How to Renew Your Driver's License
Renewing a New Hampshire driver's license or non-driver ID online or at a DMV appointment, step by step: what to bring, what it costs, and what to do if it has expired.
Checked against its sources October 17, 2026.
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At a Glance
A New Hampshire driver’s license expires on your birthday in the fifth year after it was issued. About two months before, the Division of Motor Vehicles mails you a renewal notice. If the notice says you can renew online, you can; otherwise make an appointment at a DMV office. A driver’s license renewal costs $50, or $60 for a REAL ID license; a non-driver ID card costs $20.
Does your renewal notice say you can renew online?
- YesRenew online with the Renewal Identification Number on the notice.
- No, or no noticeMake an appointment at a DMV office and bring what it asks for.
- Getting a REAL ID for the first time? That renewal is in person.
- You leave with a 60-day paper license, and the new card comes by mail within 60 days.
Step by Step
Watch for your renewal notice
About two months before your license expires, the DMV mails a renewal notice to the address it has for you. You will not get one if your mail is forwarded, if you moved and did not tell the DMV your new address, or if your license is suspended.
The expiration date is printed in red on the front of your license.
The law: RSA 263:10, I
Renew online, if your notice says you can
You need:
- the Renewal Identification Number from your notice, which works from 60 days before your birthday to 60 days after it;
- your current license in hand, because you will type in details printed on it;
- a MasterCard, VISA, Discover or American Express card; and
- a printer, to print the temporary license you carry with your old card until the new one arrives.
Only you can renew your own license, and your current photo is reused. The law allows an online renewal only every other time, so the renewal after an online one is in person.
The law: RSA 263:10, II
Or renew at a DMV appointment
DMV offices see people by appointment. Book online, or call 603-227-4000. Bring:
- the completed Application for Driver License (form DSMV 450);
- your current license, or other proof of identity if you cannot find it;
- the fee; and
- be ready for a vision test.
To upgrade to a REAL ID at the same time, bring the extra documents it needs. If you are not a U.S. citizen, the DMV lists what to bring on a page of its own.
A non-driver ID card renews the same two ways: online if your notice allows, or by appointment with the same application and proof of your identity and residence. A commercial driver’s license is renewed only by appointment, on its own application (form DSMV 312), with a valid medical certificate unless you are exempt.
Make an appointmentApplication (DSMV 450)If you are not a U.S. citizen
Pay the fee
A renewed driver’s license costs $50, or $60 for a REAL ID license, and a non-driver ID card costs $20. The law sets all three. Other licenses cost different amounts, among them youth, motorcycle and commercial licenses and a license for someone who is not a U.S. citizen; the DMV’s fees page lists them. The DMV takes credit cards, cash in person, and checks or money orders payable to “State of NH - DMV”.
The law: RSA 263:42, I, RSA 260:21
If your license has already expired
You may not drive until you renew it. What you need depends on how long ago it expired:
- Less than a year: renew as usual.
- One to three years: bring proof of identity and residence for your kind of license to a DMV office.
- Three years or more: the same documents, and you must pass a vision test, a knowledge test and a road test.
Who Can Help
The Division of Motor Vehicles answers questions and books appointments 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