Moving to New Hampshire: residency checklist

Your domicile is the place you treat as your permanent home, so the new home has to be the one you really live in. States compare your homes: California's FTB lists the location of your principal residence as a factor, New York's Tax Department reviews the homes you keep and how you use each, and Utah's code compares the living accommodations you have in each state.

Keep as proof: Signed lease or deed, move-in date, and a first utility bill at the new address

File IRS Form 8822 for your home mailing address (the form's instructions say a change generally takes 4 to 6 weeks). USPS says mailers such as banks and government agencies do not forward sensitive mail like driver's licenses, voter registration, credit cards, bank statements or insurance papers, so change your address with each sender directly. Utah's code counts the address you list on mail and tax returns.

Keep as proof: Copy of Form 8822 with proof of mailing, plus address-change confirmations from your bank and insurers

California's FTB lists the state where you are registered to vote as a residency factor, and New York's guidelines look at where you are registered and whether you vote there, including in primary and local elections. The federal National Mail Voter Registration Form can report a change of address and asks for the address where you were registered before; follow your own state's instructions on it, because each state runs registration differently.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation (card or online confirmation page)

Applies if you have children

States look at where your family lives. California's FTB lists the location of your spouse/RDP and children, New York's Tax Department says where minor children attend school can be one of the most important factors, and Utah's code counts where a dependent is enrolled in school.

Keep as proof: School enrollment confirmation and the first report card or school record showing the new address

California's FTB lists where your banks are and where your doctors, dentists, accountants and attorneys are. Not every state weighs these: Minnesota's statute says the Commissioner and courts may not consider where your attorney, CPA or financial adviser is or where you open accounts, and New York's guidelines call the mere location of bank accounts a non-factor. Treat this as supporting evidence, not proof on its own.

Keep as proof: New-patient and account-opening confirmations showing the new address

New York's guidelines list legal documents that name a place as your domicile or primary residence, such as a will, as a factor (a secondary one), and Utah's code counts asserting residency in a document you file with a court or government body. Ask your attorney to review your will, trust and powers of attorney so they match your move.

Keep as proof: Signed copies of the updated documents

iReside logs where you are every day, so you have auditable proof of the day you moved and of the days you spend in your old state. Day counts matter: Minnesota's statute requires adequate records of days spent outside the state, and New York's guidelines treat a diary or calendar as support for where you spent your time. Keep the record for as many years as your old state can still check.

Keep as proof: iReside day report for the year

Applies if you drive

Deadline: Maximum of 60 days from when you establish residency

When you establish bona fide residency in New Hampshire you have a maximum of 60 days from that date to get a New Hampshire license. The DMV director may extend the deadline for good cause. If your out-of-state license expires or is relinquished after you become a resident, you must notify the director; the director also notifies people who are more than 30 days past the deadline. You only need a New Hampshire license if you drive in the state; if you establish residence and do not drive here, the DMV says you are not required to get one. Make an appointment at a DMV office and bring your proof of identity and residency.

Keep as proof: Copy of the New Hampshire license

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Up to 60 days from establishing residency

A nonresident who establishes bona fide residency in New Hampshire has up to 60 days from that date to register vehicles in the state.

Keep as proof: New Hampshire registration

Applies if you are a registered voter

New Hampshire voters have a single domicile for voting: the one place where, more than any other, you have established a physical presence with the intent to keep it as your continuous home. You vote in the town, ward, or unincorporated place of that domicile.

Keep as proof: Voter registration confirmation and a document showing your NH address

Applies if you are a registered voter

Deadline: Registration at the polls on Election Day; evidence within 10 days if you register without it

You can register at the polling place on Election Day if you are otherwise qualified, with proof of qualifications. Documents New Hampshire accepts as evidence of domicile include a lease or purchase of your home, a New Hampshire license, registration or ID showing the address, your child's enrollment in a local public school, tax forms with that address, a USPS permanent address and utility service. Someone present 30 or fewer days is presumed to be here temporarily. If you register without a document you must present evidence to the town or city clerk within 10 days after the election (30 days in towns where the clerk's office is open limited hours).

Keep as proof: Lease or deed, license, utility bill showing the New Hampshire address

Applies if you drive

Deadline: When you apply for the New Hampshire license (within 60 days of establishing residency)

New Hampshire will not issue you a license until you surrender every valid license from another state. The DMV returns the surrendered license to the issuing state with notice that you are now licensed in New Hampshire, which ends your old license and is a clean break from the old state.

Keep as proof: Receipt or temporary paper license from the DMV

Applies if you own a vehicle

Deadline: Up to 60 days from establishing residency

Vehicle registration is a two-part process that begins at the clerk's office in the town or city where you live. The clerk determines your residency first. Bring the title and proof of residency; for a leased or financed vehicle bring the out-of-state registration, the lease and the lienholder's name and address. Fees go to both the town/city and the state.

Keep as proof: New Hampshire registration and receipt

Applies if you are a registered voter

The statewide New Hampshire voter registration form asks where you were last registered and lets you either state you are not registered elsewhere or ask that your name be removed from the checklist at your previous address. By registering you also acknowledge you are not domiciled or voting in another state. When the new registration is entered, the supervisors of the checklist can notify the previous town or state.

Keep as proof: Copy of your completed registration form

State law defines a resident or inhabitant as a person domiciled, or with a place of abode, in New Hampshire who has shown by all actions a current intent to designate that place of abode as the principal place of physical presence to the exclusion of all others. The DMV lists the actions that show it: buying or leasing a principal home, getting a resident vehicle registration, placing dependent children in a publicly funded school, registering to vote and paying taxes that apply only to residents.

Keep as proof: Lease or deed, NH license, NH voter registration, utility bills

Because New Hampshire residency and voting domicile turn on where your principal physical presence is, a daily record of where you sleep is the proof.

A home you keep is the first thing a state looks at. New York's guidelines weigh whether you made real efforts to sell it (for example by hiring a real estate firm) and moved your belongings out, and California's FTB lists the location of your principal residence. If you keep the old home, the old state may compare it with your new one, and keep a day log.

Keep as proof: Listing agreement, closing statement, lease termination or new rental lease for the old home

New York's guidelines treat the location of items you hold near and dear (family heirlooms, art, collections, photo albums, pets) as a primary factor, and note that a mover's bill of lading or an insurance statement can document the move. Items left behind in the old state can suggest you have not given it up.

Keep as proof: Mover's bill of lading or inventory, and an insurance policy showing the new address

File a permanent change of address at the Official USPS Change of Address site (identity verification required) or at a Post Office. USPS says to allow at least 7 to 10 business days after approval for it to start, so file before moving day.

Keep as proof: USPS confirmation email

Applies if you are a registered voter

California's FTB lists where you are registered to vote as a residency factor, New York's guidelines look at where you are registered and how you voted, and Utah's code treats voting in the state, without being registered in another state, as establishing domicile there. Register in your new state (the federal form asks for your previous registration address), then stop voting from the old one and ask your old election office how to cancel.

Keep as proof: Confirmation that the old registration was cancelled or moved

California's FTB lists where your social ties are, such as your place of worship, professional associations and clubs, and Utah's code counts membership in a church, club or similar group in the state. Resign, transfer or switch to non-resident status where you can, and join local groups in your new state.

Keep as proof: Resignation or transfer letters and new membership confirmations

Keep iReside running through the move year and after: it logs where you are every day, so you have auditable proof of when you left and of any days you spend back in the old state. Minnesota's statute requires adequate records of days spent outside the state, and New York's guidelines treat a diary or calendar as support for where you spent your time. Keep the record for the years your old state can still check.

Keep as proof: iReside day report for the year

Deadline: When you move

New Hampshire law says a mere intention to change domicile in the future does not terminate an established domicile. A domicile changes when you actually move. Residence is not lost by a temporary absence if you intend to return to it as your principal place of physical presence, so the move has to be real, not a long trip.

Keep as proof: New-state lease or deed, license and voter registration

Applies if you are a registered voter

New Hampshire voters have a single domicile for voting purposes. Register where your new domicile is.

Keep as proof: New-state voter registration

Applies if you drive

Deadline: Within 30 days of the change

A licensed New Hampshire driver who changes legal name, permanent residence or mailing address must notify the DMV in writing within 30 days. The DMV says the same duty covers anyone who holds a license or a registered vehicle in New Hampshire when they change domicile or mailing address. Your new state will separately require you to surrender the New Hampshire license when you get its license.

Keep as proof: Copy of the notice you sent

Applies if you are a registered voter

New Hampshire supervisors of the checklist must strike a voter's name when they receive a notice through the statewide voter database that the voter was added to another state's or town's checklist. A voter has only one domicile for voting, and registering to vote in your new state is a statement that you are no longer domiciled in New Hampshire.

Keep as proof: New-state voter registration confirmation

Applies if you drive, own a vehicle

New Hampshire accepts a New Hampshire driver's license or non-driver ID and a New Hampshire resident vehicle registration as evidence of New Hampshire domicile (RSA 654:12), and the DMV lists a resident vehicle registration among the actions that show residence. Move both to your new state and stop renewing the New Hampshire versions.

Keep as proof: New-state license and registration

New Hampshire defines a resident as a person domiciled or with a place of abode here who has designated it as their principal place of physical presence. Keeping a home here is the main reason to document where you actually spend your time.