Oaths of Office

Newly elected board and committee members should be sworn in at a time determined by the governing body, but not before the close of business on the Friday following election day.

[T]he acts of officials who inadvertently have failed to take an oath of office are generally valid as the decisions of “de facto” officials. “It is held here and everywhere that one who assumes a public office under color of an election or appointment illegal in fact is a de facto officer, and his official acts are valid as to third persons when they are not from their nature or by express statutory enactment void.” State v. Boiselle, 83 N.H. 339, 341 (1928). “To qualify as a de facto officer, the officer’s title need not be good in law but she must be in unobstructed possession of her office and discharging its duties in full view of the public.” State v. Doyle, 156 N.H. 306, 310 (2007). Needless to say, the official should be sworn in as soon as the error is detected.

Under the doctrine of de facto officers, the acts of a person who is elected or appointed to office and appears to hold the office in good standing will be held valid even though the person turns out to have been ineligible for the office for some reason.

Oaths taken by municipal officials are held by the clerk’s office. The Manchester Municipal Archives and Records Center, or City Archives, is the final repository for the historic and permanent records of the government of the City of Manchester, NH. Scroll down the page to find the description of the Oaths of Office collection.