Lower your car payment in New Hampshire

What’s different about refinancing a car loan in New Hampshire

Vehicle titles in New Hampshire are issued by the New Hampshire Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles.

• New Hampshire is a lender-held title state: the statute directs that the certificate of title be mailed or delivered to the first lienholder named on it, and only if there is no lienholder does it go to the vehicle owner, so a borrower with an outstanding car loan normally will not have the paper title in hand while refinancing.

  Source: New Hampshire RSA 261:9, Delivery of Certificate — General Court of New Hampshire

• When a borrower pays off a motor vehicle retail installment contract, the licensee must release the lien and provide the title or the equivalent paperwork needed to obtain title within 10 days after demand and in any event within 21 calendar days of the payoff, and payment counts as effective on the day the licensee receives it. Separately, within 5 business days of a written request the contract holder must furnish a written statement of the dates and amounts of payments or the total amount unpaid, which is the document a refinancing lender typically needs.

  Source: New Hampshire RSA 361-A:20, Requirements and Prohibitions as to Servicing — General Court of New Hampshire

• The motor vehicle title chapter sets its own lien release mechanics: a lienholder holding the paper certificate must execute a release within 10 days after demand and in any event within 30 days and pass the certificate and release to the next lienholder or the owner; a satisfied lienholder that does not hold the certificate must apply for a duplicate title within 7 days of receiving final payment; and where the certificate is in an electronic format the lienholder must notify the department of the release within 10 days after demand, after which the department sends the owner a certificate free of the security interest.

  Source: New Hampshire RSA 261:27, Release of Security Interest — General Court of New Hampshire

• A refinancing lender's new lien must be recorded through the state to be effective: a security interest in a titled vehicle is perfected by delivering to the department the existing certificate of title, if any, an application for a certificate of title naming the lienholder and stating the date of the security agreement, and the required fee. Perfection relates back to the time the security interest was created if that delivery is completed within 20 days; otherwise it dates only from the time of delivery, which is why refinance paperwork should not sit unfiled.

  Source: New Hampshire RSA 261:24, Perfecting of Security Interest — General Court of New Hampshire

• New Hampshire gives borrowers a statutory right to cure before repossession. The licensee must send a written notice of default 10 days or more after the default, and the prescribed notice language tells the buyer the default may be cured by paying the amount due before a date that is 21 days after the notice is mailed; if the buyer pays within that window the buyer is no longer in default and the contract continues as though no default had occurred. The same notice states that if the creditor does take possession, the buyer may get the vehicle back by paying the full amount of the debt plus the creditor's reasonable expenses within 20 days after possession is taken.

  Source: New Hampshire RSA 361-A:21, Requirements and Prohibitions as to Loan Default — General Court of New Hampshire

• After a repossessed vehicle is sold, the licensee must give the borrower a written explanation of the calculation within 21 calendar days of the disposition, itemizing the total obligation under the contract, the proceeds of the sale, the obligation remaining after those proceeds are applied, out-of-pocket expenses incurred for retaking, holding, preparing for disposition, processing and disposing of the vehicle, credits owed to the borrower, and the resulting surplus or deficiency.

  Source: New Hampshire RSA 361-A:23, Explanation of Calculation after Disposition — General Court of New Hampshire

• New Hampshire law defines refinancing as revising or replacing a current retail installment contract with a new retail installment contract, and treats a loan made directly by a finance company to a consumer without a retail seller involved as a direct loan. The chapter prohibits a contract clause that assesses a prepayment penalty where the term is less than 6 years, and separately prohibits any clause permitting the continuation of interest after repossession of the borrower's motor vehicle.

  Source: New Hampshire RSA 361-A:16, Retail Installment Contracts; Direct Loans — General Court of New Hampshire

These are general procedural facts about New Hampshire, not advice about your loan. Rules change, and your lender’s own process may add steps — a licensed specialist can tell you what applies to your situation.