Motorcycle Helmet & Lane-Splitting Laws in New Hampshire

New Hampshire only requires motorcycle helmets for riders under 18, and lane splitting is illegal for everyone. Here is exactly what the statutes say, and how your gear choice can affect a crash claim.

ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial
Jun 4, 2026
6 min read

Motorcycle helmet and lane-splitting laws in New Hampshire

New Hampshire is one of only three states, along with Illinois and Iowa, that doesn't require adult motorcyclists to wear a helmet.1 The "live free or die" state has never had a universal helmet law. That freedom comes with a catch a lot of riders miss: several other rules still apply, to how you ride and to what happens to your injury claim if a driver hits you.

Here's what New Hampshire law actually says, section by section, so you know your rights before and after a crash.

Who has to wear a helmet

The helmet rule in New Hampshire is narrow. Under RSA 265:122, no one under 18 may drive or ride on a motorcycle or autocycle unless they wear protective headgear approved by the director of motor vehicles, and that headgear has to be equipped with either a neck or chin strap.2 The statute ties the requirement to the director's approved-equipment list rather than to a DOT stamp on the shell, though a DOT-compliant helmet is the practical way to meet it.2

For adults, there is no helmet mandate at all. A 30-year-old can legally ride bareheaded on I-93. That's why safety agencies group New Hampshire with the small set of states that have no adult helmet law, even though the under-18 rule keeps it from being a true "no law" state the way Illinois and Iowa are.1 An operator who carries a passenger under 18 without approved headgear commits a violation under the same statute.2

Eye and face protection is the rule everyone forgets

Skipping a helmet is legal for adults. Skipping eye protection often is not. RSA 265:123 says that if your motorcycle isn't fitted with a windshield or screen that protects your eyes and face when you sit upright, you have to wear eyeglasses, goggles, or a protective face shield while the bike is in motion.3 This one applies to every rider, whatever their age. Ride a bike with no windshield down Route 1 without glasses or a shield and you're breaking the law, even though the helmet next to you is optional.

Lane splitting and lane filtering are illegal

New Hampshire does not allow lane splitting. Under RSA 265:121, every motorcycle is entitled to full use of a lane, and no car may crowd a rider out of it. The same section then bars anyone from overtaking and passing another vehicle in the lane it already occupies, and from driving a motorcycle between lanes of traffic or between adjacent rows of vehicles.4 That language covers both lane splitting, moving between lanes at speed, and lane filtering, creeping between stopped cars at a light. Only a police officer on duty is exempt.4

Riding two abreast is allowed. The statute lets two motorcycles share a single lane side by side, but no more than two.4 RSA 265:120 adds the basic seating rules: you ride on the permanent seat facing forward, a passenger rides only on a seat designed for a second person, and a passenger can't sit anywhere that interferes with your control of the bike.5

Getting licensed to ride

You can't just borrow a bike and go. New Hampshire requires a motorcycle license or endorsement, or at least a motorcycle learner's permit, before you operate on the road.6 Under RSA 263:32, the DMV issues a learner's permit to riders 18 and older, or to riders 16 or 17 who have finished an approved driver education course and hold a valid New Hampshire license.6

There are two ways to prove you can handle a motorcycle. You can pass the DMV motorcycle skills test, or you can complete the state's Motorcycle Rider Education Program, which waives the skills exam.7 Fail the skills test twice and RSA 263:34-b requires you to complete the rider education course before you can be licensed.7 The Basic Rider Course is the same training safety agencies push hardest, because in a state without a helmet mandate, rider skill is doing a lot of the work.

How your gear choices can affect an injury claim

This is where New Hampshire's freedom gets complicated after a crash. Because adults aren't required to wear a helmet, riding bareheaded isn't a statutory violation, so an at-fault driver can't call it negligence per se. But New Hampshire follows modified comparative fault under RSA 507:7-d. Your damages drop by your share of the blame, and if your fault is greater than the driver's who hit you, you recover nothing.8 Fault there means fault for the crash, not your choice of gear.

New Hampshire also keeps some safety-equipment decisions out of the negligence math by statute. RSA 265:107-a says a seat belt violation can't be used as evidence of contributory negligence in a civil action.9 There's no matching statute for motorcycle helmets, so whether a defense lawyer can argue that going bareheaded added to your head injuries is a fight that turns on the facts and the medical evidence. That gap is one reason it's worth talking to a lawyer before you give a recorded statement. You can start with the thatcarhitme.com legal directory.

You have time to act, but not unlimited time. The statute of limitations for a personal injury claim in New Hampshire is three years from the date of the crash under RSA 508:4, I.10 The same three-year clock covers property damage to the bike.10 If your motorcycle lost resale value even after a clean repair, that loss is a separate diminished value claim.

On the money side, every private passenger auto policy issued in New Hampshire has to carry at least $1,000 in medical payments coverage, which pays reasonable crash-related medical costs incurred within three years of the injury under RSA 264:16.11 Drivers who carry liability insurance must meet minimum limits of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries, plus $25,000 for property damage, under RSA 264:20.12 Those numbers go fast in a motorcycle wreck. If the driver who hit you was uninsured or underinsured, your own uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage steps in, and New Hampshire makes insurers include it at your own liability limits unless you rejected it in writing under RSA 264:15.13 Pulling the crash report early helps you see which policies and limits are in play; you can request the official report through New Hampshire crash reports.

What the crash numbers show

The state's own safety data is blunt about the trade-off. New Hampshire recorded 40 motorcyclist deaths in 2023, and 31 of them were riders not wearing a helmet, according to the Office of Highway Safety's federally reported annual plan.14 That was well above the state's own target of 27 and above its 2019 to 2023 average of roughly 31 deaths a year.14 Nationally, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates helmets are about 37 percent effective at preventing motorcycle deaths and about 67 percent effective at preventing brain injuries.15 None of that changes your legal right to ride without one in New Hampshire. It just means the choice is yours to weigh with real numbers in front of you.

If a driver hit you, the timing and the fault rules still work in your favor. You have three years to file, and your decision to ride without a helmet doesn't excuse the person who caused the crash. New Hampshire's comparative fault rule lets you recover as long as you weren't more than half to blame. Get the crash report and your medical costs documented, then get advice before an insurer frames the story for you.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources

  1. Governors Highway Safety Association, Motorcyclists. https://www.ghsa.org/state-laws-issues/motorcyclists

  2. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 265:122 (Protective Headgear). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-122.htm

  3. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 265:123 (Eye and Face Protection). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-123.htm

  4. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 265:121 (Driving Motorcycles on Roadways Laned for Traffic). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-121.htm

  5. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 265:120 (Riding Upon Motorcycles). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-120.htm

  6. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 263:32 (Motorcycle Learner's Permit). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/263/263-32.htm

  7. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 263:34-b (Motorcycle Rider Education Program). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/263/263-34-b.htm

  8. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 507:7-d (Comparative Fault). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/507/507-7-d.htm

  9. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 265:107-a, IV. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/265/265-107-a.htm

  10. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 508:4, I. https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/LII/508/508-4.htm

  11. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:16 (Medical Payments Coverage). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-16.htm

  12. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:20 (Financial Responsibility). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-20.htm

  13. N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 264:15 (Uninsured Motorist Coverage). https://www.gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XXI/264/264-15.htm

  14. New Hampshire Office of Highway Safety, FY2023 Highway Safety Plan Annual Report (NHTSA). https://www.nhtsa.gov/sites/nhtsa.gov/files/2024-05/NH%20FY2023%20Annual%20Report-tag.pdf

  15. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Fatality Facts: Motorcycles and ATVs. https://www.iihs.org/research-areas/fatality-statistics/detail/motorcycles-and-atvs

About This Guide

Written by: ThatCarHitMe.com Editorial

BACK TO NH
60 SEC CONNECTION

NEED LEGAL HELP?

Browse our directory to find qualified attorneys who handle cases like yours.

Find a Lawyer