Employers in New Hampshire who run background checks on applicants or employees sit under two layers of law: the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, which sets the baseline for every state, and a short list of New Hampshire statutes that control who may get a copy of a state criminal record and what happens to a record once a court annuls it. There is no separate New Hampshire consumer reporting statute parallel to the FCRA, and the state has not enacted a general ban the box law covering private employers. That makes the rules shorter than in many states, but the two pieces that do exist, the state police records statute and the annulment statute, change how an employer should word an application and how a report should be handled once a candidate discloses an annulled case.
The federal baseline every New Hampshire employer follows
Before an employer orders a background check through a consumer reporting agency for employment purposes, the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires a clear, standalone written disclosure to the candidate and the candidate’s written authorization, separate from the job application itself. This permissible purpose and disclosure requirement comes directly from 15 U.S.C. 1681b. If the employer is thinking about not hiring, or about taking any other adverse action, based in whole or in part on the report, it must send a pre adverse action notice with a copy of the report and a copy of the Summary of Rights, give the candidate a reasonable chance to respond, and then send a final adverse action notice if the decision stands.
The FCRA also limits how old certain negative information can be when it appears on a report. Under 15 U.S.C. 1681c, civil suits, civil judgments, arrest records that did not lead to a conviction, paid tax liens, and accounts in collection generally fall off a consumer report after seven years, and most bankruptcies after ten. Criminal convictions themselves carry no federal reporting time limit, so a conviction can lawfully continue to appear regardless of age unless state law or a court order, such as a New Hampshire annulment, changes that. Separately, when a consumer reporting agency furnishes public record information, such as a criminal court record, for employment purposes and that information is likely to have a negative effect, 15 U.S.C. 1681k requires the agency to either notify the candidate at the time the record is reported or maintain strict procedures to keep the record complete and current.
New Hampshire’s layer: who may actually get a state criminal record
New Hampshire controls access to state criminal history through the state police, not through a separate consumer protection agency. RSA 106-B:14 directs the New Hampshire State Police to maintain public criminal history record information and limits who may request it. The statute specifically allows a consumer reporting agency that is subject to and complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including one screening independent contractors, to request and receive a copy of a candidate’s state criminal conviction record for employment screening. The same section states that public criminal history record information received from the division is the official source of certified criminal history records for employment and licensing purposes, and it bars anyone who receives confidential record information from reselling, renting, or otherwise redisclosing it. In practice, this is the statute that lets a background check company pull a New Hampshire state criminal record for a job applicant, and it is also the reason an employer should not try to obtain that record directly from the state police for employment purposes outside the statute’s channels.
Annulment: New Hampshire’s version of clearing a record
New Hampshire does not use the word expungement for most criminal records. Instead, RSA 651:5 lets a person petition a court to annul an arrest, conviction, or sentence once the sentence is fully served and, for most offenses, a waiting period with no new convictions has passed. The waiting periods set by the statute run from one year for a violation up to ten years for a class A felony, a sexual assault, a felony indecent exposure or lewdness, or a domestic violence conviction. Certain violent crimes, obstruction of justice felonies, and cases that drew an extended prison term cannot be annulled at all. Cases that end in a finding of not guilty or are dismissed or not prosecuted can be annulled quickly, generally thirty days after the dismissal becomes final, with no petition needed for cases disposed of on or after January 1, 2019.
Once a court grants annulment, the statute says the person is to be treated in all respects as if they had never been arrested, convicted, or sentenced, and the court record is sealed except to the person, their attorney, law enforcement for legitimate purposes, or a later sentencing court. The statute also controls the exact question an employer, licensing board, or other party may ask. RSA 651:5, X(f) says a person may be asked about a previous criminal record in an application for employment, license, or other civil right or privilege “only in terms such as ‘Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been annulled by a court?'” An application that simply asks whether the candidate has ever been arrested or convicted, with no reference to annulment, does not match the statute’s wording. The same statute also protects a background screening company or publisher from civil or criminal liability for a report that still shows a record, or for not removing or correcting it, if the company did not know the record had since been annulled, so an employer who learns from a candidate that a record was annulled should raise that directly with its screening provider rather than assume the report will update on its own.
What New Hampshire has not enacted
Several items sometimes listed as New Hampshire employer background check rules do not currently exist as statutes. A review of the official New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated turns up no general ban the box law requiring private employers to delay a criminal history question until later in the hiring process, and no standalone state drug testing statute governing private sector preemployment testing. New Hampshire’s employment discrimination chapter, RSA 275:36 through 275:37-f, covers topics such as equal pay, tobacco use, flexible work arrangements, and protective hairstyles, but it does not address criminal history on applications. Where New Hampshire has not legislated a rule, the safest approach is to say so plainly to candidates and hiring staff rather than assume a protection exists, and to rely on the federal FCRA process and the annulment statute’s specific application wording as the governing rules.
New Hampshire background check rules at a glance
| Rule | New Hampshire status |
|---|---|
| Ban the box for private employers | No statewide statute found requiring employers to delay a criminal history question |
| Lookback period on reported records | No separate state lookback statute; the federal seven year limit on non conviction arrests, civil judgments, and collections under 15 U.S.C. 1681c applies |
| Sealing or clearing a record | RSA 651:5 annulment, waiting periods of one to ten years depending on offense, some violent and repeat offenses barred |
| Required application wording on criminal history | RSA 651:5, X(f) sets the exact phrasing, limited to whether a record has been annulled |
| Who may pull a state criminal record for hiring | RSA 106-B:14 limits access to a consumer reporting agency complying with the FCRA, among other listed parties |
| Private sector drug testing statute | No general statute found governing private employer preemployment drug testing |
Using criminal history without inviting a discrimination claim
Even where New Hampshire has not added its own rule, federal nondiscrimination law still applies to how an employer uses a criminal record once it has one. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has long taken the position that a blanket policy refusing to hire anyone with any criminal record can have a disparate impact on groups protected under Title VII, and the agency’s current guidance on background checks explains the factors employers may want to weigh, such as the nature of the offense, the time that has passed, and the nature of the job. The agency rescinded its 2012 enforcement guidance on arrest and conviction records in late October 2026, so employers should rely on the EEOC’s current published materials rather than that older guidance. An individualized review, rather than an automatic exclusion, generally lowers legal risk, and an employer may be able to apply a bright line rule only where it is tied to a specific, job related safety or legal concern. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a separate statute and does not govern criminal history directly, but it does limit when and how medical and disability related questions can be asked in the same hiring process, and the EEOC’s page on prohibited employment practices is a useful starting point for both topics.
Practical steps for a New Hampshire employer
A New Hampshire employer ordering background checks through a consumer reporting agency should keep the FCRA disclosure and authorization as a standalone document, never buried inside the general application. If the application or any later form asks about criminal history, the question should track the annulment statute’s wording rather than a blanket “have you ever been convicted” question. Before taking adverse action, the employer should run the full pre adverse action and adverse action notice sequence, including the copy of the report and the Summary of Rights, and give the candidate a real chance to respond, which is also where a candidate is most likely to raise an annulled record that a report did not reflect. Because New Hampshire has not adopted a statewide ban the box law, employers who want to delay criminal history questions until after a conditional offer are free to do so as a matter of policy, even though the statute does not require it, and many employers use that approach to support an individualized review under EEOC guidance.
Frequently asked questions
Does New Hampshire have its own ban the box law for private employers?
No statewide statute found in the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated requires private employers to remove a criminal history question from the job application or delay it to a later hiring stage. Employers may still choose to do so as policy.
How long can a criminal conviction appear on a background check in New Hampshire?
The federal seven year limit under the Fair Credit Reporting Act applies to non conviction arrest records, civil judgments, and similar items, but it does not limit how long a conviction itself can be reported. A conviction that has been annulled under RSA 651:5 is treated as if it never happened and should not be reported once the employer or screening company is on notice of the annulment.
What exact question can a New Hampshire employer ask about criminal history?
RSA 651:5, X(f) limits the question to language such as “Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been annulled by a court?” A broader question that does not account for annulment does not match the statute.
Who is allowed to request a candidate’s New Hampshire state criminal record for employment screening?
Under RSA 106-B:14, a consumer reporting agency that is subject to and complies with the Fair Credit Reporting Act may request and receive a copy of a candidate’s state criminal conviction record for employment screening, including for independent contractors.
Can an employer in New Hampshire still require a preemployment drug test?
No general New Hampshire statute specifically governing private sector preemployment drug testing was found. Employers should still follow federal rules that apply to their industry, such as safety sensitive transportation positions, and should handle any prescription documentation through a medical review officer process rather than making their own medical determinations.
Does the EEOC’s 2012 guidance on arrest and conviction records still apply?
No. The EEOC rescinded that 2012 enforcement guidance in late October 2026. Employers should rely on the agency’s current published background check and prohibited employment practices pages rather than the older guidance document.
For a broader look at how fair chance hiring laws work across states, see our guide to ban the box and fair chance hiring laws, and for the mechanics of ordering a compliant report in the first place, see our overview of the employee background check process. To set up FCRA compliant screening for New Hampshire hiring, visit Reveal Background.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Employers should consult qualified counsel about how these laws apply to a specific hiring decision.
