By Shanna Campbell · Updated August 29, 2026 · Statutes verified August 29, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
New Hampshire has the strictest badge statute in the United States, and almost nobody outside the state knows it. RSA 104:28-a, titled simply “False Personation,” makes it a Class B felony not only to falsely exercise the powers of a law enforcement officer, but to wear or display without authority any uniform, badge, or other identification by which an officer is lawfully identified, with the intent to be recognized as such. In most states, wearing a badge is at worst a misdemeanor and usually no offense at all absent further conduct. In New Hampshire, the wearing itself — paired only with intent to be recognized — is a felony carrying state prison exposure.
What RSA 104:28-a Actually Says
| Prohibited conduct | Requirement | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Assuming or exercising the functions, powers, duties, or privileges of a sheriff, deputy, state police officer, city or town police officer, or any law enforcement officer or investigator of any state or country | Knowingly and falsely | Class B felony |
| Wearing or displaying any uniform, badge, or identification by which such an officer is lawfully identified | Without authority + intent to be recognized as such | Class B felony |
Two structural oddities make the statute memorable. First, it doesn’t live in the Criminal Code at all — it sits in Title VII, the sheriffs-and-constables title, a relic of its 19th-century origins (its source line traces to the Revised Statutes of the 1840s). Second, its scope clause reaches officers “of any state, country or political subdivision of a state or country” — impersonating a foreign police officer in New Hampshire is the same felony as impersonating a Manchester one.
The 2009 Upgrade
The felony grade is relatively new. Through 2008 the offense was a misdemeanor; a 2008 amendment, effective January 1, 2009, raised it to a Class B felony — putting New Hampshire more than fifteen years ahead of the current national wave of states (Mississippi in 2025, Massachusetts’s penalty increase the same year) toughening impersonation laws. Federal court records show the statute enforced as written: in one litigated case, a man wearing a discontinued but official police jacket with a current department patch was arrested under 104:28-a on the wearing-plus-intent theory alone.
What “Without Authority” Protects
The statute’s own terms carry the answer for lawful wearers and buyers: authority. Sworn officers wear their issue by definition with authority; departments confer it when they order and issue. Agency badge programs — credential badges issued under department authority — are precisely the authorized channel the statute contemplates, and New Hampshire’s roughly 200 municipal departments order through town and city police badge orders as ordinary procurement. The intent element does the rest of the protective work: a retired officer’s shadow-boxed badge, a family memorial, a clearly historical collection displays no intent to be recognized as a serving officer. What the statute leaves no room for is the gray zone other states tolerate — police-style badges worn to imply authority stop being a nuisance and start being a felony at the state line.
How New Hampshire Compares
Every neighbor is softer. Massachusetts, even after its November 2025 penalty increase, caps at two and a half years and requires acting in the pretended office — see our Massachusetts badge law guide. Maine and Vermont grade impersonation as misdemeanors in typical cases. For anyone evaluating a suspicious badge encounter, conduct is still the tell everywhere — our guide to verifying a police badge covers the practical checks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it illegal to wear a police badge in New Hampshire?
Without authority and with intent to be recognized as an officer, yes — and it is a Class B felony under RSA 104:28-a, not a misdemeanor. It is the strictest badge-wearing law in the country.
Is owning or collecting badges illegal in New Hampshire?
No. The statute requires wearing or displaying with intent to be recognized as an officer, or falsely exercising an officer’s powers. Collections and memorials without that intent are outside it.
When did impersonation become a felony in New Hampshire?
January 1, 2009, when a 2008 amendment raised the offense from a misdemeanor to a Class B felony.
Does the law cover out-of-state and foreign officers?
Yes — the statute expressly reaches officers and investigators of any state or country.
Can New Hampshire departments and security companies order badges normally?
Departments, yes — authorized issue is the statute’s own exception. Security badges must be clearly distinct from law-enforcement identification; in the one state where wearing alone can be a felony, design separation matters more than anywhere else.
Sources
N.H. RSA 104:28-a (False Personation), via gc.nh.gov and the 2008 session laws (2008, 225:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009); federal court records, D.N.H., applying the statute. Statutes verified August 29, 2026.