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You quit in New Hampshire — when is your final paycheck due?

Employers often tell departing employees that quitting forfeits the last paycheck, or that pay will arrive "when payroll gets to it". Neither is the law in New Hampshire.

When an employee quits or resigns, wages must be paid no later than the next regular payday (RSA 275:44, II).

Statute
N.H. RSA 275:44
If fired
When an employer discharges an employee, the wages must be paid in full within 72 hours (RSA 275:44, I).
If you resigned
When an employee quits or resigns, wages must be paid no later than the next regular payday (RSA 275:44, II).
Late-pay penalty
New Hampshire does not add liquidated damages to the employee's claim for a late final paycheck. The remedy is the wages through the Department of Labor or district court.
PTO
New Hampshire requires payout of accrued vacation only if the employer's written policy provides for it.
Small claims limit
$5,000 for an individual
Last verified
2026-11-03 single source

What to put in the file before you write anything

  1. Your written resignation and the date it was delivered — email timestamps are enough, and the delivery date is what starts the clock.
  2. Whether you gave notice, and how much: some states shorten or lengthen the deadline based on notice, and the letter has to state it accurately.
  3. Your final timesheet or shift records for the last pay period, including any hours worked after you announced you were leaving.
  4. Any policy the employer says forfeits pay, PTO or commissions. Ask for it in writing — that request is itself part of the record.

What the letter does that a phone call cannot

A demand letter fixes three things at once: the amount, the date each item was due, and the date the employer was on notice. Every forum that can help you — the New Hampshire Department of Labor, a small claims judge — starts from those three facts. The letter is built from N.H. RSA 275:44 and your own figures, so the deadline it states is the one that applies to your separation, not a generic thirty days.

If the amount fits inside $5,000, small claims court is usually faster than an agency queue; if it does not, the agency route and a demand first is the cheaper path.

Build the New Hampshire letter — $9.99 Free: calculate my deadline

Questions

Does giving notice change my final pay date in New Hampshire?

When an employee quits or resigns, wages must be paid no later than the next regular payday (RSA 275:44, II).

Can my employer hold my last check until I return equipment in New Hampshire?

Not lawfully as a condition of wages. Deductions and offsets are limited, and holding earned wages to force the return of property is the kind of self-help that turns a wage claim into a penalty claim.

Other situations in New Hampshire

being fired · a layoff · unused PTO · unpaid commissions · all New Hampshire rules

Reviewed 2026-11-03 against the sources listed on the New Hampshire page. This is a self-help document tool, not legal advice, and no outcome is guaranteed.