Law / United States / 
New Hampshire
New Hampshire Pen Register and Trap and Trace Devices Act
In force since .
A device storage and tracking consent rule binding public and private bodies.
- Enforcement body
- Criminal prosecution by the State; the chapter provides no private civil action.
- Obligation class
- Prohibition
As of .
What it requires
- Do not install or use a pen register or trap and trace device, a device that captures the numbers dialed on, or the originating number of a call to, a telephone line, without first obtaining a superior court order, unless you are the provider of the telecommunication service using it to operate or protect the service, to guard against fraudulent or unlawful use, or with the consent of the user of that service.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionNo
Criminal exposure note
A first violation of RSA 570-B:2 is a misdemeanor; a second or subsequent violation is a class B felony.
What this law does
RSA 570-B:2 makes it an offense for a person to install or use a pen register or a trap and trace device without first obtaining a superior court order under the chapter; a first violation is a misdemeanor and a second or subsequent violation is a class B felony.
A pen register is a device that records or decodes the impulses identifying the numbers dialed or otherwise transmitted on the telephone line to which it is attached, and a trap and trace device captures the incoming impulses identifying the originating number of a telecommunication. The pen register definition excludes a device a provider or customer of a telecommunication service uses for billing or cost accounting in the ordinary course of its business.
The chapter's exceptions, in RSA 570-B:3, run only to a provider of telecommunication service: operating, maintaining or protecting its own service, recording that a call was made or completed to guard against fraudulent or unlawful use, and acting with the consent of the user of that service. The chapter creates no private civil action; its only stated remedy is the criminal offense in RSA 570-B:2.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app tracks devices.