Section 399-A:2 License Required. - New Hampshire Statutes

   I. No person shall engage in the business of making small loans, title loans, or payday loans in this state or with consumers located in this state, without first obtaining a license from the commissioner as provided in this chapter.
   II. Each such license shall terminate on December 31st. Each license shall remain in full force and effect until surrendered, revoked, suspended, or terminated.
   III. This chapter shall not apply to any person lawfully engaged in business as permitted by the laws of this state or of the United States relative to banks, trust companies, insurance companies, savings or building and loan associations, or credit unions, or to loans made by them, or to any other person not within the intent of this chapter as the commissioner may designate by rule or order, nor shall this chapter apply to any person engaged solely in the business of making loans for educational purposes or to the loans made by such persons.
   IV. Any person not exempt under paragraph III, and the several members, officers, directors, agents and employees thereof, who shall willfully violate or participate in the violation of any provisions of paragraph I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor if a natural person, or guilty of a felony if any other person. If in the making or collection of a loan the person violates paragraph I of this section, the loan contract shall be void and the lender shall have no right to collect, receive, or retain any principal, interest, or charges whatsoever.
   V. Any person who willfully violates any provisions of RSA 399-A:8-a, I or II or a cease and desist order or injunction issued pursuant to RSA 399-A:8 shall be guilty of a class B felony. Each of the acts specified shall constitute a separate offense and a prosecution or conviction for any one of such offenses shall not bar prosecution or conviction of any other offense.
   VI. The provisions of this chapter shall apply to any person who seeks to evade its application by any device, subterfuge, or pretense, including, without limitation:
      (a) Calling a loan by any other name;
      (b) Using any agents, affiliates, or subsidiaries in an attempt to avoid the application of the provisions of this chapter; or
      (c) Having any affiliation or other business arrangement with an entity that is exempt from the provisions of this chapter, the effect of which is to evade the provisions of this chapter, including, without limitation, making a loan, while purporting to be the agent of such an exempt entity where the purported agent holds, acquires, or maintains a preponderant economic interest in the revenues generated by the loan.

Source. 2003, 308:1. 2005, 255:26, eff. Sept. 12, 2005. 2008, 205:35, 36, eff. Aug. 15, 2008; 321:5, 6, eff. Jan. 1, 2009.