New Hampshire earns a D for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Higher bar to forfeit in limited cases: Weak conviction provision falls short of criminal forfeiture. It purports to require conviction of the owner but also makes it the owner’s burden to prove their own innocence. The standard by which property must be linked to a crime following a conviction is unclear.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 90% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement (45% to local law enforcement up to $225,000 from a single forfeiture and 45% to the state’s drug forfeiture fund; any amount above $1 million in the drug forfeiture fund goes to the general fund).
The letter grade reflects New Hampshire’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in New Hampshire?
Under New Hampshire law, prosecutors’ and court deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 150 days, but the wait may be longer as there is no deadline for providing notice of the complaint and the deadline for the hearing is unclear. While you wait, the government has your property, but innocent owners can try to get it back by petitioning the court.
*After 10 days from the seizure, you can petition the court to return your property as an innocent owner.
**Because a hearing is required and you must be given notice, it is not clear that failure to answer results in default.
***If you have been charged with a drug-related crime and found not guilty, the forfeiture must be dismissed. You or the government can also request to stay forfeiture proceedings until any criminal proceedings concludes. The government can also pursue forfeiture after a person has been convicted, but the attorney general does not consider this “best practice.”
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $31 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | New Hampshire Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | $63,237 | $346,243 | $0 | $409,480 |
| 2001 | $455,552 | $0 | $455,552 | |
| 2002 | $250,507 | $728,182 | $854,000 | $1,832,689 |
| 2003 | $882,749 | $0 | $882,749 | |
| 2004 | $281,636 | $806,361 | $0 | $1,087,997 |
| 2005 | $1,271,291 | $0 | $1,271,291 | |
| 2006 | $142,000 | $1,301,766 | $55,000 | $1,498,766 |
| 2007 | $1,334,732 | $14,000 | $1,348,732 | |
| 2008 | $97,000 | $1,072,645 | $119,000 | $1,288,645 |
| 2009 | $573,046 | $282,000 | $855,046 | |
| 2010 | $131,800 | $1,071,941 | $481,000 | $1,684,741 |
| 2011 | $1,476,115 | $159,000 | $1,635,115 | |
| 2012 | $184,853 | $2,006,141 | $64,000 | $2,254,994 |
| 2013 | $1,482,392 | $1,000 | $1,483,392 | |
| 2014 | $103,978 | $1,935,116 | $11,000 | $2,050,094 |
| 2015 | $109,446 | $792,359 | $7,000 | $908,805 |
| 2016 | $277,280 | $1,703,693 | $30,000 | $2,010,973 |
| 2017 | $232,186 | $1,016,285 | $1,000 | $1,249,471 |
| 2018 | $570,127 | $1,083,222 | $24,000 | $1,677,349 |
| 2019 | $469,043 | $642,011 | $22,000 | $1,133,054 |
| 2020 | $221,035 | $694,346 | $149,000 | $1,064,381 |
| 2021 | $241,398 | $363,634 | $378,000 | $983,032 |
| 2022 | $297,840 | $456,070 | $248,000 | $1,001,910 |
| 2023 | $148,585 | $867,484 | $28,000 | $1,044,069 |
| Totals | $3,821,951 | $24,363,376 | $2,927,000 | $31,112,327 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
New Hampshire does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, New Hampshire agencies have generated more than $27 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 72 New Hampshire agencies, or an estimated 36% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under New Hampshire Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
New Hampshire does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
New Hampshire does not report the types of property forfeited.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
New Hampshire does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Agencies do not provide detailed data on seized or forfeited property, resulting in limited transparency into forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
DStatewide Forfeiture Reports
APenalties for Failure to File a Report
FAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
FAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
AFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide forfeiture data for 2020–2023 were obtained via public records requests to the state attorney general. Data for earlier years were downloaded from the New Hampshire General Court’s website or obtained via public records requests to the AG. Revenues represent fiscal-year deposits to the state Drug Forfeiture Fund, although slightly different reporting methodologies may result in small differences over time. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Weak conviction provision that purports to require an owner’s conviction, but also makes it the owner’s burden to prove innocence. The provision was enacted in 2016 and has not been definitively interpreted by the New Hampshire courts. It is unclear whether the standard of proof to link property to the crime, after the conviction provision is satisfied, is preponderance of the evidence or clear and convincing evidence.
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 318-B:17-b(IV)(b), (d), 617:1-a(I). Compare id. § 318-B:17-b(IV)(b) (preponderance for drug forfeitures), with id. § 617:1-a(III) (clear and convincing for all forfeitures).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 318-B:17-b(IV)(b), 617:4-a.
Financial incentive: 90% (45% to local law enforcement, 45% to the state drug forfeiture fund), with caps. Local law enforcement can keep no more than $225,000 from a single forfeiture, and amounts in the state drug forfeiture fund above $1,000,000 must be turned over to the state general fund.
N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 318-B:17-b(V).
Process: N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 318-B:17-b (drug forfeiture); id. §§ 617:1 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); N.H. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 4 (time to answer); N.H. Dep’t of Justice, Law Enforcement Manual 382–90 (2020), https://www.doj.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt721/files/inline-documents/sonh/law-enforcement-manual-2020_0.pdf (forfeiture procedure).