civics.online

Court Records

New Hampshire Court Records

How New Hampshire's courts are organized, where their records are kept and how to search them.

New Hampshire has a compact, state-funded court system. All trial court cases are handled by either the Superior Court or the Circuit Court, which has district, family and probate divisions, and every court location is run by the state rather than by counties or towns.

Remote online access to New Hampshire trial court records is limited for the public. The courts have moved to electronic filing, but most people still get case information by contacting the court or using the judicial branch's record check service.

How New Hampshire's courts are organized

New Hampshire's courts have three levels.

New Hampshire Supreme Court

Five justices hear appeals from the trial courts, most of them by discretionary acceptance.

Superior Court

The general jurisdiction trial court, with locations in each county. It hears felonies, larger civil cases and jury trials.

Circuit Court

Hears misdemeanors, traffic, small claims and smaller civil cases (district division), divorce, custody and juvenile cases (family division), and wills, estates and guardianships (probate division).

Searching New Hampshire court records online

Online tools are limited to the Supreme Court and general information.

Getting records from the clerk's office

To see a trial court case, contact the clerk at the courthouse where it was filed or use the judicial branch's records request process. Clerks provide copies and certified copies for set fees.

Deeds are kept by the county Registry of Deeds.

The judicial branch runs a centralized Information Center that answers questions by phone and can direct you to the right court location. For criminal record checks, the courts offer a records search for a fee that covers New Hampshire's state courts.

What is public, and what is not

Part I, Article 8 of the New Hampshire Constitution recognizes the public's right of access to government records, and most court records are open. Juvenile, adoption, guardianship, termination of parental rights and some family records are confidential.

New Hampshire allows annulment of many criminal records after a waiting period. An annulled record is treated as though the arrest or conviction never occurred, and it is removed from public view.

Most New Hampshire court records are public. In family division cases, financial affidavits and records about children are generally confidential, and guardianship and termination of parental rights cases are closed. A judge may seal other records only after finding that a party's interest outweighs the public's right of access.

Older and archived records

Historical court records, including early Superior Court and probate records, are held by the New Hampshire Division of Archives and Records Management.

The judicial branch keeps closed files for set periods and then transfers historically valuable records to the state archives in Concord, which holds Superior Court and county court records reaching back to the colonial era.

Criminal history and background records

A court file tells you what happened in one case in one court. A criminal history record (often called a rap sheet) pulls together arrests, charges and outcomes reported from across the state, so it is a different product kept by a different agency.

The New Hampshire State Police Criminal Records Unit keeps the state's criminal history records. Requests generally require the written authorization of the person whose record is sought.

Federal court records in New Hampshire

Federal cases, including federal crimes, bankruptcies, and lawsuits over federal law or between citizens of different states, are not filed in New Hampshire's state courts. New Hampshire is a single federal judicial district, and each has its own clerk's office:

Federal case files are searched through PACER, the federal judiciary's records system. PACER charges a small fee per page, but you pay nothing if your charges stay under the quarterly fee-waiver threshold, court opinions are free, and every federal courthouse has public terminals you can use at no cost. Many PACER documents have also been copied into the free RECAP Archive on CourtListener. Appeals from New Hampshire's federal courts go to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

Tips for a faster search

  • Know which Circuit Court division heard the case: district, family or probate.
  • Because there is no public online search, have the case number or full names and dates ready when you call.
  • Annulled records will not be released to the public.
  • If you need a statewide criminal record search of New Hampshire court records, ask the judicial branch about its record check service rather than calling each court.
  • Have the full names of the parties, the county and a rough date range ready. A case number is the fastest way in if you have one.
  • Online indexes are not the official record. If a decision depends on it, get a copy (or a certified copy) from the clerk's office that holds the file.

Legal help and law libraries

Clerks and law librarians can explain how to find a record, but they cannot give legal advice. These organizations can point you in the right direction:

This guide is general information about public records, not legal advice. Court websites, fees and rules change, so confirm details with the court before you rely on them. Civics-Online.org is not affiliated with any court or government agency.