Nonprofit Corporation Membership Exit and Termination in New Hampshire

Short answer New Hampshire requires a voluntary corporation's articles to address criteria and procedures for membership and participation. Its bylaws may regulate corporate affairs, including membership certificates, subject to the articles and state law. Chapter 292 does not set a general statutory notice, hearing, or challenge timetable for an ordinary member's resignation or involuntary exit; the governing documents and other applicable law matter.

State

New Hampshire

Statute checked

October 3, 2026

Sources

4 statutes

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At a glance

Governing law and covered members	RSA chapter 292; corporation may have members or none, and has none absent an article/bylaw provision (§ 292:6-b(I))
Documents, classes, and decision maker	Articles address membership criteria and procedures; bylaws may manage affairs; documents set classes and votes (§§ 292:2(II-a), 292:6, 292:6-b(III))
Transfer of membership rights	No general Chapter 292 transfer default; inspect article/bylaw rights and certificate provisions (§§ 292:2(V), 292:6)
Voluntary resignation	Inspect article membership procedure and bylaw rules; Chapter 292 sets no general resignation method (§§ 292:2(II-a), 292:6)
Expulsion, suspension, and termination	Inspect article membership procedure and bylaw rules; chapter has no general ordinary-member exit threshold (§§ 292:2(II-a), 292:6)
Notice and opportunity to respond	No general Chapter 292 exit notice or hearing schedule; inspect article/bylaw procedure (§§ 292:2(II-a), 292:6)
Rights and records after exit	Documents may fix membership term and voting rights; no vote unless articles/bylaws grant it (§ 292:6-b(III))
Dues and prior commitments	Chapter authorizes assessment of dues/fees; inspect governing terms for accrued obligations (§ 292:8(III))
Challenge period and remedy	No general Chapter 292 member-exit challenge period; determine any remedy under applicable law and documents (§§ 292:2(II-a), 292:6)

Ordinary membership procedure

The articles must contain provisions for establishing membership and participation criteria and procedures (§ 292:2(II-a), (V)). They also state the number of membership certificates, if any, and provisions for their retirement, reacquisition, and redemption. Under § 292:6, management bylaws may address issuing and reacquiring membership certificates, consistently with the articles and state law. The current chapter does not prescribe a general transfer default or a uniform resignation, suspension, expulsion, or termination vote for ordinary members. The particular article and bylaw provisions therefore need review.

What trips people up

Under § 292:6-b(I)-(IV), a corporation without an article or bylaw provision for members has none. Members default to one class unless the articles establish more classes or authorize the bylaws to do so. A person labeled a member does not gain a vote from that label: voting rights must be expressly given by the articles or bylaws, and each eligible member has at most one vote. The documents may also fix the membership term.

Under § 292:8(I)-(III), a corporation may raise funds through membership certificates, contributions, and assessment of dues and fees. That section does not state a general release from an already accrued obligation on exit. Check the actual dues terms and any other applicable law before treating an exit as ending a balance.

Common questions

Is a specific advance notice or hearing period required by Chapter 292?

Chapter 292's article and bylaw provisions (§§ 292:2(II-a), 292:6) do not set an ordinary member-exit notice or hearing timetable. Read the corporation's own procedure and other applicable law.

Does Chapter 292 set a one-year deadline to challenge expulsion?

No general member-exit challenge period appears in Chapter 292. The chapter instead places membership procedure in the articles (§ 292:2(II-a)); a particular dispute requires review of the governing documents and other applicable law.

Statutes and sources

N.H. Rev. Stat. §§ 292:2, :6, :6-b, and :8: articles, bylaws, membership classes, voting, and dues. Official Chapter 292, accessed 2026-10-03; each section's official URL is recorded in the source entries above.

Source links

Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 292:2(II-a), (V) · accessed 2026-10-03

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 292:6 · accessed 2026-10-03

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 292:6-b(I)-(IV) · accessed 2026-10-03

N.H. Rev. Stat. § 292:8(I)-(III) · accessed 2026-10-03

This page gives general information about ordinary nonprofit corporation membership law, not advice about a specific resignation, suspension, expulsion, or termination. Articles, bylaws, member class, specialized association law, and the facts of a particular decision may affect the result. A statutory procedure does not decide whether a particular decision was fair or lawful. Check current governing documents and official law with a licensed adviser before acting.

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