Starting Sept. 30, some people with certain out-of-state licenses can’t drive legally in New Hampshire – this applies to people with a standard, or drive-only, license. Connecticut and Delaware are currently the only states that issue these types of licenses.
This law is the result of a series of Republican-backed bills in the New Hampshire Legislature that were aimed at restricting license access for non-citizens and generally increasing immigration enforcement this session.
Which licenses aren’t valid anymore?
The law says that it applies to a class of licenses “issued by another state exclusively to undocumented immigrants who are unable to prove lawful presence in the United States when the licenses are issued.”
Jennifer Bailey, the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles Assistant Director, clarified that this only applies to Delaware and Connecticut.
How can you tell apart these licenses?
Drive-only licenses look similar to any other license, but they have a little disclaimer on them. For example, the one from Connecticut has a line at the top that says “Drive Only – Not for Federal Identification”.
Nearby states, like Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine and Rhode Island also issue licenses to people without Social Security numbers, including immigrants without legal status. These licenses don't have special markers to separate them from regular licenses and don't have any notes about the holder’s immigration status.
What happens if you break this law?
The first-time someone is caught, it's a violation. Additional offenses will be considered Class B misdemeanors and have a maximum fine of $1,200, but no jail time.
It’s not a cheap fine, but still pretty minor – but the consequences could be greater based on immigration status, according to Nashua-based immigration attorney Bruno D’Britto. He said that an issue could come with repeat offenses and having a misdemeanor on your record.
“That consequently impacts the ability of the individual of applying for citizenship, or even applying for a green card,” he said. “It's not just a simple misdemeanor. It's a long term effect that this law can impact on someone's life.”
He added that if someone gets a green card and travels abroad, a misdemeanor on their record could make them considered inadmissible at the port of entry.
What can drivers expect from interactions with state and local police?
The New Hampshire DMV said that law enforcement decides violations during routine encounters, like traffic stops. The new law explicitly says that police will not carry out a traffic stop on the suspicion of having one of these licenses.
The DMV also said they already have a list of states with these drive-only licenses. Presumably, that will be public by the end of September when the new law is supposed to go into effect.
Could this law lead to racial profiling?
Advocates say that the federal immigration crackdown we’ve been seeing since late January is leading to racial profiling, like in an ongoing case in California where a judge ordered ICE to stop profiling drivers.
D’Britto, the immigration lawyer, said that the standard for police to stop anyone is “reasonable, articulable suspicion."
“If someone gets stopped by the police, especially up north,” he said, “and the officer cannot articulate the reason why the person was pulled over to satisfy the requirements of reasonable suspicion, contact an immigration lawyer.”
He said an immigration lawyer would be better than a criminal lawyer because of the possible impact on the future of someone's immigration case.
How are immigrant communities reacting?
It’s a mixed bag. Some people are relieved that it doesn’t change driving requirements for more people. A previous version of the bill also kept asylum seekers and people applying for work permits from getting a license, which ended up not making it into law.
Generally, many immigrant communities are scared and trying to find workarounds. Some people are getting rid of things like flags or bumper stickers on their cars that might possibly make them a target. Some people are driving much more cautiously and speeding less so they don’t get stopped. There’s also some discussion in Connecticut to get rid of that marker and make drive-only licenses look like the normal ones.
Will this change the validity of New Hampshire licenses in other states?
It’s unlikely. New Hampshire is only the second state to pass a law like this, after Florida passed a similar law 2023.
Gilles Bissonnette, the Legal Director at the ACLU of New Hampshire, said it was unusual for one state to disregard something that was legally issued by another state. The ACLU has opposed this initiative since it was proposed and Bissonnette said they will continue to oppose it.
“New Hampshire is only the second state to have done this, and other states have not gone down this road. And that's in part because there is a set of uniform laws that are designed to work with respect to licenses,” he said.
Nevertheless, this law doesn’t change the terms of the Driver License Compact. New Hampshire licenses are still valid in other states and most other states’ licenses are still valid in New Hampshire – except for this specific class of licenses from Connecticut and Delaware.
