New Hampshire's poultry compliance program runs through the Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food, which splits the work between the Division of Animal Industry for bird health and the Division of Food Safety for eggs and processing, with the Department of Environmental Services' Water Division handling CAFO coverage. The statutory backbone is N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 436:1 to 436:20 for animal health and importation, § 437:1 for dead-animal disposal, Chapter 427 for meat and poultry inspection, and Chapter 380 for eggs. One practical note for anyone researching New Hampshire citations: the same RSA chapter numbers appear in the Poultry Log catalog's New Jersey entries, where they are likely copy-paste artifacts, so verify any citation against the current New Hampshire General Court and NJDA sources before relying on it in filings. Poultry Log's New Hampshire catalog records each requirement with its agency, authority, trigger, retention period, and official source link.
Animal Health Layer: Division of Animal Industry
- Imports - poultry, hatching eggs, or other fowl entering New Hampshire must meet Division of Animal Industry importation and health requirements under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 436:1 to 436:20, including a permit, certificate of veterinary inspection, or NPIP and Pullorum-Typhoid evidence required for the class of bird.
- Exhibitions - poultry exhibited at a New Hampshire show must originate from a Pullorum-Typhoid-clean or NPIP-participating flock or have a negative test within 90 days of the event, enforced at check-in, with NPIP program status able to substitute for the separate test while the documentation requirement remains.
- Hatcheries and breeding flocks - a New Hampshire hatchery, chick dealer, or seller of hatching eggs must participate in the state poultry health program under §§ 436:1 to 436:20, keeping source, lot, and testing records. Chicks, poults, or hatching eggs for sale must come from clean or NPIP-participating breeding flocks, tested at least annually, with reactors removed.
- Reportable disease and disposal - a suspected or confirmed reportable poultry disease event, including avian influenza, must be reported immediately to the Division of Animal Industry. Carcasses must be disposed of promptly by an approved method (burial, composting, incineration, rendering, or other approved disposal) under § 437:1 and RSA 436, so as not to create a public-health or disease risk.
Egg and Processing Layer: Division of Food Safety
Under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. Chapter 380 and the state's egg marketing and sanitation rules, a person who grades, candles, packages, or sells eggs as a dealer must hold a New Hampshire egg dealer license and meet grading, candling, refrigeration, and labeling requirements. A producer selling only eggs from their own hens, without purchasing eggs from others, may operate under the producer exemption, but eggs must still be clean, wholesome, and honestly represented, and graded eggs must be labeled with grade, size, packer name and address, and pack date, and refrigerated. For poultry processing under Chapter 427, a producer must use a licensed or USDA-inspected establishment unless every condition of New Hampshire's on-farm or custom exemption is met, including processing only its own birds with the required labeling and annual bird limits, keeping slaughter and sales records.
Environmental Layer: NHDES Water Division
A poultry operation that is a Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation must obtain NPDES or state CAFO permit coverage from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services' Water Division before discharging or operating its waste management system, under 40 CFR Part 122, implementing a nutrient management plan and keeping production-area and land-application records. The catalog records the below-threshold position: an operation under the large CAFO threshold (fewer than 125,000 broilers or pullets, or 82,000 laying hens without a wet handling system, or 55,000 turkeys in grow-out) that does not discharge is generally not required to hold a CAFO permit, though designation can change that. Records are kept for the period the permit requires, commonly five years, and covered CAFOs submit the annual report under 40 CFR 122.42(e)(4).
Where Poultry Log Fits
Poultry Log's New Hampshire catalog carries these requirements with official source links and form templates, in the same workspace as the daily records that feed them. The egg layer connects to the wholesale egg dealer records guide, the NPIP layer to the NPIP participation records guide, and the NHDES layer to the CAFO permit guide. Confirm current requirements with NHDA and NHDES; completing a checklist does not certify legal compliance. Start free at poultrylog.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
What permits do New Hampshire poultry farms need?
New Hampshire layers duties across agencies: the Division of Animal Industry for imports, exhibitions, hatcheries, breeding flocks, reportable disease, and carcass disposal under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 436:1 to 436:20 and § 437:1; the Division of Food Safety for egg dealer licensing under Chapter 380 and processing exemptions under Chapter 427; and NHDES's Water Division for CAFO coverage under 40 CFR Part 122.
Do New Hampshire egg producers need a dealer license?
A person who grades, candles, packages, or sells eggs as a dealer must hold a New Hampshire egg dealer license under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. Chapter 380. A producer selling only eggs from their own hens, without purchasing eggs from others, may use the producer exemption, but graded eggs must still be labeled with grade, size, packer name and address, and pack date, and refrigerated.
Who does New Hampshire poultry disease reporting go to?
The Division of Animal Industry, immediately upon diagnosis, confirmation, or suspicion of a reportable poultry disease event including avian influenza, under N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 436:1 to 436:20 and the state's reportable disease protocol.