Government credit unions in New Hampshire are financial institutions that provide banking services to its membership. Members of New Hampshire federally chartered credit unions control the credit union and membership must be based on well-defined criteria such as residency within a geographical area or membership in a non-profit group.

Federally chartered credit unions in New Hampshire also may serve specific employee groups, known as Select Employee Groups, such as doctors or employees of a specific company. These credit unions may be able to switch to a community charter, which allows them to serve anyone who lives, works, worships or attends school within a defined area.

There are three basic reasons why a federal credit union in New Hampshire is tax-exempt:

1. A federally chartered credit union in New Hampshire must be a non-profit, democratic corporation the members own.

2. Members must elect the board of directors for a credit union and the board must serve as unpaid volunteers.

3. A NH credit unions provides service to members of modest means as part of their social mission. They also must place limitations on their memberships with restrictions on the products and services it provides.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Locate specific federal credit unions in New Hampshire by name

You can easily locate a credit union if you have some basic information about it such as its name or the location of one of its branches. A credit union's name will normally give you an idea of the basis of its membership, although the requirements for membership are frequently broader than this.

I recommend: Manta displays federally chartered credit unions in New Hampshire alphabetically by name and allows the list to be further narrowed by city. The Nation Credit Union Administration can locate a credit union by charter number and can find a credit union by using a word in the credit union's name.

Find federally chartered credit unions in New Hampshire by location

Resources are available to locate all of the credit unions based in your area, which you may wish to do because residency is a common membership requirement for many credit unions.

I recommend: The Credit Union National Association has the ability to locate credit unions within a specified radius of a zip code or by city and state. Credit Unions US has a credit union locator on its home page that allows you to specify your city and zip code.

Join one of the New Hampshire federal credit unions for which you qualify

Examine the membership requirements of government credit unions in New Hampshire and the services they provide to know if you are eligible to join and if they will provide the services you need.

I recommend: New Hampshire Federal Credit Union has more than 130 employer groups, including most branches of state and local government. Granite State Credit Union is open to anyone who lives or works in New Hampshire.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Most New Hampshire federal credit unions serve individuals and may also be called natural-person credit unions. However, corporate credit unions exist to serve natural-person credit unions. Corporate credit unions serve as a clearing house for natural-person credit unions and provide them with operational support, products and other services.
• •  New Hampshire federally chartered credit unions may actually have a more disparate membership base than the one implied by their name. This may be the result of a merger of several smaller credit unions. Additionally, individuals may generally remain a member of a credit union even when they would normally no longer qualify.