New hiring laws in New Hampshire for 2027: physician associate non-competes, school background checks, CPA paths, CDL tests and what employers do next

As of November 2026, New Hampshire's 2026 session changed hiring at the edges rather than at the center: it passed no pay range, salary history or E-Verify law for private employers, and the pay range bill, HB 1123, was killed in February. What did change is specific. Since July 7, 2026, new or renewed contracts may not restrict where a physician associate practices after leaving; since April 22, 2026, CPA candidates have a bachelor's-plus-two-years path; since August 31, 2026, commercial driver's license tests are English-only; and school employers face wider criminal history checks in 2026 and 2027. From January 1, 2027, annulling an arrest that did not lead to a conviction carries no filing fee.

Each New Hampshire item below links to its bill page on the General Court's site, where the chaptered final version prints the approval and effective dates used here. The standing checklist (the NHES employer status report, the written pay notice at hire, workers' compensation from the first employee, new-hire reporting) is in our New Hampshire hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new, plus the federal changes that reach New Hampshire employers.

Which New Hampshire hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

New Hampshire chapters and the federal rules that apply to New Hampshire employers, sorted by date.

What changed for physician associates and other health care hires?

Senate Bill 402 (chapter 55) adds RSA 328-D:20: any contract that sets the terms of employment or another professional relationship with a physician associate licensed by the Board of Medicine, "including any restriction on the right of a physician associate to practice in any geographic area for any period of time after the termination" of that relationship, is "void and unenforceable with respect to said restriction," while the rest of the contract stands. It applies "only to new contracts or renewals of contracts entered into on or after" July 7, 2026, so ask candidates when their current agreement was signed or renewed. New Hampshire already limited such restrictions for physicians, nurses, podiatrists and APRNs, and bans non-competes for low-wage workers; the full screen is in New Hampshire non-compete law.

• PA Licensure Compact. House Bill 1772 (chapter 333), effective September 13, 2026, adopts the PA Licensure Compact. Check with the Board of Medicine whether compact privileges are being issued before relying on one for a PA licensed elsewhere.
• Behavioral health and therapy licenses. House Bill 1328 (chapter 224) changes the membership of the board for alcohol and other drug use professionals, eliminates the licensed clinical supervisor license, and changes the qualifications for recreational therapists and speech-language assistants, mostly from August 31, 2026, with two sections taking effect July 1, 2030. Recheck required credentials in job descriptions for those roles.

What changed for school, bus and child care hiring?

• Educator credentials. House Bill 1373 (chapter 23), effective April 3, 2026, adds offenses to the list in RSA 189:13-c that bars a person from a teaching credential or clearance.
• School bus drivers. House Bill 1051 (chapter 116), effective July 1, 2026, extends school bus driver criminal history record checks to volunteers and contractors, sets requirements including fingerprinting, and directs the Department of Education to run a secure system for the checks.
• All prospective school staff. From July 1, 2027, House Bill 1827 (chapter 123) requires the Department of Education to conduct a confidential criminal history record check on all prospective educational personnel, and House Bill 1795 (chapter 76) makes a criminal history release a condition of renewing a teaching credential and adds neglect to the check. Build the department's turnaround into school start dates for fall 2027.
• Child care. House Bill 1771 (chapter 98) removes the scheduled repeal of child care staffing ratios and their waiver system, so the ratios stay, and requires the Department of Health and Human Services to tell providers each year that they may request a waiver.

Private employers outside these settings still run checks under RSA 359-B and the federal FCRA; see New Hampshire background check laws. From January 1, 2027, Senate Bill 512 (chapter 105) bars a filing fee for certain annulments of records of arrests and charges that did not result in conviction. RSA 651:5 still sets how an application may ask about records so that annulled ones need not be disclosed.

What changed for accountants and commercial drivers?

House Bill 1259 (chapter 34), effective April 22, 2026, rewrites RSA 309-B:5. A CPA candidate may now qualify with a post-baccalaureate degree, a bachelor's degree plus 30 more semester credit hours, or a bachelor's degree with an accounting concentration; the first two need one year of experience and the bachelor's-only path needs two. An out-of-state CPA whose principal place of business is outside New Hampshire may practice under the new mobility section without notice or fees if the conditions are met.

House Bill 1252 (chapter 221), effective August 31, 2026, codifies the federal requirement that the CDL skills test be given only in English without interpreters, extends the same rule to the knowledge test, with a limited exemption, and directs the Department of Safety to adopt rules and give notice and a hearing to current licensees who must pass an English examination to keep their license. Carriers recruiting new drivers should plan training around English-only testing.

What else changed for New Hampshire employers?

• Employee leasing. Senate Bill 655 (chapter 146), effective August 11, 2026, lets a leasing company and its client elect which of them provides workers' compensation for leased employees, with reporting and notice rules; the detail is in employer of record in New Hampshire. It also adds a minimum wage exemption for minor league baseball players.
• Wage claims. House Bill 1168 (chapter 50) gives employers 20 days instead of 10 to object to a wage claim the Department of Labor serves.

Which federal changes apply to New Hampshire employers in 2026 and 2027?

• Form I-9. USCIS lists the 01/20/25 edition as current and allows the 08/01/23 edition until its 05/31/2027 expiration date; electronic systems had to move to the 05/31/2027 version by July 31, 2026.
• Work permits. The DHS final rule of October 14, 2026 finalizes the October 30, 2025 interim rule ending automatic extensions for EAD renewals in certain categories; see the EAD automatic extension guide.
• E-Verify. New Hampshire has no E-Verify mandate (see E-Verify requirements in New Hampshire), but voluntary users and federal contractors should note the expanded Status Change Report and the January 8, 2027 deadline to download records of cases last updated on or before December 31, 2016.
• Federal contractors. The Labor Department's final rule rescinded the Executive Order 11246 regulations effective October 26, 2026; what remains is in job posting requirements for federal contractors.
• Criminal history. The EEOC rescinded its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance on October 28, 2026 (EEOC release). Title VII still applies, and a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) remains a sound way to decide and document.

What did not change in New Hampshire?

• No pay range or salary history law; see New Hampshire pay transparency and the New Hampshire salary history page.
• No ban-the-box law. The state-agency rule was repealed effective July 1, 2025, and private employers were never covered; see ban the box in New Hampshire.
• Recording interviews still needs every party's consent under RSA 570-A; see New Hampshire recording consent for interviews.
• Drug testing still has no private-employer statute; see New Hampshire drug testing laws.
• No AI hiring law is among the 344 chapters enacted in 2026.

What should New Hampshire employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Remove practice restrictions from physician associate offers and renewals, and log the signing date of each candidate's current agreement.
2. Update school and bus hiring checklists for volunteer and contractor checks now, and plan for the Department of Education checks that start July 1, 2027.
3. Revise CPA job ads and CDL training plans for the new education paths and English-only tests.
4. Confirm who carries workers' comp in any employee leasing contract signed or renewed since August 11, 2026.
5. Check Form I-9 editions, EAD dates and pre-2017 E-Verify records, and remove references to the 2012 EEOC guidance from background check procedures.
6. Keep recording consent in the script: New Hampshire still requires the consent of every party, so ask at the start and note the answer.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in New Hampshire?

Agencies placing physician associates should strip practice restrictions from new and renewed PA agreements, and agencies supplying school bus drivers, substitute staff or contractors to districts should expect the wider record checks to reach their workers. Employee leasing companies and their clients now choose who carries workers' compensation and must say so in the contract. New Hampshire has no general state staffing license, but leasing companies and nurse agencies have their own filings; see our New Hampshire staffing agency guide. Other states' 2027 changes are in new hiring laws for 2027.