Yes. In New Hampshire, criminal mischief is treated as domestic violence when the person who damaged the property is a family member, household member, or current or former intimate partner of the person whose property was damaged. RSA 173-B, the state’s domestic violence statute, specifically lists destruction of property under RSA 634:2 as a qualifying act of “abuse.”1New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 173-B:1 – Definitions That classification matters: the underlying charge is still criminal mischief, but the domestic relationship opens the door to protective orders, mandatory firearm surrender, warrantless arrest, and federal consequences that do not attach to ordinary property-damage cases.
Why Property Damage Counts as Abuse
RSA 173-B defines abuse by listing specific criminal acts committed against people in a protected domestic relationship. Criminal mischief under RSA 634:2 is on that list.1New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 173-B:1 – Definitions The legislature treated property destruction as a form of abuse because breaking a partner’s phone, smashing furniture, or disabling a shared car is often used to intimidate or control. The victim never has to be physically touched for the conduct to qualify.
Two charges can carry identical statutory penalties — a criminal mischief case between strangers and one between spouses — but the practical fallout is not the same. The domestic classification changes how police respond at the scene, what conditions a judge imposes at bail, and what rights the other person has to seek a protective order.
What Qualifies as Criminal Mischief
Under RSA 634:2, a person commits criminal mischief by purposely or recklessly damaging someone else’s property without any right to do so.2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 634:2 – Criminal Mischief Accidentally knocking something over during an argument is not criminal mischief. Throwing it across the room in anger is, even without a specific target.
Common domestic examples include smashing a phone, breaking furniture, punching holes in walls, or keying a shared vehicle. One point that surprises people: damaging jointly owned property can still support charges. The statute protects property “of another,” and New Hampshire courts have applied that language to co-owned property when one owner destroys it over the other’s objection.
The statute also elevates any criminal mischief that causes a substantial interruption of public utilities — water, gas, electricity, or similar services — to a felony regardless of the dollar amount.2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 634:2 – Criminal Mischief In a domestic setting, that can come into play when someone cuts power to a shared home or disables a heating system.
Penalties by Damage Amount
The classification of a criminal mischief charge turns on the value of what was destroyed:
- Damage over $1,500, or any disruption of public utilities, is a Class B felony. Under RSA 651:2, that carries up to seven years in state prison and fines up to $4,000.3New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 651:2 – Sentences and Limitations2New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 634:2 – Criminal Mischief
- Damage between $100 and $1,500 is a Class A misdemeanor: up to one year in jail and fines up to $2,000.3New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 651:2 – Sentences and Limitations
- Damage under $100 is an unclassified misdemeanor. Under RSA 625:9, it defaults to a Class B misdemeanor unless the state files notice seeking Class A penalties. Class B carries fines up to $1,200 and no jail time.4New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 625:9 – Classification of Crimes
Courts can order restitution to cover repair costs, replacement expenses, and related losses like temporary housing if the damage made a home uninhabitable.5New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 651:63 – Restitution Authorized New Hampshire adds a 17% administrative fee on top of the restitution amount, collected through the Department of Corrections.6New Hampshire Judicial Branch. New Hampshire Superior Court Administrative Order 29 – Restitution Administrative Fee
A prior conviction for violating a protective order within the past six years can elevate the classification of a later domestic violence offense. A charge that would otherwise be a Class A misdemeanor can be bumped to a Class B felony.7New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 173-B:9 – Violation of Protective Order, Penalty
What Changes Because It’s Domestic
Arrest Without a Warrant
Police do not need a warrant, and the victim does not need to “press charges.” Under RSA 594:10, an officer can arrest without a warrant on probable cause that a person committed abuse as defined in RSA 173-B within the past 12 hours, including criminal mischief against a household or family member.8New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 594:10 – Arrest Without a Warrant RSA 173-B:10 confirms officers can act on probable cause whether or not the abuse occurred in their presence.9New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated. New Hampshire Code 173-B:10 – Protection by Peace Officers
Bail Conditions
Under RSA 597:2, a court can order pretrial detention without bail where release would endanger the defendant or the public.10New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 597:2 – Release of a Defendant Pending Trial In domestic violence cases, courts and bail commissioners can order preventive detention or electronic monitoring on clear and convincing evidence of danger.11New Hampshire Judicial Branch. Chapter 12 – Bail – Criminal Orders of Protection When bail is granted, conditions almost always include no contact with the alleged victim and a prohibition on returning to the shared residence.
Protective Orders
Separately from the criminal case, the other party can petition the Circuit Court’s Family Division for a protective order under RSA 173-B. If the court finds immediate and present danger of abuse, it can issue a temporary ex parte order that takes effect before the defendant is heard, with a hearing to follow within three to five business days once the defendant is served. A final order can prohibit contact, bar the defendant from the shared home, forbid further damage to the petitioner’s property, and address temporary custody, visitation, and support.12New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 173-B:5 – Relief
Knowingly violating a protective order is itself a Class A misdemeanor and cannot be reduced. When a violation occurs, officers are required to arrest the defendant and hold them until arraignment, and they must seize any firearms in the defendant’s possession at the time.7New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 173-B:9 – Violation of Protective Order, Penalty A New Hampshire protective order is enforceable in every other state, territory, and tribal jurisdiction under the federal Full Faith and Credit provision at 18 U.S.C. § 2265, with no need to register it first.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2265 – Full Faith and Credit Given to Protection Orders
Firearm Consequences
Firearms are the sharpest difference between a domestic criminal mischief case and a non-domestic one.
Anyone subject to a final protective order under RSA 173-B must surrender all firearms and ammunition for the order’s duration.12New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 173-B:5 – Relief On top of that, a conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence triggers a federal lifetime prohibition under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), making it unlawful to ship, transport, receive, or possess firearms or ammunition.14Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Identify Prohibited Persons The federal ban has no expiration date and continues to apply even if the state conviction is later annulled, unless the annulment fully restores the person’s civil rights including firearm rights. For hunters, law enforcement officers, and anyone who holds a security job, this consequence alone can be the single biggest issue in the case.
Other Consequences Worth Knowing
A domestic violence conviction follows a person into employment and licensing. Positions in healthcare, education, law enforcement, and roles requiring security clearances routinely screen out candidates with these convictions, and licensed professionals can face discipline from their licensing boards. Federal jobs that require handling firearms are flatly closed to anyone with a misdemeanor domestic violence conviction. Landlords screening tenants may deny applications on the same record.
For non-citizens, the stakes are higher still. A crime of domestic violence — defined as a crime of violence against a spouse, cohabitant, or similarly situated person — is a deportable offense under federal immigration law, as is a finding that a non-citizen violated the protective provisions of a protective order against credible threats or repeated harassment.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens Lawful permanent residents and visa holders can face removal proceedings on a single misdemeanor.
One boundary worth flagging: New Hampshire’s Victims’ Compensation Program does not pay for property loss or damage. It covers medical bills, counseling, and lost wages from personal injury only.16New Hampshire Department of Justice. Victims’ Compensation Program For property damage, recovery runs through court-ordered restitution in the criminal case or a separate civil suit, which has a lower burden of proof and can succeed even where the criminal charges are dismissed.