New Hampshire: Employee Personnel File Access Requirements
The short answer
New Hampshire requires every employer to give a requesting employee a reasonable opportunity to inspect the employee's personnel file and, on request, a copy of all or part of it. The statute sets no fixed day count or location; copy charges must be reasonably related to supplying the documents. If correction or removal cannot be agreed, the employee may add a written statement with supporting evidence, which must remain in the file and accompany third-party transmissions or disclosures of the disputed information.
Ask Ezel about your situation
This is the general rule in New Hampshire. Ezel applies current New Hampshire law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | RSA 275:56; reasonable-opportunity inspection, requested copies, reasonable-cost fee, and durable written rebuttal |
|---|---|
| Who may request the file | Employees who request access; statute does not expressly include former employees or state a representative procedure (RSA 275:56(I)) |
| Records covered | Employee's personnel file; statute gives no narrower functional definition or itemized list (RSA 275:56(I)) |
| Excluded or redacted records | Current-investigation information if disclosure would prejudice law enforcement; government-security-investigation information; wellness-program health/fitness/lifestyle data is not a personnel record and may not be retained in the file (RSA 275:56(III)-(IV)) |
| How to request and verify authority | Request required but statute states no writing, notarization, ID-copy, or representative-authorization formality (RSA 275:56(I)) |
| Response deadline and inspection location | Reasonable opportunity to inspect; no fixed calendar/business-day deadline, inspection location, or business-hours rule stated (RSA 275:56(I)) |
| Copy, mailing, and cost rights | Copy of all or part of file required on request; fee limited to amount reasonably related to cost of supplying requested documents (RSA 275:56(I)) |
| Correction or employee rebuttal | Employee and employer may agree to removal/correction; if not, employee may submit written version plus supporting evidence, kept in file and included with third-party file transmissions/disclosures of contested information (RSA 275:56(II)) |
| Former-worker limits and enforcement | Former employees are not expressly included; no access-linked retention period, request cap, or specific refusal penalty/private remedy stated in RSA 275:56 |
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Inspection and copies
RSA 275:56 requires every employer to give a requesting employee a reasonable
opportunity to inspect the employee's personnel file. On request, the employer
must also provide a copy of all or part of the file.
The statute does not define "reasonable" with a fixed number of calendar or
business days and does not prescribe an inspection location or business-hours
rule. A copy fee must be reasonably related to the cost of supplying the
requested documents.
Exclusions and wellness information
The employer need not disclose information concerning a current investigation
of the requesting employee when disclosure would prejudice law enforcement, or
information relating to a government security investigation.
Wellness-program information receives different treatment. Health, fitness,
lifestyle, and similar information obtained for a health-risk assessment or
other wellness program is not a personnel record and may not be retained in the
personnel file.
Correction and rebuttal
After inspection, the employee and employer may agree to remove or correct
disputed information. If they cannot agree, the employee may submit a written
statement explaining the employee's version together with supporting evidence.
That statement becomes durable. It must be maintained in the personnel file and
included whenever the file is transmitted to a third party or the contested
information is disclosed to a third party.
RSA 275:56 says "employee" and does not expressly include a former employee. It
also states no access-linked retention period, request cap, or specific refusal
penalty or private remedy.
What trips people up
"Reasonable opportunity" is not a numerical deadline. The statute does not
promise production within a particular number of days.
The employer does not have to accept every proposed correction. If the parties
cannot agree, the statutory protection is the employee's written statement and
supporting evidence, which must remain with the disputed material.
The third-party rule is broader than merely keeping the statement in the file:
it must accompany both file transmissions and disclosures of the contested
information.
Common questions
Must the initial request be written?
RSA 275:56 requires a request but does not say that the initial inspection or
copy request must be written. The rebuttal itself must be written.
Can the employer charge for copies?
Yes, but only a fee reasonably related to the cost of supplying the requested
documents.
Does the statute expressly cover former employees?
No. It refers to an employee and does not state a post-termination access
window.
Statutes and sources
- RSA 275:56(I)-(II): inspection, copies, cost, correction, and third-party
rebuttal rule — official text
(accessed July 12, 2026). - RSA 275:56(III)-(IV): investigation exclusions and wellness-program records —
official text
(accessed July 12, 2026).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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