Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
New Hampshire · North Country · Great North Woods · #276
Coos County, New Hampshire
The Great North Woods - New Hampshire's northernmost and largest county, bordering Canada, where the Connecticut Lakes mark the headwaters of the Connecticut River, moose outnumber people, and the paper mill economy has given way to ATV trails and eco-tourism. The most remote county in New England. Property tax, courts, public records, probate, and senior services for Coos County residents.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
What do you need to do?
Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Coos County's assessment ratio means effective tax rates are low — but incorrect appraisals still cost money. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Office: Coos County – Office of Emergency Management; confirm current phone via cooscountynh.gov.
Sheriff: Coos County Sheriff’s Office – 55 School Street, Suite 102, Lancaster, NH 03584 | (603) 788-5598; current Sheriff Keith L. Roberge (succeeded Brian Valerino in 2024, who went on to become Warden of the Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility in Berlin in 2025). Responsible for serving legal writs, providing security at Coös Superior Court and district/family/probate divisions, and transporting incarcerated persons and juveniles.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-2 and US-3 serve Lancaster, the county seat, along the Connecticut River in New Hampshire’s northernmost county.
Notes: Coös County, established 1803 (name from Algonquian for “small pines”), is New Hampshire’s northernmost and least-populated county, covering 1,830 square miles. Lancaster, incorporated 1763, is the gateway to the state’s Great North Woods Region and hosts the annual Porcupine Freedom Festival, a libertarian-themed gathering of the Free State Project drawing thousands of visitors.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Coos County Register of Deeds – 55 School Street, Suite 103, Lancaster, NH 03584 | (603) 788-2392 | Hours: Mon-Fri 8 AM-4 PM.
Notes: IMPORTANT: The Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility, a medium-security men’s state prison, is located in Berlin, Coos County’s largest city – directly relevant for InmateAid readers with a loved one incarcerated there. Coos County also includes the Barry Conservation Camp, a correctional facility in Berlin, and significant portions of the White Mountain National Forest, including Mount Washington (6,288 ft, the highest peak in the northeastern U.S.) and the historic Mount Washington Cog Railway (operating since 1869, the world’s oldest mountain-climbing cog railway).
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Coos County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via cooscountynh.gov.
Federal: Manchester VA Medical Center (accessible south).
Libraries
LIBRARIES
William D. Weeks Memorial Library – 128 Main Street, Lancaster, NH 03584; genuinely NRHP-listed (2000), built 1906 in the Beaux Arts style, enlarged 1998; roughly 62,000 items and over 4,000 active cardholders; part of the North Country Library Cooperative under the NH State Library, offering local/family history resources including the “New Hampshire Collection” and historic birth/death records.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The White Mountain National Forest, Mount Washington (including the Cog Railway and Mount Washington Observatory), and the Great North Woods Region are the county’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine record-setting Mount Washington Observatory weather station and the historic Cog Railway are distinctive local facts.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Coos County Register of Deeds – 55 School Street, Suite 103, Lancaster, NH 03584 | (603) 788-2392.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Coos County Animal Shelter – operated as part of the Coos County Sheriff’s Department; staffed by Animal Control Officers and a Shelter Operator who provide basic medical care, behavior evaluations, and respond to animal-at-large and abuse/neglect calls; confirm current phone via cooscountynh.gov.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Coos County – confirm current contact via cooscountynh.gov.
NOTES: Coos County is the fourth county in the New Hampshire v2 A+ sourced redo’s first batch (Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Coos, Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack). The Northern New Hampshire Correctional Facility in Berlin is directly relevant for InmateAid readers. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Coos County
Coos County is New Hampshire’s North Country – the vast, sparsely populated northern tier that extends to the Canadian border and contains some of the most remote and least-altered forest landscape in the eastern United States.
Berlin (the county’s largest city, population ~10,000) was built on the paper industry – the Berlin Mills Company and successor paper mills exploited the Androscoggin River’s waterpower and the North Country’s vast timber resource to make Berlin one of northern New England’s most significant industrial cities. The mills have largely closed, leaving Berlin navigating an economic transition that parallels many post-industrial New England cities, though at an exceptionally remote location.
The Connecticut Lakes – a chain of four lakes in the county’s northernmost reaches near the Canadian border – are the headwaters of the Connecticut River, which flows 407 miles south to Long Island Sound. The First Connecticut Lake is the river’s principal source; above it are Second, Third, and Fourth Connecticut Lakes, the last of which is just south of the Quebec border.
Moose – the iconic megafauna of the North Country – are abundant throughout Coos County. The Moose Alley stretch of Route 3 north of Pittsburg is one of the most reliable moose-viewing corridors in the eastern United States. The county’s vast ATV trail network (hundreds of miles of connected trails) has become a significant economic development tool as the timber economy has declined.
Dixville Notch – a tiny unincorporated place of fewer than 10 registered voters – has cast the first votes in the New Hampshire presidential primary at midnight since 1960, becoming one of the most covered election-night stories in American politics every four years.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Property taxes administered at the municipal level – including numerous unincorporated places in Coos County assessed by the NH Department of Revenue Administration.
Abatement process: File by March 1 with local assessors (or NH DRA for unincorporated places). If denied, appeal to BTLA or Coos County Superior Court within 8 months of tax due date.
Timberland assessment: Coos County’s vast timberland qualifies for Current Use (RSA 79-A) assessment at forestry use value rather than full market value – a significant benefit for large woodland estates.
No NH estate or inheritance tax. No NH income or sales tax.
OWNWELL CTA: Coos County March 1 abatement deadline. Remote timberland and recreational property require specialized comparable analysis. Current Use status must be maintained through succession. No NH estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Recommended
Coos County March 1 abatement deadline. Remote timberland and recreational property require specialized comparable analysis. Current Use status must be maintained through succession. No NH estate or inheritance tax. Ownwell manages the appeal with no upfront cost.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
The Coos County Superior Court at 55 School Street, Lancaster (603-788-4901) handles major civil and criminal matters. The Coos County Probate Court at 55 School Street (603-788-2001) handles all estate administration. The Coos County Register of Deeds (603-788-2392) at 55 School Street maintains all land records.
Timberland estate planning: Large timberland holdings in Coos County – whether corporate, family trust, or individual – require timber valuation expertise and Current Use succession planning. Conservation easements with the Society for the Protection of NH Forests (SPNHF) or The Nature Conservancy are common tools for preserving open space while managing estate tax exposure.
Hunting camp estate planning: Coos County’s vast hunting camp tradition – remote cabins and camps on private and leased timberland – creates succession challenges around informal agreements, uncertain title, and the practicalities of administering remote property.
Senior Services: The Coos County Family Health Services / North Country Home Health (603-788-3716) and the North Country Council Area Agency on Aging coordinate senior services and ServiceLink Medicare counseling.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
55 School St., Lancaster, NH 03584
(603) 788-4900
Genealogy
County-level record sources
1st Circuit – Probate Division – Lancaster (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Coos County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
1st Circuit – Probate Division – Lancaster 55 School Street, Suite 104, Lancaster, NH 03584
1-855-212-1234
Coos County is New Hampshire’s northernmost county, seated in Lancaster.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
New Hampshire has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Probate is handled by the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent resided – each of New Hampshire’s 10 counties has its own Probate Division. New Hampshire does not use a fixed-dollar “small estate affidavit” the way most states do; instead it offers two main shortcuts based on circumstances rather than estate value alone.
Voluntary Administration – available for estates consisting entirely of personal property valued at $10,000 or less.
Waiver of Full Administration (RSA 553:32) – available based on WHO inherits and administers, not a dollar threshold. It can apply when a sole beneficiary or sole heir serves as administrator, when all beneficiaries or heirs serve together, when all beneficiaries or heirs assent to the administrator, or when the court finds a waiver appropriate. A waiver eliminates the requirement to file an inventory, obtain a bond, or file a formal accounting – the administration is completed by filing an affidavit of administration, due six months to one year after appointment.
Summary Administration (RSA 553:33) – available by court order for an estate with a gross value (after deducting encumbrances) of $300,000 or less, if the court finds it advisable given the nature, character, and obligations of the estate.
Full (Formal) Administration – required for larger, more complex, or contested estates.
Step 2: filing for administration
File a Petition for Estate Administration (Form NHJB-2145-P) with the Probate Division in the county where the decedent resided, to admit the will (if any) and appoint a personal representative.
The court issues Letters Testamentary (if there’s a will) or Letters of Administration (if intestate).
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first published notice to file claims – no final distribution is permitted before this period ends.
Unless a waiver of full administration applies, the personal representative files an inventory of the estate’s assets and, later, an accounting.
After debts, taxes, and expenses are paid and the creditor period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and closes the estate.
What it costs
The filing fee for a standard Petition for Estate Administration is generally around $150, plus an additional $55 publication fee if notice must be published.
Executor/administrator compensation is “reasonable” and determined by the court rather than set by a fixed statutory percentage schedule.
New Hampshire has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
55 School St., Lancaster, NH 03584
(603) 788-4547
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
55 School St., Lancaster, NH 03584
(603) 788-4900
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
NH DHHS — Berlin District Office
(603) 752-7800
Androscoggin Valley Hospital
avhnh.org (Berlin — quality critical access hospital; North Country anchor)
Office: Coos County Public Health Services – 2169 Riverside Drive, Berlin, NH 03570.
Editorial independence: CountyOffices maintains strict editorial independence from our affiliate partners. Our content is researched from official government sources. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations or the information we publish.
Recommended for New Hampshire
Ownwell
Property tax appeal service. Contingency fee - no savings, no charge.
