Guide
North Carolina Expungement Research Resources
North Carolina calls expungement expunction; the rules are in G.S. Chapter 15A, Article 5. The official North Carolina sources are listed below.
- NC Judicial Branch, ExpunctionsExpunction statutes, waiting periods and AOC petition forms
- NCSBI, ExpungementsSBI hints on the North Carolina expunction process
- G.S. Chapter 15A, Article 5Expunction of records
This directory is for informational and research use only. Expungement eligibility, waiting periods, filing fees, notice rules, and the effect on background checks can differ significantly depending on the state, offense level, case outcome, and later law changes.
Guide
Sealing a divorce or civil file in North Carolina
North Carolina has no statute or statewide rule that closes divorce files or the financial affidavits in them, and no statewide rule that sets a procedure for sealing a civil court file. The starting point is G.S. 7A-109(a): except as prohibited by law, the records of the clerk of superior court are open to the inspection of the public during regular office hours. The confidential case types the Judicial Branch names are juvenile and involuntary commitment matters, not divorce.
The one written tool is for discovery. Under Rule 26(c) of the Rules of Civil Procedure, G.S. 1A-1, on motion and for good cause shown the judge may make any order which justice requires to protect a party or person from unreasonable annoyance, embarrassment, oppression or undue burden or expense, including that a deposition be sealed and opened only by order of the court. Sealing a filed document or a file otherwise rests on the court's decision in each case. The rule is at ncleg.gov.
Guide
Research Notes
- Start with the court and the originating agency. Expungement or sealing requests are often handled through the court that heard the case, sometimes with supporting records from police, prosecutors, or corrections agencies.
- Terminology differs by state. Some jurisdictions use terms such as sealing, set-aside, vacatur, dismissal relief, or nondisclosure instead of expungement.
- Verify current law. Eligibility rules can change through legislation or court decisions, so always confirm the current process before relying on older instructions or third-party summaries.
- Understand downstream effects. Even after record relief, treatment of court, police, private-background check, and federal records may differ depending on the system involved.
By state