A large pressure-treated deck frame with joists set on a lawn behind a blue-sided house, with a worker kneeling at the far end.

Hiring a Contractor in New Hampshire: What to Check Before You Sign

New Hampshire doesn't license general contractors. The state's Office of Professional Licensure and Certification has boards for electricians, and for plumbers and gas fitters, but none for carpenters, remodelers or general contractors. This guide sticks to what the state, the city and the EPA say, with a link to each; NH contractor licensing has what you can check about Crimson Maple.

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What the state licenses

The OPLC's list of boards has an Electricians board and a Mechanical Licensing board, and the Mechanical Licensing page names plumbers and fuel gas fitters among the people it regulates. There's no board on that list for general contractors, carpenters, remodelers, painters or floor installers.

So when electrical, plumbing or gas work is part of a job, the person doing that part needs the state license, and OPLC has a license lookup. For the rest of the work there is no state number to check.

A registration that doesn't exist

Some websites say New Hampshire wants a "home improvement contractor" registration under RSA 332-A. It doesn't. The statute is titled "Licensing Standards Established," and its two sections deal with what a license application may ask about arrests and with licensing lawfully resident aliens. Neither one sets up a registry of contractors.

Permits in Manchester

In Manchester, the Building Division handles plan review, permit approval and field inspections, and it processes building, electrical, heating, plumbing and demolition permits, among others.

On multi-family dwellings, single-family homes that aren't owner-occupied and commercial projects, the city's permit applications page asks for a licensed NH Master electrician on the electrical permit and a licensed NH plumber on the plumbing one. The Manchester permit guide has more.

Houses built before 1978

EPA's RRP rule requires anyone paid to disturb painted surfaces in homes, child care facilities and preschools built before 1978 to be certified, with workers trained in lead-safe practices. EPA's page for contractors names general contractors among the firms it covers, along with painters, plumbers, carpenters and electricians. The lead paint guide goes further.