Getting Out on Bail
RSA 597:2 — release on personal recognizance unless the court finds otherwise, and no more than 36 hours held before
When a person charged with an offense comes before the court, it orders that, until arraignment or trial, they be released on personal recognizance or an unsecured appearance bond, released on conditions, or detained.
Who handles this in New Hampshire: New Hampshire Public Defender and New Hampshire Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service; and legal aid programs and the state offices, listed in the New Hampshire directory.
A person may be detained for no more than 36 hours from arrest, weekends and holidays excluded, before that order, except in the cases the section lists.
No detention for want of money alone. The court may not set a financial condition that results in the person's detention solely because of it, unless it so finds after a hearing, as the section provides.
A person charged with a class B misdemeanor is released on personal recognizance before arraignment unless the court finds otherwise.
Sources for this section (1)
- RSA 597:2 — Release of a Defendant Pending Trial
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed New Hampshire attorney.