How much does probate cost in New Hampshire?
7 Aug 2026
New Hampshire fixes neither fee by statute — a court rule governs the attorney and the executor in one sentence — and the filing fee runs in three steps: $150.00, $205.00 and $305.00 on the gross value of the estate.
It is the only state in this database with no small-estate dollar threshold of any kind. The two simplified routes turn on who inherits and on who consents, not on what the estate is worth. Two figures do most of the work here: below $10,000.00 of gross value there is no publication cost at all, and at or below $25,000.00 the accounting is free to file and the bond is a personal one with no surety company involved.
N.H. Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 88 and Rule 169; RSA 553:13 — New Hampshire Judicial Branch and the New Hampshire Revised Statutes · Verified 7 Aug 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
New Hampshire is a computed-court-fee state. The compensation rows return no number, so the schedule below is the court cost — the entry fee, and the accounting fee that lands later.
| Petition for estate administration, gross value $10,000.00 or less | $150.00 |
| Over $10,000.00 to $25,000.00 | $205.00 |
| Gross value greater than $25,000.00 | $305.00 |
| Electronic case filing surcharge, already inside the figures above | $30.00 |
| Publication charge, already inside the figures above, on estates over $10,000.00 | $55.00 |
| Accounting, estates greater than $25,000.00 gross | $105.00 |
| Accounting, estates $25,000.00 gross or less | $0.00 |
| Motion for summary administration | $105.00 |
| Petition to file and record an authenticated copy of a will, foreign wills | $260.00 |
| Petition, administration of a person not heard from | $230.00 |
| Motion to prove a will in common or solemn form, administration required | $175.00 |
| Motion to reopen or bring forward | $180.00 |
Worked through: an estate of $300,000.00 gross pays $305.00 to open and $105.00 for the accounting — $410.00 in court cost, with the $55.00 publication charge and the $30.00 e-filing surcharge already inside the entry fee. An estate of $20,000.00 gross pays $205.00 to open and nothing to file its accounting: $205.00 in all. An estate of $8,000.00 pays $150.00 and has no publication cost at all.
The bands run on gross value, and the same $25,000.00 line appears twice more — it is the point where the accounting fee starts and where a personal bond turns into a surety bond. Feeding the calculator a net figure will put an estate in the wrong band in three places at once.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where New Hampshire fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeOrdinary services | No statutory rateJoined by law: New Hampshire treats the attorney and the representative pay as one pot — one court rule sets the standard for both, in the same sentence. Title LVI contains no attorney compensation section; the operative text is Probate Division Rule 88, which makes the fees and expenses of fiduciaries and attorneys subject to the approval of the court and requires them to be reasonable for the work, the responsibility and the risk. The factors named are the time and labour required, the size of the estate, the requisite skill, the customary fee, any fee agreement, the results obtained, time limitations, and the length of the professional relationship. | Court rule — approved by the court, reasonable for work, responsibility and risk | N.H. Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 88, with RSA 547:11-a Rule 88 has no standalone address; it renders on the Probate Division rules index | 7 Aug 2026 |
| Personal representativeAdministrator or executor | No statutory rateJoined by law: New Hampshire treats the attorney and the representative pay as one pot — one court rule sets the standard for both, in the same sentence. No compensation section appears in the contents lists of chapters 547, 548, 553 or 554, and the Title LVI chapter list shows no fee chapter. Rule 1 defines a fiduciary as every person appointed to act as an administrator, executor, guardian, conservator or trustee, so Rule 88 catches the representative squarely. The fee is approved at the accounting stage — and filing that accounting costs nothing where the estate is $25,000.00 gross or less. | Court rule — approved by the court, reasonable for work, responsibility and risk | N.H. Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 88 and Rule 1, with RSA 547:11-a The negative rests on the Title LVI chapter list and the chapter 547, 548, 553 and 554 contents lists | 7 Aug 2026 |
| Court filing feePetition for estate administration | $150.00 / $205.00 / $305.00A three-step schedule on the gross value of the estate: $150.00 at $10,000.00 or less, $205.00 over that to $25,000.00, and $305.00 above $25,000.00. The figure is set by supreme court rule under RSA 490:26-a rather than by statute, so it can move without a statutory amendment. Two things are already inside it: a $30.00 electronic case filing surcharge, and the $55.00 publication charge on estates over $10,000.00. The entry fee also covers the court preparing and issuing the original orders of notice, the notice itself, copies of decrees, mailing costs and the certificate to discharge the surety. It does not cover in-hand service by a law enforcement officer, or extra copies and certificates. | Supreme court rule, under RSA 490:26-a | Probate Division Rule 169(I), (II) and (VII), with the Circuit Court filing fee schedule Rule and schedule agree exactly, both dated 07/01/2025 · authority RSA 547:27-c and RSA 490:26-a | 7 Aug 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice of appointment | $55.00, and nothing below $10,000.00The court places the notice and bills you the actual cost. You do not buy this yourself — and here the court charge for it is a flat $55.00 rather than the newspaper invoice, already inside the entry fee you pay on any estate over $10,000.00. The clerk causes the notice within 15 days of appointment; the register selects the newspaper, which must circulate where the person last resided or in the county whose court has jurisdiction; it runs twice, the first at least two weeks and the second at least seven days before the day noticed. What the newspaper itself charges is not fixed by law: the fiduciary advances that cost to the register, as the register determines it, before publication. Where the estate is $10,000.00 or less at gross value, no publication is required and there is nothing to buy. | The register places it; the court charge is flat | RSA 553:16, read with RSA 550:10 and Probate Division Rule 169(II) The register may run one notice covering more than one estate, each with its own designation | 8 Aug 2026 |
| BondAdministrator bond | Required, in a reasonable sum the judge approves
|
Court discretion | RSA 553:13, read with RSA 553:32 and RSA 126-A:34 Amended 2013, 144:44 · RSA 126-A:34 read and carries no bond figure | 9 Aug 2026 |
$25,000.00 is the pivot figure on this page and it appears three times. At or below it the accounting costs nothing to file and the bond is a personal one with no surety; above it the accounting is $105.00 and a surety bond is the default. It is a different line from the $10,000.00 that switches off publication.
How the New Hampshire sources are linked. The General Court publishes each statute at its own address; the Judicial Branch publishes Rule 169 at its own address but renders Rule 88 on the rules index page, so that page is what the citation points at and the rule is named in full.
What can change the bill — allowances, waivers and one-off charges
- Certificate of appointment — $10.00 each, and $10.00 for a certification plus the copy fee. An authenticated copy of the probate is $40.00 each.
- Copies — $0.50 a page for copied material, $0.25 a page for printing from the court kiosks or a computer screen printout.
- Records research — $6.50 per name per court.
- Reissued orders of notice — $25.00.
- Mid-case motions — $105.00 each for summary administration, removing a fiduciary, suing on the bond, or appointing a successor trustee, administrator, executor or guardian; $175.00 to re-examine a will.
- You may not have to pay at all. Filing the accounting costs $0.00 where the estate has a gross value of $25,000.00 or less, and the bond at that level is a personal one with no surety company premium to buy.
- Not covered by the entry fee: in-hand service by a law enforcement officer, and any copies or certificates beyond those the court already provides.
N.H. Circuit Court Probate Division Rule 169(I), (III), (IV), (V) and (VI); RSA 553:13 II — New Hampshire Judicial Branch and the New Hampshire Revised Statutes · Verified 7 Aug 2026
What changes YOUR number in New Hampshire
- Both fees live in a court rule, not in the code
- New Hampshire is the first state in this database where the standard for the attorney and the standard for the executor both sit in a rule of court rather than in the statutes. That matters for a practical reason: a rule changes when the court amends it, on the court own timetable, with no bill and no session law to watch.
- The filing fee can move without the legislature
- The same is true of the entry fee. RSA 490:26-a hands it to the supreme court, and the published schedule carries its own effective date of 1 July 2025. When that date moves, the figures can move with it — which is why this row is re-read against the schedule rather than against a statute.
- Two gross-value lines, and they are not the same line
- $10,000.00 switches publication off entirely. $25,000.00 makes the accounting free to file and turns a surety bond into a personal one. An estate sitting between the two — say $20,000.00 — pays $205.00 to open, has a notice published and paid for at $55.00 inside that figure, files its accounting for nothing, and gives a personal bond.
- The register can pool your notice with other estates
- RSA 550:10 III lets the register publish one notice covering more than one estate, provided each separate subject matter carries a specific designation. The court charge for your notice is the flat $55.00 either way, so pooling changes the newspaper bill the register is advancing, not the fee you are quoted.
- The size of the estate never opens the simplified route
- Both New Hampshire shortcuts ignore value. The first turns on who inherits — a sole beneficiary or sole heir who is also the administrator, or all of them acting together. The second turns on consent — assents from every beneficially interested person. An estate of any size can use either, and a very small estate can miss both.
- Neither shortcut ends the job
- RSA 553:32 removes the inventory, the bond and the accounting, not the appointment. RSA 553:33 removes the final account and releases the bond, and you finish paying the estate out yourself. In both cases you remain responsible for the administration expenses and the debts, and any interested person can ask for full administration.
New Hampshire has no small-estate dollar limit at all
No dollar limit exists. New Hampshire simplified routes turn on who inherits and on who consents, not on the estate size. It is the only state in this database with no small-estate threshold of any kind — there is no figure to be under and no value base to measure.
- Route one, RSA 553:32 — the waiver. No inventory, no bond and no accounting where the person inheriting is also the person running the estate: a sole beneficiary under the will who is appointed administrator, or a sole heir on intestacy, or all the beneficiaries or heirs appointed together, or an appropriate person appointed with their assent. A trust named as sole beneficiary works the same way.
- The court also has a discretionary limb — it may allow the waiver wherever it determines that is appropriate in the circumstances.
- You close it by filing an affidavit of administration, not less than 6 months and no more than one year after appointment, stating there are no outstanding debts, obligations or unresolved claims, and listing all real estate owned at death with its location, book and page.
- Route two, RSA 553:33 — summary administration. For every estate the waiver does not cover. Six months after appointment you move to close without filing a final account, swearing that the debts are settled, that no New Hampshire or federal estate tax is outstanding, and that court supervision is no longer necessary.
- Route two needs receipts or assents from every specific legatee and assents from every other beneficially interested person. On granting it the court closes the estate and releases the bond.
- Neither route relieves the administrator of responsibility for the administration expenses or the debts, and any interested person may petition for full administration at any time up to the filing of the affidavit.
There is no New Hampshire small-estate affidavit with a dollar figure, and any guide quoting one is quoting another state. The nearest thing to a value line in New Hampshire probate is the $25,000.00 gross-value point in RSA 553:13 II, and that changes the kind of bond you give — it does not open a simplified route.
RSA 553:32 and RSA 553:33 — New Hampshire Revised Statutes · Verified 7 Aug 2026 · RSA 553:32 amended 2021, 206:2
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New Hampshire probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in New Hampshire?
There is no statutory schedule. Probate Division Rule 88 governs the fiduciary and the attorney in one sentence: the fees and expenses of both are subject to the approval of the court and must be reasonable for the work, the responsibility and the risk. The court weighs the time and labour required, the size of the estate, the requisite skill, the customary fee, any fee agreement, the results obtained, time limitations and the length of the professional relationship. The fee is approved at the accounting stage.
Does New Hampshire set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. Title LVI contains no attorney compensation section. The standard lives in Rule 88, a rule of the Circuit Court Probate Division, which means it can change when the court amends it rather than when the legislature acts. The same rule and the same eight factors cover the executor.
What does it cost to file for probate in New Hampshire?
The petition for estate administration costs 150 dollars where the gross value is 10,000 dollars or less, 205 dollars over that up to 25,000 dollars, and 305 dollars above 25,000 dollars. A 30 dollar electronic case filing surcharge and, on estates over 10,000 dollars, a 55 dollar publication charge are already inside those figures. Filing the accounting later costs 105 dollars, or nothing at all where the estate is 25,000 dollars gross or less.
Who pays for the creditors notice in New Hampshire?
The court arranges it, not you. The clerk causes notice to be published within 15 days of appointment and the register selects the newspaper. The court charge is a flat 55 dollars on any estate over 10,000 dollars, and that charge is already inside the filing fee. The newspaper own price is not fixed by law and is advanced to the register before publication. Below 10,000 dollars of gross value there is no publication and no cost.
What is the small estate limit in New Hampshire?
There is not one. New Hampshire is the only state with no small-estate dollar threshold of any kind. Section 553:32 removes the inventory, the bond and the accounting where the person inheriting is also the person running the estate, and section 553:33 lets any other estate close without a final account six months after appointment with the assent of everyone beneficially interested. Both turn on who inherits or who consents, never on value.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. The statutes are published by the New Hampshire General Court; the fee schedule and the rules are published by the New Hampshire Judicial Branch.
- Attorney fee and representative compensation — Probate Division Rule 88 and Rule 1, with RSA 547:11-a courts.nh.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 · Rule 88 renders on the rules index page and has no standalone address · re-read whenever the rules are reissued
- Court filing fee — Probate Division Rule 169(I), (II), (VII) and the Circuit Court filing fee schedule courts.nh.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 · both dated 07/01/2025 · re-read when that effective date moves
- Mid-case and side charges — Probate Division Rule 169(I), (III), (IV), (V), (VI) courts.nh.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 · same schedule, same effective date
- Publication — RSA 553:16, read with RSA 550:10 and Rule 169(II) gc.nh.govVerified 8 Aug 2026 · RSA 550:12 read and confirmed as a definitions section carrying no figure · annual statutory re-check
- Bond — RSA 553:13, with RSA 553:32 and RSA 126-A:34 gc.nh.govVerified 9 Aug 2026 · amended 2013, 144:44 · RSA 126-A:34 read at source and carries no bond figure · annual statutory re-check
- Simplified administration, route one — RSA 553:32 gc.nh.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 · amended 2021, 206:2 · annual statutory re-check
- Simplified administration, route two — RSA 553:33 gc.nh.govVerified 7 Aug 2026 · RSA 87:26 named in the section and not read · annual statutory re-check
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in New Hampshire. Full terms: /disclaimer/ · Privacy
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