Claims against the state: the Board of Claims
A claim against a New Hampshire state agency generally goes through the New Hampshire Board of Claims, under RSA 541-B. The claimant files a standard claim form, with supporting documentation, with the Secretary of State's office, and also sends a complete copy directly to the state agency being complained against. Claims exceeding $5,000 generally require a $25 filing fee.
Claims against a city or town: a genuinely short 60-day notice
A claim against a local governmental unit — a city, town, or other political subdivision — runs through an entirely different statute, RSA 507-B, and comes with a genuinely short, strict notice requirement: written notice of the potential claim must be given within just 60 days of the injury. This is a dramatically shorter window than the underlying three-year statute of limitations, and missing it can jeopardize a claim long before the broader deadline would otherwise be a concern.
A real cap on local government liability
Damages recoverable from a local governmental unit are generally capped at $325,000 per person, per incident — a limit worth knowing from the outset of any claim against a New Hampshire city or town.
A genuine exception: health care claims
Claims based on injuries from health care generally don't follow these standard government claim-filing procedures. Instead, they're handled through the separate procedures established under New Hampshire's medical malpractice framework — meaning a claim against, say, a state-affiliated hospital may not automatically track the same notice rules as an ordinary government tort claim.
Why confirming which path applies matters immediately
Because the state and local government paths run on genuinely different procedures, forms, and deadlines — with the local 60-day notice window being especially unforgiving — identifying exactly which governmental entity is actually involved, and confirming the correct notice path right away, is an essential first step in any New Hampshire government claim.