New Hampshire has no statute that explicitly prohibits carrying a firearm under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There is no NH equivalent to the...
Reviewed by Will Luker, Founder of CCW Hub. USCCA Training Counselor, USCCA Certified Instructor, NRA Certified Instructor, Law Enforcement.
New Hampshire has no statute that explicitly prohibits carrying a firearm under the influence of alcohol or drugs. There is no NH equivalent to the "CCW DUI" statutes that some states use to criminalize possession of a concealed firearm with a blood-alcohol concentration above a stated threshold.
That absence is not a green light. A NH carrier who handles or carries a firearm while intoxicated still faces real exposure: several generally applicable criminal statutes, a weakened self-defense justification, federal prohibited-person law tied to drug use, and civil and insurance consequences.
RSA Chapter 159 (Pistols and Revolvers) does not address carrying while intoxicated. The closest weapons-specific provision is RSA 159:15 (Possession of Dangerous Weapon While Committing a Violent Crime), which makes it a class A misdemeanor to use or employ a slung shot, metallic knuckles, billies, or other deadly weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V during the commission or attempted commission of a violent crime. That statute punishes weapon use tied to a separate violent crime. It does not address ordinary carry by an intoxicated person, and it does not set any intoxication threshold.
RSA 631:3 (Reckless Conduct) makes a person guilty of reckless conduct if he recklessly engages in conduct which places or may place another in danger of serious bodily injury. Under RSA 631:3, II, reckless conduct is a class B felony if the person uses a deadly weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V. All other reckless conduct is a misdemeanor.
An intoxicated person who handles a firearm in public, in a crowded space, or in any setting where the intoxication impairs safe handling can be exposed under RSA 631:3. The mental-state standard is "recklessly," meaning the person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the conduct places another in danger.
Note one limit built into the statute. RSA 631:3, V provides that the act of displaying a firearm shall not, in and of itself and without additional circumstances, constitute reckless conduct under this section. Mere display is not automatically reckless conduct, but display combined with intoxication and other circumstances can be.
RSA 644:2 (Disorderly Conduct) provides several bases for liability. Under RSA 644:2, I, a person is guilty if he knowingly or purposely creates a condition which is hazardous to himself or another in a public place by any action which serves no legitimate purpose. Other subsections reach fighting or violent, tumultuous, or threatening behavior in a public place (RSA 644:2, II(a)) and making loud or unreasonable noises and similar breaches of the peace (RSA 644:2, III).
Conduct that combines intoxication with a visible firearm display in a public place can fall within subsection I if a court finds the conduct hazardous and lacking a legitimate purpose. Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor if the offense continues after a request to desist; otherwise it is a violation (RSA 644:2, VI).
RSA 631:4 (Criminal Threatening) has several subsections. The core provision, RSA 631:4, I(a), makes a person guilty when, by physical conduct, the person purposely places or attempts to place another in fear of imminent bodily injury or physical contact. Other subsections address placing objects or graffiti on another's property, or threatening to commit a crime against the property or person of another, with a purpose to coerce or terrorize (RSA 631:4, I(b) through I(d)).
An intoxicated carrier who brandishes a firearm at another person, or otherwise threatens, can be charged. Criminal threatening is generally a misdemeanor, but it becomes a class B felony when the person uses a deadly weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V in the violation of subparagraph I(a), I(b), I(c), or I(d) (RSA 631:4, II(a)(2)). Pointing or displaying a firearm during a threat is exactly the kind of deadly-weapon use that triggers the felony enhancement.
RSA 631:4, IV provides a narrow safe harbor: a person who responds to a threat which would be considered by a reasonable person as likely to cause serious bodily injury or death by displaying a firearm or other means of self-defense, with the intent to warn away the person making the threat, has not committed a criminal act under this section. That safe harbor requires an actual underlying threat that a reasonable person would view as likely to cause serious bodily injury or death. Drunk brandishing with no real underlying threat does not qualify, because the reasonable-person test is not satisfied.
Federal law at 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) makes it unlawful for any person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act, 21 U.S.C. 802) to ship, transport, possess, or receive a firearm or ammunition in or affecting commerce. The ATF has long taken the position that this includes any current user of marijuana, including in states where the use is state-legal, and the Form 4473 transfer questionnaire carries an express warning on this point.
A NH resident who is a current marijuana user and who possesses firearms is in federal jeopardy under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3), regardless of state-law status. New Hampshire has not resolved this conflict by statute. The practical advice many instructors give is to pick one, the firearm or the marijuana, until federal law changes.
RSA 627:4 (Physical Force in Defense of a Person) ties justification to what the actor "reasonably believes." For non-deadly force, RSA 627:4, I requires a reasonable belief in the imminent use of unlawful, non-deadly force. For deadly force, RSA 627:4, II requires a reasonable belief that the other person is about to use unlawful deadly force, is likely to use unlawful force while committing a burglary, is committing or about to commit kidnapping or a forcible sex offense, or is likely to use unlawful force in the commission of a felony within the actor's dwelling or curtilage.
Intoxication does not by itself strip away self-defense, but it complicates the analysis:
The practical reality is that a defendant who used force while intoxicated faces a steeper climb on the justification defense than a sober defendant in identical circumstances.
New Hampshire has no statute that flatly prohibits carry in a bar or other establishment licensed to sell alcohol. The licensee, typically the owner, may exclude armed patrons as a property right. A patron who refuses to leave after being told to do so can be charged with criminal trespass under RSA 635:2, which makes it an offense to knowingly enter or remain in a place when not licensed or privileged to do so.
Even without a bar-specific carry ban, carrying into a place where alcohol is served raises particular risk:
Practical advice from many NH instructors: do not carry while consuming alcohol. If you are going to drink, leave the firearm secured at home or in the vehicle in a lawful parking location.
There is no NH statutory blood-alcohol threshold for carrying a firearm. The reckless-conduct analysis under RSA 631:3 is fact-specific and does not key off a number. Some carriers adopt a personal rule of thumb that if they are too impaired to drive lawfully, they are too impaired to handle a firearm responsibly. That is a personal heuristic, not a NH firearms statute, and the impaired-driving limit lives in the motor vehicle code, not in the weapons chapter.
Most NH ranges and training facilities ban alcohol on the firing line and may remove participants who appear impaired. This is a private-property rule, not a state firearms law. Violation typically results in ejection, and refusing to leave can create criminal trespass exposure under RSA 635:2, not a separate firearms charge.
New Hampshire has no statute that prohibits possessing a firearm at home while drinking. The use-of-force rules under RSA 627:4 continue to apply, and the reasonableness standard for self-defense in the home, including the lack of a duty to retreat within one's dwelling or curtilage under RSA 627:4, III, is unchanged. Practical considerations such as safe storage, secure handling, and awareness of household members matter independently of any statute.
18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3) reaches unlawful users of controlled substances. A patient using a lawfully prescribed medication as directed is generally not an unlawful user under that provision, and NH imposes no separate firearms restriction tied to prescription use. Carriers who take strong medications such as opioids or benzodiazepines should still consider whether the effects on judgment and motor control create reckless-conduct exposure under RSA 631:3 if they carry while impaired by the medication.
New Hampshire has no carrying-under-the-influence statute. The real exposures are: reckless conduct under RSA 631:3, disorderly conduct under RSA 644:2, criminal threatening under RSA 631:4 (a class B felony when a deadly weapon is used), loss of self-defense reasonableness under RSA 627:4 (with intoxication not a standalone defense under RSA 626:4), criminal trespass under RSA 635:2 when a property owner excludes an armed or impaired patron, and the federal bar on possession by unlawful drug users under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(3). The legal flexibility NH gives carriers is not permission to combine carry and intoxication. The practical rule is simple: do not carry while impaired.
This page covers one part of our New Hampshire concealed carry guide.
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