by up to roughly a year depending on birth date. I recorded 5 as the nominal term.
  • HOME MANUFACTURE IS ESTABLISHED BY ABSENCE OF PROHIBITION, not by an affirmative permissive statute. I confirmed the absence by reviewing the complete RSA 159 section list and the Title XII chapter list, but a negative finding is inherently weaker than a positive citation. I did not run a full-text search across the entire NH RSA corpus for terms like 'serial number' or 'unfinished frame' because the General Court site's full-text search was not reachable through my tooling (the RSA index page returned empty and my web-search quota was exhausted). A provision tucked into an unrelated title cannot be completely ruled out, though NH's strong preemption statute and the structure of Title XII make it unlikely.
  • RECIPROCITY 'honors' IS DELIBERATELY EMPTY AND MUST NOT BE RENDERED AS 'New Hampshire honors no states.' New Hampshire publishes no inbound recognition list because permitless carry makes any visitor's permit legally unnecessary. If your renderer displays honors as a count or a map layer, this state needs special-case handling driven by permitlessCarry.allowed rather than by the honors array.
  • I could not reach any NH Attorney General / Department of Justice page on firearms carry to cross-check the State Police's characterization of the law. The statutory text is unambiguous on the permitless-carry point, so this does not affect the critical fields, but a second official voice would have been preferable.
  • The NH State Police reciprocity page itself disclaims accuracy ('The Department of Safety does not make any warranty, express or implied, concerning the accuracy of the information'), so even the outbound list I read live carries an official caveat and should not be treated as authoritative for travel planning.
  • Whether a NH-issued license remains obtainable by a person under 21 in practice varies by issuing town or city, since residents apply locally to selectmen or a police chief rather than to a single statewide agency. I found no statewide data on local practice.

Sources