New Hampshire Criminal Records

Pick a history response or a particular court file

New Hampshire State Police maintain criminal-history record information, while the Judicial Branch maintains records of court proceedings. Use the history route for a state criminal-history response; use the hearing court for an order, charge disposition or certified copy from one case. A police incident report, jail status and court judgment are different records and should not be treated as substitutes for one another.

RSA 106-B:14 allows a person to obtain their own history for a fee and allows public criminal-history information on another person. Public information is not the same as every confidential entry. For employment or licensing, the statute identifies State Police public history as the official certified source; the agency asking for the check may instead require a specifically authorized fingerprint process.

Prepare a personal State Police request

The repository rules identify DSSP 256 for a personal request: Section I for an in-person self-request, Sections I and II for a mailed request. The listed destination is Department of Safety, Division of State Police, Criminal Record Repository, 33 Hazen Drive, Concord, NH 03305. The standard rule-based fee is $25 even if no record is returned.

Use your full identifying details, aliases or maiden name, birth date and the form’s requested physical and license information. The official-hosted form directs mailed applicants to complete the authorization section, obtain its notarization and include a self-addressed envelope; it names State of NH – Criminal Records as check payee. For your own arrest history as well as convictions, say so explicitly: Saf-C 5703.09 makes that a separate request.

Resolve the older form language before a third-party request

There is an important distinction in the official material. The older DSSP 256 instructions describe consent and notarization broadly, but the current text of RSA 106-B:14 says the division cannot require notarization before releasing public history on another person under I(c)(1). Do not apply the old form’s blanket wording to every public request or assume it grants access to confidential history.

Ask the Criminal Records Unit at 603-223-3867 which current public-history route fits your request and whether a special statutory authorization applies. The rules provide that contact for forms. A live processing-time commitment was not verified for an ordinary request, so obtain the present turnaround and delivery method from the unit before arranging a deadline around it.

For a required check, use the agency’s program

New Hampshire’s OPLC instructions direct applicable NH-only license checks through the Department of Safety Criminal Records Portal and describe a $25 online card payment. This does not establish a universal price for every state-and-FBI check. Start with the employing or licensing agency’s requirement, including which agency must receive the result.

For participating fingerprint programs, the State Police portal lets applicants schedule and pay for a LiveScan appointment. Prepare names and aliases, birth date, email and phone, and select the receiving agency carefully: the instructions say that agency cannot be changed after payment. Bring valid photo identification and the confirmation to the appointment. Results go electronically to the selected agency; poor prints or record research can delay them.

Find the case, then request the document

The Judicial Branch’s Case Access Portal distinguishes public case information from document access approved for a party or attorney. A public summary does not mean the full file is downloadable. Preserve the court, full case number, defendant and date, then ask that court for the particular public disposition or certified order needed. For a court-record problem, the portal guide lists 1-855-212-1234.

If you need staff to search without a case number, the Judicial Branch directs you to its Record Research and Billing Form, NHJB-2798-DFS, with a request for each court location and the appropriate fee. Mail to NH Judicial Branch Administrative Offices, Central Processing Center, 1 Granite Place, Suite N400, Concord, NH 03301. The guide names NHJB Central Processing Center as check payee. Verify the current fee chart before paying; this is separate from the $25 State Police search.

The same guide says that going to the court with the case number to review its file does not require a record-search fee. Copies and certification are separate needs: identify the exact document, explain the recipient’s requirement and ask the clerk for the applicable charge and delivery option. Court access rules still apply to confidential material.

Challenge an incorrect entry with specific evidence

For a personal CHRI challenge, Saf-C 5703.12 calls for identification of the disputed portion, your proposed correct version and the reason it is correct. The rules describe repository review with the submitting agency or court within 30 days, correction and notifications if valid, and notice of appeal rights if invalid. Keep the questioned response and supporting court document together.

Separate a wrong-person match from a missing disposition or a request to annul a conviction. A record request alone does not change a court judgment. The DSSP 256 warning says repository history depends on what agencies report and may be incomplete; therefore a no-record response or a limited public search cannot prove the absence of every possible case.