Title XVIII, Fish and Game

I. The operator or owner of any snowmobile shall, when required by any law enforcement officer, submit his or her vehicle to a sound test conducted according to the applicable provisions of RSA 215-C:28. II. The executive director may adopt sound level limits and test procedures …

No person under the age of 18 shall operate any snowmobile within this state without wearing eye protection and protective headgear which meets or exceeds the specifications of FMVSS 218.

The commissioner of the department of cultural and natural resources, as a member of the bureau of trails, shall adopt rules under RSA 541-A relative to: I. The use and control of snowmobile trails, facilities, and lands under bureau control or lease; II. Complete and specific pr…

I. The commissioner of the department of natural and cultural resources, after notice and hearing pursuant to RSA 541-A, may impose an administrative fine not to exceed $250 for each offense upon any person who violates any provision of the department's administrative rules. Rehe…

I. No person shall operate a snowmobile unless it is equipped with: (a) At least one, but not more than 2 headlights, all in working order, when operating at any time during the period from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise. (b) One or more rear taillights, all in …

I. With bylaws or ordinances city or town councils and boards of selectmen may regulate the operation of snowmobiles within city or town limits, providing they do not conflict with provisions of this chapter. II. Speed limits for snowmobiles traveling on the frozen surface of Tur…

I. The provisions of this chapter shall be enforced by all duly authorized representatives of the department of fish and game and by every police and law enforcement officer including, but not limited to, members of the state police, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, policemen, and cons…

I. The court or justice of any court in which a complaint for a violation of any law or any rule adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A, brought by a conservation officer of the New Hampshire fish and game department, is prosecuted shall remit the amount of any fine or forfeiture paid pur…

I. (a) Unless otherwise provided, any person who violates this chapter or any rule relating thereto shall be guilty of a violation. In addition thereto, the operator or owner or both of any snowmobile shall be responsible and held accountable: (1) To the owner of any lands where …

No person shall carry on a snowmobile, or a trailer towed by same, any firearms unless said firearm is unloaded. This section shall not apply to law enforcement officers carrying firearms in the course of duty or to pistols or revolvers carried by any person who is not prohibited…

I. Registration of a snowmobile or OHRV does not constitute a license to operate the vehicle on private land. Any person operating a snowmobile upon the land of another shall stop and identify himself or herself upon the request of the landowner or a duly authorized representativ…

I. A person who conveys to another the ownership of his or her registered snowmobile may register in his or her name another snowmobile for the remainder of that registration year, at a reduced rate of $17.50, provided that the reverse side of the registration form is completely …

The original white registration certificate shall be returned to a snowmobile registration agent completed on the reverse side with the probable date lost; the reason the decals or plates are missing, specifying, for example, lost, destroyed, or stolen; and the signature of the o…

A registration certificate which is lost, stolen, mutilated, or destroyed may be replaced by a duplicate registration, upon payment of a fee of $5 and completion of an affidavit setting forth the circumstances of the loss or destruction of the registration. The duplicate registra…

The fees to be collected under this chapter are as follows: I. Individual resident registration-$143 for each snowmobile registration upon presentation of a valid driver's license issued to a New Hampshire resident 18 years of age or older. An individual resident registering a sn…

I. The use of any frozen surface of any public body of water by the owner or operator of any snowmobile, shall be done at his or her own risk; and any accident resulting shall not be a legal responsibility of any town, city, or the state. The executive director may, in the intere…

All snowmobiles operated in this state by the federal government, the state, or any political subdivision of the state shall be exempt from registration fees; however, such vehicles shall be registered with a permanent plate or set of plates and a certificate, in such a manner as…

I. Any person who is in the business of selling snowmobiles shall be required to be licensed as a dealer with the executive director. The executive director shall assign a distinguishing number to the dealer and issue appropriate plates. The dealer may use the plates for pleasure…

The fish and game department shall provide to snowmobile dealers and rental agents a disclosure statement to inform buyers and renters of snowmobiles of the laws and penalties relative to snowmobile operation, including but not limited to, the need for permission to operate on th…

I. The executive director may allow snowmobiles registered in another state or a Canadian province to operate in this state for up to 3 consecutive days during the winter. A snowmobile which is legally registered to operate in another state or province shall be deemed legally reg…

I. All provisions, including the penalties, suspensions and prohibitions of the New Hampshire financial responsibility law, and the provisions of statutes relative to the operation of a motor vehicle, shall apply to a snowmobile being operated upon a public highway. II. The opera…

I. No person shall operate a snowmobile on land not owned or leased by such person or such person's parent, grandparent, or guardian unless such person: (a) If under 14 years of age, is accompanied at all times by a person at least 18 years of age who has met the conditions of su…

No person shall operate a snowmobile upon any lake or pond being used by ice fishermen closer than 150 feet to any occupied so-called bob-house, fishing shanty, or fishing hole, unless done at a speed in conformity with RSA 215-C:8, III. The provisions of this section shall not a…

I. Any person, organization, or corporation who wishes to operate or to promote any snowmobile or OHRV event or contest involving the use of unregistered snowmobiles and OHRVs shall procure a permit from the executive director. The application for the permit shall be on an annual…

All trails under the jurisdiction of the department of natural and cultural resources so far as possible and consistent with their primary functions, shall be made available for use by snowmobile subject to the fees, and rules as established by the directors of the division of pa…

I. Except as provided in RSA 215-C:9 and RSA 215-C:10, the executive director is authorized to adopt and amend, pursuant to RSA 541-A, such rules and administrative procedures which are consistent with the provisions of this chapter relative to snowmobiles that he or she deems ne…

I. The executive director shall report annually to the registrar of vital records pursuant to RSA 5-C:2 on any deaths or injuries occurring in the state related to the operation of snowmobiles and OHRVs. II. The executive director shall approve snowmobile or OHRV safety training …

If any person shall willfully or maliciously deface, destroy, remove, obstruct, alter or otherwise tamper with any trail sign, marker, posting, or other fixed monument along any trail or on anyone's property, upon conviction he or she shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Further, sa…

I. An owner may post all or any portion of his or her land against use by a snowmobile. Such notices may read "SNOWMOBILES PROHIBITED" or may have in lieu of these words an appropriate sign with the designated symbol of sufficient size to be readable at a distance of 50 feet indi…

The commissioner of the department of natural and cultural resources shall ensure that all sources of funding of the bureau of trails are reflected in the operating budget documents submitted by the department.

I. No person shall operate a snowmobile on any portion of the Rockingham recreational trail west of Route 28 when it is not snow-covered. II. No person shall use the parking lot at the Windham depot along the Rockingham recreational trail during the period from 1/2 hour after sun…

The executive director shall, no later than September 1, 2025, establish any procedures that may be necessary to enable the online payment of both initial and renewal registration fees required or imposed under this chapter.

The provisions of RSA 482-A:3, VIII and IX shall apply, relative to the operation of snowmobiles and mechanized or off highway recreational vehicles.

No person shall knowingly operate a snowmobile on open water, also known as skimming. In this section, "open water" means any area of an inland water body that is free of ice and snow. This section shall not apply to events as permitted pursuant to RSA 215-C:50.

I. It is unlawful to operate any snowmobile during the period from 1/2 hour after sunset to 1/2 hour before sunrise without displaying at least one lighted headlight and one lighted taillight. I-a. (a) The driver of any snowmobile upon approaching, overtaking, or while following …

The provisions of RSA 236:56 shall apply to all snowmobiles as herein defined with the following exceptions: I. Highway crossings for established snowmobile trails may be granted pursuant to RSA 215-C:2, VII. II. No direct crossing of interstate highways, divided highways, or tol…