(a) Temporary Restraining Order; Notice; Hearing; Duration. A Temporary Restraining Order may be granted without written or oral notice to the adverse party only if: (1) it clearly appears to the court in which the action is pending from specific facts shown by affidavit or by the verified petition that immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage will result to the applicant before the adverse party can be heard in opposition; and (2) the applicant or the applicant's representative certifies to the court in writing the efforts which have been made to give the notice and/or the specific facts supporting the claim why the notice should not be required. Any hearing held without the presence of the adverse party or his or her attorney shall be recorded, unless directed otherwise by the court. Every temporary restraining order, which is granted without notice, shall be endorsed with the date and hour of issuance, shall define the injury and state why it is irreparable and why the order was granted without notice, and shall expire by its terms within such time after issuance, not to exceed 10 days, as the court fixes, unless, within the time so fixed, the order, for good cause shown, is extended for a like period, or unless the party, against whom the order is directed, consents that it may be extended for a longer period. In case a temporary restraining order is granted without notice, the application for a preliminary injunction shall be set down for hearing at the earliest possible time, and in any event within 10 days, and, when the matter comes on for hearing, the party, who obtained the temporary restraining order, shall proceed with the application for a preliminary injunction, and if he or she does not do so, the court shall dissolve the Temporary Restraining Order. On 2 days' notice to the party who obtained the Temporary Restraining Order without notice, or on such shorter notice to that party as the court may prescribe, the adverse party may appear and move its dissolution or modification, and, in that event, the court shall proceed to hear and determine such motion as expeditiously as the ends of justice require.
Rule 48.Injunctions
Group IX: Provisional and Final Remedies · Last amended October 1, 2013 · Last verified July 14, 2026
In one sentenceRule 48 lets a New Hampshire superior court grant a Temporary Restraining Order without notice only on a sworn showing of irreparable harm, capped at ten days, and requires notice, and ordinarily a bond, before a Preliminary Injunction can issue.
Full Text of Rule 48
(b) Preliminary Injunction.
(1) Notice. No preliminary injunction shall be issued without notice to the adverse party and it shall only be issued by the court.
(2) Consolidation of Hearing with Trial on Merits. Before, or after, the commencement of the hearing of an application for a preliminary injunction, the court may order the trial of the action on the merits to be advanced and consolidated with the hearing of the application. This subsection (b)(2) shall be so construed and applied as to save to the parties any rights they may have to trial by jury.
(c) Security. Unless the court, for good cause shown, shall otherwise order, no Restraining Order or Preliminary Injunction shall issue except upon the giving of an injunction bond by the applicant, in such sums as the court deems proper, for the payment of such costs and damages as may be incurred or suffered by any party who is found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained. No such bond shall ordinarily be required of the United States or of the State of New Hampshire.
(d) Form and Scope of Injunction or Restraining Order. Unless the court, for good cause shown, otherwise orders, an injunction or restraining order shall be specific in terms; shall describe in reasonable detail the act or acts sought to be restrained; and is binding only upon the parties to the action, their officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and upon those persons in active concert or participation with them who receive actual notice of the order by personal service or otherwise.
(e) Labor Disputes and Liens. These rules are subject to any statutory provisions relating to restraining orders and injunctions in actions involving or growing out of labor disputes and liens.
(f) Whenever an injunction is issued without notice to, or appearance by, the adverse party, the party at whose request it is issued, ordinarily shall, and in any case may, be required to give bond with sufficient sureties, conditioned to pay and satisfy all such damages as may be occasioned to the adverse party by reason of the injunction, in case it shall appear that the injunction was improper.
(g) Whenever these rules require or permit the giving of security by a party, and security is given in the form of a bond or stipulation or other undertaking with one or more sureties, each surety submits himself or herself to the jurisdiction of the court and irrevocably appoints the clerk of the court as his or her agent upon whom any papers affecting his or her liability on the bond or undertaking may be served. His or her liability may be enforced on motion without the necessity of an independent action. The motion and such notice of the motion as the court prescribes may be served on the clerk of the court, who shall forthwith mail copies to the sureties if their addresses are known.
Amendment History
Adopted May 22, 2013, eff. October 1, 2013.
Plain-English Summary
Rule 48 splits New Hampshire injunctive relief into two stages. A Temporary Restraining Order can issue without telling the other side first, but only when an affidavit or verified petition shows specific facts proving that immediate and irreparable injury will occur before the adverse party could be heard, and only after the applicant certifies to the court what efforts were made to give notice or why notice should be skipped. Any hearing held without the adverse party present must be recorded unless the court directs otherwise. The order itself must carry the date and hour it issued, describe the injury, explain why it is irreparable, and explain why notice was bypassed. It expires within whatever time the court sets, capped at ten days, though the court can extend it once for a like period on good cause, or longer if the restrained party consents. The adverse party is not without a remedy in the meantime: on two days' notice, that party can move to dissolve or modify the order, and the court must hear that motion promptly.
A Preliminary Injunction works differently. It cannot issue without notice to the adverse party, and only the court, not the clerk, can grant one. The court can fold the preliminary injunction hearing into the trial on the merits if it chooses, though doing so cannot cost either side a jury trial they are otherwise entitled to. Security is the norm for both stages: unless the court excuses it for good cause, the applicant must post a bond covering the costs and damages of a party later found to have been wrongfully restrained, though the United States and the State of New Hampshire are ordinarily exempt from that requirement. Any injunction or restraining order that does issue must be specific about what it forbids, and it binds only the parties, their agents and attorneys, and others who act in concert with them and receive actual notice. Sureties on an injunction bond submit to the court's jurisdiction and can have their liability enforced by motion rather than a separate lawsuit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a New Hampshire court grant a restraining order before the other side knows about the case?
Yes, but only on a sworn showing, by affidavit or verified petition, of specific facts proving that immediate and irreparable injury will happen before the adverse party could be heard. The applicant must also certify what efforts were made to give notice, or explain why notice should not be required, and any hearing held without the other side present must be recorded unless the court says otherwise.
How long does a Temporary Restraining Order last under Rule 48?
The court fixes the duration, but it cannot exceed ten days. The order can be extended once for a like period if good cause is shown, and it can run longer than that only if the party against whom it is directed consents.
What has to happen after a court grants a TRO without notice?
The application for a Preliminary Injunction must be set for hearing at the earliest possible time, and in any event within ten days. The party who obtained the TRO must proceed with that application at the hearing; if that party does not, the court dissolves the Temporary Restraining Order.
Does a party seeking an injunction have to post a bond?
Ordinarily, yes. Unless the court excuses the requirement for good cause, no Restraining Order or Preliminary Injunction issues without an injunction bond covering the costs and damages of anyone later found to have been wrongfully enjoined. The United States and the State of New Hampshire are not usually required to post one.
Can the party who was restrained fight back before the preliminary injunction hearing happens?
Yes. On two days' notice to the party who obtained the Temporary Restraining Order without notice, or on whatever shorter notice the court allows, the restrained party can appear and move to dissolve or modify the order, and the court must hear and decide that motion as quickly as justice requires.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Comments, and amendment
history are reproduced verbatim from the New Hampshire Superior Court Civil Rules, adopted
by the New Hampshire Supreme Court. Last verified July 14, 2026.
· Official source
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