New Hampshire Laws Regarding Bail Bonds & Bounty Hunters
Below is basic information on bail bond laws for New Hampshire concerning Bail Enforcement, Bounty Hunters, Fugitive Apprehension and Bail Bondsman. This is not legal advice as laws change frequently. Please check the links provided for possible updates and current information.
- Bail bond law state statutes:
- New Hampshire Statutes Annotated Title LIX. Proceedings In Criminal Cases Chapter 597. Bail And Recognizances § 597:7 – 36.
New Hampshire Statutes Annotated Title LIX. Proceedings In Criminal Cases Chapter 598-a. Professional Bondsmen § 598-a:1 – 6.
- Licensing requirements for Bail agents:
- New Hampshire Statutes Annotated Title LIX. Proceedings In Criminal Cases Chapter 597. Bail And Recognizances § 597:7-b
- “Bail agent” means any person appointed by an insurer by power of attorney to execute or countersign bail bonds for the insurer in connection with judicial proceedings and who receives a premium.
- “Recovery agent” means a person who meets the requirements of paragraph II of this section and who is offered or given any compensation by a bail agent or surety in exchange for assisting the bail agent or surety in apprehending or surrendering any defendant, or keeping the defendant under necessary surveillance.
- (Paragraph II) Any person who operates as a recovery agent in this state, excluding licensed private detectives, shall be trained and certified through a program approved by the Professional Bail Agents of the United States and shall register annually with the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall issue to each registered recovery agent proof of such registration.
- Each bail agency operating in this state shall annually provide to the secretary of state proof of liability insurance coverage in the amount of $300,000 for bail recovery activities of the agency’s bail agents and bail recovery agents.
- This proof of insurance coverage shall be provided before the agency’s bail agents are licensed or re-licensed, and before the agency’s bail recovery agents are registered or re-registered.
- Bail recovery agents acting as independent contractors shall provide proof of liability insurance coverage in the amount of $300,000 to the secretary of state before registration or re-registration.
- Any person who operates as a recovery agent in this state without meeting such certification, insurance, and registration requirements shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
Sets forth certification and registration requirements for Bail Agents and Recovery Agents.
New Hampshire Statutes Annotated Title LIX. Proceedings In Criminal Cases Chapter 598-a. Professional Bondsmen § 598-A:1 Approval and Registration.
- No person proposing to become bail or surety in a criminal case for hire or reward, either received or to be received, shall be accepted as such unless he shall have been approved and registered as a professional bondsman by the secretary of state or his designee; provided, however, no person proposing to become bail or surety in a criminal case in any calendar year after having become bail or surety in criminal cases on 5 separate occasions in said year shall be accepted thereafter during that year as bail or surety unless he shall have been approved and registered as a professional bondsman as provided in this section.
§ 598-A:1-a Fees.
- A person proposing to become bail or surety and registered as a professional bondsman shall pay to the secretary of state or his designee an initial application fee of $400; the fee shall be deposited in the general fund by the state treasurer as unrestricted revenue.
- Thereafter, an annual renewal fee of $100 for the registration in each county of the state where a professional bondsman seeks to post bail shall be due and payable to the secretary of state or his designee on December 30 for the ensuing year. The fee shall be deposited in the general fund by the state treasurer as unrestricted revenue.
§ 598-A:2 Revocation.
- Approval and registration under this chapter may be revoked at any time by the secretary of state or his designee and shall be revoked in case such a bondsman fails for 30 days after demand to satisfy in full a judgment recovered under RSA 597:33 (see #6 on this outline).
§ 598-A:6 Exceptions.
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The provisions of this chapter do not apply to a fidelity, guaranty or surety company duly authorized to transact business in New Hampshire nor any duly authorized agent thereof. A person shall be deemed to have become bail or surety if he becomes such:
- (1) for a person in respect to a single offense; or
(2) for a person in respect to 2 or more offenses committed at the same time or arising out of the same transaction or course of conduct wherefore he at different times offers bail or surety; or
(3) for 2 or more persons at the same time offering bail or surety in respect to offenses committed jointly or in a common course of conduct.
(4) Becoming bail or surety for the same person or persons in subsequent proceedings in connection with prosecution for the same offense or offenses shall not be deemed an additional occasion or occasions. - Bail agent’s arrest authority.
- New Hampshire Statutes Annotated Title LIX. Proceedings In Criminal Cases Chapter 612. Uniform Criminal Extradition Law §612:18
Power of arrest for recovery of bonds.
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If a prisoner is admitted to bail and fails to appear and surrender himself according to the conditions of his bond, the judge or magistrate, by proper order, shall declare the bond forfeited and order his immediate arrest without warrant if he is within this state. Recovery may be had on such bond in the name of the state as in the case of other bonds given by the accused in criminal proceedings within this state.
- Bounty hunter (fugitive apprehension) provisions:
- New Hampshire Statutes Annotated Title LIX. Proceedings In Criminal Cases Chapter 597. Bail And Recognizances General Provisions § 597:7-b Bail Agents and Recovery Agents; Notification to Local Law Enforcement Required.
- A bail agent or recovery agent searching for a person who has violated conditions of release shall notify a municipality’s chief law enforcement officer if the search is to be conducted in the municipality’s jurisdiction.
- Links to State and Local Authorities:
Please check with the New Hampshire’s Department of Insurance, Licensing Board and/or Local Law Enforcement for the most recent updates. If you know of any updates to New Hampshire’s bail bond laws, please provide as much detail as possible and send to us using our contact form.
