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Form a Business

PERSONAL PROPERTY LIEN INDEX

RSA tit. XLI, ch. 454-C
in effect

RSA 454-C:1 Index of Liens.

454-C:1. Index of Liens. I. The secretary of state shall maintain a consolidated index of certain liens affecting personal property and filed with the secretary of state and city and town clerks. The liens to be included in the index are as follows: (a) Federal tax liens (RSA 454-B); (b) State tax liens (RSA 21-J:28-c); (c) Aircraft registration fee liens (RSA 450:4); (d) Writs of attachment (RSA 511:23 and RSA 511-A:5); (e) Child support liens (RSA 461-A:14); (f) Housing finance authority liens (RSA 204-C:19); (g) Hazardous waste liens (RSA 147-B:10-b); (h) Employment security liens (RSA 282-A:143 & 165); (i) State Food Security Act liens (RSA 439); (j) [Repealed.] (k) Road toll liens (RSA 260:63); and (l) Creditor's bill liens (RSA 498:14). II. The index shall include the following information with regard to each such lien, or any full release thereof: (a) Name and address of every debtor; (b) Name and address of first-listed lienor; (c) Type of lien and statutory authority; (d) Location of filing of lien; (e) Date and time of filing of lien or full release; and (f) File number, if any. Source. 2001, 102:42, eff. July 1, 2001. 2004, 10:7, eff. April 5, 2004. 2005, 273:15, eff. Oct. 1, 2005.

RSA 454-C:2 Notice of Filing or Full Release.

454-C:2. Notice of Filing or Full Release. Any person or agency filing such a lien, or a full release of such a lien, with the secretary of state or a city or town clerk shall submit with the lien or release documentation a notice of filing of lien or notice of full release of lien, as applicable, on a form prescribed by the secretary of state, containing the information specified in RSA 454-C:1, II(a) through (c). The secretary of state or the city or town clerk that receives the filing shall enter on the notice the information specified in RSA 454-C:1, II(d) through (f). If a federal agency files such a lien or full release with a city or town clerk without an accompanying notice of filing or full release, the clerk shall complete a notice of filing or full release, as appropriate. Source. 2001, 102:42, eff. July 1, 2001.

RSA 454-C:3 Entry of Information in Index.

454-C:3. Entry of Information in Index. I. Except as otherwise provided in RSA 454-C:7, whenever any such lien, or a full release of any such lien, is filed with the secretary of state, an image of the notice of filing or full release, or the information contained in such notice, shall be entered in the index within 3 business days. II. Except as otherwise provided in RSA 454-C:7, and only as to federal and state tax liens, whenever any such lien, or a full release of any such lien, is filed with a city or town clerk, the clerk shall within 2 business days transmit to the secretary of state, by mail or other medium prescribed or authorized by the secretary of state, a copy of, or an electronic record of all information contained in, the notice of filing of lien or notice of full release of lien submitted by the person or agency filing the lien or release pursuant to RSA 454-C:2. The term "business day" as used in the preceding sentence shall mean a day on which the clerk's office is open for business. Only the notice itself or electronic record thereof shall be so transmitted, not the other lien documentation filed with the notice. The secretary of state within 3 business days of such receipt shall enter an image of the notice or the information contained therein in the index, and shall periodically transmit to each such clerk an acknowledgment of receipt of such notices or electronic records. Pursuant to the statutes providing for the filing of each type of lien listed in RSA 454-C:1, I, no such liens other than federal and state tax liens will be filed with city or town clerks subsequent to the effective date of this chapter. Source. 2001, 102:42, eff. July 1, 2001. 2004, 10:3, eff. April 5, 2004.

RSA 454-C:4 Period of Retention.

454-C:4. Period of Retention. The secretary of state shall maintain the image of the notice or the information therefrom regarding each lien and any full release thereof in the index until at least the earlier of one year after the secretary of state receives a full release or notice of full release of the lien, or the expiration of the time period noted herein for each category of lien: I. Federal tax liens (RSA 454-B)-12 years from date of filing or latest refiling; II. State tax liens (RSA 21-J:28-c)-7 years from date of filing; III. State Food Security Act liens (RSA 439)-one year from lapse; IV. All other liens-12 years from date of filing. Source. 2001, 102:42, eff. July 1, 2001.

RSA 454-C:5 Request for Information.

454-C:5. Request for Information. Any response to a request to the secretary of state for information on a particular debtor made under RSA 382-A:9-523(c), (f), (g), or (h), shall include at a minimum the date and time of filing of every lien against that debtor included in the index. The response shall include information on all such liens as to which either the lien itself (in the case of a lien filed with the secretary of state) or a notice of filing of lien (in the case of a lien filed with a city or town clerk) was received on or before a date specified in the response, which shall not be a date earlier than 3 business days before the request for information was received. The response shall also specify the beginning date of the period covered by the report. If requested, the response shall also include copies of all or any specified lien notices or documentation on file with the secretary of state. Source. 2001, 102:42, eff. July 1, 2001.

RSA 454-C:6 Extension of Time Periods.

454-C:6. Extension of Time Periods. The time periods specified in RSA 454-C:3 and RSA 454-C:5 are subject to extension for reasons set forth in RSA 382-A:9-524. Source. 2001, 102:42, eff. July 1, 2001.

RSA 454-C:7 Transition Period.

454-C:7. Transition Period. I. "Pre-effective-date" with regard to a lien means filed with the secretary of state or a city or town clerk on or after July 1, 1996, and before July 1, 2001. II. Not later than June 30, 2003, city and town clerks shall prepare and transmit to the secretary of state a notice of filing for every pre-effective-date federal tax lien not lapsed or fully released as of the date of such transmission, such notice of filing to be on a form prescribed by the secretary of state and containing the information specified in RSA 454-C:1, II; or, if authorized by the secretary of state, an electronic record containing such information. No city or town clerk shall have any liability on account of any error in preparing or transmitting such notices or electronic records. The secretary of state shall transmit to each such clerk an acknowledgment of receipt of such notices or electronic records, and not later than June 30, 2006, shall enter in the index the information specified in RSA 454-C:1, II regarding each such lien, or an image of the notice of filing thereof. III. Not later than June 30, 2006, the secretary of state shall also enter in the index equivalent information or images regarding all pre-effective-date liens of all types originally filed with the secretary of state and not lapsed or fully released as of the date of such entry. Prior to the date of such entry, the secretary of state shall include all applicable information on any such liens not yet entered in the index in any response to a request for information made under RSA 382-A:9-523(c), (f), (g), or (h). IV. Notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 454-C:3, whenever a full release of any pre-effective-date federal or state tax lien is filed with a town or city clerk, and (in the case of federal tax liens) a notice of filing of such lien or electronic record thereof has not previously been transmitted to the secretary of state pursuant to paragraph II, such clerk shall remove the lien being released from the file, and shall not forward the notice of full release to the secretary of state; and whenever a full release of any pre-effective-date lien of any type is filed with the secretary of state, and information regarding such lien has not previously been entered in the index pursuant to paragraph III, the secretary of state shall remove the lien being released from the file, and shall not enter an image of the notice of full release, or the information contained therein, in the index. Source. 2001, 102:42, eff. July 1, 2001. 2004, 10:4, eff. April 5, 2004.

RSA 454-C:8 Rules.

454-C:8. Rules. The office of the secretary of state may adopt and publish rules to implement this chapter. Such rules shall not be subject to the provisions of RSA 541-A. Source. 2001, 102:42, eff. July 1, 2001.
Source: New Hampshire General Court (gc.nh.gov)URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-XLI-454-C.htmFetched: 10/20/2026

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