In 2026, residents in New Hampshire will no longer have to get their vehicle inspected and transgender youth will be prohibited from receiving some additional forms of gender-affirming care.
New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed hundreds of bills into law in 2025, spanning topics from immigration to transgender rights. Many go into effect in 2026.
More: Several new NH voter laws go into effect: See changes to absentee ballots, electioneering
Here’s what to know about some of the new laws.
Auto inspections are no longer required in New Hampshire starting Jan. 31 under the 2026 state budget.
The old law required all registered vehicles to receive a safety inspection during the owner’s birth month every year. A lawsuit, currently in the early stages, is seeking an injunction that would potentially postpone or altogether stop the repeal of vehicle inspections.
Two laws further restricting access to gender-affirming care in the state went into effect on Jan. 1.
One law bans health care professionals from administering hormone treatments or puberty blockers to minors for the purpose of a gender transition. The law will also not prohibit treatments for those who have certain sex development disorders, and minors who have already started treatments prior to Jan. 1 will continue to receive it.
Another prohibits physicians in New Hampshire from performing surgeries for transgender youth, including breast removals or augmentations, genital reassignment surgeries and facial feminization or masculinization surgery. It also bans all breast surgeries for minors unless certain conditions are met, like a diagnosis of cancer or reconstruction after injury.
These new laws follow a slate of legislation signed in 2024 that barred transgender girls from competing on girls sports teams and banned other gender-affirming surgeries.
On Jan. 1, New Hampshire became the first state in New England to ban so-called “sanctuary cities” as a couple of laws took effect.
“We will never go the way of Massachusetts and their billion-dollar illegal immigration crisis,” Ayotte posted on social media on Jan. 1.
Taken together, the new laws will ban policies that limit the cooperation of local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities and instead promote cooperation between the two.
For example, one law requires law enforcement agencies to comply with immigration detainers for inmates, while another prohibits state and local governments from blocking law enforcement agencies from entering into a partnership with ICE.
A couple of new laws that went into effect Jan. 1 target artificial intelligence use and how it impacts minors.
One law makes it a felony to create AI-generated intimate images of a child without the parent or guardian’s consent.
Another makes it a violation of child endangerment laws for an AI chatbot to “facilitate, encourage, offer, solicit, or recommend that the child imminently engage in” things like sexually explicit conduct, the use of drugs or alcohol, acts of self-harm or suicide or any crime of violence. Owner or operators found guilty will face a charge of at least $1,000 per violation. 
A law that went into effect on Jan. 1 creates stricter penalties for patrons of prostitution in New Hampshire.
Under the new law, those caught paying for sex will be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and face a fine of $500.

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