CHAPTER 262 ANTITHEFT LAWS, OFFENSES, PENALTIES, HABITUAL OFFENDERS, ARREST OF NONRESIDENTS AND ABANDONED VEHICLES
Abandoned Vehicles
Section 262:40-c
262:40-c Abandoning a Vehicle; Penalty. –
I. No person shall abandon a motor vehicle, registered or unregistered, on any way or on any property other than his or her own without the permission of the owner or lessee of said property or, in the case of public property, of the police department having jurisdiction over the property and no person shall abandon a vehicle at a storage facility after being notified in person or by registered or certified mail to redeem the vehicle. For the purposes of this section, a vehicle shall be considered abandoned if it has been left for more than 24 hours without the appropriate permission being given or at a storage facility after having been given 10 days' notice to redeem it.
II. A storage facility to which an abandoned vehicle has been towed may dispose of such vehicle after complying with the notice requirements of RSA 262:36-a or RSA 262:38, as applicable. It shall be a rebuttable resumption that the notice was received if it was given pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision.
III. The last owner of record of a motor vehicle found abandoned, as shown by the files of the department, shall be deemed prima facie to have been the owner of such motor vehicle at the time it was abandoned and to have been the person who abandoned the motor vehicle or caused or procured its abandonment, unless said last registered owner is able to establish a transfer of ownership prior to abandonment, in which case the transferee shall be liable, or that the vehicle had been reported stolen to a law enforcement agency at the time of abandonment.
IV. Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation and shall be subject to a fine of not less than $100 and not more than $500 plus penalty assessment, and may be subject to the loss of driver's license or driving privilege and registration or privilege of registering as provided in RSA 263:56 and RSA 261:179.
V. The commissioner of safety or designee may assess costs of abandoning a vehicle, including but not limited to, reasonable towing, processing, disposal, and storage costs, against any person convicted of abandoning a vehicle in violation of this section, and the director shall, unless there is just cause to do otherwise, suspend the driver's license or driving privilege, and registration or privilege of registering of any person who has not paid such costs.