Selling a house in New Hampshire: the paperwork
Every document a New Hampshire sale commonly touches, who usually produces it, and the law behind it. In most sales the seller's own share is small, and this page shows you which part that usually is.
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Usually the seller's to produce
4In most sales nobody else prepares these. Whether each one applies to you depends on your home, your title, and your buyer.
- RSA 477:4-a notification (radon/arsenic/lead/PFAS/flood)On your list because is the home on the water, or in a flood zone, or has there been mold, structural repair, or environmental testing here
- RSA 477:4-d disclosure (water/sewage/insulation)
- Federal lead-paint disclosure (pre-1978)
- Non-titled spouse signature to release homestead (RSA 480:5-a)On your list because are you married
Usually drafted for you to sign
2These commonly arrive already written. Read them, and ask about anything that looks wrong before you sign.
- Deed (statutory warranty, RSA 477:27) + spousal homestead joinderOn your list because are you married
- Current-use change-tax filing
Usually somebody else's to prepare
6Commonly handled by a title company, an attorney, a lender, or the county. Listed so none of them is a surprise.
- Real estate transfer tax (CD-57-S seller / CD-57-P buyer; PA-34 inventory)On your list because did you inherit the home, or is it in probate
- Title exam & title insurance
- Recording of deed
- Payoff statements
- HOA/condo docs (RSA 356-B:58)On your list because is the home in an hoa, condo, or co-op
- Purchase & sale agreement
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Set up my roomHow New Hampshire generally runs a sale
The broad shape of a sale there, as the research found it. Counties and cities add their own rules on top of all of this.
Other things New Hampshire asks about
These come up in New Hampshire and almost nowhere else. We don't ask them above because we can't answer them for you yet, but they're worth raising with your title company.
- NH-5. Pre-1978 construction (RSA 130-A lead + federal Title X)?
- NH-7. Asbestos disposal site (RSA 141-E:23)?
- NH-8. County of the registry of deeds?
- NH-9. Current-use classified land (RSA 79-A change tax)?
Before you rely on any of this
This is a compilation of published state requirements, not legal advice, and no lawyer has reviewed it or your sale. Laws and forms change, counties and cities add their own rules, and whether any of this applies to you depends on facts we don't know. Treat every item as a starting point for a question, not as an answer. Confirm anything you plan to rely on against the official source we link, and run your list past a title company or an attorney licensed in your state.
These counts describe a typical sale, not yours. Which documents you need turns on facts about your home, your title, your buyer, and your county, and one unusual answer can add several or remove them.
Who prepares each document is what usually happens, not a rule. Practice differs between states, between counties, and between one title company and the next, and your contract can move work from one side to the other.
Keighbor is not a real estate brokerage and does not represent you. Nobody here is your agent. We don't negotiate, set your price, recommend a course of action, or take a commission. We provide software that helps you organize your side of the sale.
The full New Hampshire reference
The rest of the research, with every citation kept. This is the same material our own product is built on, and nothing is held back for paying customers. It describes the law as the research found it, not as it applies to your sale.
ALWAYS-Required Documents
- Deed (statutory warranty, RSA 477:27), executed by owner AND non-titled spouse (if any) per RSA 480:5-a — [SELLER]/[ATTORNEY].
- RSA 477:4-a notification delivered pre-contract with buyer signature — [SELLER].
- RSA 477:4-d disclosure for 1–4 family — [SELLER].
- Real estate transfer tax — CD-57-S (seller), CD-57-P (buyer), PA-34 inventory — [TITLE/ESCROW]/[ATTORNEY].
- Federal lead-based paint disclosure (pre-1978) — [SELLER].
- Recorded deed at county registry — [COUNTY REGISTRY OF DEEDS].
SOMETIMES-Required Documents (Triggered)
- Spousal homestead-release signature — whenever homestead conveyed and non-titled spouse must join (RSA 480:5-a). (Effectively always for married sellers of primary residence.)
- Current-use land-use change tax (RSA 79-A) — classified land leaving current use.
- Asbestos disposal site disclosure (RSA 141-E:23).
- Condominium documents / RSA 356-B:58 notice (RSA 477:4-f).
- Well/septic test reports — arsenic-belt/private-system.
- Power of attorney.
- Estate/trust/fiduciary deeds (Title Standard 5-5).
- FIRPTA affidavit — foreign seller.
Prescribed-Language Items (Substance Over Form)
- RSA 477:4-a notification (verbatim statutory language). RADON: "Radon, the product of decay of radioactive materials in rock, may be found in some areas of New Hampshire. Radon gas may pass into a structure through the ground or through water from a deep well. Testing of the air by a professional certified in radon testing and testing of the water by an accredited laboratory can establish radon's presence and equipment is available to remove it from the air or water." ARSENIC: "Arsenic is a common groundwater contaminant in New Hampshire that occurs at unhealthy levels in well water in many areas of the state…." (Plus lead-paint, PFAS, and flood paragraphs; buyer signs to acknowledge.)
- Statutory warranty deed operative words (RSA 477:27). "With warranty covenants" imports statutory covenants; "grant" is operative (RSA 477:24) conveying fee simple without technical words of inheritance.
- RSA 456-B:8 short-form acknowledgment — "This instrument was acknowledged before me on (date) by (name(s))…."
- Federal lead warning statement (40 C.F.R. Part 745).
- Homestead-release note. No separate express release required if both spouses sign with formalities (Title Standard 5-4); marital/civil-union status of all grantors recited (Title Standard 5-7).
Local / Municipal Overlays
- County registry recording (10 counties) with LCHIP surcharge and per-document surcharge (e.g., Strafford: $25 LCHIP + $2 document surcharge).
- Current-use change tax (RSA 79-A) — town assessing officials.
- Shoreland Water Quality Protection / wetlands (NHDES).
- Arsenic-belt well-testing practice — southeastern NH (NHDES recommends arsenic, bacteria, nitrate, radon, uranium).
- Local building/septic permit records.
Post-Closing Obligations
- Recording at county registry (RSA 477:3-a).
- Transfer tax documentation — CD-57-S/CD-57-P and PA-34; tax paid at recording.
- Payoff/discharge of prior mortgages.
- Current-use change tax filing if triggered.
- 1099-S reporting.
- Retention of signed RSA 477:4-a/477:4-d notifications.
Federal Overlays (Cross-Reference)
- FinCEN RRE Rule — effective March 1, 2026; VACATED March 19, 2026 (Flowers Title Companies, LLC v. Bessent, E.D. Tex.); FinCEN appealed May 11, 2026; circuit split with Fidelity National Financial, Inc. v. Bessent (M.D. Fla.). TREAT AS SUSPENDED.
- Federal lead-based paint disclosure (Title X); layered with RSA 130-A.
- FIRPTA (26 U.S.C. § 1445).
- 1099-S reporting.