New Hampshire License Plate Reader Laws (2026)

New Hampshire has a specific ALPR statute, RSA 261:75-b. In one sentence, only local, county and state law enforcement may use the devices, for a list of official purposes, and records of plates read must be purged within 3 minutes of capture unless an alarm led to an arrest, citation or protective custody, or identified a vehicle in a missing person or wanted broadcast.

Information reviewed September 30, 2026.

For related pages, see the New Hampshire entry in the state comparison, the ALPR laws hub, Are Flock cameras legal?, What are Flock cameras?, and our New Hampshire surveillance camera laws guide.

Who may use license plate readers in New Hampshire?

RSA 261:75-b restricts use of license plate readers, which it calls number plate scanning devices, to local, county and state law enforcement officers, subject to the statute's conditions. A device may be installed only to record and check plates and "shall not be capable of photographing or recording or producing images of the occupants of a motor vehicle."

The agency head must authorize devices and administer documented training. Before use, the agency head must register each device with the Department of Safety and certify compliance, a governing policy and a training process. The administrative rules, Saf-C 7200, require the registration on Form DSCO1.

What purposes are allowed?

Under paragraph V, "LPR operation and access to LPR collected data shall be for official law enforcement purposes only," to identify:

• stolen vehicles;
• vehicles tied to wanted, missing or endangered persons;
• vehicles registered to persons with outstanding warrants;
• suspended or revoked license or registration;
• vehicles registered to persons suspected of criminal or terrorist acts, transporting stolen items or contraband, or motor vehicle violations;
• commercial trucking violations;
• case-specific criminal investigative surveillance;
• homicides, shootings and other major crimes; and
• vehicles in the vicinity of a recent crime.

Data obtained for those purposes may not be used or shared for any other purpose.

Is a plate reader match enough for a stop?

No. "A positive match by an LPR device alone shall not constitute reasonable suspicion as grounds for a law enforcement officer to stop the vehicle." The officer must develop independent reasonable suspicion or immediately confirm the match visually and by other means. Before a stop, the officer must attempt to visually verify the plate and query NCIC.

How long can New Hampshire keep plate data?

Records of plates read by each device must not be recorded or transmitted anywhere and "shall be purged from the system within 3 minutes of their capture in such a manner that they are destroyed and are not recoverable" (paragraph VIII).

There is a narrow exception. If an alarm resulted in an arrest, citation or protective custody, or identified a vehicle that was the subject of a missing person or wanted broadcast, data on that plate may be kept until final court disposition.

What audits and remedies does the statute provide?

Access to records is case by case, for legitimate investigative, prosecution or audit verification purposes. All inquiries are recorded in an audit trail kept like criminal history logs.

The attorney general or a designee may examine and audit any device, storage server and records of any state, county or local agency. For repeated violations, "the department of justice may seek an injunction banning the use of LPR devices by an agency found to have used an LPR device or devices in repeated violation of this section," and the injunction may require confiscation of the devices if the attorney general deems it necessary to prevent ongoing violations or deter future ones. Agencies must report annually to the commissioner, beginning one year after deployment.

Is the statute being repealed?

No. You may see a January 1, 2027 repeal date discussed elsewhere. It came from 2016 Laws ch. 78 (HB 1154), section 3 of which repealed RSA 259:68-a and RSA 261:75-b effective January 1, 2027. 2026 Laws ch. 88 (HB 1059) provides: "2016, 78:3, relative to prospectively repealing the regulation of the use of number plate scanning devices, is repealed." It was approved and took effect May 28, 2026. Nothing takes effect on January 1, 2027 for RSA 261:75-b. The official RSA pages do not annotate the ch. 88 change, so check the session law itself.

Does the statute cover fixed cameras?

This page does not decide that. The definition in RSA 259:68-a reads "a license plate reading device that is mounted to a vehicle, that is attended to and operated by a law enforcement officer," using automated high-speed camera and optical character recognition technology. How the statute applies to non-vehicle-mounted cameras was not researched, and no court or Attorney General interpretation was found or opened.

A separate, older statute bears on that question without naming plate readers. RSA 236:130 defines "surveillance" as "the act of determining the ownership of a motor vehicle or the identity of a motor vehicle's occupants on the public ways of the state or its political subdivisions through the use of a camera or other imaging device or any other device," and provides that "[n]either the state of New Hampshire nor its political subdivisions shall engage in surveillance on any public ways." Exceptions include surveillance that "[i]s specifically authorized by statute," that is "undertaken on a case-by-case basis in the investigation of a particular violation, misdemeanor, or felony," or that is for toll collection. RSA 236:131 adds that the state and its political subdivisions may not "obtain from others, including private businesses and federal and state governments, any information that it is prohibited from obtaining under" RSA 236:130. A violation is a violation for a natural person and a misdemeanor for any other person. This page does not decide how these sections apply to any particular camera.

Can you request ALPR records in New Hampshire?

This page did not research how the Right-to-Know Law (RSA 91-A) applies to plate reader data. The registration filings, agency policies and annual reports the statute and rules describe are different records, and this page did not test whether they can be obtained.

Toll data is treated separately. Under RSA 237:16-e, "[n]otwithstanding RSA 91-A or any other provision of law, all information received by the department that could serve to identify vehicles, vehicle owners, vehicle occupants, or account holders in any electronic toll collection system" is for the department's exclusive use in administering the toll system, "shall not be open to any other organization or person," and may not be used in court except in actions about toll liability. The department may share it in the course of its administrative duties only with a recipient that is bound by the same limits. Information the department obtains from the department of safety under RSA 260:14, III-a is governed by RSA 260:14 instead. The section does not mention license plate readers.

Have New Hampshire courts or cities addressed ALPR?

The research did not find a New Hampshire court ruling on RSA 261:75-b, and it did not identify audited local deployments. That is a statement about what was found, not proof that none exists. New Hampshire Constitution privacy provisions, local council actions and any 2027 bill were not researched.

Last updated: September 30, 2026. Statutes cited reflect the text reviewed on September 30, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Hampshire have an ALPR law?

Yes. RSA 261:75-b regulates the use of number plate scanning devices, with the definition in RSA 259:68-a and registration rules in Saf-C 7200.

How long can New Hampshire police keep license plate reader data?

Records of plates read must be purged within 3 minutes of capture, unless an alarm led to an arrest, citation or protective custody, or identified a vehicle in a missing person or wanted broadcast. Then data on that plate may be kept until final court disposition.

Is the New Hampshire ALPR law expiring in 2027?

No. A repeal scheduled by 2016 Laws ch. 78 was itself repealed by 2026 Laws ch. 88, approved and effective May 28, 2026.

Can New Hampshire police use plate readers to take pictures of drivers?

No. A device may not be capable of photographing or recording or producing images of the occupants of a motor vehicle.

Who checks whether agencies follow the rules?

The attorney general or a designee may audit any device, server and records, and the Department of Justice may seek an injunction against an agency with repeated violations.

Does the law apply to fixed cameras?

The statutory definition describes a device mounted to a vehicle and operated by an officer. This page does not decide whether fixed cameras are covered.