New Hampshire Probate Deadlines

New Hampshire probate deadlines count from the original grant of administration, not from the date of death. The administrator files an inventory within 90 days, a creditor must exhibit a demand within six months, and no suit against the estate survives past one year. The will itself goes to the court within 30 days of the death.

This guide lists every dated duty in a New Hampshire estate, groups each one under the event that starts its clock, and says what the court does when a date passes. For how long the whole thing usually runs and where these dates sit inside the filing process, start with the New Hampshire probate guide.

Three Clocks Run in Every New Hampshire Estate

Almost every wrong New Hampshire deadline comes from reading a period off the wrong event. Three separate clocks run, and they start on three different days.

Clock	Starting event	What hangs on it
Date of death	The day the person died	Filing the will, the wait before a lower-priority applicant may be appointed, the two-year bar on reaching real estate, the federal estate tax return
Original grant of administration	The day the court appoints the administrator	The inventory, notice to heirs, the account, the spousal waiver, and all three creditor rules
Probate of the will	The day the court proves the will	The right to have a will proved without notice re-examined in solemn form

Neighboring states usually tie the creditor window to the date of death or to first publication of notice. New Hampshire does neither. RSA 556:3 counts from the grant, so publishing the notice a month late does not buy a creditor an extra month.

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New Hampshire Probate Deadlines at a Glance

Duty	Clock starts at	Period	Statute
Custodian delivers the will to the court or the named executor	Learning of the death	30 days	RSA 552:2
Named executor files the will with the probate court	Death, or learning of the naming, whichever is later	30 days	RSA 552:3
A lower-priority applicant may be appointed	Death	after 30 days, absent a written renunciation	RSA 553:3
Clerk publishes the notice of appointment	Appointment	15 days	RSA 553:16
Executor notifies legatees, the surviving spouse and heirs	Appointment	60 days	RSA 552:15
Executor certifies to the judge that notice went out	Appointment	90 days	RSA 552:15
Administrator files the inventory	Appointment	90 days	RSA 554:1, I
Creditor exhibits the demand	Original grant of administration	6 months	RSA 556:3
Earliest a creditor may begin suit	Original grant of administration	after 6 months	RSA 556:1
Creditor's suit must be begun	Original grant of administration	1 year	RSA 556:5
Surviving spouse files the waiver of the will and homestead right	Appointment	6 months	RSA 560:14
Re-examination of a will proved without notice	Probate of the will	6 months	RSA 552:7
First account of administration	Appointment	1 year, then annually	RSA 553:13, I(c); RSA 554:26
Affidavit of administration on the waiver track	Appointment	6 months to 1 year	RSA 553:32, I(b)
Motion for summary administration	Appointment	no earlier than 6 months	RSA 553:33, II
Creditor's route to the decedent's real estate closes	Date of death	2 years with no administration granted	RSA 556:29
Federal Form 706, when the estate must file one	Date of death	9 months	IRS Instructions for Form 706

New Hampshire levies no estate tax and no inheritance tax, so there is no state return on this list and no state filing date to track.

Deadlines That Start at the Date of Death

The 30-Day Will Duty

Two sections carry the same 30 days from opposite sides. Whoever holds the will must deliver it within 30 days of learning that the testator died, either to the court of probate or to the person the will names as executor (RSA 552:2). The named executor must then file the will with the probate court within 30 days of the death or within 30 days of learning about the naming, whichever comes later (RSA 552:3). If the estate holds assets, that executor either proves the will or files a written refusal to accept the trust. If it holds none, the executor files a death certificate and the will with no administration.

Missing this one carries a price the statute states in dollars. RSA 552:4 forfeits $20 for each month of neglect after those 30 days, unless the court accepts the excuse, and any person interested in the will may recover it. That is a civil forfeiture rather than a criminal fine.

The 30-Day Wait Before a Lower-Priority Appointment

RSA 553:3 reads like a deadline and works like a waiting period. Nobody further down the order of RSA 553:2 can be appointed until the people ahead of them either renounce the trust in writing or let 30 days pass after the death. A cooperative family shortens that with written renunciations. A family waiting on a distant relative just waits.

One filing has to land before any appointment happens at all: a certified copy of the death record, unless the judge waives it on petition (RSA 553:1-a). Order the certificates early, because the appointment date is the day almost every other clock starts.

The Two-Year Real Estate Bar

RSA 556:29 sits apart from the creditor rules below, and merging it with them is the most common error in New Hampshire estate writing. If no administration is granted on the estate within two years of the date of death, no creditor may afterward maintain any action to reach the real estate the decedent owned. It runs from death, it protects land rather than money, and it says nothing about the six-month and one-year periods.

The Federal Return

Only a large estate files Form 706, and it is due nine months after the date of death. An executor who cannot make that date files Form 4768 for an automatic six-month extension, per the IRS Instructions for Form 706. Our federal estate tax guide for New Hampshire estates covers the threshold and the portability election.

Deadlines That Start at the Grant of Administration

The grant of administration is the appointment. The circuit clerk issues the certificate of appointment, the administrator picks up certified copies for the banks, and the following dates all begin counting from that day.

15 Days: The Clerk Publishes

Within 15 days of the appointment the clerk publishes notice of it under RSA 550:10 (RSA 553:16). The clerk does this, not the administrator. Publication drops out entirely when the estate has a gross value of $10,000 or less, which makes newspaper notice a $0 line in a small New Hampshire estate. That $10,000 figure waives notice only. It does not create a small estate route, and New Hampshire has no small-estate affidavit at all. The New Hampshire small estate rules guide covers what the state offers instead.

60 and 90 Days: Notice to Legatees and Heirs

Within 60 days after appointment the executor notifies each legatee named in the will, plus the surviving spouse and the heirs at law, that the will has been proved. Within 90 days after appointment the executor certifies to the judge that the notice went out, stating how and to whom (RSA 552:15). Two dates, one duty, and the certification is the part people forget.

90 Days: The Inventory

Every administrator files a full, itemized inventory within 90 days after the date of appointment, under penalties of law (RSA 554:1, I). It lists all real and personal property with fair market values as of the date of death, and it says how each value was reached, whether by appraisal, tax information, a bank statement or another source. No appraiser is required, though the judge may appoint one when the property or the size of the estate makes it advisable. A false statement on the inventory is an unsworn falsification under RSA 641:3.

6 Months: The Surviving Spouse Decides

A surviving spouse who wants to take against the will, and to waive the homestead right, files that waiver and release in the probate office within six months after the appointment of an executor or administrator, and not afterward, unless the judge permits it for good cause (RSA 560:14). Where the estate holds real estate, the same waiver gets recorded in the registry of deeds for the county where the land sits. The New Hampshire surviving spouse rights guide walks through the choice itself.

1 Year: The Account

The administrator's bond obliges an account of administration within one year, and annually after that until a final account is filed and allowed, unless the judge excuses it (RSA 553:13, I(c)). RSA 554:26 says the same from the other direction and caps any excusal at three years. The New Hampshire probate accounting guide covers what belongs in the account.

The Creditor Window Is Two Rules Stacked on One Date

New Hampshire splits the creditor question into presenting a claim and suing on it, and both count from the original grant of administration.

Exhibit the demand within six months. No action is sustained unless the demand was exhibited to the administrator within six months after the original grant, excluding any time the administration was suspended (RSA 556:3). A notice sent to the administrator or the administrator's agent by registered mail, setting out the nature and amount of the claim along with a demand for payment, counts as a sufficient exhibition and demand (RSA 556:2).
Wait six months, then sue within one year. No action against an administrator is sustained if it is begun within six months after the original grant, and payment must have been demanded first (RSA 556:1). No suit is maintained unless it is begun within one year of that grant (RSA 556:5), again excluding suspended time.

Read together, months zero through six are the presentment window and no ordinary suit may start. Months six through twelve are the only stretch in which that suit can begin. RSA 556:5 leaves narrow exceptions where the judge has ordered estate retained for a claim, and for cases under RSA 556:7 and RSA 556:28.

For the administrator, the practical effect is a hold on distributions. Paying the heirs before the six-month mark closes leaves the administrator exposed if a valid demand lands. The New Hampshire creditor claims guide covers exhibition, allowance and rejection, and the New Hampshire debt payment priority guide sets out the order of payment under RSA 554:19.

Deadlines That Start When the Will Is Proved

A will proved in common form goes through without notice. Any interested party may have that probate re-examined and the will proved in solemn form before the court at any time within six months of the probate. Issues about execution, testamentary capacity, fraud, duress or undue influence are tried to the probate court, and an interested party may request that within the same six months (RSA 552:7). The New Hampshire will contests guide explains the grounds.

The Waiver and Summary Tracks Carry Their Own Dates

New Hampshire's two lighter administrations turn on relationship and consent rather than on estate value, and each has a date of its own.

Waiver of administration (RSA 553:32). A sole beneficiary, a sole heir, or a group of beneficiaries who all serve or assent skips the inventory, the bond and the accounting. The administrator closes it by filing an affidavit of administration, which is due not less than six months and no more than one year after the date of appointment (RSA 553:32, I(b)). The court may extend that one-year date on motion for good cause. The affidavit swears there are no outstanding debts or obligations and lists every parcel of real estate the decedent owned, with location, book and page.
Summary administration (RSA 553:33). This applies to estates that RSA 553:32 does not reach. The administrator may move to close the estate no earlier than six months after the date of appointment, and the motion swears the estate has been open at least six months, that no debts or unresolved claims remain, that no New Hampshire estate tax is due or an RSA 87:26 certificate is on file, and that any federal estate tax has been handled. Receipts or assents from the specific legatees and everyone else beneficially interested go in as attachments.

Both routes stop short of six months. That is the same six months the creditor window occupies, which is why no ordinary New Hampshire estate closes faster.

What the Court Does When a Date Passes

A missed date in New Hampshire starts a default sequence rather than an immediate penalty.

The inventory and the account. A fiduciary who has not filed the inventory 30 days after its due date, or the account 90 days after its due date, is in default. The circuit clerk mails notice of the default within 10 days, and the fiduciary then has 30 days to file or to show good cause. If neither happens, the judge issues a citation to appear under RSA 550:2, and the fiduciary pays default and citation fees set by the supreme court under RSA 490:26-a (RSA 554:26-a, I). The clerk copies the citation to any surety, anyone who has appeared, and any residuary beneficiary.
The waiver affidavit. Missing the one-year date under RSA 553:32 lets the court issue a notice of default or a show cause order, or require full administration of the estate instead (RSA 553:32, I(c)).
The will. RSA 552:4 forfeits $20 per month of neglect, recoverable by any interested person.
A late creditor. RSA 556:28 lets a court extend the time to file and prosecute a claim to a date certain, where justice and equity require it and the claimant is not chargeable with culpable neglect. Payments or compromises already made before those proceedings began stand.

Appeals Carry No Statutory Deadline

RSA 567-A gives a person aggrieved by a probate decree, order, appointment, grant or denial the right to appeal to the Supreme Court on questions of law, and it sets the time "in accordance with rules of the supreme court" rather than naming a number (RSA 567-A:1). The sections that once carried appeal periods, RSA 567-A:2 and RSA 567-A:3, were repealed in 1983. So the deadline lives in the court rules, not in the statute, and anyone planning an appeal should confirm the current period in the Rules of the Supreme Court of the State of New Hampshire before counting days. One statutory timing rule does survive: a request for findings of fact and rulings of law goes to the judge at the close of the evidence, unless the court orders otherwise for good cause (RSA 567-A:4).

How to Keep a New Hampshire Estate on Schedule

Write down the appointment date first. Nearly every period on this page counts from it. Put it at the top of your file, then calculate 15, 60, 90 and 180 days and one year from that single date.
Order the death certificates before you file. RSA 553:1-a blocks the appointment until a certified copy reaches the court, so this is the step that gates every other step.
Get written renunciations. They collapse the RSA 553:3 waiting period from 30 days to nothing.
Send registered-mail demands and keep the receipts. RSA 556:2 makes that the clean way to prove exhibition, and it protects the administrator as much as the creditor.
Do not distribute before month six. Both close-out routes and the creditor window agree on that mark.
Ask the circuit clerk before a date passes, not after. Find your court through the New Hampshire probate courts directory, and take the statewide NHJB forms from the New Hampshire probate forms page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main deadline in a New Hampshire estate?

The six-month creditor window. A creditor must exhibit a demand to the administrator within six months after the original grant of administration, or no action on that claim can be sustained (RSA 556:3). That six-month mark also opens the door to the waiver affidavit and to summary administration, so it sets the shape of the whole estate.

Do New Hampshire probate deadlines run from the date of death?

Most of them do not. The inventory, the notice to heirs, the account, the spousal waiver and all three creditor rules count from the appointment of the administrator, which the creditor statutes in RSA 556 call the original grant of administration. Only the will-filing duty, the 30-day wait on appointment order, the two-year real estate bar and the federal estate tax return count from the date of death.

How long do I have to file a will in New Hampshire?

Thirty days. Anyone holding the will must deliver it to the court of probate or to the named executor within 30 days of learning of the death (RSA 552:2), and the named executor must file it with the probate court within 30 days of the death or of learning of the naming, whichever is later (RSA 552:3). Neglect costs $20 for each month of delay under RSA 552:4.

When is the New Hampshire inventory due?

Within 90 days after the date of appointment, under RSA 554:1, I. It lists all real and personal property with fair market values as of the date of death and says how each value was determined. An administrator who is still not on file 30 days after that due date is in default, and the clerk mails a notice of default within 10 days.

When can a creditor sue a New Hampshire estate?

Not during the first six months. RSA 556:1 says no action against an administrator is sustained if it is begun within six months after the original grant of administration, and RSA 556:5 says no suit is maintained unless it begins within one year of that same grant. Months six through twelve are the only window in which an ordinary creditor suit can start.

Can a New Hampshire probate deadline be extended?

Several can. The court may extend the one-year deadline for the waiver affidavit of administration for good cause (RSA 553:32, I(b)), a judge may allow a late spousal waiver for good cause (RSA 560:14), and a court may extend a creditor's time under RSA 556:28 where justice and equity require it and the claimant is not chargeable with culpable neglect. Ask the circuit clerk what your court expects before a date passes.

New Hampshire Probate Guide: the filing process from first petition to closing.
New Hampshire Probate Timeline: how long each closing route takes once the grant issues.
New Hampshire Creditor Claims: exhibition, allowance and rejection of demands.
New Hampshire Executor Duties: the administrator's job from appointment onward.
New Hampshire Probate Accounting: the annual and final accounts.
New Hampshire Probate Courts: the ten Circuit Court Probate Divisions.

Court practice and the facts of an estate change how these dates land. Confirm the ones that affect your family with the circuit clerk or a licensed New Hampshire attorney, and work the rest of the series from the New Hampshire probate hub.

Sources:

Title: RSA 552:3 Duty of Executor. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2001, 195:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2002, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/552/552-3.htm
Title: RSA 552:15 Notice to Legatees and Heirs at Law. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 1959, 70:2, eff. June 22, 1959, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/552/552-15.htm
Title: RSA 553:16 Publication of Notice of Appointment. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2011, 88:20, eff. July 1, 2011, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/553/553-16.htm
Title: RSA 553:32 Waiver of Administration. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2021, 206:2, Pt. VI, Sec. 2, eff. July 1, 2021, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/553/553-32.htm
Title: RSA 553:33 Summary Administration. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2005, 252:4, eff. Jan. 1, 2006, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/553/553-33.htm
Title: RSA 554:1 Inventory. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 2013, 67:4, eff. Jan. 1, 2014, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/554/554-1.htm
Title: RSA 554:26-a Notice to Fiduciaries. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, enacted 2011, 88:19, eff. July 1, 2011, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/554/554-26-a.htm
Title: RSA 556:1 No Action Within Six Months, Etc. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 1959, 114:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1960, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/556/556-1.htm
Title: RSA 556:3 Exhibition of Demand; Time. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 1959, 114:2, eff. Jan. 1, 1960, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/556/556-3.htm
Title: RSA 556:5 Suit Within One Year. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 1959, 114:3, eff. Jan. 1, 1960, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/556/556-5.htm
Title: RSA 556:29 Two-Year Limitation. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, enacted 1941, 54:1, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/556/556-29.htm
Title: RSA 560:14 Waiver and Release. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 1971, 179:24, eff. Aug. 10, 1971, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/560/560-14.htm
Title: RSA 567-A:1 Appeal to Supreme Court. Publisher: New Hampshire General Court. Publication Date: Current statute, last amended 1983, 382:10, eff. Aug. 21, 1983, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LVI/567-A/567-A-1.htm
Title: Instructions for Form 706 (09/2025). Publisher: Internal Revenue Service. Publication Date: September 2025, accessed 2026-08-03. URL: https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i706

It is not legal advice.