NH Charitable Trust Unit: Registration, Reporting, and Compliance

The New Hampshire Charitable Trusts Unit, part of the Office of the Attorney General, oversees every organization that holds or raises money for charitable purposes in the state. If your organization qualifies, you must register with the unit before you operate or solicit donations, file an annual report each year, and follow specific state rules on transactions between the charity and its own board members. This guide walks through what the CTU requires, in the order you’ll actually encounter it.

Who Has to Register

New Hampshire defines “charitable trust” more broadly than most people expect. Under RSA 7:21, the term covers any fiduciary relationship involving property created for a charitable, nonprofit, educational, or community purpose. That includes traditional 501(c)(3) nonprofits, charitable foundations, trusts created by a will, and trusts set up during someone’s lifetime for philanthropic goals. Calling your entity a “corporation” or “association” instead of a “trust” doesn’t change the answer. What matters is whether the entity holds or uses property for charitable purposes.¹

Religious organizations, meaning houses of worship and their integrated auxiliaries, are not required to register or file annual reports. The CTU generally follows the IRS on this point: if the IRS granted a “church” exemption from Form 990 filing, the CTU treats the organization as exempt from its requirements too. Despite what some older guides suggest, New Hampshire does not broadly exempt educational institutions or hospitals. Those organizations register like any other charity operating in the state.

Initial Registration

Before your organization operates or solicits donations in New Hampshire, file Form NHCT-11, the CTU’s registration application.² The form asks for names and addresses of officers and directors, the organization’s fiscal year-end, and a description of its charitable purpose. Form the entity as a nonprofit corporation, express trust, or unincorporated association first, using the appropriate organizational documents.³

The registration packet must include:

Articles of agreement and bylaws showing the CTU how your organization is structured and governed.
A copy of the IRS determination letter if the IRS has recognized the organization as tax-exempt. You don’t need IRS status to register with the CTU, but the state recommends getting the determination first if you plan to seek it.³
The trust instrument or will, if the entity is a trust rather than a corporation.
Written conflict of interest and pecuniary benefit policies. RSA 7:19-a requires every charitable trust to adopt both. A packet arriving without them will be sent back.⁴

Send the completed packet with a filing fee payable to the State of New Hampshire to the Charitable Trusts Unit at the Attorney General’s Office in Concord. The unit has moved offices in recent years, so verify the current mailing address on the Department of Justice website or on the form itself before sending. Once the CTU reviews and approves your filing, it issues a registration number you’ll use for all future correspondence and annual reports.

Annual Reporting

Every registered charity files Form NHCT-12 each year.⁵ The report gives the CTU an updated picture of the organization’s finances, leadership, and any changes to its governing documents. It is due on the 15th day of the fifth month after the close of your fiscal year. For a calendar-year organization, that means May 15. For a fiscal year ending June 30, it means November 15.⁶

The filing fee is $75, payable to the State of New Hampshire.⁷ If you need more time, file Form NHCT-14 before the deadline. The extension request carries the same $75 fee, so waiting doesn’t save anything.

Financial Statement Thresholds

How much financial documentation you owe with the annual report depends on the size of your organization. RSA 7:28 sets two thresholds:

Revenue of $500,000 to $1,999,999: submit financial statements prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). These do not need to be audited by an independent CPA, though they can be.⁸
Revenue of $2,000,000 or more: submit audited financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.⁹

Revenue means revenue, gains, and other support as reported on the organization’s Form 990.⁸ Organizations below $500,000 still detail income and expenditures on the annual report, but don’t need separate GAAP-prepared or audited statements.

Rules on Transactions With Board Members

New Hampshire has unusually specific rules on deals between a charity and its own insiders, and this is where boards get into trouble most often. A “pecuniary benefit transaction” is any transaction between the charity and one of its directors, officers, or trustees in which that person has a financial interest. The statute reaches both direct and indirect interests, such as a deal with a company that employs a board member’s spouse.¹⁰

Some transactions are flatly prohibited. A charity cannot make loans to its board members. Leases from a board member lasting more than five years, and real estate purchases from a board member, require probate court approval.⁴

Other transactions with a board member are allowed only if every one of these conditions is met:

The transaction is in the charity’s best interest and at fair or discounted value.
At least two-thirds of the disinterested board members vote to approve it after full disclosure of all material facts.
No board member with a financial interest is present during the discussion or vote.
The vote and who was present are recorded in the meeting minutes.
The charity reports all pecuniary benefit transactions on Schedule C of its annual report to the CTU.⁴

When transactions with the same board member total $5,000 or more in a fiscal year, the charity must also publish a notice in a local newspaper and notify the Director of Charitable Trusts before completing the transaction.¹⁰ Transactions under $500 in a fiscal year, reasonable compensation for one executive director, and reimbursement of board expenses fall outside these rules.

What Happens if You Don’t Comply

An organization that fails to register before operating or soliciting donations in New Hampshire is barred from doing either until it receives its certificate of registration. The same prohibition applies if the CTU denies a registration application because of deficiencies the organization didn’t fix within 30 days.¹¹

For ongoing noncompliance, the Director of Charitable Trusts can revoke an organization’s registration after determining that the charity engaged in practices declared unlawful under RSA 7:28-f. Revocation notice goes out by certified mail to the charity and its directors or trustees.¹¹ The Attorney General can also seek court orders compelling compliance or, in extreme cases, dissolve a noncompliant charitable trust.

Organizations that go dormant but aren’t dissolving can apply to suspend their annual reporting obligation. During suspension, the charity must avoid hiring fundraising counsel or paid solicitors, stop charitable gaming activities, and continue filing an annual report for any year it holds investments or earns revenue over $10,000. It must also notify the CTU at least 90 days before dissolving or transferring a major asset.¹¹

Dissolving a Registered Charity

Winding down a New Hampshire charity requires coordinating with three offices:¹²

The directors approve dissolution by a two-thirds vote of a quorum. If the bylaws require it, the membership must also approve by two-thirds. The resolution has to include a plan for distributing assets and paying debts.
File a Statement of Dissolution (Form NP-5) with the New Hampshire Secretary of State.
If the organization had 501(c)(3) status, file a final Form 990 or 990-EZ with the IRS.
File a final NHCT-12, including Schedule E, with the Charitable Trusts Unit.

Assets of a dissolving charity cannot be distributed to individuals. They must go to other charitable organizations or government entities consistent with the articles of incorporation, bylaws, and any donor restrictions on the funds. Distributing restricted assets may require court approval, and the Attorney General can take legal action against organizations that distribute assets improperly.¹²

Checking a Charity or Filing a Complaint

The Department of Justice maintains an online search portal where anyone can verify whether a charity is currently registered and in good standing. The portal provides scanned copies of Form 990s and NHCT-12 annual reports, so donors can review how an organization spends its money before contributing.

If you suspect a charity is mismanaging its assets or using misleading fundraising practices, you can file a complaint with the Charitable Trusts Unit through the Attorney General’s office.¹² Include specific details and any supporting documentation. The CTU investigates allegations involving misuse of charitable funds, undisclosed conflicts of interest, and fraudulent solicitation. Written complaints with concrete evidence, such as financial documents, emails, or meeting minutes, are far more likely to result in action than vague suspicions.

Registering with the CTU is a state obligation and does not replace federal filings with the IRS. Most 501(c)(3) organizations must also file a Form 990-series return each year, and repeated failure to file at the federal level carries its own consequences separate from anything the CTU does.

1
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 7-21 – Definitions
2
New Hampshire Department of Justice. Form NHCT-11 Application for Registration
3
Office of the New Hampshire Attorney General. Application for Registration Instructions Form NHCT-11
4
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 7-19-a – Pecuniary Benefit Transactions
5
Cornell Law Institute. New Hampshire Administrative Code Jus 404.02 – Form NHCT-12 Annual Report
6
New Hampshire Department of Justice. What Every Charity Board Member Should Know
7
New Hampshire Department of Justice. Instructions for NHCT-12
8
New Hampshire General Court. New Hampshire Code 7-28 – Reports by Trustees of Charitable Trusts
9
New Hampshire Department of Justice. Threshold for Requirement for Audited Financial Statements
10
New Hampshire Department of Justice. Pecuniary Benefit Transactions
11
New Hampshire Department of Justice. New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules Jus 400
12
New Hampshire Department of Justice. Frequently Asked Questions