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Rent Regulations

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540: § 540:5

Service of Demand and Eviction Notice.

In Force
Verified 10/20/2026 · Next check 10/27/2026
effective 10/20/2026New HampshireService Requirements

Operative Text

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540: § 540:5
I. Any notice of a demand for rent or an eviction notice may be served by any person and may be served upon the tenant personally or left at his or her last and usual place of abode. In the case of commercial rental property, service of process may be made at such property provided that a copy of the demand for rent or eviction notice shall be sent by certified mail to the commercial tenant at his or her last known legal address or, for non-residents, by certified mail to the tenant's registered agent if there is a registered agent for the tenant duly registered with the New Hampshire secretary of state or, if there is no such registered agent, by certified mail to the tenant's last known legal address. Proof of service must be shown by a true and attested copy of the notice accompanied by an affidavit of service, but the affidavit need not be sworn under oath. A notice of a demand for rent shall be sufficient if served upon the tenant at any time after the rent becomes due and prior to or simultaneously with the service of an eviction notice.
II. The district court shall provide forms for a demand for rent and eviction notice in the district court clerks' offices and on the New Hampshire judicial branch website. Although a landlord shall not be required to use the forms, a valid demand for rent or eviction notice shall include the same information as is requested and provided on such forms.
Source: Legislative text reproduced verbatim
Plain English

New Hampshire Revised Statutes § 540:5 establishes the rules for how and when landlords must deliver rent-demand and eviction notices to tenants. A notice can be handed directly to the tenant or left at their primary residence; for commercial properties, additional certified-mail steps apply. The statute also requires that proof of service be documented through an attested copy of the notice and an affidavit, and it specifies that official forms are available through the district court, though landlords are not required to use them as long as their notices contain the same required information.

Written by anthropic/claude-sonnet-4.6 · Reviewed on October 20, 2026

Plain English — not legal advice.

For Property Managers

Under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:5, compliant operators generally ensure that rent-demand and eviction notices are delivered either in person to the tenant or left at the tenant's last and usual place of abode, and they retain a properly attested copy along with an affidavit of service as proof. For commercial tenancies, operators also send a copy by certified mail to the tenant's last known legal address or registered agent. While the district court provides standardized forms through its clerks' offices and website, a notice prepared without those forms must still contain all the information those forms request.

General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.

For Tenants

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:5 sets out specific requirements that a landlord must meet when serving a rent-demand or eviction notice, including proper delivery method and documented proof of service. If a notice was not delivered in the manner the statute requires—or lacks the information mandated by the provision—that procedural deficiency may be relevant to any subsequent court proceeding. Tenants who have questions about whether a notice they received complies with § 540:5 may wish to consult a tenant-rights organization or review the district court's published forms, which outline what a valid notice must include.

General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.

Generated October 20, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.

Effective Timeline

Current
Oct 20, 2026
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References Out

No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.

References In

Rules and statutes that cite this regulation

N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:14
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:4
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:5
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:13-d
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:13-a
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:1-b
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:3
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:11-b
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:13-a
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:5
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:1-a
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:20
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:13-a
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:1-a
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:5
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:14
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:9
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:2
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540:3
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 540

Related Rules

§ 326
Service of notices, orders and summonses
§ 735
Manner of service; filing; when service complete
§ 8.22.160
Computation of time

Source Information

Source:https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LV/540/540-5.htm
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