New Hampshire Prohibited Places for Firearms

Why this matters

New Hampshire is a constitutional-carry state under RSA 159:6, III. The optional pistol/revolver license is not required to carry a loaded or unloaded firearm, openly or concealed, by any resident, nonresident, or alien who is not otherwise prohibited by statute from possessing a firearm. Constitutional carry does not override the small number of locations where carry is prohibited by state law, federal law, or the property owner's choice. Carrying into a prohibited place is unlawful even for an adult who is otherwise free to carry anywhere else in the state.

One point worth clearing up: RSA 159:6-d (the reciprocity statute) runs in one direction only. It directs the director of the division of state police to negotiate agreements so that the NH license is recognized in OTHER jurisdictions. It does not make New Hampshire honor incoming out-of-state licenses. New Hampshire does not need to, because the state allows carry by any non-prohibited adult regardless of license under RSA 159:6, III.

State-law prohibited places

Courthouses and courtrooms

RSA 159:19 prohibits any person from knowingly carrying a pistol, revolver, firearm, or any other deadly weapon (as defined in RSA 625:11, V) in a courtroom or area used by a court. The ban covers the weapon whether it is loaded or unloaded, open or concealed, and whether the carrier is licensed or unlicensed. A violation is a class B felony, not a misdemeanor.

The statute defines "area used by a court" broadly. In a building used exclusively as a court, it covers the entire building except the area between the entrance and the security checkpoint. In a mixed-use building, it covers courtrooms, jury assembly and deliberation rooms, conference and interview rooms, judges' chambers, court staff facilities, holding facilities, and the corridors, stairways, waiting areas, and elevators connecting them.

There are limited exemptions in RSA 159:19, IV for law enforcement officers, bailiffs, court security officers, and persons authorized by the court to introduce a weapon into evidence. The statute also gives a posting-based affirmative defense: it is a defense that no notice of the ban was posted conspicuously at each public entrance to the court building.

Practical points:

• Courthouse security personnel may secure firearms at the entrance under RSA 159:19, II.
• Most NH courthouses have visible signage, lockers at the entrance, or security checkpoints with metal detectors.
• The NH Judicial Branch (https://www.courts.nh.gov) maintains a uniform policy on firearms at court facilities.
• A separate court order can independently require a specific person to surrender firearms. See the restraining-orders section below.

Schools

State law does not impose a flat firearms ban on all school grounds in the same blanket form used by some other states. The dominant restriction at K-12 schools is federal: the Gun-Free School Zones Act, 18 U.S.C. 922(q).

The federal GFSZA makes it unlawful to knowingly possess a firearm in a school zone, which is a K-12 school and the area within 1,000 feet of it. The statute contains an exception at 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B)(ii): the ban does not apply to a person licensed to carry by the State in which the school zone is located (or a political subdivision of that State), where state or local law requires that, before the license is issued, law enforcement authorities verify that the individual is qualified under law to receive the license. The NH pistol/revolver license is issued only after that kind of verification, so a NH license holder falls within this exception inside New Hampshire. The exception lets a licensee carry within the 1,000-foot federal zone in New Hampshire, but it does not authorize carry while actually on school property.

A constitutional carrier who has NOT obtained the optional NH license does not get the 18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B)(ii) carve-out, because that exception is tied to holding a qualifying state-issued license. This is one of the few practical reasons a NH resident may choose to obtain the otherwise-optional license: it squares possession within the federal 1,000-foot school zone.

The GFSZA also has its own built-in exceptions, including possession on private property that is not part of school grounds, and possession of an unloaded firearm in a locked container or locked firearms rack on a motor vehicle (18 U.S.C. 922(q)(2)(B)).

Universities, colleges, and private schools may set their own firearms policies. Carry on those grounds is governed by the institution's rules, and once a person is told to leave and refuses, by RSA 635:2 criminal trespass.

Other state-law-restricted locations

• Polling places. New Hampshire has no statute that bans carrying a firearm at a polling place. The polling-place statute that is sometimes cited, RSA 659:43, regulates electioneering (campaign materials and electioneering distance from the polls), not weapons or voter intimidation, and a violation of it is a "violation" with a civil penalty, not a crime. Note that some polling locations sit inside schools or other facilities that carry their own restrictions.
• Mental health treatment facilities. Carrying into a designated mental-health treatment facility (RSA chapter 135-C facilities) is controlled by the facility's own policy, and by criminal trespass under RSA 635:2 once a request to leave is made.
• Correctional facilities. Carrying onto the grounds, lands, or parking areas of a state correctional facility without authorization is criminal trespass under RSA 635:2, III(b)(4). Bringing contraband, including weapons, into a jail or prison is separately restricted by Department of Corrections rules and related criminal statutes. Confirm the specific facility's rules before approaching with a firearm.

Federal-law prohibited places (apply nationwide; NH is no exception)

• Federal facilities. 18 U.S.C. 930 makes it a federal crime to knowingly possess a firearm or other dangerous weapon in a federal facility (a building, or part of one, owned or leased by the federal government where federal employees regularly work). The base offense carries up to 1 year. A federal court facility is treated separately under 18 U.S.C. 930(e) and carries up to 2 years. Federal courthouses, federal office buildings, Social Security offices, and similar federal buildings fall under this section. Conviction generally requires conspicuous posting at each public entrance unless the person had actual notice.
• Post offices and their parking lots. 39 C.F.R. 232.1(l). The US Postal Service regulation prohibits firearms in postal facilities, and as written it includes the parking lots. Federal courts have split on whether the regulation validly reaches the parking lot, but the safe assumption is that it does.
• Secured areas of airports and aircraft. 49 U.S.C. 46505. It is a federal crime to have a concealed dangerous weapon that would be accessible in flight when on, or attempting to board, an aircraft, which is what makes carrying a firearm through a TSA screening checkpoint criminal. Carrying in the public, pre-security landside area (ticket counter, baggage claim) is generally not prohibited by this statute, though it may be restricted by airport-authority rule.
• National Parks. 36 C.F.R. 2.4. Possession of a firearm in a national park unit is allowed to the extent state law where the park sits allows it, so New Hampshire's rules apply inside a unit such as Saint-Gaudens National Historical Park. Carrying into a federal building inside the park, such as a visitor center or ranger station, is still prohibited under 18 U.S.C. 930.
• Indian reservations. Tribal law controls. New Hampshire has no tribal lands, but the rule is worth knowing for travel.

Private property

A private property owner may prohibit firearms on the premises. New Hampshire does not have a separate criminal-trespass-by-weapon statute like some other states. The relevant offense is general criminal trespass under RSA 635:2 once the carrier has been told to leave by the owner or another authorized person and refuses, or once the carrier enters secured (posted or enclosed) premises knowing they are not licensed or privileged to do so.

Practical points:

• Under RSA 635:2, a person who knowingly enters or remains in a place in defiance of a personally communicated order to leave or not to enter commits a misdemeanor. Posting can also create "secured premises," entry into which is a misdemeanor. Most other criminal trespass is a violation.
• A no-firearms sign by itself does not always turn a first entry into a crime under NH law, but the property owner may still order the person to leave, and remaining after that order is criminal trespass.
• Landlords may prohibit firearms in common areas of multi-unit buildings by lease term. Tenants generally retain rights inside their own unit.
• Workplaces may prohibit firearms on employer premises by policy. A violation is generally an employment matter unless it crosses into criminal trespass.

Restraining orders and protective orders

A specific person can be barred from possessing firearms by a court order even where the location itself is not a prohibited place.

• Divorce-related restraining orders under RSA 458:16. In a divorce, annulment, or legal separation, the superior court may issue temporary or permanent orders with conditions the court deems just, including orders restraining a party from contact or from entering certain places. Violating such an order by committing assault, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, stalking, or another criminal act is a misdemeanor under RSA 458:16, III, and a peace officer shall arrest the violator.
• Domestic-violence protective orders under RSA chapter 173-B may include firearm-relinquishment provisions directed at the person subject to the order.
• Federal law independently bars possession. 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8) prohibits firearm possession by a person who is subject to a qualifying court order that restrains them from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child, where the order meets the statute's hearing and findings requirements.

Federal NFA items

Possession of National Firearms Act items (machine guns, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors, destructive devices, and "any other weapons") is governed by the NFA, 26 U.S.C. 5841 and following, with implementing regulations in 27 C.F.R. Part 479. Each NFA firearm must be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record under 26 U.S.C. 5841.

The federal tax tied to NFA firearms changed effective for calendar quarters beginning more than 90 days after July 4, 2025, under Pub. L. 119-21. As amended:

• The transfer tax under 26 U.S.C. 5811 is $200 for each machine gun or destructive device transferred, and $0 for any other NFA firearm.
• The making tax under 26 U.S.C. 5821 is $200 for each machine gun or destructive device made, and $0 for any other NFA firearm.

New Hampshire does not add its own state-level restrictions on lawfully registered NFA items, but the federal prohibited-place rules above still apply to them.

A note on mailing handguns

Pistols, revolvers, and other firearms capable of being concealed on the person are nonmailable through the US Postal Service under 18 U.S.C. 1715, with narrow exceptions for certain officials and licensed dealers or manufacturers. This statute reaches concealable handguns specifically, not ordinary long guns, which may be mailed subject to USPS rules.

Summary

The list of state-law prohibited places in New Hampshire is short: courthouses and areas used by a court (RSA 159:19, a class B felony), school property and the federal school zone (18 U.S.C. 922(q)), and posted or declared private property (enforced through RSA 635:2 criminal trespass). The larger share of the restriction set comes from federal law: federal facilities and federal court facilities (18 U.S.C. 930), post offices and their lots (39 C.F.R. 232.1(l)), and secured airport areas and aircraft (49 U.S.C. 46505). A person can also be individually barred from possession by a court order under RSA 458:16, RSA chapter 173-B, or 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(8).