What is an Annulment?
New Hampshire RSA 651:5 enables certain criminal arrests and convictions to be removed from the state and FBI criminal history record. The process begins by filing a Petition to Annul with the court of jurisdiction. There are required fees to the annulment process, specifically, a court filing fee of $100.00, a Department of Corrections Parole and Probation report fee of $100.00, and a state police administrative fee of $100.00 to remove the annulled CHRI from both the state and FBI criminal history. You will want to start by getting a copy of your criminal record which will cost $25, the link to do that is below.
Why should I file for Annulment?
Generally people request annulments for the purpose of employment, security clearance, or licensing issues. Background checks are increasingly common, and minor issues in your past can prevent you from doing the things you want to do moving forward. In my 30 years as a criminal defense lawyer I have seen many folks only realize they should have sought an annulment when it is too late. They have already been denied a job, prevented from volunteering, or re-arrested and perceived as a "repeat offender." If you are able to annul something from your past, I highly recommend you do so before it stops you from doing something you want to do. While no one wants to pay unnecessary fees, in my experience people only end up regretting not taking care of this when they had the chance.
Understanding the Law
Upon entry of an order of annulment:
(a) The person whose record is annulled shall be treated in all respects as if he or she had never been arrested, convicted or sentenced, except that, upon conviction of any crime committed after the order of annulment has been entered, the prior conviction may be considered by the court in determining the sentence to be imposed, and may be counted toward habitual offender status under RSA 259:39.
(b) The court records relating to an annulled arrest, conviction, or sentence shall be sealed and available only to the person whose record was annulled, his or her attorney, a court for sentencing pursuant to subparagraph (a), law enforcement personnel for legitimate law enforcement purposes, or as otherwise provided in this section.
(c) In any application for employment, license or other civil right or privilege, or in any appearance as a witness in any proceeding or hearing, a person may be questioned about a previous criminal record only in terms such as "Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been annulled by a court?"
You can read the full law here.
Requesting Your Annulment
You will need to obtain a copy of your criminal and/or motor vehicle record.
To obtain your criminal record:
Apply in person: walk-in service is provided at the public counter at 33 Hazen Drive, Concord, Room 106A;
OR Mail in an application (Notary's Signature is not required);
OR A release to a third party (Notary's Signature is not required); OR Request your OWN "Confidential" (Full) record. (Notary Public or Justice of the Peace Signature, Date and Seal are required).
The forms for this request can be found here.
The fee for this request is $25.
To request your motor vehicle record, follow the process found here.
Once you have obtained your records, follow the checklist process found here.
The request forms differ based on if you were convicted and if so, when your conviction occurred.
If your case did not result in a conviction, use this form.
If your case did result in a conviction and occurred after 1/1/2019, use this form.
If your case did result in a conviction and occurred prior to 1/1/2019, use this form.
Why should I file for Annulment?
Generally people request annulments for the purpose of employment, security clearance, or licensing issues. Background checks are increasingly common, and minor issues in your past can prevent you from doing the things you want to do moving forward. In my 30 years as a criminal defense lawyer I have seen many folks only realize they should have sought an annulment when it is too late. They have already been denied a job, prevented from volunteering, or re-arrested and perceived as a "repeat offender." If you are able to annul something from your past, I highly recommend you do so before it stops you from doing something you want to do. While no one wants to pay unnecessary fees, in my experience people only end up regretting not taking care of this when they had the chance.
Understanding the Law
Upon entry of an order of annulment:
(a) The person whose record is annulled shall be treated in all respects as if he or she had never been arrested, convicted or sentenced, except that, upon conviction of any crime committed after the order of annulment has been entered, the prior conviction may be considered by the court in determining the sentence to be imposed, and may be counted toward habitual offender status under RSA 259:39.
(b) The court records relating to an annulled arrest, conviction, or sentence shall be sealed and available only to the person whose record was annulled, his or her attorney, a court for sentencing pursuant to subparagraph (a), law enforcement personnel for legitimate law enforcement purposes, or as otherwise provided in this section.
(c) In any application for employment, license or other civil right or privilege, or in any appearance as a witness in any proceeding or hearing, a person may be questioned about a previous criminal record only in terms such as "Have you ever been arrested for or convicted of a crime that has not been annulled by a court?"
You can read the full law here.
Requesting Your Annulment
You will need to obtain a copy of your criminal and/or motor vehicle record.
To obtain your criminal record:
Apply in person: walk-in service is provided at the public counter at 33 Hazen Drive, Concord, Room 106A;
OR Mail in an application (Notary's Signature is not required);
OR A release to a third party (Notary's Signature is not required); OR Request your OWN "Confidential" (Full) record. (Notary Public or Justice of the Peace Signature, Date and Seal are required).
The forms for this request can be found here.
The fee for this request is $25.
To request your motor vehicle record, follow the process found here.
Once you have obtained your records, follow the checklist process found here.
The request forms differ based on if you were convicted and if so, when your conviction occurred.
If your case did not result in a conviction, use this form.
If your case did result in a conviction and occurred after 1/1/2019, use this form.
If your case did result in a conviction and occurred prior to 1/1/2019, use this form.