New Hampshire Vital Records

New Hampshire vital records: certified copies, municipal files, and record changes

New Hampshire's Division of Vital Records Administration, or DVRA, issues state vital records. City and town clerks also issue qualifying copies and carry out local registration and correction work. The municipality connected to the event matters: for a birth or death, identify the place where it occurred; for a marriage, identify the office that issued the license. A courthouse is the source for the complete divorce judgment. These responsibilities should be distinguished before sending an application, especially when a record predates the statewide electronic system.

The state mailing location is Division of Vital Records Administration, Archives and Records Building, 9 Ratification Way, Concord, NH 03301-2455. The street was formerly called South Fruit Street, so older forms may show 71 South Fruit Street. State payments described by the federal directory are payable to Treasurer, State of New Hampshire. A municipal order uses that municipality's payee. The CDC's New Hampshire vital-record directory gives the state address, certificate prices, and event-specific custodians. It lists a recorded fee-information telephone number of 603-271-4651.

Ask for the document that matches the intended use. A certified birth certificate, a noncertified pre-adoption record, a court judgment, a delayed registration, and a notarized certificate prepared for an apostille are separate products. A search result does not by itself correct a record. An application to change a record does not necessarily include the number of certified copies needed afterward. State and municipal offices can explain their own service; the institution receiving the document determines what it requires for its transaction.

Electronic availability is different from the age of the state's holdings

Several municipal clerks publish the following statewide lookup ranges. These are issuance ranges within the New Hampshire Vital Records Information Network, commonly called NHVRIN, rather than the beginning of all records in the state. An older record may exist in a municipal book or state historical collection even when it cannot be printed through the current statewide system.

Nashua publishes these ranges and the 1949-1950 birth exception in its vital-record service instructions. It directs requests outside its statewide range to the municipality associated with the event. The federal directory describes state holdings extending to births in 1631, deaths in 1654, marriages in 1652, and divorces in 1808. Those earliest dates establish that older material exists; they do not promise a complete statewide series beginning in each year.

For a recent divorce, ask about the actual record before paying for a municipal search. Hanover states that its statewide divorce service runs from 1979 to six months before the application date. That is Hanover's published service description, not a reason to assume that every court or state office has the same delay. If the immediate need is proof of the final judgment or its terms, identify the court that granted it and request the appropriate court copy.

A restricted record requires a documented direct and tangible interest

New Hampshire restricts access to records outside the applicable public categories. RSA 5-C:102 identifies the registrant, immediate family, a legal guardian, a legal representative, and people demonstrating a need to determine or protect a personal or property right among the eligible categories. An attorney's request must identify the client and explain the interest. A general business purpose, curiosity about a neighbor, or an unsupported family connection does not establish the same entitlement.

For an interest that needs review, provide a letter describing the record requested, why it is needed, and the evidence supporting the claim. Include positive identification. The registrar or municipal clerk decides whether the evidence substantiates the interest. An estate representative, for example, should identify the estate-related authority and the role of the certificate in the transaction instead of supplying only a business card. The statute's individual-access provisions describe this review and the conditions for representatives.

A birth parent's access after an adoption requires particular care. The statute does not treat a natural parent as having direct and tangible interest in an adopted child's vital records when the adoption occurred outside that parent's immediate family. The adult adoptee's original-record route is addressed separately below. Do not infer access to a current adopted person's certificate solely from a biological connection or from an old original record.

Public town reports and out-of-state statistical notices are also distinct. New Hampshire may receive information about a resident's event that occurred elsewhere for statistical purposes; RSA 5-C:102 does not make those notices issuable certificates. The same section limits fields that may appear in annual town reports and requires honoring a resident's written request to omit a particular event. A name appearing in a town report is useful research evidence, but it does not expand access to every field in the underlying file.

Identification when a photo credential is unavailable

The state request instructions identify government photo identification as the usual route and provide an alternate documentary-evidence form. They also identify separate forms for an additional mailing address and third-party access. These are different questions: establishing the applicant's identity, permitting delivery elsewhere, and authorizing another person to obtain the record. Use the state certificate-request instructions to identify the appropriate form category.

Nashua links the state's alternate-ID form. It requires two attached documents whose names and addresses match each other and the application. Listed options include utility bills, bank statements, car registration, an income-tax return, a personal check with address, a previously issued vital record, a government request letter, a Social Security card or DD214, a hospital birth worksheet, a lease, a pay stub or W-2, a voter registration card, or a Social Security disability award. The form allows two items from one listed category. Follow that published form rather than importing another state's two-different-category requirement.

The applicant signs the declaration that picture identification is unavailable. The issuing clerk records the selected evidence and attaches the copies. The form also has spaces for an applicant personally known to the clerk and other evidence subject to approval; those fields are not a promise that any substitute will be accepted. Discuss an unusual situation before mailing it. The actual documentary-evidence form linked by Nashua sets out the matching-address and attachment requirements.

Calculate the price for the selected service

Under RSA 5-C:10, the ordinary advance search fee is USD15, with USD10 for each subsequent copy ordered at the same time. RSA 5-C:100 makes the search fee payable even when the record is not found. When a record is located and the applicant qualifies, the first requested certified copy is included in that search price. This structure is why an unsuccessful search does not usually produce a refund and why changing the search facts matters before repeating an order.

The statutory copy and correction fee schedule supplies the ordinary amounts and the clerk-error waiver. The waiver is tied to who made the error, not simply to the applicant's inability to pay. Government agencies have separate copy arrangements under RSA 5-C:101; a copy issued for a Veterans Administration claim carries a restricted-purpose notation. Those arrangements should not be treated as a general free-copy entitlement for every applicant.

Nashua's application asks the applicant to choose the event, quantity, date, place, subject's names, relationship, reason, and return address. Its death section asks whether cause of death should be listed. It also lists an additional USD2 notarization charge for an apostille-purpose document. That local preparation charge is separate from the Secretary of State's authentication fee. A Nashua mail request includes a copy of valid photo ID and a check payable to the City of Nashua. The Nashua certified-copy application shows these local ordering details.

Mail, counter service, and vendor orders

DVRA's published FAQ describes ordinary counter copies as usually available while the applicant waits and asks applicants to allow 20 business days after receipt for mailed requests. It identifies VitalChek and EB2Gov as ordering services with additional processing and shipping charges. EB2Gov works through local clerks. The division says it cannot track an order until the processor has completed its work and forwarded it to the office. Treat a vendor confirmation and government receipt as separate stages, and use the DVRA ordering FAQ for that distinction. These ordinary-copy estimates do not establish a deadline for a correction, court-directed change, or delayed registration.

For a mailed state request, the federal directory calls for a written application, identification, the applicable assignment of access when another person is authorized, and a self-addressed stamped envelope. Select the payment payee for the receiving office. Mailing a city-payable check to DVRA or using a state-payable check for a city order can interrupt processing even when the event information is correct. Keep a record of the event and quantity requested so a later status inquiry describes the actual application.

Concord requires its access-assignment form when the mailing destination differs from the photo-ID address. Its mail instructions request the application, payment to the City of Concord, and a self-addressed stamped envelope at 41 Green Street, Concord, NH 03301. It accepts online requests as well. The Concord certificate instructions give this address-control requirement and the city clerk's contact details; do not assume a changed-address order is complete merely because it includes a readable identification card.

Hanover permits cash, check, or debit or credit card at the counter, but its mailed requests require a check or money order payable to the Town of Hanover. It specifically does not accept card payment for mail orders under the stated procedure. Use P.O. Box 483, 41 South Main Street, Hanover, NH 03755, following its application directions. Its February 2026 vital-record instructions also ask for the purpose and relationship and explain the same-record additional-copy price.

Historical access has a rolling threshold and an annual release

RSA 5-C:105 places birth records more than 100 years old and death, marriage, and divorce records more than 50 years old in the public domain. The division must release by April 1 the records that became public during the preceding calendar year. Consequently, a person's calculation of an anniversary and the release of the corresponding research group may not occur on the same day. Ask the custodian which annual group has been released when a request falls near the boundary.

The statute also permits a genealogist to act as an authorized representative. The written designation must identify whether the signer is the registrant or an immediate family member, state the relationship when applicable, identify the specific records, authorize their release, and contain a notarized signature. Certified copies of public-domain records are issued on safety paper for the statutory fees when requested. The genealogical-access provision is the relevant current authority, rather than a fixed year printed in an older service summary.

Physical access to a ledger presents another issue. A public record may be beside confidential entries or too fragile to photocopy, and a clerk may lack the space or personnel for immediate inspection. RSA 5-C:106 addresses these circumstances, including redaction, supplying a date for information when staffing or space is the problem, and referral to the division's research facilities. An eligible historical record does not give a researcher unrestricted handling of the entire book. Ask for the relevant entry or a supervised research arrangement under the municipal ledger-access procedure.

The state's access guidance places the Genealogical Research Center at 9 Ratification Way in Concord. It also offers staff research upon receipt of an application, positive identification, and the required fee. The DVRA historical-access instructions distinguish a research visit from ordering a record. Check the research arrangement before traveling, particularly when the question involves several generations, uncertain dates, or records whose annual public release is recent.

Registering a newborn and obtaining the parent's certificate

The hospital's record process and the parent's certified-copy order are separate. RSA 5-C:21 requires the hospital or institution to forward the completed birth record within six days of birth and provide the parents with a notice containing the information intended for the official record, subject to its adoption-pending exception. Hospitals may not issue a document that resembles an official birth certificate. The municipal clerk reviews the parent's notice and issues the certified copy after the required payment.

Review the names, birth details, and parent information on that notice. If the parent says the information is incorrect, the clerk follows the correction process. Ordering repeated copies without identifying the error would reproduce the same recorded information. The statute also requires home-birth notices to reach the division through the clerk and provides for a paid certified copy. The birth-record distribution rules explain why a hospital notice or souvenir is not the issued certificate.

For a nonhospital birth followed by the mother and child reaching a New Hampshire hospital or birthing center within 24 hours, RSA 5-C:20 assigns preparation to that facility while preserving the actual place of birth. An attended home birth must be reported by the physician or midwife within one week, with the worksheet completed within two weeks. When no physician or midwife attended, the parent reports within one week and the clerk prepares the worksheet from the available facts.

A birth in an unincorporated area without a clerk goes to the nearest municipal clerk or state registrar, with the actual location and the reason for filing elsewhere recorded. A transfer to an out-of-state hospital does not change where the child was born. Give the clerk the chronology and attendant information so the nonhospital birth procedure can be applied to the actual event.

A delayed birth requires proof of the event, not a replacement-copy request

New Hampshire's delayed-birth procedure concerns a living person's birth that was never registered. RSA 5-C:38 uses six months after birth, or 12 months for a hospital birth, as its stated delayed-registration boundaries. The registrant, parent, or legal guardian applies to the clerk in the alleged place of birth. The office checks for an existing record; a delayed application is not a way to create a second certificate when a filed birth already exists under another spelling or earlier name.

The evidence rule offers two paths: at least three acceptable pieces, including one created before the first birthday, or at least four pieces all created after the first birthday. At least one document other than a personal-knowledge affidavit must support parentage. The listed examples include hospital or clinical statements, physician or midwife statements, baptismal certificates, early school records, census records, marriage records, siblings' birth records, insurance records, and a family Bible. Their value depends on the facts they actually contain, not simply their titles.

Only one personal-knowledge affidavit counts under the listed evidence rule. Its maker must be at least 18, at least ten years older than the applicant, and able to explain personal knowledge of the birth and the relationship. If the alleged birth municipality borders another state, the applicant must also provide a no-record statement from that neighboring state. That statement does not count toward the minimum evidence. The delayed-birth application statute sets out these separate requirements.

The clerk lists the evidence, including each document's custodian, original filing date, copy date, and relevant birth facts. A new copy of an old school record should therefore identify when the underlying information was first recorded. The clerk checks local files and sends an acceptable application to the registrar for state review. If a record already exists, the application is denied rather than used to overwrite it. These duties appear in the municipal delayed-birth review procedure.

The state registrar checks the application and state files, returns supporting documents with a certified delayed certificate on approval, and provides a written explanation when the application cannot be approved. The statute describes a ten-day denial notification for insufficient evidence and dismissal of an application not completed within one year. The applicant also receives information about a hearing. These are administrative review provisions, not a promise that every completed delayed record will be issued within ten days. See the registrar's delayed-birth review requirements.

Parentage changes have their own documents and deadlines

When paternity was not established before the hospital sent the record, RSA 5-C:24 directs the parents to the municipal clerk to execute the affidavit. Required signatures must be notarized. A person under 18 signing the affidavit needs the accompanying signature specified for a parent or legal guardian. A three-party affidavit may be required where the mother was married and her husband is not the natural father. Those circumstances should be described to the clerk before selecting a form.

The statute distinguishes adding information through an affidavit from changing a surname afterward. It also describes a court petition when the alleged father is deceased. An ordinary correction request should not be used as a substitute for a required parentage determination. The affidavit-of-paternity provisions explain the different circumstances. A qualifying court determination leads to preparation of a new birth record under RSA 5-C:26, while the original file number is retained.

Rescission is time-sensitive. RSA 5-C:28 permits the specified request within 60 days of filing the affidavit unless a related administrative or judicial proceeding creates an earlier limit. After the rescission period, a challenge is for a court of competent jurisdiction. Ask the birth municipality about the appropriate document immediately when the issue is rescission, and distinguish it from a later name correction. The rescission procedure also specifies how the birth record is changed and which parties receive notice.

Birth, marriage, and death corrections begin with the responsible clerk

RSA 5-C:85 provides different correction forms for the period within six months of filing and the period after six months. The measurement is from filing, which can differ from the event date. The early form has an exception for adding a husband's name to a birth record. Later requests require the applicant's signature and notarization or acknowledgment by a justice of the peace, supporting evidence, and the state registrar's review. Divorce records are amended through the court instead.

A correction application identifies the item as it appears, the proposed replacement, the event, the applicant, and the evidence. Keeping those fields precise helps distinguish a spelling error from a substantive legal change. A new mailing address on an order is not automatically a correction to an event's historical residence. The general correction procedure explains the form distinction and the transmission between the clerk and the division.

The agency's correction instructions call the ordinary form VSCr and describe completing it in triplicate with a notarized signature. They generally call for two pieces of evidence dated close to the event; one may be a properly notarized personal-knowledge affidavit. Examples include early school, hospital, baptismal, census, tax, employment, military, insurance, or other vital records. Copies can be accepted when certified by the custodian holding the original. The clerk selects the appropriate form, including the VSX route for qualifying minor early changes. The agency's correction instructions should be read with the event-specific statutory rules.

For a birth change, begin with the place of birth by visit or letter. A legal name change requires the appropriate certified court order; the record is annotated with the legal change and the prior name. A change in customary usage without evidence of an original error is not the same as correcting a typo. RSA 5-C:87 also provides for a new record following the qualifying court order concerning a change of sex. The birth-amendment statute identifies the authorities and special cases; the clerk can provide the current transaction-specific instructions.

Some older births have a missing surname. The statute treats adding the surname already shown for the father differently from choosing another surname, and ordinary name changes beyond clerical errors require a certified court order. Do not assume that an empty field permits any preferred replacement. The documentary requirements for birth amendments address these distinctions. Public-domain historical records have separate amendment limits, so a family historian's preference for a different spelling does not establish a right to rewrite an old entry.

Correcting a death record depends on which information is wrong

Personal information supplied by the funeral director, next of kin, or designated agent follows the procedure in RSA 5-C:94. The original informant can sign the correction request and provide evidence. If another person requests the change, the clerk notifies the original informant and seeks the stated approval or opposing evidence. When the informant cannot be contacted, the clerk documents the attempt. The registrar reviews the evidence rather than assuming that the newest request is correct.

Cause-of-death changes follow a different route. The certifying physician, advanced practice registered nurse, or physician associate initiates the correction in writing through a supplemental death certificate to the division. Burial-arrangement corrections can be initiated by the funeral director, next of kin, or designated agent with the death municipality. The death-amendment requirements identify these roles. Explain the exact field at issue before asking a relative, funeral home, or medical professional to sign.

If the registrar finds the evidence inadequate, RSA 5-C:95 provides for a written deficiency notice to the clerk and a request to correct the deficiency within 30 days. An amended record carries a notation of the authority, date, and correction procedure. A later certified copy therefore may show that it was amended. That notation should not be confused with an unofficial alteration made by the applicant. The death-certificate amendment provisions explain the office's review and historical-record limit.

Marriage licensing and the filed certificate are separate stages

A couple may apply for a New Hampshire marriage license in any city or town, for a ceremony in any New Hampshire municipality. A license issued by another state is not accepted for a New Hampshire marriage. Both applicants must be at least 18 under the current law. Both ordinarily appear to file and sign; the statute contains specific procedures for armed-forces circumstances and documented medical reasons. Those exceptions require the clerk's process rather than an informal proxy signature.

Prior marriages require certified final divorce decrees, death records, or civil annulment decrees, as applicable. A foreign-language divorce decree requires the prescribed English translation and witnessed translator signature. Where a foreign divorce decree is unavailable, the statute describes an affidavit and embassy statement. The clerk reviews the evidence before issuing the license. Nashua separately publishes a USD50 license price and its local document requirements, which are distinct from the USD15 certified-copy search.

The 90-day license period begins when the marriage intentions are filed; when applicants sign on different dates, the statute uses the earlier date. It does not begin on whatever later date the couple happens to collect the license. A fee is not refunded merely because the license is unused. The current marriage-license provisions explain the timing and supporting documents. Give the original license to the officiant before the ceremony.

The officiant must certify the marriage and return the record within six days to the license-issuing clerk. A couple's change of mind after the ceremony does not relieve the officiant of reporting it. A person cannot officiate at their own marriage, and an out-of-state minister must obtain the required special license. These duties appear in the officiant-responsibility statute. Before requesting copies for a time-sensitive purpose, ask whether the completed record has actually been received and filed.

A marriage that was never filed can require delayed registration

For registration more than six months after the actual marriage date, RSA 5-C:52 provides a delayed-certificate procedure through the municipality where the license was allegedly issued. The current provision, effective September 8, 2026, sets a USD25 filing fee. The marriage worksheet is used if available, together with at least two qualifying evidence items. Examples include the officiant's affidavit, a signed certificate given to the couple, a newspaper account, a town report, a divorce decree, or wedding photographs supported by the specified notarized affidavit.

The evidence must establish that a ceremony occurred, not merely that a license was purchased. The clerk prepares a new certificate when the evidence supports it and obtains the applicants' signatures. The delayed-marriage statute lists the acceptable categories. The delayed-record preparation procedure requires the delayed notation, and the registrar's review procedure addresses approval and additional evidence. An incomplete application can be dismissed after one year. Keep the filing process separate from buying an extra copy of an already registered marriage.

Marriage copies and later corrections

The current marriage-copy application rule asks for both applicants' full names, including earlier surnames, the date and place of marriage, purpose, signature, relationship, and the requesting person's contact information. This wording became effective September 8, 2026. Providing only a current married surname may make an older entry harder to identify. The marriage-certificate request requirements accompany the direct-and-tangible-interest rule.

Marriage corrections begin with the clerk who issued the license, initiated by the parties or officiant. Beyond minor spelling or clerical errors, a later legal name change requires a certified court order and the specified A.K.A. notation. The correction fee is waived for a clerk's error. If evidence is inadequate, the registrar gives written deficiencies and information about the stated 30-day appeal opportunity. The marriage-amendment procedure should be used for that action, rather than submitting a fresh copy application with altered names.

A divorce certificate does not contain all the court's terms

The state divorce record is an event record supplied through the court process. The full decree contains the terms that may matter for property, support, parenting, or a later legal transaction. Request the decree from the court that issued it when those terms are needed. The statewide municipal issuance range beginning in 1979 does not establish the contents or completeness of a court's case file. Earlier state holdings likewise do not mean every old judgment is available through a city counter.

Changes to a divorce, legal separation, or civil annulment record begin with the court clerk at the request of a party or legal representative. Amendments are transmitted to the division through the court. A municipal birth or marriage correction form is not a substitute for changing the judicial record. The divorce-record amendment statute explains the court's role. The government guide to divorce decrees and certificates also distinguishes the documents; the reviewed sources do not establish a single statewide court-copy price.

Adoption changes the current birth record through a notice process

A New Hampshire adoption and the child's place of birth may involve different offices. The adoption-recording statute requires the probate court's completed notice to reach the division within seven days after the final decree is filed. For a New Hampshire birth, the birth municipality prepares the new record and forwards its copy to the division. If the child was born in another state, New Hampshire sends the adoption notice to that state's vital-record agency so that state can amend its birth record.

When a New Hampshire-born child is adopted elsewhere, the division sends the notice to the birth municipality. Missing information can require a request to the adoptive parents; the statute describes how an unanswered request is handled after 30 days. These are transmission and record-preparation steps. They do not establish that buying a certificate immediately after the hearing will produce the completed amended record. The adoption-recording procedure identifies the routing for each situation.

The new birth record replaces the original for ordinary issuance, preserves the actual birth date and place, and carries the new parental information. The original and adoption notice have restricted inspection rules. If an old adoption was finalized but the birth record was never amended, the statute directs the offices to obtain the necessary decree and prepare the record. The post-adoption birth-record requirements also address a missing original and annulment of an adoption. Explain whether the need is a current certificate, a delayed correction to an old adoption, or original-record access.

Adult original-birth access and birth-parent preferences

RSA 5-C:9 provides an adult adoptee born in New Hampshire a written-request route to a noncertified unaltered original birth certificate removed from ordinary files because of adoption. Birth parents may file contact preferences and updated medical history. The preference options address direct contact, contact through an intermediary, or no contact at that time. They should not be described as a general veto over the adult adoptee's statutory original-record request. The original-record and contact-preference statute governs this separate product.

DVRA's service instructions direct pre-adoption requests to the division, not local clerks. They list a USD15 search and USD10 additional same-order copies, identification, a signed noncertified-record application, and a return envelope. Mailing to a different address requires the stated authorization. The office describes most requests as processed within ten business days, but asks four to six weeks for records from the 1930s and earlier. The result is not a legal birth certificate or identification document. Use the pre-adoption service instructions and order a current certified birth record separately when that is the required product.

A New Hampshire foreign-birth certificate is a state adoption document

RSA 5-C:34 provides a certificate of foreign birth following a qualifying final adoption decree from a New Hampshire court. The adoptive parents or the adopted person over 18 request the certificate and pay USD25. The listed application materials include the adoption report, a certified original adoption decree, the child's alien registration card, and evidence of the date and place of birth, such as an English translation of the foreign birth certificate or the specified agency or government records. Ask DVRA about the current application and how to document the particular case.

The resulting record is held only at the division and identifies the actual or probable foreign place of birth. RSA 5-C:35 expressly says it is not evidence of United States citizenship for the child or adoptive parents. The foreign-birth application requirements and certificate-content rules should therefore be read as a state record-creation process. They do not establish eligibility for a passport or a federal citizenship document.

A Consular Report of Birth Abroad concerns qualifying U.S. citizenship or nationality at birth and consular reporting. Foreign birth or a later adoption does not automatically mean such a report exists. The Department of State explains the consular birth-report eligibility framework. For a report already issued, use its replacement or amendment procedure. Identify the document actually held before asking New Hampshire to replace a federal record.

Prepare the right certificate for an apostille

A foreign recipient may need the certificate's official signature authenticated. RSA 5-C:99 describes the registrar's or clerk's signature, notarized acknowledgment, and Secretary of State acknowledgment for an apostille record. Request the version prepared for that purpose from the issuing office; an applicant's ordinary photocopy should not be presented as an official reissued certificate. The apostille-record provision describes the certification chain.

The Secretary of State's instructions call for an original notarized vital-record copy from the local clerk or DVRA. Its fee is USD10 per document. For same-day service on ten or more documents, it adds USD25 for each group of ten under its stated schedule. The counter is Room 204, State House, 107 North Main Street, Concord. The apostille and certificate instructions permit mail or personal delivery. Confirm the destination country's requested authentication, and keep the state certification payment separate from a municipality's copy or notarization charge.

Municipal contacts and a local genealogy example

The following offices illustrate municipal routes; they are not a complete roster of New Hampshire clerks. Use the published service pages linked above for the application, local payee, and address conditions. Office hours describe access to the office and may differ from the cutoff for a lengthy licensing or research transaction.

Manchester's clerk maintains city birth and death records, licenses issued there, and most local divorce records since 1990. Its vital-record overview links the individual certificate services. For archival work, the city says it has no vital records earlier than 1835, does not provide genealogical information by telephone, and asks visiting researchers to arrange an appointment at 603-624-6455. A mailed research request includes the purpose, known identifying information, photo ID, and USD15 payable to the City of Manchester.

The Manchester genealogy instructions describe that local collection and search service. Its old fixed public-year labels should not replace the current rolling statutory rule. A missing local entry may reflect the collection's date range, the wrong municipality, or an unfiled event; compare those possibilities before treating one negative search as proof that no record exists anywhere in New Hampshire.

When access is denied, keep the written reason and the date. RSA 5-C:111 permits a request for an administrative due-process hearing within 30 days of a denial of access under the chapter. A request for more identifying information, an unpaid search, a deficient amendment packet, and a final denial are different stages. Ask which decision was made and what evidence would address it. The hearing provision identifies the deadline for an access denial.