Short answer
Usually because of New Hampshire's homestead law. Your spouse has a homestead right in the home you live in, and under RSA 480:5-a a mortgage can't encumber that right unless the owner and spouse both sign, except a mortgage made at purchase to pay for the home. So on many refinances and home equity loans, a spouse who isn't on the loan or the title still signs the mortgage. That's different from signing the note.
What is the NH homestead right?
RSA 480:1 protects up to $400,000 of each person's interest in the home they live in from most creditors. Under RSA 480:3-a, the owner and the owner's spouse share the right during the owner's lifetime, and a surviving spouse keeps it for life. The protection doesn't cancel any debt, and RSA 480:4 says it doesn't apply to property taxes, mortgages on the home, liens for work done on the home, condo or homeowner association liens, domestic support obligations, or, in most cases, debts that existed when you bought the home.
When does a spouse need to sign?
RSA 480:5-a says no deed can convey or encumber the homestead right unless the owner and spouse sign it, with one exception: a mortgage made at the time of purchase to secure the purchase money. In practice that comes up most on:
- A refinance or cash-out refinance when only one spouse owns the home.
- A home equity loan or HELOC.
- Selling or deeding the home.
Fannie Mae's rules say the same thing from the lender's side: the mortgage must be signed by everyone with an ownership interest, and by an owner's spouse when state law requires it to waive their property rights. Your lender and title company will tell you whose signatures they need.
Does signing make my spouse responsible for the loan?
Signing the mortgage (the security instrument that puts the lien on the home) isn't the same as signing the note, the promise to repay. Under Fannie Mae's rules, the note is signed by the people whose credit and income are used to qualify. An owner who isn't a borrower signs the mortgage but not the note. For what signing means in your situation, talk with a New Hampshire real estate attorney.
What about when we buy?
A mortgage made at purchase to pay for the home is the exception in RSA 480:5-a. Who goes on the title is a separate choice; see joint tenancy vs. tenants in common. If only one of you will be on the loan, see co-borrowers and co-signers.
What if the home is in a trust?
Under RSA 480:9, deeding your home to your own revocable trust doesn't by itself end your homestead rights unless the deed says so. See getting a mortgage with a revocable trust.
Sources
- NH RSA 480:1, Homestead right, amount
- NH RSA 480:3-a, Duration
- NH RSA 480:4, Exemption
- NH RSA 480:5-a, Encumbering
- NH RSA 480:9, Homestead rights (revocable trusts)
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B8-2-03, Signature Requirements for Security Instruments
- Fannie Mae Selling Guide B8-3-03, Signature Requirements for Notes
Checked November 2, 2026. Rules and dates change, so confirm current details before you rely on them.
General information only, not tax or legal advice. Program availability, eligibility and terms vary by lender and are subject to change and to underwriting approval. Not a commitment to lend.