24 hours, 3 to 10 ethics
New Hampshire requires 24 CE hours per two-year license term for resident producers, with a minimum of 3 hours in ethics. New Hampshire also sets a ceiling: no more than 10 ethics credits can be applied toward the 24-hour requirement.
In practice that ceiling rarely binds — few producers take more than 10 ethics hours in a cycle — but a producer who tried to satisfy most of the requirement with ethics courses would find the excess above 10 does not count toward the 24.
The first-renewal exemption
A resident producer who passed the appropriate New Hampshire licensing exam and is renewing a license for the first time is exempt from the CE requirement for that first renewal. The full 24-hour requirement applies from the second renewal forward.
This is a resident-specific exemption tied to the first renewal after passing the exam. A producer who lets a license lapse and re-licenses does not get a fresh first-renewal exemption — it is genuinely a one-time break for new licensees.
The 60-day rule and the separate late-CE fee
The New Hampshire Insurance Department recommends completing all CE 60 days before the license expiration date. That is not just advice: if CE is completed inside that 60-day window — between the CE due date and the license expiration date — the department adds a $50 late-CE fee to the renewal, even though the license has not yet lapsed.
If CE is completed after the license actually expires, the fee rises to double the license fee. The late-CE fee is separate from, and can stack with, the late-renewal fees that apply once the license has expired — so cutting the timing close costs money in New Hampshire in a way it does not in most states.
Birth-month renewal and reinstatement
The New Hampshire license term ends on the last day of the licensee's birth month, every two years. The base renewal fee is $150.
If the license expires, all CE must be completed before the producer can reapply, and reinstatement is processed as a new license application with a $300 reinstatement fee. Reinstating within two years of expiration requires CE compliance and costs double the renewal fee; reinstating after two years no longer requires CE but does require passing the licensing exam again.
How completions are reported, and what to keep
New Hampshire-approved providers report completions to the Insurance Department electronically, and the producer's CE record is what determines whether the $50 late-CE fee attaches. Because that fee keys on the reported date inside the 60-day window, a producer needs the provider to have reported — not merely finished the course — more than 60 days out.
If a provider reports after the 60-day mark even though the producer finished earlier, the dated certificate is what supports a request to waive the $50 late-CE fee. Hold a certificate for every course for a few years, and treat the 60-day point as the real deadline — the fee attaches on the reported date, not the completion date.
Non-resident producers
A non-resident licensed in New Hampshire is not held to the 24-hour requirement or the first-renewal rules described above — home-state compliance carries the CE obligation, as long as the home state has a requirement of its own.
Product-specific training tied to a New Hampshire annuity or long-term care sale is a separate track from the general hour count and should be confirmed against a current New Hampshire Insurance Department bulletin.
Worked example
A producer who passed the NH exam in 2025 and is up for her first renewal in 2026 completes no CE — the first-renewal exemption covers her. She pays the $150 fee and renews.
For her 2028 renewal, the exemption is gone. She books a 3-hour ethics course and 21 general hours and finishes in the spring — more than 60 days before her birth-month deadline — specifically to avoid the $50 late-CE fee that would apply if the credits posted inside the 60-day window.
The bottom line
New Hampshire is a standard 24-hour, 3-ethics state with no carryover. The two things worth tracking are the first-renewal exemption for newly examined resident producers, and the 60-day rule — which is not a soft recommendation but the point at which a $50 late-CE fee attaches, well before the license itself is at risk.
If this is your first renewal after passing the NH exam, you owe no CE — pay the $150 fee and renew. Otherwise, book a 3-hour ethics course plus 21 general hours (ethics counts toward the 24 only up to 10 hours), and get the credits reported more than 60 days before your birth-month deadline to avoid the $50 late-CE fee. After expiration the fee doubles, and past two years lapsed you re-sit the exam.
Primary and official sources used for this guide
New Hampshire Insurance Department — Continuing Education FAQsPrimary/official source for New Hampshire's 24-hour requirement, the 3-to-10 ethics range, the first-renewal exemption, and the $50 late-CE fee inside the 60-day window.↗New Hampshire Insurance Department — Licensing FeesOfficial source for New Hampshire's $150 renewal fee, the $300 reinstatement fee, the double-fee post-expiration penalty, and the two-year re-exam rule.↗Source pages can change. Check the current text and effective date before relying on a threshold, waiting period, or required form.