New Hampshire background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

New Hampshire employers may run background checks, and the state has its own Fair Credit Reporting Act, RSA chapter 359-B, that applies to employment reports alongside the federal law. As of October 2026, it bars screening companies from reporting arrests and convictions more than seven years old, unless the job pays $20,000 a year or more, and lets candidates recover at least $1,000 for violations. New Hampshire has no ban-the-box law for private employers, but RSA 651:5 dictates how an application asks about records so that annulled records are left out, and acquittals and dismissals since 2019 are annulled automatically. Anyone may buy public criminal history from the State Police for $25, and schools, licensed health facilities, their staffing agencies and child care programs must run checks.

The federal paperwork is covered on the FCRA background check process, and the state's hiring basics are on hiring employees in New Hampshire. This page adds New Hampshire's consumer reporting statute, what the State Police release, how annulment shapes the application question, and the checks state law requires, each linked to the General Court's statutes site.

What does New Hampshire's own FCRA require?

RSA 359-B was enacted in 1971 and tracks the original federal act closely. Its definition of a consumer report in RSA 359-B:3 covers any communication bearing on a consumer's "character, general reputation, personal characteristics, or mode of living" used for employment purposes, so an ordinary criminal background report is included. The parts that matter for hiring:

• Investigative reports. A person may not procure an investigative consumer report (one built on interviews with references, neighbors or others) unless it discloses in writing, mailed or delivered within three days after the report was first requested, that such a report may be made, and tells the consumer of the right to ask about the nature and scope of the investigation. On a written request, that disclosure is due within five days (RSA 359-B:6). As under federal law, the notice is not required for a job the consumer has not specifically applied for.
• Adverse action. When employment is denied wholly or partly because of a consumer report, the user must tell the candidate and supply the name and address of the consumer reporting agency (RSA 359-B:15). The federal pre-adverse action notice with a copy of the report still comes first.
• Public records. A screening company that reports public records likely to hurt a candidate's chances must either notify the candidate at the time, with the name and address of the employer receiving them, or keep strict procedures to make sure the records are complete and up to date (RSA 359-B:13).
• Damages. A user that willfully fails to comply owes actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, plus punitive damages and attorney's fees (RSA 359-B:16); a negligent failure costs actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater, plus fees (RSA 359-B:17).

How far back can a New Hampshire background check go?

RSA 359-B:5 bars a consumer reporting agency from reporting "records of arrest, indictment, or conviction of crime which, from date of disposition, release, or parole, antedate the report by more than 7 years," along with other adverse items more than seven years old. Unlike the federal rule, the New Hampshire text reaches convictions. The catch is paragraph II: the limit does not apply to "the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal, $20,000 or more."

So the state limit matters mainly for part-time, seasonal and other jobs expected to pay under $20,000 a year. For everything else, the federal limit governs: arrests and other non-conviction items drop off after seven years for jobs paying under $75,000, and convictions can be reported however old they are (15 U.S.C. § 1681c). The federal act preempts state rules on report contents except state laws in effect on September 30, 1996 (15 U.S.C. § 1681t(b)(1)(E)); section 359-B:5 was amended in 2004, so ask counsel and your screening company how they apply it.

What can employers get from the New Hampshire State Police?

RSA 106-B:14 controls the State Police criminal records. As of October 2026:

• Anyone may buy the public part. "Any person may, for a fee, obtain the public criminal history record information on another person," and the division "shall not require notarization on any form" before releasing it.
• Screening companies. A consumer reporting agency complying with the federal FCRA and conducting employment screening may obtain the state conviction record of a candidate being screened, including independent contractors.
• No passing on. No one receiving confidential criminal history record information may resell, transfer or otherwise disclose it, and violations of the section are misdemeanors.

The Department of Safety rules in Saf-C 5700 add that non-conviction data goes only to law enforcement or to the person requesting their own record (Saf-C 5703.05) and set the record check fee at $25, charged whether or not a record is found (Saf-C 5703.06). In practice, an employer sees New Hampshire convictions, not arrests that did not lead to one.

How should a New Hampshire application ask about criminal records?

New Hampshire sets no timing rule for private employers, but it does set the wording. Under RSA 651:5, X(f), "in any application for employment, license or other civil right or privilege," a person "may be questioned about a previous criminal record only in terms such as 'Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been annulled by a court?'" Annulment is common enough that the wording matters:

• Effect. The person "shall be treated in all respects as if he or she had never been arrested, convicted or sentenced" (RSA 651:5, X(a)).
• Automatic for acquittals and dismissals. For offenses disposed of on or after January 1, 2019, an arrest that ended in a not guilty finding, or a case dismissed or not prosecuted, is annulled 30 days after the finding if there is no appeal (RSA 651:5, II-a). A 2026 amendment taking effect January 1, 2027 rewords this paragraph.
• Convictions by petition. After the sentence is complete and with no new convictions, waiting periods run from one year for a violation and two years for a class B misdemeanor to three years for a class A misdemeanor, five years for a class B felony and ten years for a class A felony and certain listed offenses. Violent crimes and felony obstruction of justice may not be annulled (RSA 651:5, III and V).
• Old marijuana possession. Arrests and convictions for possessing three-quarters of an ounce or less before September 16, 2017 may be annulled on petition at any time (RSA 651:5-b).

The practical rule: copy the statutory wording onto any form or ATS question that asks about records, and treat an annulled matter in a report as a dispute during the FCRA pre-adverse action window.

Does New Hampshire limit credit checks or salary history questions?

We found no New Hampshire statute that bans employment credit checks or salary history questions, and the state is not on our lists of state credit check laws or salary history bans. A credit report is still a consumer report, so RSA 359-B and the federal FCRA apply to it.

Which New Hampshire jobs require criminal record checks?

• Schools. School administrative units, districts and chartered public schools must complete a criminal history records check, with fingerprints, through the State Police and the FBI on every selected applicant before a final offer; a conditional offer is allowed. The rule covers substitutes and contractors whose staff serve students directly, such as cafeteria workers, bus drivers, transportation monitors and custodians. The employer may make the applicant pay the actual cost, and must destroy the criminal history information within 60 days of receiving it. Listed offenses bar hiring (RSA 189:13-a).
• Licensed health facilities. Every person selected for employment with a facility licensed under RSA 151 whose work involves direct contact with clients, client records, or client tissue, body fluids or other biological material must sign an authorization releasing public criminal history to the facility, which reviews the results before the final offer. A licensed nursing assistant may work conditionally for up to 90 days under listed conditions (RSA 151:2-d).
• Child care. Licensed and registered child day care agencies submit names for owners, household members, directors and others the department's rules require; those people complete an FBI fingerprint check and registry searches, and a person who refuses consent is ineligible for employment (RSA 170-E:7).

Staffing agencies get their own line in RSA 151:2-d, V: an agency providing temporary or per diem staff to a licensed facility "shall conduct a criminal conviction record check" and "shall not offer the services of any person until the agency has reviewed the criminal history of the employee." Agencies placing school contractors should agree with the district who runs the RSA 189:13-a check before the first assignment.

New Hampshire background check rules at a glance

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in New Hampshire?

1. Fix the record question. Use the RSA 651:5 wording on applications, agency registration forms and ATS knock-out questions, so annulled records are excluded.
2. Know the job's pay before you read an old record. For roles expected to pay under $20,000 a year, a screening company should not report arrests or convictions more than seven years old.
3. Send both adverse action notices. The federal pre-adverse notice with the report and summary of rights, then the final notice that names the screening company, which also satisfies RSA 359-B:15.
4. Check before the first health care shift. Agencies placing temporary or per diem staff in licensed facilities must review the conviction record before offering the worker.
5. Keep volunteered history out of notes. If a candidate mentions a case in a screen, do not follow up or record it, and remove it from any AI note taker summary you share. New Hampshire requires all-party consent to record, so read recording interviews in New Hampshire and the state's wiretap law first.

Other New Hampshire rules for the same hire: New Hampshire non-compete law, E-Verify in New Hampshire and staffing agency licensing in New Hampshire. A background check policy template keeps practice consistent across states.