Who requires it
New Hampshire Banking Department — Consumer Credit Division
License & permit · New Hampshire
New Hampshire Debt Adjuster Bond
Debt adjusters licensed under RSA chapter 399-D must post a $25,000 surety to the state of New Hampshire and the bank commissioner. RSA 399-D:4 conditions the bond on compliance with the chapter and opens it to persons damaged by violations. Licensing runs through NMLS. Cancellation requires thirty days’ written notice to the commissioner, and commencing an action on the bond obligates the licensee to file a replacement immediately. Separately, RSA 399-G:3 excuses certain debt adjusters from money-transmitter licensing when they transmit funds only under a debt-adjustment contract and keep a $100,000 chapter 399-D surety on file—that higher amount is an exemption condition, not the ordinary licensing minimum.
Common bond amount
$25,000
Standard licensing face under RSA 399-D:4; $100,000 when relying on the RSA 399-G:3 money-transmitter exemption for debt-adjustment transmissions.
How you file
File through NMLS; stays in force while licensed
Renewal
Continuous while licensed; 30-day cancellation notice
Who requires it
Applicants for and holders of New Hampshire debt adjuster licenses under RSA 399-D, including firms offering debt-management, debt-settlement, or debt-repayment plans as defined in that chapter.
How much is required
RSA 399-D:4 sets the licensing surety at twenty-five thousand dollars. If you also transmit money solely to deliver contracted debt-adjustment services and rely on the RSA 399-G:3 money-transmitter exemption, that exemption instead requires a one-hundred-thousand-dollar surety under chapter 399-D.
How to get and file it
File the debt-adjuster application through NMLS, then have an authorized surety issue a continuous bond for the required face payable to the state and bank commissioner in the exact legal name on the MU1. Keep the bond continuous while licensed. Provide thirty days’ advance written notice before cancellation. File a new bond immediately when an action is commenced or after a recovery; RSA 399-D:4 can suspend the license if a replacement is not filed after recovery.
Cost note
The statutory amount is the required bond amount, not the premium you pay. See bond amount vs premium. Bond amount vs premium →
Requirement checklist
- Standard licensing bond
- $25,000 continuous surety (RSA 399-D:4)
- Money-transmitter exemption path
- $100,000 chapter 399-D surety when transmitting solely for contracted debt adjustment (RSA 399-G:3, VI)
- Filing channel
- NMLS company application
Official sources
Related resources
Frequently asked questions
Is a debt adjuster the same as a collection agency in New Hampshire?
No. Debt adjusters license under RSA 399-D with the Banking Department and post the surety described here. New Hampshire does not publish a parallel statewide third-party collection-agency license bond in this hub.
When is the $100,000 debt-adjuster bond required?
The ordinary RSA 399-D:4 licensing face is $25,000. The $100,000 figure appears in RSA 399-G:3 as a condition for a debt adjuster that transmits money only to perform contracted debt-adjustment services and wants the money-transmitter license exemption.
Related New Hampshire bond guides
Credit Services Organization Bond
$5,000–$25,000
Credit services organizations that want to collect money before finishing the promised services must first post a surety bond or open a trust account under RSA 359-D:3 and :8. The amount equals five percent of the fees charged buyers under contracts during the previous twelve months, but never less than five thousand dollars or more than twenty-five thousand dollars. A bond copy—or trust-account depository, trustee, and account-number notice—files with the Secretary of State. The amount resets once a year no later than the tenth day of the organization’s first fiscal-year month.
Money Transmitter Bond
$100,000–$500,000
Money transmission licensees under RSA chapter 399-G must maintain a bond or approved deposit satisfactory to the bank commissioner. RSA 399-G:27 sizes that coverage at the greater of one hundred thousand dollars or one hundred percent of the licensee’s average daily money-transmission liability in New Hampshire for the most recently completed three-month period, up to a five-hundred-thousand-dollar maximum. A commissioner-approved deposit may replace the surety. Holding the maximum amount removes the quarterly liability calculation used for sizing. The bond runs to the state of New Hampshire and the bank commissioner for persons damaged by chapter violations, with thirty days’ advance cancellation notice.
Small Loan Lender Bond
$25,000
Companies that lend under New Hampshire’s small-loan, payday-loan, and title-loan framework must keep a continuous twenty-five-thousand-dollar surety on file with the bank commissioner. RSA 399-A:4 places that instrument in favor of the state and the commissioner for anyone damaged by a chapter violation and conditions it on compliance with chapter 399-A. Applications and renewals run through NMLS. The surety must give thirty days’ written notice before cancellation, and a suit on the bond requires an immediate replacement filing.
Surety basics (not repeated here)
Universal surety concepts explained once—linked here instead of repeated on every state or bond page.
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Last verified 2026-08-12. This guide is based on verified educational content and official sources.
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