TITLE XXI
MOTOR VEHICLES

CHAPTER 261
CERTIFICATES OF TITLE AND REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

General Registration

Section 261:57

    261:57 Twenty-Day Registration. –
I. Any resident of this state who intends to purchase a vehicle in another state or from another person or who is unable to register a vehicle because of limited hours of operation of the town clerk in the town where the person resides may apply to the division or its substation or authorized agent nearest his or her residence for a registration to drive said vehicle on the ways of the state in an unregistered condition. Said resident shall appear in person at the division or substation to obtain such registration and shall sign under penalty of perjury a statement that the vehicle is safe for operation upon the highways pursuant to RSA 266, meets all New Hampshire inspection requirements, and in the case of a person seeking an extension of his or her registration, that he or she was unable to register the vehicle because of the limited hours of the town clerk, before said registration may be issued. Said registration shall be valid for 20 days from the time it is issued. Application blanks and permits in the form prescribed by the director shall be designed, printed, and supplied to the substations by the division. The fee for the issuance of a registration shall be $20. It shall be unlawful for any person to drive a vehicle on the ways of the state under a registration issued pursuant to this section unless said person has in his or her possession a valid bill of sale for the vehicle he or she is driving, or in the case of a person whose registration is extended, a copy of the form indicating he or she was unable to register because of the limited hours of the town clerk. No person shall make application for a 20-day registration on the same vehicle more than once within a 12-month period. Only 3 20-day registrations shall be issued on the same vehicle within a 12-month period.
II. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 261:22, a 20-day registration may be issued to a resident to transport a repaired vehicle to an authorized salvage inspection location.

Source.Source. RSA 260:21-a. 1969, 335:1. 1977, 195:1. 1981, 146:1. 1983, 431:5. 1987, 151:1. 1989, 305:4. 1990, 154:1. 1991, 294:1. 1995, 85:2. 2003, 17:1, eff. June 21, 2003. 2017, 239:1, eff. Sept. 16, 2017. 2025, 141:233, eff. Jan. 1, 2026. 2026, 69:5, eff. May 18, 2026.