Title XXI, Motor Vehicles

County treasurers shall receive permit fees and issue permits under this chapter to persons residing in unorganized places in any county. Such fees shall be for the use of the county in which such place is situate, except that the county treasurer shall be entitled to receive the…

All permits for registration of vehicles provided for in this chapter shall expire at the same time as is specified for the expiration of the registration of the vehicle for which the permit was issued.

Motor vehicles owned or controlled by residents of this state shall not be taxed.

The amount of the fee for the permit for registration required by RSA 261:42 shall be 1/2 the amount of the registration fee for such vehicle.

All fees received by the department under the provisions of this subdivision shall be credited to the department of transportation for the maintenance of ways.

Each designated city official and town clerk shall keep an account of the money received by him or her for vehicle permit fees collected. The clerk or official shall remit all fees collected to the town or city treasurer, or to the treasurer's designee as provided by RSA 41:29, V…

Upon the death of a married resident owner of a motor vehicle registered in this state, said motor vehicle, if used for family purposes, shall be deemed to have been jointly held property with right of survivorship unless otherwise designated on the certificate of title, and the …

I. Any person who knowingly attaches or permits to be attached to a vehicle a number plate assigned by the department, or authority of any other jurisdiction, to another vehicle or who knowingly obscures or permits to be obscured the figures or letters on any number plate attache…

No person shall photograph, photostat, counterfeit, duplicate, or in any manner reproduce or display any number plate or a facsimile of any number plate in such a manner that it could be mistaken for an official number plate issued by the department, or possess any such photograp…

I. Upon any evidence of misuse of registration or any violation of the provisions of this chapter or any rules authorized by law the director may: (a) After a hearing and upon a finding that a dealer, utility dealer, automotive recycling dealer, transporter, or repairer has viola…

The director, upon evidence satisfactory to him that the owner of a vehicle is permitting or has permitted the same to be driven in violation of any of the provisions of this title, or has made any false statement in the application for registration, may suspend the registration …

The director may suspend any registrations issued to a person who has been convicted of violating RSA 262:40-c or who has been found by the director to have abandoned a vehicle without paying for the costs of removing, storing, and destroying the vehicle. The director may refuse …

In the case of a transfer of a motor vehicle under RSA 261:17 any lien on the motor vehicle shall be automatically continued. The fee for issuance of a certificate of title under RSA 261:17 shall be as provided in RSA 261:20.

I. No person shall register any type of motor vehicle in this state while his license is under revocation or suspension for any of the reasons listed in paragraph III of this section. Any person who registers a vehicle while his license is under suspension or revocation for any r…

The director is authorized to suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the registration or permit of a commercial motor vehicle if the commercial carrier responsible for safety has been prohibited from operating by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

The division may deny registration of a commercial motor vehicle if the applicant fails to disclose material information required or if the applicant has made a materially false statement on the application, or the applicant has applied as a subterfuge for the real party in inter…

I. An application for a certificate of title shall be accompanied by the required fee when mailed or delivered to the department. II. An application for the naming of a lienholder or his assignee on a certificate of title shall be accompanied by the required fee when mailed or de…

I. Decals shall be made of nonreflectorized material and manufactured to maintain their visibility for a minimum of 36 months. II. Decals shall include a unique sequence number. III. The department of military affairs and veterans services, division of veterans services may issue…

I. Decals shall be made of nonreflectorized material and manufactured to maintain their visibility for a minimum of 36 months. II. Decals may only be placed on multi-use decal plates issued pursuant to this chapter. III. Except for decals issued by city or town fire chiefs to fir…

No motor vehicle may be registered in this state, except those exempted pursuant to the provisions of RSA 261:3, unless a certificate of title shall be issued and in force relative to the same pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 261:2 and RSA 261:148, no person shall register a motor vehicle exempted under RSA 261:3, I(k) in this state without first providing a previously issued, current or expired New Hampshire certificate of registration, a valid New Hampshire or o…

I. The department shall be paid the following fees: [Paragraph I(a) effective until January 1, 2026; see also paragraph I(a) set out below.] (a) For filing an application for a first certificate of title, with or without a lienholder named, $25; [Paragraph I(a) effective January …

I. The department, upon receipt of a properly assigned certificate of title, with an application for a new certificate of title, the required fee and any other documents required by law, shall issue a new certificate of title in the name of the transferee as owner and mail or del…

I. (a) The owner of a facility where any motor vehicle is first crushed, shredded, baled, or sheared shall submit within 30 days to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS), supported by the United States Department of Justice, as required by federal law, an e…

This chapter does not apply to or affect: I. A lien given by statute or rule of law to a supplier of services or materials for the vehicles; II. A lien given by statute to the United States, this state or any political subdivision of this state; III. A security interest in a vehi…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a transaction involving a motor vehicle or a trailer does not create a sale or security interest merely because it provides that the rental price is permitted or required to be adjusted under the agreement either upward or downward by r…

I. Unless excepted by RSA 261:23, a security interest in a vehicle of a type for which a certificate of title is required is not valid against creditors of the owner or subsequent transferees or lienholders of the vehicle unless perfected as provided in this chapter. II. A securi…

If an owner creates a security interest in a vehicle: I. The owner shall immediately execute the application, in the space provided therefor on the certificate of title or on a separate form the director prescribes, to name the lienholder on the certificate, showing the name and …

I. A lienholder may assign, absolutely or otherwise, his security interest in the vehicle to a person other than the owner without affecting the interest of the owner or the validity of the security interest, but any person without notice of the assignment is protected in dealing…

I. Upon the satisfaction of a security interest in a vehicle for which the certificate of title is in the possession of the lienholder, he shall, within 10 days after demand and, in any event, within 30 days, execute a release of his security interest, in the space provided there…

A lienholder named in a certificate of title shall, upon written request of the owner or of another lienholder named on the certificate, disclose any pertinent information as to his security agreement and the indebtedness secured by it.

The method provided in this chapter of perfecting and giving notice of security interests subject to this chapter is exclusive. Security interests subject to this chapter are hereby exempted from the provisions of law which otherwise require or relate to the filing of instruments…

Multi-use veterans decal plates shall be issued only to those veterans defined in RSA 21:50, I. Additionally, an individual shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the director of the division of veteran's services that he or she was a member of a specific branch of service or w…

I. No certificate of title need be obtained for: (a) A vehicle owned by the United States or owned or operated by the New Hampshire National Guard; (b) A vehicle owned by a manufacturer or dealer and held for sale, even though incidentally moved on the highway or used for purpose…

I. Organizations that have statutory authority to issue decals (i) shall have been granted and continue to hold tax exempt status under 26 U.S.C. section 501(c)(3), 501(c)(8), or 501(c)(10) to participate in the multi-use decal number plate program, (ii) shall have a New Hampshir…

I. In this section, "family member" means spouse, grandfather, grandmother, father, stepfather, adoptive mother, adoptive father, son, daughter, stepson, stepdaughter, adoptive son, adoptive daughter, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, stepbrother, or stepsister. II. A f…

I. A city or town fire chief may issue a firefighter decal to a full-time or volunteer firefighter employed by the city or town or a retired firefighter. A firefighter decal may only be placed on the multi-use decal plate of a motor vehicle registered and owned or leased by the f…

The University of New Hampshire Foundation is authorized to issue decals under this chapter.

A family member of a person killed while on duty in the United States armed forces shall qualify for a gold star family decal as outlined in RSA 261-C:3-a.

I. The department shall suspend or revoke a certificate of title, upon notice and reasonable opportunity to be heard in accordance with RSA 260:6, if it finds that: (a) The certificate of title was fraudulently procured or erroneously issued, or (b) The vehicle has been scrapped,…

The director shall: I. Prescribe and provide suitable forms of applications, certificates of title, notices of security interests and all other notices and forms necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter; II. Make necessary investigations to procure information requir…

A vehicle title and registration recovery fee charged to customers by a company engaged in the rental of motor vehicles shall be fully disclosed to the customer by being separately stated and identified on the rental agreement.

RSA 261:1 to 31 inclusive do not apply to a previously registered vehicle until: I. There is a change of registration by reason of a sale for consideration; or II. The department issues a certificate of title for the vehicle.

If the director is not satisfied that there are no undisclosed security interests, created before September 1, 1968, in a previously registered vehicle, he may, in addition to his options under RSA 261:10, issue a distinctive certificate of title of the vehicle containing the leg…

A security interest in a previously registered vehicle for which no certificate of title or application for a certificate is required is perfected by the delivery to the department of a notice of security interest in the form the director prescribes and the required fee. It is pe…

If a security interest in a previously registered vehicle is perfected under any other applicable law of this state on September 1, 1968, the security interest continues perfected until its perfection lapses under the law under which it was perfected.