New Hampshire Real Estate License Law and Administrative Rules
The licensing framework
New Hampshire regulates brokerage through the Real Estate Commission, which enforces RSA 331-A and the Commission's administrative rules. A license is required to list, market, negotiate, or procure prospects for the sale or lease of real property for another person for compensation. Exemptions are narrow: attorneys acting within the practice of law, banks and certain institutional lenders, court officers, and limited owner or employee situations. An unlicensed assistant may do clerical work, but may not show property, discuss terms, quote prices, or solicit business.
Broker supervision and trust funds
The principal broker supervises affiliated licensees and is responsible for advertising, records, and escrow. Earnest money and other client funds belong in a separate escrow or trust account. No commingling, no borrowing from the account, and records must be reconcilable at all times. Commissions generally may not be paid to unlicensed persons; a brokerage may pay a referral fee to another licensed brokerage.
Discipline and renewal
The Commission may investigate complaints, conduct hearings, and impose reprimands, fines, suspension, revocation, or required education. Renewal requires continuing education; confirm current hours and deadlines with the Commission because requirements change.
Trap: questions often describe a helpful unlicensed assistant who merely hosts an open house or mentions the seller might accept less. That is licensed activity and exposes the broker to discipline.
Rule of thumb: if the activity involves bringing parties together, discussing terms, or doing it for compensation, assume a license is required unless a specific exemption clearly applies.
Worked example: An unlicensed assistant hosts an open house and tells a buyer the seller would probably take $10,000 less. The assistant has negotiated, and the supervising broker faces discipline.