SR-22 insurance in New Hampshire

In New Hampshire the director may require proof after a DUI conviction — the statute does not make it automatic. When it is required, a waiver is available 3 years after the accident or conviction, if nothing new has been recorded.

What New Hampshire counts as proof

Chapter 264 of the New Hampshire Revised Statutes defines the amount of proof of financial responsibility: ability to respond in damages for liability incurred afterwards, as a result of accidents in New Hampshire, of $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident / $25,000 property damage — 25/50/25. The authority is N.H. Rev. Stat. sec. 264:20.

That is $25,000 for injury to or death of one person, $50,000 for two or more people in one accident, and $25,000 for property. The same section says that whenever proof is required it must be furnished for each vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer the person has registered.

What the policy form adds

A motor vehicle liability policy on a private passenger car registered or garaged in New Hampshire must carry medical payments of at least $1,000 per person, for the driver and passengers, for costs incurred within 3 years of the injury. It must also carry uninsured and hit-and-run motorist cover at least equal to the liability bodily-injury amounts, rising automatically if higher liability limits are bought.

Two routes in, and one of them is discretionary

After a conviction: “may”

On receiving the record of a conviction for one of a listed set of offenses, the director “may suspend” the license and registrations “unless and until such person gives and thereafter maintains proof of his financial responsibility in the future.” The list is:

• driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or narcotic drugs;
• failing to stop and report when involved in an accident;
• homicide or assault arising out of driving;
• a second conviction for excessive speed;
• a second conviction for reckless driving, and other violations the director determines.

The word is “may”. The statute gives the director the power; it does not say every conviction on the list produces a filing. Notice is sent at least 10 days before a suspension takes effect, and a conviction in another state can be acted on the same way.

After an accident: security and future proof

After a reportable accident, the director suspends license and registrations until the driver or owner has furnished security for any judgment and gives and maintains proof of financial responsibility in the future. It does not apply where a liability policy or bond covered the vehicle, or covered the driver's use of vehicles the driver did not own, at the time of the accident.

Three years from the accident or conviction

The waiver provision reads: the department “may waive the requirements of filing proof of financial responsibility and certificates at any time after 3 years' duration from the date of accident involvement or conviction requiring such proof,” provided it has not received further record of a conviction, accident involvement, bail forfeiture, unsatisfied judgment or other evidence requiring the proof to continue. N.H. Rev. Stat. sec. 264:7(II).

The anchor is the accident or the conviction itself, not the date the filing was made or the license restored. The condition is broader than most look-backs on this site: it names accident involvement and unsatisfied judgments as well as convictions.

Two years without a lawsuit

After an accident, if the department has had no written notice that a suit was brought within 2 years of the accident, it may issue a new license and registration — provided the person gives and maintains proof of financial responsibility.

Twenty days' notice on a continuous certificate

Proof for the future is filed as a continuous certificate. Every continuous certificate “shall remain in effect no less than 20 days after written notice is received by the director that said continuous certificate shall be canceled.” A later certificate ends the earlier one on its own effective date, and a replacement vehicle is picked up automatically for a short period around its registration.

What this page does not cover

New Hampshire's DUI penalties, license revocation periods and ignition interlock requirements are in chapter 265-A and related provisions, which this site has not read, so none of them is described here. Whether the director requires proof in a particular DUI case is a decision the notice will show.

A note on sources

The General Court's statute site did not respond to the machine this page was built on, so chapter 264 was read from a published reproduction of the 2025 edition. The General Court's own addresses are printed beside each citation.

Getting a comparable quote in New Hampshire

Check every line of the policy

25/50/25 in liability, $1,000 medical payments, and uninsured-motorist cover at the liability amounts.

One filing per registered vehicle

Proof has to be furnished for each vehicle, trailer or semi-trailer registered in your name.

Count from the accident or conviction

The waiver is available three years from that date if nothing new is recorded.

New Hampshire's clock is compared with every other state's in the filing-period guide.

Common questions about the New Hampshire SR-22