New to New Hampshire: License, Registration and Voting
Moving to New Hampshire: the 60-day deadlines to get a New Hampshire driver's license and register your vehicle, where to go for each, and how to register to vote.
Checked against its sources October 17, 2026.
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@misc{guides-new-to-new-hampshire, title = {New to New Hampshire: License, Registration and Voting}, howpublished = {Granite Record}, url = {https://graniterecord.org/guides/new-to-new-hampshire}, note = {Accessed 19 Oct. 2026} }
At a Glance
Once New Hampshire is your home, you have 60 days to get a New Hampshire driver’s license if you drive here, and 60 days to register any vehicle you own and use here. The license comes from a DMV office, by appointment; the registration starts at your town or city clerk. You can register to vote with your clerk before an election, or at your polling place on election day, with no waiting period.
- Make a home in a New Hampshire town or city: the 60 days start then.
Do you drive here, or own a vehicle you use here?
- I drive hereGet a New Hampshire license from the DMV within 60 days.
- I own a vehicleRegister it within 60 days, starting at your town or city clerk.
- Register to vote with your clerk, or at the polls on election day.
Step by Step
Know when the 60 days start
They start when you make a town or city ward in New Hampshire your home: your principal place of physical presence, to the exclusion of every other. Actions such as buying or leasing your main house or apartment, registering a vehicle here, putting your children in a public school, or registering to vote show that you have.
Get a New Hampshire driver's license
If you drive in New Hampshire, get a New Hampshire license within 60 days. If you do not drive here, you do not need one.
Make an appointment at a DMV office, and bring the completed application (form DSMV 450), proof of your identity and residence for the kind of license you want (a REAL ID or not), and the fee; there is a vision test. You must hand in every license from another state. You leave with a 60-day paper license, and the card comes by mail within 60 days. If you are not a U.S. citizen, the DMV’s page explains where to apply.
The DMV lists a few kinds of out-of-state license that are not valid for driving in New Hampshire, on its page about transferring a license.
Transfer a license from another stateMake an appointmentIf you are not a U.S. citizen
The law: RSA 263:35, I, RSA 263:4
Register your vehicle
If you own a vehicle you use in New Hampshire, register it here within 60 days. Take the title and proof of your residence to the clerk’s office of the town or city where you live. If the vehicle is leased, financed, or exempt from titling, bring your registration from the other state, the lease if there is one, your lender’s name and address, and proof of residence. The clerk prepares a New Hampshire title application. Fees differ for each vehicle, so ask your clerk.
The law: RSA 261:45, I
Register to vote
There is no minimum time you must live here before registering. Register with your town or city clerk, or at a session of the supervisors of the checklist, up to 6 to 13 days before an election, or at your polling place on election day. Bring proof of your identity, age, citizenship and domicile; How to Vote lists what counts.
You do not need a New Hampshire driver’s license to register or to vote.
Keep your address up to date
Once you hold a New Hampshire license, tell the DMV within 30 days whenever you change your name, your home or your mailing address. An address change can go through the DMV’s drop box service.
The law: RSA 263:9
Who Can Help
Your town or city clerk handles both your vehicle registration and your voter registration. The Division of Motor Vehicles answers licensing questions at 603-227-4000.
In the Record
Chapter 263: Drivers' Licenses
Bills now before the General Court that would change it:
Laws that changed it since 2020, newest first:
- HB 1190-FN Became Law
- HB 1252 Became Law
- HB 1758 Became Law
- SB 617 Became Law
- HB 2-FN-A-LOCAL Became Law
- HB 464 Became Law
- HB 506-FN Became Law
- SB 266-FN Became Law
Chapter 261: Certificates of Title and Registration of Vehicles
Bills now before the General Court that would change it:
Laws that changed it since 2020, newest first:
- HB 649-FN Became Law
- HB 1078-FN Became Law
- HB 1118 Became Law
- HB 1190-FN Became Law
- HB 1287 Became Law
- HB 1415-FN Became Law
- HB 1466-FN Became Law
- HB 1483-FN Became Law