New Hampshire Firearm Law: Other Topics

Overview

This section covers New Hampshire firearm topics that do not fit neatly into a single dedicated section. It includes civil immunity for justified force, the general criminal statutes used to punish firearm misuse, law-enforcement and military exemptions, antique firearms, the hunting overlay, federal-license and NFA special cases, state preemption of local gun rules, and emergency-powers protections. Every statute below has been checked against its text. New Hampshire is a constitutional-carry state, so most of these rules apply to carry by any non-prohibited adult, with or without a license, under RSA 159:6, III.

Civil immunity: RSA 627:1-a

RSA 627:1-a (Civil Immunity) provides that a person who uses force in self-protection or protection of others under RSA 627:4, in protection of premises and property under RSA 627:7 and RSA 627:8, in law enforcement under RSA 627:5, or in the care or welfare of a minor under RSA 627:6, and whose use of force is justified, is immune from civil liability for personal injuries sustained by the perpetrator that were caused by that use of force.

The statute goes further than a bare immunity rule. It directs that in a civil action brought by or on behalf of a perpetrator against the person who used justified force, the court shall award the person reasonable attorney's fees and costs, including expert witness fees, court costs, and compensation for loss of income. The immunity is tied to the underlying justification under RSA Chapter 627. There is no separate statutory pre-trial immunity hearing of the kind some other states use; the justification is established under the Chapter 627 rules.

Criminal statutes used for firearm misuse

New Hampshire has no general "unlawful carry" crime, because constitutional carry removed the licensing baseline. Misuse of a firearm is instead prosecuted under generally applicable criminal statutes. The labels and penalty levels below are taken directly from the statute text.

• RSA 631:3 (Reckless Conduct). A person is guilty of reckless conduct by recklessly engaging in conduct that places or may place another in danger of serious bodily injury. It 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. The statute also states that the act of displaying a firearm does not, by itself and without additional circumstances, constitute reckless conduct.
• RSA 631:4 (Criminal Threatening). This covers placing or attempting to place another in fear of imminent bodily injury, and several related threat offenses. It is a class B felony if the person uses a deadly weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V in the violation, or violates the bomb-threat provision; all other criminal threatening is a misdemeanor. The statute also protects a person who displays a firearm or other means of self-defense to warn away someone making a threat that a reasonable person would view as likely to cause serious bodily injury or death.
• RSA 159:3 (Convicted Felons). A person is guilty of a class B felony if he possesses a pistol, revolver, other firearm, or listed deadly weapon and has a qualifying felony conviction (a felony against the person or property of another, a felony under RSA 318-B, or an equivalent out-of-state or federal controlled-drug felony). The statute confiscates the weapon to the state and provides an affirmative defense where the out-of-state felony would not have been a felony in New Hampshire. The statute text contains no mandatory minimum sentence.
• RSA 159:14 (Exemption). This is not a sales-to-felons prohibition. It is a private-seller exemption: it provides that the chapter does not prohibit an individual who is not licensed and not in the business of selling pistols or revolvers from selling a pistol or revolver to a person licensed under the chapter or to a person personally known to the seller. The prohibition on supplying firearms to felons is handled by RSA 159:3 at the state level and by 18 U.S.C. 922(d) federally.
• RSA 159:15 (Possession of Dangerous Weapon While Committing a Violent Crime). This is a standalone class A misdemeanor, not a sentencing enhancement. A person is guilty if that person uses or employs 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, with "violent crime" defined by reference to RSA 651:5, XIII. It applies to any qualifying violent crime, not only felonies.
• RSA 159:19 (Courthouse Security). No person may knowingly carry a loaded or unloaded pistol, revolver, or firearm, or any other deadly weapon as defined in RSA 625:11, V, whether open or concealed and whether licensed or unlicensed, in a courtroom or an area used by a court. A violation is a class B felony. The statute lets courthouse security secure firearms at the entrance, exempts listed law enforcement and court personnel, and gives an affirmative defense where no notice was posted at each public entrance.
• RSA 644:2 (Disorderly Conduct). This covers hazardous or tumultuous conduct in public, among other things. Disorderly conduct is a misdemeanor if the offense continues after a request by any person to desist; otherwise it is a violation.
• RSA 635:2 (Criminal Trespass). A person commits criminal trespass by knowingly entering or remaining in a place without license or privilege. Refusing to leave private property after the owner or an authorized person personally communicates an order to leave is a misdemeanor under RSA 635:2, III(b)(2). This is the usual charge when someone ignores a posted or communicated no-firearms instruction on private property. Some other criminal trespass is only a violation; it rises to a class B felony for a subsequent offense involving more than $1,500 in damage.
• RSA 644:13 (Unauthorized Use of Firearms). This is a discharge statute, not a storage statute. It makes it a violation to fire or discharge any cannon, gun, pistol, air rifle, or other firearm within the compact part of a town or city without written permission of the chief of police or governing body, and it defines the compact part and lists ceremonial exceptions. New Hampshire has no broad child-access-prevention or negligent-storage firearm statute.
• RSA 639:3 (Endangering Welfare of Child or Incompetent). A person is guilty if he knowingly endangers the welfare of a child under 18 or of an incompetent person by purposely violating a duty of care, protection, or support, or by inducing conduct that endangers the person's health or safety. Most violations are misdemeanors; the statute makes certain enumerated violations a class B felony. There is no firearm-storage subsection, but grossly unsafe handling of a firearm around a child could be charged under this general endangerment statute.
• RSA 641:3 (Unsworn Falsification). A person commits a misdemeanor by making a written or electronic false statement on a form bearing a legally authorized punishability notice, or by making such false statements with intent to deceive a public servant. This can apply to false statements made on a firearm-related application form.

Law enforcement and military exemptions

RSA 159:5 (Exceptions) provides that RSA 159:3 and RSA 159:4 do not apply to:

• Marshals, sheriffs, policemen, and other duly appointed peace and law enforcement officers, and bailiffs and court officers responsible for court security.
• The regular and ordinary transportation of pistols or revolvers as merchandise.
• Members of the armed services of the United States when on duty, and the national guard when on duty.
• Organizations by law authorized to purchase or receive such weapons.
• Duly authorized military or civil organizations when parading, or the members thereof when at, or going to or from, their customary places of assembly.

At the federal level, the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act lets qualified active officers (18 U.S.C. 926B) and qualified retired officers (18 U.S.C. 926C) carry a concealed firearm notwithstanding most state and local law. Both sections still allow private property owners and state or local governments to restrict firearms on their own property, installations, buildings, bases, or parks, and both carry strict eligibility and identification requirements. Neither section covers machineguns, silencers, or destructive devices.

Antique firearms

Federal law defines an antique firearm at 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(16) to include any firearm manufactured in or before 1898, certain replicas, and qualifying muzzle-loading rifles, shotguns, and pistols designed to use black powder and not capable of using fixed ammunition. Under 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(3), the term "firearm" for Gun Control Act purposes does not include an antique firearm. The National Firearms Act uses a parallel exclusion: 26 U.S.C. 5845(a) and 5845(g) exclude antique firearms (manufactured in or before 1898 and similar items) from the NFA definition of "firearm." New Hampshire imposes no additional restrictions specific to antique firearms.

Hunting overlay

Hunting is regulated under RSA Title XVIII (Fish and Game) and Fish and Game Department rules. The points that touch carry law include:

• A hunting or fishing license is required under RSA 214:1, which must be carried while engaged in the activity.
• RSA 207:7 (Hunting from Motor Vehicle, OHRV, Snowmobile, Boat, or Aircraft) prohibits carrying a loaded rifle, loaded shotgun, muzzleloader, or air rifle, or a cocked crossbow, in or on a motor vehicle, OHRV, snowmobile, or aircraft when moving, subject to limited livestock and law-enforcement exceptions.
• RSA 207:7-a (Disabled Persons) creates a narrow exception to RSA 207:7 for qualifying disabled hunters who obtain a special permit to hunt while using a motor vehicle, and even then no loaded firearm may be carried with a cartridge in the chamber or in an attached magazine or clip while the vehicle is in motion.

Carrying a handgun for self-defense while hunting does not require a separate license, because constitutional carry under RSA 159:6, III applies to any non-prohibited adult.

Federal firearm dealers and manufacturers

Anyone engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms must obtain a federal license under 18 U.S.C. 923 and operate under the federal regulations at 27 C.F.R. Part 478. New Hampshire does not require a separate state firearm-dealer or manufacturer license beyond the federal license. Under RSA 159:26, the state has reserved to itself authority over firearm sale, purchase, ownership, and related matters, but the statute preserves a political subdivision's right to apply ordinary zoning ordinances to firearm or knife businesses in the same manner as other businesses, and to act under RSA 207:59.

New Hampshire is home to several well-known firearm manufacturers, including Sig Sauer (headquartered in Newington) and Sturm, Ruger & Co. (Newport). These companies are governed by federal ATF licensure and ordinary state business law; New Hampshire imposes no firearm-specific manufacturer regulation.

National Firearms Act items

NFA-regulated items, defined at 26 U.S.C. 5845 (short-barreled rifles and shotguns, machineguns, silencers, any other weapons, and destructive devices), are registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record under 26 U.S.C. 5841. Each maker, importer, manufacturer, and transferor must register the item, and each transfer must be registered to the transferee.

The NFA tax was changed by the 2025 reconciliation act (Pub. L. 119-21). Under the current text of 26 U.S.C. 5811 (transfer tax) and 26 U.S.C. 5821 (making tax), the tax is $200 for each machinegun or destructive device transferred or made, and $0 for any other NFA firearm transferred or made. Before this amendment, the rate was $200 for most items and $5 for an "any other weapon" transfer. New Hampshire follows federal law on NFA items and imposes no separate state NFA scheme.

State preemption of local gun laws

RSA 159:26 gives the state authority and jurisdiction, to the extent consistent with federal law, over the sale, purchase, ownership, use, possession, transportation, licensing, permitting, and taxation of firearms, firearm components, ammunition, firearms supplies, and knives. Except as specifically provided by statute, no ordinance or regulation of a political subdivision may regulate these matters, and any non-conforming municipal ordinance is null and void. The statute preserves only ordinary zoning of firearm businesses and actions allowed under RSA 207:59 (the Fish and Game preemption, which reserves wildlife management to the state).

Mailing and air travel

Two federal statutes commonly trip up travelers:

• 18 U.S.C. 1715 makes pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on the person nonmailable through the U.S. mail, with narrow exceptions for listed officials and for shipments by or to manufacturers and licensed dealers. This applies to concealable handguns; it does not make long guns nonmailable.
• 49 U.S.C. 46505 makes it a federal crime to have a concealed, accessible dangerous weapon on or about a person boarding or attempting to board an aircraft, or to place a loaded firearm in inaccessible baggage in violation of the rules. Penalties run up to 10 years, and up to 20 years or life where the conduct shows reckless disregard for human life. The statute exempts authorized law enforcement officers and certain others, and it allows transport of an unloaded weapon in checked baggage not accessible in flight when the air carrier is informed. This is the controlling federal statute for carrying a weapon into a secured airport or aircraft area, not the general penalties section at 18 U.S.C. 924.

Federal prohibited-person rules

Carry in New Hampshire is open to any adult not prohibited from possessing a firearm. The federal prohibited categories appear at 18 U.S.C. 922(g) and include, among others, persons convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year, fugitives, and others listed in that subsection. A separate provision, 18 U.S.C. 922(n), makes it unlawful for a person under indictment for a crime punishable by more than one year to ship, transport, or receive a firearm in interstate or foreign commerce; "under indictment" is not part of the 922(g) possession list. Penalties for federal firearm offenses are set out at 18 U.S.C. 924.

Reciprocity is outbound only

RSA 159:6-d (Reciprocity) directs the director of the division of state police to negotiate reciprocal agreements with other jurisdictions to recognize the New Hampshire license issued under RSA 159:6, and to apply at least once every five years to jurisdictions without an agreement to obtain recognition of the New Hampshire license. This statute works in one direction: it is about getting the New Hampshire license recognized elsewhere. It does not control whether New Hampshire recognizes an out-of-state license. New Hampshire allows carry by any non-prohibited adult regardless of license status under RSA 159:6, III, so an out-of-state visitor who is not prohibited may carry here whether or not that visitor holds a license.

Emergency powers and firearms

During a declared state of emergency, the Governor has broad powers under RSA 4:45 and emergency-management powers under RSA 4:47. Both statutes contain an express limit: civil liberties shall on no account be suspended, and neither the United States Constitution nor the New Hampshire Constitution shall be suspended (RSA 4:45, III-a; RSA 4:47, III). These provisions protect constitutional rights during an emergency. The statutes do not, in their text, contain a clause that specifically addresses firearm or ammunition confiscation, so the protection here runs through the general constitutional-rights and civil-liberties language rather than through a firearm-specific anti-confiscation provision.

Summary

New Hampshire's "other" firearm topics center on civil immunity for justified force (RSA 627:1-a), a set of generally applicable criminal statutes that handle firearm misuse (RSA 631:3, RSA 631:4, RSA 159:3, RSA 159:15, RSA 159:19, RSA 635:2, RSA 644:2, RSA 644:13, RSA 639:3, and RSA 641:3), law-enforcement and military exemptions (RSA 159:5; 18 U.S.C. 926B and 926C), antique-firearm and NFA federal rules (18 U.S.C. 921; 26 U.S.C. 5811, 5821, 5841, and 5845), strong state preemption of local gun laws (RSA 159:26; RSA 207:59), and constitutional protections during emergencies (RSA 4:45, III-a; RSA 4:47, III). Reciprocity under RSA 159:6-d runs outbound only, and inbound carry by non-prohibited visitors rests on constitutional carry under RSA 159:6, III.