New Hampshire property deeds
Deed rules are state law, and New Hampshire's differ from its neighbors in ways that decide whether your document records or comes back. Here is the whole picture: which deeds exist here, how they have to be signed, what the recorder wants on the page, and what it costs.
- Recording office
- Register of Deeds
- Witnesses
- Notary only
- Transfer tax
- $0.75 per $100
- First-page margin
- 3″ top
- Recording fee
- ~$12 first page
- E-recording
- Approved submitters
Deeds New Hampshire recognizes
| Deed | What it does | Available? |
|---|---|---|
| Quitclaim deed | Transfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title. | Yes |
| General warranty deed | Transfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows. | Yes |
| Special warranty deed | Transfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it. | Yes |
| Transfer on death deed | Names who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive. | Yes |
| Lady Bird Deed | An enhanced life estate deed: you keep total control for life, and the property passes automatically at death. | No |
| Life estate deed | You keep the right to live in the property for life; named remaindermen own it after you. | Yes, less common |
| Gift deed | Transfers property to someone as an outright gift, for no payment. | Yes, less common |
New Hampshire does not recognize lady bird deeds, so recording one here may not do what you want.
How a deed has to be signed in New Hampshire
New Hampshire requires the grantor's signature to be acknowledged before a notary public. No witnesses are required. A justice of the peace can take the acknowledgment instead of a notary public (RSA 477:3).
| Requirement | Rule |
|---|---|
| Notarization | Required. Each signer must appear before the notary and acknowledge the signature. |
| Witnesses | None |
| Preparer statement | Customary, not required |
| Grantee address on the deed | Required |
| Prior deed reference | Optional |
| Spousal joinder | A married owner's spouse must sign and acknowledge a deed of the home to release the homestead right, even if the spouse is not on title (RSA 480:5-a). Without that signature the spouse keeps a right to live in the home, for life if the spouse outlives the owner (RSA 480:3-a). A deed to the owner's own revocable trust keeps the homestead right of the people who sign it unless it expressly releases it (RSA 480:9). |
New Hampshire document formatting rules
A safe layout for New Hampshire is 8.5 × 11 inch paper with a 3-inch clear space at the top of the first page for the register of deeds' stamp, 1-inch margins elsewhere, and no type smaller than 11 point. That is the profile Deedly formats every New Hampshire document to. Writing into the recorder's stamp area is the most common formatting rejection there is.
New Hampshire transfer tax and recording fees
New Hampshire charges Real estate transfer tax at $0.75 per $100 (or part of $100) of the price from EACH party, buyer and seller, for a combined 1.5%. By law the buyer and the seller each pay the tax at that rate (RSA 78-B:4). A purchase agreement can shift the cost between you, but the Register of Deeds collects both halves before it records the deed: you pay by buying tax stamps from the Register when you record. Where the price is $4,000 or less, the buyer and the seller each pay a minimum tax of $20, $40 in all (RSA 78-B:1). A deed into or out of your own revocable trust is taxed at that $40 minimum (Rev 802.02). A transfer that is exempt pays no tax, but the deed must say why it is exempt (RSA 78-B:6). A gift is exempt only if the giver intends a gift, delivers the deed and gives up control (RSA 78-B:1-a, III). If the recipient takes over the mortgage, it is not a gift, and tax is due on at least the property's fair market value (RSA 78-B:1-a, IV). Between related parties with no real price, the state can tax the property's fair market value (RSA 78-B:9).
Common exemptions: gifts in which the recipient takes over no mortgage (RSA 78-B:2, IX), transfers between spouses under a final divorce or annulment decree (RSA 78-B:2, XIII), deeds that only correct an earlier deed (RSA 78-B:2, V), and transfer on death deeds made for no consideration (RSA 78-B:2, XXV).
Forms to file after recording
Within 30 days after the deed is recorded, the grantee files Form CD-57-P and the grantor files Form CD-57-S with the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, online through Granite Tax Connect or by mail. They are required for every taxable transfer and every gift; most other exempt transfers need no declaration (RSA 78-B:10). The grantee also files Form PA-34 with the Department and gives a copy to the town or city assessor. None of these forms goes to the Register of Deeds, and a late form does not affect your title.
Recording fees run about $12 for the first page and roughly $4 per additional page. State law sets $10 for the first page and $4 for each additional page (RSA 478:17-g). A register may add a surcharge of up to $2 per document, but only in a county whose commissioners and county convention have approved it (RSA 478:17-j), so the fee is not set the same everywhere. When Deedly checked in September 2026, all ten registries' fee pages listed $12 for the first page. A $25 LCHIP surcharge on every deed is paid by the grantee (RSA 478:17-g, II). A two-page deed costs $41 in all where the $2 surcharge applies, and $2 less where it does not. Add return postage.
See how New Hampshire's transfer tax and recording fee compare with other states.
How to hold title in New Hampshire
- Sole ownership. One person owns everything.
- Tenancy in common. Separate, divisible shares with no survivorship. A deceased owner's share goes to their heirs.
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship. Equal shares; the survivor takes the whole property automatically.
Where to record a deed in New Hampshire
Deeds are recorded with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property is located. New Hampshire has 10 counties. Many offices accept e-recording, but usually only from approved submitters such as title companies, attorneys, and lenders.
Hillsborough · Rockingham · Merrimack · Strafford · Grafton · Cheshire. all New Hampshire recording offices
Why deeds get rejected in New Hampshire
- New Hampshire charges its transfer tax to BOTH parties (0.75% each, 1.5% total) which is unusual and catches people out.
- The Register of Deeds charges transfer tax on every deed unless the deed itself states why it is exempt (RSA 78-B:6). The form is not enough.
- Forms CD-57-P, CD-57-S and PA-34 must be filed with the Department of Revenue Administration within 30 days after recording, in addition to recording the deed.
- The register must refuse a deed whose property description does not name, in its first sentence, every town or city the land lies in (RSA 478:4-a). Use the town or city, not the post office name.
- A married owner's spouse must sign the deed of the home to release the homestead right, even if the spouse is not on title (RSA 480:5-a).
- New Hampshire has recognized transfer on death deeds since July 1, 2024 (RSA 563-D). One is void unless it is recorded within 60 days after it is signed and before the owner's death.
- New Hampshire does not recognize tenancy by the entirety. A deed to spouses "as tenants by the entirety" creates a joint tenancy with right of survivorship (RSA 477:18).
From $29. Every New Hampshire rule above is applied automatically, and you read the finished document before you pay.
Common questions
You sign a deed, have it notarized, and record it with the Register of Deeds in the county where the property sits. Which deed depends on what you're doing: a quitclaim for family transfers and adding or removing a name, a warranty deed for a sale, and a transfer-on-death deed for probate avoidance.
No. New Hampshire does not require an attorney to prepare or record a deed. Use one when ownership is disputed, when the owner has died and the estate has not been probated, when the estate is large enough to owe tax, or when Medicaid planning is involved.
About $12 for the first page and roughly $4 per additional page. New Hampshire also charges real estate transfer tax at $0.75 per $100 (or part of $100) of the price from EACH party, buyer and seller, for a combined 1.5%.
Yes. Since July 1, 2024, New Hampshire owners can name a beneficiary in a transfer on death deed (RSA 563-D). The deed must be recorded before the owner's death and within 60 days after it is signed, or it is void (RSA 563-D:9).
Keep reading
- New Hampshire quitclaim deedTransfers whatever interest you have in a property, with no promises about the title.
- New Hampshire general warranty deedTransfers ownership with the strongest title guarantees the law allows.
- New Hampshire special warranty deedTransfers ownership, but only guarantees the title for the period you owned it.
- New Hampshire transfer on death deedNames who inherits your property, skips probate, and changes nothing while you're alive.
- New Hampshire recording officesWhere to file in each county, with fees and contact details.
- Compare all 51 jurisdictionsWitness rules, transfer taxes, and recording fees side by side.
Deedly is not a law firm
Its software and documents are not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. We provide self-help software and state-specific deed forms; you make your own decisions about your property. Using Deedly does not create an attorney-client relationship, and nothing here is legal advice. If your situation is complex or contested, talk to a licensed attorney in your state.