New Hampshire Town and City Clerk Contact Information CLICK HERE

Public Assistance and Welfare Office Contact Information CLICK HERE

Town and City Clerks for Filing Assistance

Public Assistance for Funeral Expenses

Town and City Clerks are trained to assist you with filing the death certificate with the NH State Office of Vital Records Administration. Bring the completed death certificate to your local town hall during office hours, or make arrangements prior to need, if possible, with your town or city clerk to meet during off hours.

NH law says that the death certificate must be filed with the state through this electronic process within 36 hours from the time of death stated on the death certificate. Weather, holidays, and public office hours taken into consideration, this is still usually sufficient.

The death certificate must be completed, both the medical portion and the demographic portion, and signed by the appropriate authorities, physician of record, hospice nurse, or other qualifying authority for the medical, the next-of-kin or designated agent acting as their own funeral director on the demographic. If your town or city clerk has questions about how to complete the online filing, he or she may call the Vital Records Administration directly at 603-271-4650​.

Due to the nature of elected official terms, the town and city clerks listed here may change despite our best efforts to keep up. To report updated information, please email nhfrea@gmail.com.

Families whose deceased family member qualified for public welfare may apply for financial assistance for disposition expenses from their town or city, under NH RSA 165. According to New Hampshire Legal Aid, "The law says towns must provide a decent burial or cremation."

Be aware that funeral assistance usually consists of a few hundred dollars (often somewhere between $400 and $700) toward either immediate burial or direct cremation, with no funeral services or ceremonies. The balance is usually made up by the $255 death benefit from Social Security, and the family out-of-pocket. To file a death with Social Security in NH, call 1-800-772-1213.

​Not all towns or cities in NH make the welfare assistance contact information available on their websites, so if your town contact is not listed, please call the Town or City Clerk, Town of City Administrator, or the Selectman's Office in your town to locate the appropriate agent.

Each town will require a completed application for assistance, usually available at the town offices and often online on the town's website. Though there are often office hours posted, nearly all welfare officers require a confidential appointment with the application filled out ahead of time. Call the agent listed with questions and to make an appointment.