Where to Store Your Advance Directive in New Hampshire

Completing your advance directive is half the job. If no one can find it during a medical crisis — or if the hospital doesn't have it on file — the document is effectively useless. Storage and distribution are where many well-intentioned plans fall apart.

Here's exactly where to keep your New Hampshire advance directive and how to get it into the hands of everyone who needs it.

Keep the Original Accessible at Home

Store the original signed document in a location that your healthcare agent can access quickly without special tools or keys. A clearly labeled folder in a home filing cabinet, a desk drawer, or a fireproof document box that doesn't require a combination are all appropriate.

Do not store the original in a safe deposit box. If your agent needs the document during a weekend hospital admission and the bank is closed, the directive is inaccessible at the moment it matters most. Safe deposit boxes are for irreplaceable documents you rarely need urgently — not for documents designed to be used in emergencies.

Distribute Copies to These Five Recipients

Once your advance directive is signed and witnessed (or notarized), make copies and distribute them to:

1. Your designated healthcare agent and alternate agent. They need copies so they can present the document to medical staff immediately. Digital copies (scanned PDFs) on their phones are a practical backup.

2. Your primary care physician. Ask your PCP's office to add the directive to your medical chart. This ensures it's visible to any provider who accesses your records through that practice.

3. Your preferred hospital. New Hampshire's major clinical networks — Dartmouth Hitchcock, Southern NH Health, and MaineHealth (which operates Wentworth-Douglass and Memorial hospitals) — can add your directive to their electronic medical records. Contact the patient records or admissions department to upload a copy.

4. Any residential care facility. If you live in an assisted living community or nursing home, the facility should have a copy on file. Many facilities ask about advance directives during the admission process.

5. A trusted family member who is not your agent. Having a backup copy with someone outside the decision-making chain ensures that even if your agent is temporarily unreachable, someone can locate the document.

Uploading to Hospital EMR Systems

The most practical step you can take is uploading your directive to the electronic medical records at hospitals where you're likely to receive care.

Dartmouth Hitchcock (DHMC) accepts advance directive uploads through their patient portal and admissions office. The document becomes part of your permanent medical record and is visible to any clinician within the DHMC system.

Southern NH Health provides similar upload capability through their patient information department. Contact them directly to arrange submission.

MaineHealth-affiliated hospitals (Wentworth-Douglass in Dover, Memorial Hospital in North Conway) maintain their own EMR systems. Upload through the patient records department of the specific facility.

If you're hospitalized at a facility that doesn't have your directive on file, your agent can present a copy at admission. The hospital will add it to your chart for the duration of the stay.

Keep It Updated

After any significant life event — marriage, divorce, new diagnosis, relocation, or a change in your treatment preferences — review your directive and execute a new one if needed. Then repeat the distribution process: send updated copies to everyone who holds the old version.

A common oversight: updating the directive but forgetting to replace the old copies at the hospital. Your PCP's office might have a version from five years ago that names an ex-spouse as agent. Proactively replacing outdated copies prevents confusion during a crisis.

What About a Wallet Card?

Some people carry a wallet card indicating that they have an advance directive, with the agent's contact information and the location of the original. New Hampshire does not require this, but it can be helpful for emergency situations where first responders need to locate the document quickly.

The New Hampshire Advance Directive & Living Will Kit includes a documents locator sheet and distribution tracker so you can record exactly who has copies and when they were last updated — ensuring your directive is where it needs to be when the moment comes.

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