State service guide

New Hampshire DUI laws: DWI terminology, 30-day administrative-review deadline, and long repeat-offense revocations

New Hampshire uses DWI rather than DUI, and the law splits into two tracks: administrative license suspension after a failed test or refusal, and the separate court-ordered revocation after conviction. The core thresholds are 0.08 for most drivers, 0.02 for drivers under 21, and 0.04 in a commercial motor vehicle. On the administrative side, a failed test brings a 6-month suspension on a clean record or 2 years with a prior refusal, DWI, aggravated DWI, or prior administrative suspension, while a refusal brings 180 days on a first incident with no prior DWI history or 2 years with a prior refusal or DWI. On the court side, a first DWI conviction means at least 9 months of revocation, aggravated DWI usually means at least 18 months plus ignition interlock, a second offense within 10 years means at least 3 years, and a third or later offense leads to indefinite revocation with a multi-year wait before reapplication.

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BAC thresholds New Hampshire uses 0.08 BAC for most drivers, 0.02 for drivers under 21, and 0.04 in a commercial motor vehicle
Review deadline A request for administrative review or hearing must reach the department within 30 days after the notice is issued
First admin test-failure suspension A first administrative suspension for testing at or above the legal limit is 6 months
First conviction revocation A first New Hampshire DWI conviction revokes driving privileges for at least 9 months

Overview

What this page helps you verify

A strong New Hampshire DUI page should really be written as a DWI page and should separate administrative suspension from criminal-court revocation. The state has several important forks that generic summaries flatten too much: failed test versus refusal, ordinary DWI versus aggravated DWI, under-21 cases, and the separate commercial-driver consequences tied to 0.04 BAC and CDL disqualification. The practical planning questions are therefore procedural first, not just 'what is a first offense?'

Last reviewed: 2026-05-18. This page was manually upgraded against service-specific official sources, but requirements can still change quickly.

Usually needed

Documents and information to prepare

  • The DWI arrest paperwork, including the notice of suspension, any temporary license, and the officer's test or refusal documentation
  • Chemical-test results or refusal paperwork if the issue is the administrative suspension under RSA 265-A:30 or RSA 265-A:14
  • Court paperwork showing whether the charge is ordinary DWI, aggravated DWI, or a repeat offense within 10 years
  • IDCMP screening, evaluation, treatment, or impaired-driver-education records if you are seeking restoration after a conviction
  • Ignition interlock installation and compliance records if the case involves aggravated DWI, a subsequent DWI, or another interlock order
  • Commercial-driver records if the stop involved a CDL holder or a commercial motor vehicle

Typical flow

What the process often looks like

  1. Treat the administrative suspension and the criminal DWI case as separate New Hampshire problems from the start.
  2. Read the suspension notice immediately and decide whether to request administrative review or a hearing, because the state denies requests received more than 30 days after the notice is issued.
  3. Identify whether the case involves a failed test, a refusal, an under-21 driver, aggravated DWI, or a CDL issue, because New Hampshire changes the suspension and restoration rules across those categories.
  4. If the case reaches conviction, plan around the minimum revocation period plus any IDCMP, impaired-driver-education, and ignition-interlock requirements instead of assuming the matter ends when the calendar revocation period expires.

Two tracks

A New Hampshire DWI arrest can suspend driving privileges before the court case is over

That split is the first structural point the page should make clear.

  • RSA 265-A:30 says the department imposes an administrative suspension after a failed test at the legal limit or after the officer reports a refusal under RSA 265-A:14.
  • The officer serves immediate notice and the suspension becomes effective 30 days after service, with a temporary New Hampshire license valid for the notice period.
  • RSA 265-A:31 lets the driver request administrative review or a hearing, but the department denies requests received more than 30 days after the notice is issued.

Administrative side

New Hampshire distinguishes sharply between a failed test and a refusal

This is where the practical suspension math starts.

  • RSA 265-A:30 sets a 6-month administrative suspension for a first failed test at 0.08 or higher, or 0.02 or higher if the driver was under 21, and 2 years if there is a prior refusal, DWI or aggravated DWI conviction, or prior administrative suspension.
  • RSA 265-A:14 sets a 180-day refusal suspension for a first refusal with no prior DWI or aggravated DWI conviction, and 2 years if there is a prior refusal or DWI history.
  • RSA 265-A:14 also says the refusal suspension does not run concurrently with other title-21 penalties except in the statute's narrow long-suspension exception.

Court conviction

Conviction penalties in New Hampshire escalate fast, and the second-offense window is 10 years

The court-side chart is much harsher than the first arrest paperwork alone may suggest.

  • A first DWI conviction under RSA 265-A:18 brings at least 9 months of revocation, though the court may suspend up to 6 months if the driver completes the required screening, evaluation, service-plan compliance, and impaired-driver education.
  • Aggravated DWI usually brings at least 18 months of revocation, and RSA 265-A:18 orders ignition interlock in those aggravated categories.
  • A second DWI conviction based on a prior within 10 years brings at least 3 years of revocation, a third leads to indefinite revocation with no restoration for at least 5 years, and a fourth or subsequent offense remains indefinite with no petition to reapply for at least 7 years.

Special categories

Under-21, aggravated, and commercial cases each add their own New Hampshire consequences

These are the categories that make a flat adult first-offense summary incomplete.

  • RSA 265-A:18 says a driver whose offense occurred while under 21 faces at least 1 year of revocation.
  • RSA 265-A:3 makes a case aggravated in several ways, including 0.16 BAC, more than 30 miles per hour over the limit, serious bodily injury, eluding police, carrying a passenger under 16, driving a vehicle with a gross combination weight rating of 10,001 pounds or more, or driving the wrong way under RSA 265:26, I.
  • For commercial driving, RSA 265-A:23 and RSA 263:94 add CDL consequences for a 0.04 BAC in a commercial motor vehicle, and RSA 265-A:24 separately puts a commercial driver out of service for 24 hours for driving a commercial motor vehicle with alcohol in the system or for refusing testing.

Accuracy notes

Where people get tripped up

  • New Hampshire DUI content should be framed as DWI content and should separate the administrative suspension track from the criminal-court revocation track.
  • The 30-day deadline to request administrative review or a hearing is an operational rule that should be stated directly, because missing it leaves the suspension in place.
  • Refusal penalties should not be merged into the failed-test chart. New Hampshire gives refusal its own suspension statute and generally does not let that suspension run concurrently with other title-21 penalties.
  • Repeat-offense content should keep the 10-year lookback visible, because that window controls when the second, third, and later DWI penalties apply.

FAQ

Common questions

  • Does New Hampshire use the term DUI or DWI?

    New Hampshire's statutes use DWI, meaning driving while intoxicated, rather than DUI.

  • How long do I have to request an administrative review or hearing in New Hampshire?

    RSA 265-A:31 says the department denies a request received more than 30 days after the notice of suspension is issued.

  • What is the license penalty for a first New Hampshire DWI conviction?

    RSA 265-A:18 sets the minimum revocation at 9 months, though the court may suspend up to 6 months if the driver completes the required screening, evaluation, service-plan compliance, and impaired-driver education.

  • What happens if I refuse a chemical test in New Hampshire?

    RSA 265-A:14 sets a 180-day suspension for a first refusal with no prior DWI history and 2 years if there is a prior refusal or prior DWI or aggravated DWI conviction.

  • When is ignition interlock required in New Hampshire DWI cases?

    RSA 265-A:36 requires ignition interlock after aggravated DWI under RSA 265-A:18, I(b) or I(c), and after subsequent DWI offenses under RSA 265-A:18, IV, with the court setting a period of not less than 12 months and not more than 2 years.

Sources

Official references used for this page

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