How to Find North Carolina Court Records (2026)

In person. Go to the Clerk of Superior Court's office in the county where the case was filed — there is only one clerk's office per county, covering Superior Court, District Court, and estates. Public access terminals are typically available at the courthouse to search the index at no charge, and Portal can also be searched from any device. Copies are paid at the counter; most clerks accept cash, check, or card, though some offices restrict certain fees to money order or certified check.

By mail or email. Write (or, where the clerk allows it, email) with:

• the case number, or the full names of the parties and the approximate year;
• exactly which document you need (for example, "the final judgment" or "the divorce decree");
• whether you need a plain copy or a copy certified under seal; and
• payment or a request for a fee quote, plus a self-addressed stamped envelope for mailed requests.

Several of the state's larger clerk's offices — including Mecklenburg County — now route requests for documents filed before their eCourts conversion date to a dedicated records email address rather than a general mailing address; check the specific county's page for the current process.

Online. Portal lets you view docket entries and, for many case types and more recent filings, download documents directly, without visiting the courthouse. Coverage is more complete for cases filed after each county's individual eCourts go-live date.

Records older than the online index. Files that predate a county's electronic case-management system may exist only on paper or microfilm in the clerk's office or in state or county archives, and the clerk may need extra time, or charge a search fee, to locate them.

North Carolina court records are open to the public, but several categories are removed from public view or never appear in Portal:

• Expunctions. Under Chapter 15A, Article 5 of the General Statutes, a court can order an arrest, charge, or conviction expunged. Expunged files are retained by the Clerk of Superior Court only as confidential records (G.S. 15A-151) and are not shown to the public; a person who obtains an expunction generally may deny under oath that the arrest, charge, or conviction ever happened. Not every offense qualifies, and eligibility depends on the offense, how old it is, and how the case ended.
• Juvenile records. Juvenile delinquency and abuse/neglect proceedings in District Court are confidential under the Juvenile Code, with narrow statutory exceptions, and juveniles have a separate expunction process from adult expunctions.
• Adoption records. Adoption files are sealed by statute.
• Domestic-violence and civil no-contact filings. Chapter 50B and 50C case files carry additional confidentiality and fee protections, and certain identifying information may be restricted from public view even though the case itself is not confidential.
• Mental-health and certain special-proceeding records. Access to specific categories, such as involuntary commitment proceedings, is restricted by separate statutes.

General Statutes Chapter 132 (the Public Records Law) governs records of state and local government agencies, but North Carolina's courts are a separate constitutional branch — access to case records is controlled by these court-specific statutes and by rules of the Administrative Office of the Courts, not by a public-records request to an agency.