The Department of Safety was established by the New Hampshire Legislature in 1961 and originally consisted of three divisions: Motor Vehicles, State Police, and Safety Services.

In 1987, under the leadership of Commissioner Richard M. Flynn, we were restructured and two additional Divisions and two Bureaus were added: The Division of Enforcement and the Division of Administration; the Bureau of Hearings and the Bureau of Fire Safety.

On January 1, 1989 the Bureau of Common Carriers was transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Safety. A sixth Division was added on July 1, 1989, the Division of Fire Service, which consisted of the Bureau of Fire Safety, the Bureau of Fire Standards and Training, and the Fire Standards and Training Commission.

Five years after being formed, the Division of Fire Service was restructured into two Divisions, effective August 1, 1994, the Division of Fire Standards and Training and the Division of Fire Safety.

On October 1, 1996, the Division of Enforcement was eliminated and all former Division personnel and functions were merged into a Bureau of Enforcement, in the Division of State Police.

The Bureau of Emergency Medical Services was transferred from the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community and Public Health, to the Department of Safety on November 19, 1999.

On July 1, 2002, the Emergency Management Agency was transferred from the Office of the Governor to the Department of Safety, Division of Fire Safety and Emergency Management and the State Fire Marshal became the interim Coordinator of Emergency Management. The Division of Fire Safety became the Division of Fire Safety and Emergency Management with two Bureaus, Fire Safety and Emergency Management. The Division of Emergency Medical Services was merged into the Division of Fire Standards and Training, which became the Division of Fire Standards and Training and Emergency Medical Services.

On September 4, 2003, the Bureau of Emergency Communications was transferred from the Department of Administrative Services to the Department of Safety, Division of Fire Safety and Emergency Management under the supervision of the Assistant Commissioner of Safety. The State Fire Marshal became the Bureau Chief for the Bureau of Fire Safety, and Bureau Chief and Assistant Chief positions were established for the Bureau of Emergency Management and Emergency Communications, which merged the former Bureau of Emergency Communications and the Emergency Management operation.

The 2003 Legislature eliminated the Division of Information Technology in the Department of Safety when it created a statewide Office of Information Technology, headed by a Chief Information Officer, and along with other major State agencies, our information technology personnel became an embedded operation housed at our facilities and reporting to the Chief Information Officer for the State.

On January 1, 2004, the Department of Corrections Drug Testing Laboratory and the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health's laboratory for the testing of blood, breath, and urine to determine alcohol and controlled drug content; and the office of the State Toxicologist, were transferred to the Department of Safety, Division of State Police, Forensic Laboratory.

On July 1, 2006, the Legislature created a new position of Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and transferred the Bureau of Emergency Management to the Office of the Commissioner under the supervision of the Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The Bureau of Emergency Communications remained with the Division of Emergency Services, Communications, and Management.