How to Look Up Court Records in North Carolina

How to Search North Carolina Court Records Online

North Carolina has a unified trial court (the district and superior court divisions of the General Court of Justice), the North Carolina Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of North Carolina as the highest court. Records for counties on the state's eCourts system are searched through the official eCourts Portal, while remaining records are obtained through the clerk of superior court.

To look up a case, start at North Carolina eCourts Portal. Search by the party's name or, for an exact match, the case number, then open the docket to see the filings, hearing dates, and outcome. Begin at the official portal above rather than a commercial records site, which resells the same public data.

Are North Carolina Court Records Public?

Most case records are public, but juvenile, sealed, and expunged matters are restricted. The eCourts Portal is free to search online; coverage follows the county-by-county eCourts rollout. These records are provided for general reference and are not a consumer report; they must not be used for employment, tenant, or credit screening governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Criminal, Civil, and Family Court Records

North Carolina's trial courts hear criminal, civil, family, and probate matters, and the public search generally covers the same categories — with the confidential ones held back. Juvenile cases, adoptions, and many family matters are restricted by law, and sealed or expunged records do not appear at all. When a case does not turn up, that is often the system protecting a restricted record rather than a gap in the portal.

Searching by Name or Case Number

A case number pulls a single case directly and is the fastest route when you have it. A name search returns everyone who matches, so narrow it by filing date, court, and case type to separate people who share a name. A middle initial or an approximate year often turns a long list into one clear result.

Getting Copies and Certified Records

Reading a docket online is usually free, but an official or certified copy — the kind an agency or employer will accept — comes from the clerk of the court that holds the file, and typically carries a per-page or per-document fee. Order certified copies from the court itself, not a third-party site. These are court records for informational lookups, not a background-screening product, and may not be used for employment, tenant, or credit decisions governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Court systems rename portals, change fees, and adjust what they publish online without notice, so treat this page as a map, not the territory: for anything that matters, confirm the current rules with the court or the clerk's office directly.