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Your rights

New Hampshire

New Hampshire · home improvement

Your rights in New Hampshire

Information, not legal adviceRules checked Oct 4, 2026

3 business days to cancel

If sold away from their office for $150 or more

Cancel before midnight of the third business day by mailed notice or by returning the goods. Money back within 15 days.

No exceptions are listed in the rule we read.

Read the full rule

When it applies

A sale of goods or services priced at $150 or more that the seller solicits and makes anywhere other than the seller's permanent place of business (for example, at your home).

If a seller solicits and makes a sale of $150 or more anywhere other than its permanent place of business, such as your home, you can cancel any time before midnight of the third business day after the date of the transaction. Cancel by written notice mailed to the seller (certified or registered mail is preferred) or by returning the goods in person. The seller must return your payments within 15 days of your cancellation and cannot keep any money for work done during the cancellation period.

RSA 361-B · read on gc.nh.gov · checked Oct 4, 2026 (official source, opens in a new tab)

The contract must include

Source: NH law

An estimate isn't the contract. Ask for all 4 in writing before you sign.

  • Receipt & a copy of the contractSales of $150+ away from their office: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For a sale of $150 or more made away from the seller's permanent place of business (for example, at your home): give you a fully completed receipt and a copy of the contract when it is signed.

  • Seller's name, address & dateOn that receipt or contract: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    On that receipt or contract, show the seller's name and address and the date of the transaction.

  • 3-day cancel statementSales of $150+ away from their office: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    On that receipt or contract, print next to your signature line, in boldface type of at least 10 point, the statement that you may cancel any time before midnight of the third business day after the date of the transaction.

  • Defect notice ruleJobs over $5,000: notice before suing: show the rule's own words

    In the rule's words

    For a contract over $5,000 to build or improve a home: give you a conspicuous written notice (it may be part of the contract) that state law (RSA 359-G) requires you to serve the contractor with written notice of any defects at least 60 days before you sue, giving it a chance to offer a repair or payment.

On signing day

  • Keep a signed copy
  • Find the cancel notice
Sources16 official pages · checked Oct 4, 2026

Notes from our check

  • Deposit: no statute limiting deposits or down payments on home improvement contracts was found. RSA 361-B (home solicitation sales), RSA 358-A (Consumer Protection Act) and RSA 359-G (residential construction defects) were read in full on gc.nh.gov. The full text of every chapter in RSA Title XXX (Occupations and Professions) and Title XXXI (Trade and Commerce) was also searched for 'home improvement', 'down payment' and deposit limits tied to a price or percentage, with no relevant hit. The Attorney General's July 2024 guide 'Risks Involved with Hiring a Contractor' warns about substantial deposits and suggests asking for an itemized list of what a deposit covers, but names no legal limit. depositCap is null: the app must not state a New Hampshire cap or borrow one from another state.
  • Registration: New Hampshire has no statewide general or home improvement contractor license or registration, so registration is null. The Attorney General's July 2024 guide says contractors in New Hampshire are not required to maintain a professional license. No home improvement contractor chapter appears in RSA Titles XXX or XXXI, and the statute site includes laws effective as late as 2026 and 2027 (for example RSA 153:34 as amended 2026, 104:5, and RSA 482-B:4-a effective January 1, 2027). Some trades do need their own state credential: electricians (RSA 319-C), plumbers and fuel gas fitters (RSA 153:27 to 153:36 and rule Mec 302.01, Mechanical Licensing Board within the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification), commercial pesticide applicators (RSA 430:33), home inspectors (RSA 310-A:189), septic system installers (RSA 485-A:36), water well contractors and pump installers (RSA 482-B:5), lead inspectors, risk assessors and abatement contractors (RSA 130-A:9, V and 130-A:12) and asbestos abatement contractors (RSA 141-E:10).
  • Cancellation: the state right is RSA 361-B:1 and 361-B:2. The buyer cancels by written notice mailed to the seller (certified or registered mail preferred) or by returning the merchandise in person within the period. The seller must return payments, any trade-in and any note within 15 days. If the seller did work during the cancellation period, the buyer gets back all money paid with no deduction for that work, or may instead demand that the property be restored where it reasonably can be (RSA 361-B:2, I(b-1)). RSA 361-B does not define 'business day'. A violation is an unfair or deceptive practice under RSA 358-A:2 (RSA 361-B:3).
  • Cancellation exceptions: the full text of RSA 361-B (sections 1, 2, 2-a and 3) lists no emergency or other exception, so exceptions is an empty list. The statute does let a seller comply instead by guaranteeing in writing, on the face or back of the sales ticket, receipt or contract, that the buyer may cancel, refuse delivery or return the goods for a full refund at any time (RSA 361-B:2, I(a)); that gives the buyer a broader right, not a narrower one. A contract that uses the FTC's notice-of-cancellation forms also counts as compliant if it gives at least equal information.
  • Federal rule alongside the state rule: the FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429) also applies. It covers sales of $25 or more made at the buyer's home ($130 or more at other temporary locations), so a home sale of $25 to $149 that is below the RSA 361-B threshold is still covered by the 3-business-day federal right. Unlike RSA 361-B, which applies when the seller 'engages in a solicitation', the federal definition also covers sales made in response to or following an invitation by the buyer. The federal rule counts every day except Sunday and federal holidays as a business day and excludes certain buyer-initiated emergency and repair visits. 16 CFR 429.2 keeps state door-to-door laws in force unless they are directly inconsistent with the federal rule. The eCFR text was read through the eCFR API because the ecfr.gov page redirected automated requests.
  • Contract contents: the contractMust items are the RSA 361-B:2 notice requirements, which apply only to home solicitation sales, and the RSA 359-G:7 notice, which applies to contracts over $5,000 to build or improve a residence. No other New Hampshire statute read for this entry sets general content rules for home improvement contracts. The Attorney General's July 2024 guide recommends, without citing a legal requirement, a written contract signed by all parties that addresses change orders.
  • Pages that would not load automatically: doj.nh.gov, mm.nh.gov, oplc.nh.gov, agriculture.nh.gov and des.nh.gov returned HTTP 403 to automated fetches. The Attorney General's July 2024 PDF and the OPLC Mechanical Licensing Board page were read through a browser. Department of Agriculture, DES and DHHS pages were not read, so the pest-control, septic-well, lead and asbestos decisions rest on statute text from gc.nh.gov.
  • For the app's maintainers: the app's existing NH terminology entry lists hvac and environmental-testing as state-licensed trades. The sources read here support that only in part. Gas heating work needs a fuel gas fitter license, oil heating certification is voluntary (RSA 153:16-b; the OPLC board page lists 'Oil Heating Technician - Voluntary'), and RSA 153:36, VII exempts plumbing done for heating and cooling systems from the plumber license. For environmental work, lead inspectors, risk assessors and abatement contractors need a DHHS license (RSA 130-A:9, V; 130-A:12) and asbestos abatement contractors a DES license (RSA 141-E:10), but radon mitigation and mold assessment need national third-party certification rather than a state license (RSA 310-A:189-a and 189-b). Both slugs are left out of tradeCoverage so the app falls back to its own map. A person should review that map entry.

General information from official New Hampshire sources. For your situation, ask the state's consumer protection office or a lawyer.

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