Divorce in New Hampshire

1. Waiting period

   Not yet verified

   We list a rule only once we can quote it from New Hampshire’s statute or court rules.

2. Residency requirement

   1 year (with exceptions)

   A New Hampshire court has jurisdiction if both spouses were domiciled in the state when the case started, or the filing spouse was domiciled there and the other was served in New Hampshire, or the filing spouse was domiciled there for the year before filing.^[1]

   N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 458:5 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “I. Where both parties were domiciled in the state when the action was commenced. II. Where the plaintiff was so domiciled and the defendant was personally served with process within the state. III. Where the plaintiff was domiciled in the state for one year next preceding the time when the action was commenced.”

3. No-fault divorce

   Yes, fault grounds also exist

   New Hampshire grants a divorce regardless of fault for irreconcilable differences that have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage; fault grounds such as adultery and extreme cruelty also exist.^[2]

   N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 458:7-a; see § 458:7 · checked October 26, 2026

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   “A divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall be decreed, irrespective of the fault of either party, on the ground of irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage.”

4. Property division

   Equitable distribution (equal presumed)

   The court may order an equitable division of all property of either spouse and presumes an equal division is equitable unless listed factors make it inappropriate.^[3]

   Community property in New Hampshire: the statute quoted →

   N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 458:16-a(II) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “When a dissolution of a marriage is decreed, the court may order an equitable division of property between the parties. The court shall presume that an equal division is an equitable distribution of property,”

5. Court mediation for custody

   Court may order

   In any case with disputed parental rights and responsibilities the court may order mediation, which then covers all issues unless the court says otherwise; the court may decline for reasons like hardship or abuse allegations, and may not order it after a domestic violence finding unless all parties agree.^[4]

   N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 461-A:7(III)-(V) · checked October 26, 2026

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   “In all cases involving disputed parental rights and responsibilities or grandparents' visitation rights, including requests for modification of prior orders, the court may order the parties to participate in mediation.”

6. Alimony

   Set by formula

   New Hampshire term alimony is the lesser of the recipient’s reasonable need or 23% of the difference between the spouses’ gross incomes (after child support adjustments), for at most half the length of the marriage, unless justice requires an adjustment.

   Open the New Hampshire alimony calculator →

7. Divorce rate

   2.5 per 1,000 residents (2024)

   New Hampshire’s courts granted 2.5 divorces per 1,000 residents in 2024, down from 4.8 in 2000; the U.S. rate was 2.3. In the Census Bureau’s 2024 survey, 7.9 of every 1,000 women 15 and older in New Hampshire divorced in the past year (±2.3; U.S. 6.9), a different measure.^[6][7]

   Divorce rates by state, with sources → · CDC/NCHS NVSS; Census ACS · checked October 27, 2026

Estimate your divorce cost in New Hampshire: mediation vs. court →

How child support is calculated in New Hampshire →

Mediators per 100,000: MediationList listings from official court and government rosters in New Hampshire (64) ÷ population (1,409,032, U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2024 county population estimates (July 1, 2024)) × 100,000, the same figure as mediator statistics.^[5]