Starting a service business in New Hampshire

Form your business in New Hampshire

A New Hampshire LLC comes into existence when the Corporation Division accepts Form LLC-1, Certificate of Formation. Filing costs $100 as listed by the New Hampshire Secretary of State's LLC forms and fees page in October 2026. You can file online through NH QuickStart, the Secretary's filing portal, or print the form, sign it in black ink and mail one original with a check payable to "State of New Hampshire". Online filings carry an extra $2.00 handling charge under RSA 5:10-a, according to the same page. The office does not promise a fixed turnaround; its business FAQ says current processing dates are posted on the QuickStart login page, and in-person expedited service at the Division's customer lobby costs an extra $25. Name availability is decided by Division staff when the filing arrives, so search the business records first and pick a name that is clearly different from what is already registered.

Ongoing state filings

Every New Hampshire LLC files an annual report by April 1 of each year after the year it registered. The report costs $100 and a late one adds $50, both as listed by the New Hampshire Secretary of State in October 2026. The Division's FAQ adds that it will not waive the late fee. If nothing has changed, the "One Click" option in QuickStart lets you file without retyping everything, but the FAQ is clear that you may not write "no change" on a full report. Miss April 1 and the company drops to "Not in Good Standing"; miss two years in a row and the Division administratively dissolves it.

Using a business name (DBA)

New Hampshire's rule is simple: if you do business under any name other than your own legal name, you register it. John D. Smith working as "John D. Smith" does not register, but "Smith Lawn Care" does. Trade names go on Form TN-1 with the same Corporation Division, at $50 as listed on the Secretary of State's trade name page in October 2026. A trade name must be renewed every five years (renewal is also $50), and the state mails a reminder six months before it expires. An LLC that markets under a second brand registers that brand as a trade name too.

Not sure whether you need an LLC at all? Read LLC vs sole proprietor for contractors, then get your free EIN from the IRS.

Licensing for service trades

The state Insurance Department put it plainly in a consumer guide: in New Hampshire, general contractors are not required to hold a state license, though specialty trades such as electricians and plumbers are regulated. Those trades answer to the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification (OPLC) in Concord. The Electricians' Board licenses apprentice, journeyman, master and high or medium voltage electricians, and OPLC says a valid New Hampshire license is required to work with 30 volts or higher. The Mechanical Licensing Board covers plumbers (trainee, journeyman, master), the various fuel gas fitter licenses, and a voluntary oil heating technician license. Both boards also license business entities, so an LLC doing electrical or plumbing work has its own filing on top of the individual license. Spraying for ticks, mosquitoes or weeds on a customer's property needs a commercial applicator license from the Department of Agriculture's Division of Pesticide Control. Towns can add their own permits and inspections, so ask the building or code office in each town you work in.

• OPLC Electricians' Board: Apprentice, journeyman, master and high/medium voltage electricians, plus electrical business entities
• OPLC Mechanical Licensing Board: Plumbers, fuel gas fitters (installation, service, piping, domestic appliance, hearth), oil heating technicians (voluntary) and business entities
• NH Division of Pesticide Control: Commercial pesticide applicators working on another person's property, and pesticide dealers

Workers' compensation

Under RSA 281-A:5, the New Hampshire Department of Labor says every employer with any employees, full or part-time, must carry workers' compensation written by an insurance carrier, and coverage has to be in place before you hire. Family members count: a son or spouse on the payroll must be covered. Sole proprietors and partners are not required to cover themselves but may elect to. An LLC or corporation with three or fewer members or executive officers and no other employees is not required to carry it; a fourth member or officer, or a single hired worker, triggers the requirement, after which up to three members or officers can elect to be excluded. You buy a policy through any insurance agent who writes workers' comp, and if you work as a sub without employees, the general contractor may still require you to carry a policy. Injuries must be reported to the Department within five days of the employer learning of them.

More on coverage: business insurance for contractors.

Sales tax on services

The New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration answers the question in one line: there is no general sales tax on goods purchased in New Hampshire. So a mowing, cleaning or pressure washing invoice here carries no state sales tax line. The taxes that do reach a growing service company are the two business taxes. The Business Profits Tax is 7.5% of taxable business profits, and for periods beginning on or after January 1, 2025 you must file a return once gross business income tops $109,000. The Business Enterprise Tax is 0.55% of the enterprise value tax base (mostly compensation paid, plus interest and dividends), with a filing threshold of $298,000 in gross receipts or tax base for the same periods. BET paid can be credited against BPT. The DRA notes both thresholds are adjusted every two years, so check the business taxes page before each filing season.

Recording business calls in New Hampshire

RSA 570-A:2 makes it a class B felony to intercept a telecommunication without the consent of all parties, and even a person who is on the call commits a misdemeanor under paragraph I-a if they record without everyone's consent. If you record customer calls for training or dispute records, play a recording notice before anyone speaks, and stop recording if the caller objects. The call recording guide walks through the setup.

See our guide to recording business calls before you turn on call recording or an AI receptionist.

How the seasons shape the work

New Hampshire work swings hard with the calendar. Snow plowing and roof raking fill December through March, mud season in April slows heavy equipment on soft roads and lawns, and the summer rush runs short because the growing season is brief in the north country and the Lakes Region. Fall is crowded with leaf cleanup, gutter work and getting heating systems serviced before the first cold snap, and lake houses and seasonal camps create opening and closing work at each end of the summer.

No sales tax does not mean no state filing

Because New Hampshire has no general sales tax, owners sometimes assume there is nothing to file with the state beyond the annual report. Once your gross business income passes the BPT threshold or your receipts or payroll pass the BET threshold, the Department of Revenue Administration expects returns, even from an LLC owned by one person. Keep clean books from the first job so you can see those lines coming instead of finding out at tax time.

Then set up the back end that gets you hired

The paperwork makes you legal. Customers still have to find you, reach you and pay you. Before your first job, set up a business phone number, email on your own domain, a Google Business Profile, a simple website, and a way to send quotes and take card payments. The launch checklist lays out the order.

New Hampshire questions