Not a seller's form to sign - and that is exactly why a seller needs to know it exists. Somebody with authority has to physically look at the vehicle identification number plate on the car and certify what is stamped on it. For a private sale it usually comes up in one situation: a pre-2000 vehicle changing hands where the seller no longer has the old registration certificate, which is one of only four documents RSA 261:2-a will accept as proof of the number.
Written against TDMV 19A (Rev 3/22), issued under Saf-C 1904.04.
A temporary registration will not do instead. RSA 261:2-a says so specifically - a temporary registration issued pursuant to RSA 261:57 does not meet the requirement of a previously issued New Hampshire certificate of registration - so a buyer who took a 20-day plate on the strength of a bill of sale has not solved the problem, only postponed it.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank TDMV 19A from the dmv.nh.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our TDMV 19A guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is the actual TDMV 19A, rendered from the PDF the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
Everything shaded here belongs to the inspection station, the dealer or the police officer doing the looking. The seller's only entry on this form is being the owner named in the middle of it - and the reason to care is the box marked UNALTERED, because a number that reads as altered or changed turns a sale into a State Police matter.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Find an authorised agent
A New Hampshire authorised inspection station, an authorised New Hampshire licensed dealer, or a New Hampshire law enforcement officer.
Watch out: Ring first and ask whether they do them and what they charge. The Division takes no fee for this form but the agent is entitled to.
2
Somebody else fills this in
The place of examination
The town in New Hampshire where the agent physically looked at the car.
Watch out: It has to be in New Hampshire. The sentence on the form ends 'N.H.' before the agent has written anything.
3
Somebody else fills this in
Vehicle description
Year, make, model, body style, gross vehicle weight and the owner's registration number.
Watch out: This is the row where the old registration certificate earns its keep - it carries the registration number the form asks for.
4
Somebody else fills this in
The number, off the plate
Seventeen printed cells, one character to each.
Watch out: The agent is certifying that they read it off the public VIN plate and not off your paperwork, which is why they will want the car in front of them rather than a photograph.
5
Somebody else fills this in
Altered, unaltered, changed or missing
One of four boxes.
Watch out: Anything other than unaltered stops the transaction where it stands. If the plate on your car looks disturbed, deal with that before you advertise it.
6
You fill this in
Owner of vehicle and address
The registered owner, which at this point is still you.
Watch out: Match it to the registration certificate. This is the entry that ties the examination to the vehicle record rather than just to a VIN.
7
Somebody else fills this in
The agent's certification
Date, signature, printed name and which of the four authorities they hold, with the agency name, address and telephone.
Watch out: Check it is filled in completely before you leave. An incomplete form is void, and so is one that anybody tidies up afterwards.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Where the examination happened
A town or city in New Hampshire, written into the certifying sentence: 'This is to certify that I have physically examined at ______, N.H., the vehicle described herein'.
Vehicle description
Year, make, model, body style, gross vehicle weight and the owner's registration number.
The number found
A seventeen-cell comb for the identification number as read off the plate.
Condition of the plate
Four boxes: altered, unaltered, changed or missing.
Owner of vehicle, and address
The person the vehicle belongs to, which on a sale is still the seller at the point the examination happens.
The agent's block
Date, signature and printed name, then which of four authorities they hold: New Hampshire law enforcement officer with badge number, authorised New Hampshire licensed auto dealer with plate number, authorised New Hampshire inspection station with station number, or authorised agent of the Director - plus the agency name, address and telephone.
What gets this one rejected
•A form completed by the owner, or by the buyer, or by anybody outside the four categories printed at the foot. The Division is explicit that it may only be completed by a New Hampshire authorized inspection station, a New Hampshire authorized vehicle dealer or a New Hampshire law enforcement officer.
•A number copied off the registration rather than read off the plate. The certification says the number was not obtained from any registration or documents relative to this vehicle and was obtained by a visual inspection of the Public V.I.N. Plate.
•Anything altered on the form after the agent signed it. The printed sentence says any alterations to the information contained in this form shall make it invalid.
•A partly completed form. It shall only be completed in its entirety by one of the authorised agents listed.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•When the Division asks for one. Its own list: abandoned vehicles, US government vehicles, antique vehicles, vehicles from a foreign country, vehicles from a state that only titles vehicles ten years old and newer, vehicles registered in New Hampshire where the new owner does not have the previous registration, and homemade trailers under 3,000 pounds. It may also be required where the number in DMV records and the number the customer gives do not match.
•It is free to the Division and not necessarily free to you. There is no fee owed to the DMV when turning in this form; however, the authorized agent may require a fee at the time of verification.
•It is one of four things that will register a pre-2000 car. RSA 261:2-a names them: a previously issued New Hampshire certificate of registration, current or expired; a valid New Hampshire or out-of-state certificate of title; an application for a certificate of title; or a current New Hampshire vehicle identification number verification form.
Every line here was read off TDMV 19A (Rev 3/22) itself — the PDF is here — and off the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
