All vehicles owned by New Hampshire residents must be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles.
You can apply in person and, if eligible, you can obtain specialty or personalized license plates for your vehicle.
Vehicles in the state of New Hampshire must display license plates on the front and rear of their vehicles. Motorcycles and trailers are only required to have license plates on the back.
There are various types of license plates in New Hampshire, such as:
When you purchase a new vehicle, you may require temporary plates to drive legally until your vehicle’s registration has been completed. Temporary plates cost $10 and are valid for 20 days.
You must register your vehicle with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in New Hampshire.
You must register your vehicle:
Applications can be made in person at the nearest DMV. You will be required to submit the following:
Upon successful registration of your vehicle, you can receive standard license plates to secure to your vehicle. If you have applied for specialty, personalized, or disability license plates, you are required to use a temporary plate until your new ones have arrived.
There are various specialty license plates available in the state of New Hampshire. The following are examples of the license plates you can apply for:
When applying for a specialty plate, you may be required to submit supporting document to pass eligibility criteria. For example, military license plates require active or past enrollment with the U.S. forces.
You are also required to make an additional payment for these plates. For example, the State Park Plate requires an annual fee of $85.
If you want to add a personalized license plate to your vehicle, you can look up available plate numbers online.
Guidelines from the DMV state that plate numbers must:
You may be required to submit your reasoning for why you want to personalize your license plate. All applications are reviewed and subject to approval by the DMV.
The cost for personalization is $40 in addition to any standard registration fees.
For people with disabilities, special license plates and placards are issued by the DMV.
If you have a disability, you must submit the appropriate documentation to be eligible for these plates.
Disability license plates and placards are issued for the following reasons:
Those who are issued a disability placard must hang them from their rear view mirror and keep them visible at all times.
Before your license plates expire, you are required to renew your vehicle with the DMV either in person, online, or by mail.
You’ll be given a new set of decals, which you can apply to the rear of your vehicle.
If you have purchased a new vehicle in your name, it is permissible to transfer your license plates. You are not allowed to transfer your license plates to another person when you sell your vehicle to someone else.
You can apply for a transfer when you register your new vehicle with the DMV.
If you are not going to transfer your license plates after purchasing a new vehicle, you may be required to surrender your license plates.
You may have to surrender your license plates if the following occurs:
Contact your local DMV office in your county to get more information about surrendering license plates.
If your license plates have been lost, damaged, or stolen, you can apply for replacement plates with the DMV.
You must file for a replacement and surrender any plates (if damaged). There is also a replacement fee of $4 for new plates and $1 for new decals.
It is possible to look up license plates in the state of New Hampshire.
If you are looking for available plate numbers, you can use FindByPlate to search in your state or any state across the U.S.
You can also use FindByPlate to obtain additional information about a vehicle and the license plate registered to it.
