New Hampshire Fair Credit Reporting Act (including Security Freeze)
NH FCRA
Credit reporting · Financial
New Hampshire's own credit reporting statute limits when consumer reporting agencies may furnish reports, requires accuracy, dispute and disclosure procedures, and imposes adverse-action notice duties on users. Its security freeze subdivision lets consumers freeze, temporarily lift and remove freezes for free on short deadlines, and gives identity theft victims free reports and police reports.
- Where
- New Hampshire
- Citation
- N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. ch. 359-B
- Status
- In force
- In force since
- 1971-08-29
- Last amended
- 2019-01-01
- Enforced by
- New Hampshire Attorney General (administrative enforcement); consumers through civil actions
- People can sue
- Yes
- Penalties
- Willful noncompliance: actual damages or $1,000 (whichever is greater), punitive damages, costs and fees; negligent noncompliance: actual damages or $1,000, costs and fees; 2-year limitations period. Obtaining information under false pretenses is a misdemeanor (natural person) or felony (other person); unauthorized disclosure by agency staff carries fines up to $5,000 and up to one year in prison.
- Applies to
- Consumer reporting agencies furnishing consumer reports
- Users of consumer reports (creditors, insurers, employers)
- Persons obtaining consumer information
What a privacy notice must say
- Users that deny or raise the cost of credit, insurance or employment because of a consumer report must tell the consumer and name the reporting agency.RSA 359-B:15, I
- While a freeze is in place, agencies must send written confirmation within 30 days of changing a consumer's name, date of birth, SSN or address.RSA 359-B:24, XI
Rights it gives people
- Identity theft victims who provide a police report or complaint get free copies of their consumer report; local police must take identity theft reports.RSA 359-B:27; 359-B:29
- Consumers may place a security freeze free of charge; agencies must place it within 3 business days of a mailed request or 24 hours of an electronic or phone request and send confirmation with a PIN or password.RSA 359-B:24, I-III, XII
- Consumers may opt out of prescreened lists; the election takes effect within 5 business days and agencies must maintain a notification system including a toll-free number.RSA 359-B:4-a
- Agencies must temporarily lift a freeze within 15 minutes of an electronic or phone request (3 business days by mail) and remove it within 15 minutes of an electronic request.RSA 359-B:24, V, IX
Practices it requires
- Consumer reporting agencies may furnish consumer reports only for enumerated permissible purposes such as court order, the consumer's written instruction, credit, employment, insurance or legitimate business need.RSA 359-B:4, I
Sources
Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.
Unverified: Extent to which NH provisions are preempted by the federal FCRA (15 U.S.C. 1681t) was not analyzed
Research reference, not legal advice.