Title XXI, Motor Vehicles

No person shall have in his possession a motor vehicle master key except for the following: I. Motor vehicle dealers registered under RSA 261:104. II. Garage mechanics, parking lot attendants or others engaged in the business of repairing, storing or maintaining physical security…

No person shall purchase, print, circulate, distribute, sell, or offer for sale advertising or publications containing advertisements promoting the sale of master keys as defined herein except in connection with trade publications or other advertisements intended primarily for th…

Any person who violates the provisions of RSA 262:13 and 14 shall be guilty of a class B felony if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person.

I. Any person who shall make, cause to be manufactured or issued, or shall display, use, offer for sale, possess, sell or alter an unofficial inspection sticker or an unofficial vehicle registration validation decal with intent to defraud or facilitate a fraud shall, if a natural…

The director and such employees of the department, and peace officers as he shall designate, are hereby authorized to take possession of any certificate of title, registration or license issued by this or any other state, which has been revoked, cancelled, or suspended, or which …

I. A person is guilty of an offense if: (a) He changes, tampers with or defaces, or attempts to change, tamper with or deface, any gauge, dial, or other mechanical instrument, commonly known as an odometer or an hour meter in a motor vehicle, highway building appliance, snowmobil…

It is hereby declared to be the policy of New Hampshire: I. To provide maximum safety for all persons who travel or otherwise use the ways of the state; and II. To deny the privilege of driving motor vehicles on such ways to persons who by their conduct and record have demonstrat…

I. When the director determines that any person is an habitual offender within the meaning of RSA 259:39, the director shall issue an order requiring that person to appear for a hearing to show cause why he or she should not be barred from driving a motor vehicle upon the ways of…

I. A peace officer who learns of the theft of a vehicle not since recovered, or of the recovery of a vehicle whose theft or conversion he knows or has reason to believe has been reported to the department, shall forthwith report the theft or recovery to the department. II. An own…

No license to drive motor vehicles in New Hampshire shall be issued to an habitual offender: I. Until such time as the period of revocation imposed pursuant to RSA 262:19, III has been served; II. Until such time as financial responsibility requirements are met, or until the comm…

I. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive any motor vehicle on the ways of this state while an order of the director or the court prohibiting such driving remains in effect. If any person found to be an habitual offender under the provisions of this chapter is convicted of …

Upon the expiration of the revocation period imposed pursuant to RSA 262:19, III, or under conditions established by the commissioner pursuant to RSA 262:19, VI, such person may petition the director for restoration of his license to drive a motor vehicle on the ways of this stat…

An appeal to the superior court of Merrimack county may be had from any final action or order of the director pursuant to this chapter within 30 days of the date of the final action or order. All findings of the director upon all questions of fact properly before him shall be dee…

Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as amending, modifying or repealing any existing law of New Hampshire or any existing ordinance of any political subdivision relating to the driving or licensing of vehicles, the licensing of persons to drive vehicles or providing pe…

I. Other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, a police officer making an arrest for a traffic violation shall issue a citation as appropriate to any motorist who is a resident of or holds a license issued by a reciprocating state and shall not, subject to the except…

I. Upon receipt of a court notification pursuant to RSA 262:27, III, the department shall transmit a certified copy of said notification to the official in charge of the issuance of licenses in the reciprocating state in which the nonresident resides or by which he is licensed. I…

I. This section shall apply only to persons who display drivers' licenses issued by the United States Department of State to a law enforcement officer, or who otherwise claim immunities and privileges under Title 22, Chapter 6 of the United States Code with respect to violations …

The director is authorized and directed to execute all documents and perform all other acts necessary to enter into and carry out the provisions of the nonresident violator compact.

A person who knowingly makes a false report of the theft or conversion of a vehicle to a police officer or to the director shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person.

Any person who repossesses a motor vehicle, as defined in RSA 259:87-a, shall notify, within 2 hours after the repossession, a police officer of the town or city where the act of repossession occurred of the fact of the repossession and the name, address and telephone number of t…

I. Entry into the compact shall be made by a resolution of ratification executed by the director and submitted to the chairman of the board of compact administrators. II. The effective date of entry shall be specified by the director, but it shall not be less than 60 days after n…

An authorized official may take a vehicle into his or her custody and may cause the same to be taken away and stored at some suitable place only as provided in this subdivision.

In the event the state police in the interest of public safety and pursuant to applicable statutes and rules, including but not limited to clearing roads and entrances of disabled or abandoned vehicles, seeks to tow any vehicle, the tow company responsible for removal and storage…

An authorized official may cause the removal and storage of a vehicle if he has reasonable grounds to believe that: I. A vehicle has been left unattended on the paved portion of a toll road, turnpike, or interstate and defense highway for a period of greater than 4 hours; II. A v…

I. Upon satisfying the requirements of RSA 262:32, such vehicle may be removed and stored in a suitable place, and all reasonable charges incurred as a result of such removal and storage shall be a lien against the vehicle which shall be paid by the owner, custodian, or person cl…

Whenever an authorized official or the owner or person in lawful possession of private property directs the removal and storage of a vehicle as permitted in this subdivision, he or she shall, if he or she knows or is able to ascertain from the registration records of the division…

No custodian shall be liable for damages to such vehicle while it is in his or her custody, providing due care is exercised to prevent negligent acts.

I. All fees charged for the removal and storage of any vehicle caused to be removed by an authorized official pursuant to RSA 262:32 or RSA 262:40-a shall be reasonable, and may reflect market variables, including, but not limited to, distance traveled to and from the storage fac…

I. This section shall apply to any tow of a motor vehicle performed at the direction of a law enforcement officer within the state. This section shall not apply to any tow conducted pursuant to a private property agreement, municipal contract, or municipal ordinance. II. An invoi…

I. If the owner of a motor vehicle removed or stored pursuant to RSA 262:33 or RSA 262:40-a does not claim the vehicle within 20 days, and the vehicle is more than 5 model years old at the time of removal, the storage company may dispose of such vehicle after giving notice pursua…

If the vehicle shall have been stored pursuant to this subdivision and all the requirements of RSA 262:36-a have been met, the custodian of the vehicle may sell the same, at the custodian's place of business at public auction, for cash.

The custodian of the vehicle may obtain the name and last known mailing address of the last registered owner of a vehicle stored pursuant to this subdivision, and a law enforcement officer with jurisdiction, upon request of the operator of a tow truck, shall give to the tow truck…

Notice of sale shall be given by posting notices thereof in 2 or more public places in the town or city where the property is stored, at least 14 days before the sale and, if the current retail value of the vehicle exceeds $1,000, as determined in good faith and by a credible met…

The balance of the proceeds of sale, if any, after payment of the amount of the liens and the reasonable expenses incident to the sale, shall be paid to the owner of such vehicle or his legal representative if claimed at any time within one year from the date of sale. If such bal…

In a prosecution for a crime specified in this subdivision, a certified copy of a conviction under RSA 262:1, I is admissible to impeach the credibility of the defendant.

Whenever a vehicle is reasonably believed to have been used in connection with a criminal offense, and a peace officer has ordered the removal and impoundment of such vehicle, the custodian of said vehicle shall release it upon authorization of the removing agency or a court of c…

I. The owner or person in lawful possession of any private property or the manager of a state-owned park and ride facility on which a vehicle is parked without permission or is apparently abandoned may: (a) Cause the removal of the vehicle in a reasonable manner provided he or sh…

I. No person shall abandon a motor vehicle, registered or unregistered, on any way or on any property other than his or her own without the permission of the owner or lessee of said property or, in the case of public property, of the police department having jurisdiction over the…

Unless otherwise provided in statute, any person convicted of a violation of any provision of this title, or of any rule made under authority thereof, shall be fined $50 plus penalty assessment for a first offense. For any subsequent offense committed during any calendar year suc…

Except as herein otherwise provided, a complaint against a person for the violation of any provision of this title may be placed on file at the discretion of the court, if the violation appears to have been unintentional, or if no person or property could have been endangered the…

The court shall not place on file, mask, defer imposition of judgment, or allow an individual to enter into a diversion program that would prevent the conviction of a holder of a commercial driver license, or a person required to hold a commercial driver license, in any type of m…

Any person charged with violation of the provisions of any law relative to the use and driving of vehicles, except where the penalty involves imprisonment, may, without personal appearance, appear by counsel or by any citizen of good character in answer to said charge.

Any person charged with a violation of the provisions of title XXI on vehicles, excluding a violation of RSA 263:1-a, RSA 265:79, RSA 265-A:2, RSA 265-A:3, RSA 265:115, RSA 265:117, a speeding offense under RSA 265:60 for which the defendant must appear in court, and any offense …

The penal provisions of this chapter in no way repeal or modify any existing provision of criminal law but are additional and supplementary thereto.

No motor vehicle shall be registered unless it shall have permanently cut, impressed, or embossed on some portion thereof a factory, serial, or vehicle identification number or mark. Any person who shall knowingly have in his possession any motor vehicle from which such number or…

Any person who buys, receives, possesses, sells or disposes of a motor vehicle or an engine for a motor vehicle, knowing that a vehicle identification number of said motor vehicle or engine has been removed, defaced, obliterated, or changed shall be guilty of a misdemeanor; provi…