North Carolina, New Hanover County
Where Wilmington's records are kept. Wilmington has its own city government and police department; county and state offices keep its other public records.
Start here
The cards below include Wilmington's own offices, along with State of North Carolina offices; the New Hanover County offices are on our New Hanover County page. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
Police & jail
NC courts guide to background checks: a certified single county search from the clerk of superior court for $25 with form AOC-CR-314, or free uncertified searches on courthouse public computers.
Open official site North Carolina Judicial Branch Criminal Background CheckCity records
Based in Raleigh with sites in Manteo and Asheville, the State Archives of North Carolina handles copy orders and research requests and offers an online catalog plus over 90,000 free digitized items.
Open official site State Archives of North CarolinaCounty court
Eastern North Carolina's bankruptcy court sits in Raleigh and Greenville, both reached by mail at P.O. Box 791, Raleigh; it lists hearing calendars, public sales, unclaimed funds and trustee contacts.
Open official site U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of North CarolinaCounty court
The North Carolina Judicial Branch offers its Portal to search court records, find court dates and pay citations, along with a county courthouse directory, court forms and criminal background check requests.
Open official site North Carolina Judicial BranchVital records
Within the state Center for Health Statistics, North Carolina Vital Records registers births, deaths, marriages and divorces and issues certified copies by order, with in person service by appointment only.
Open official site North Carolina Vital RecordsPolice & jail
Current inmates, people on probation or parole and past offenders can be searched by name, offender number or birth date at the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, which lists escapes, absconders and releases.
Open official site NC DAC Offender Public InformationPolice & jail
North Carolina DOJ missing persons for Wilmington.
Open official site Wilmington North Carolina Missing PersonsPolice & jail
FBI Charlotte Field Office listing of fugitives wanted for violent and nonviolent crimes, terrorism suspects, kidnapped and missing persons, and cases where agents want information.
Open official site FBI Charlotte Wanted and Missing PersonsPolice & jail
State Bureau of Investigation registry built from records that county sheriffs in all 100 counties enter; email alerts flag an offender moving within 1, 3 or 5 miles of an address you register.
Open official site North Carolina Sex Offender RegistryFederal
Population, housing and economic facts for Wilmington city, North Carolina from the Census Bureau, including the July 1, 2025 estimate of 126,809 residents and a land area of 51.41 square miles.
Open official site U.S. Census Bureau QuickFactsCity records
Wilmington city government at 929 North Front Street takes bill payments, police report and public records requests, posts bids and the fee schedule, and runs trash, recycling, yard waste and bulky item pickup.
Open official site City of WilmingtonPolice & jail
Wilmington police in New Hanover County, with police report requests, public records requests, investigations, traffic safety and community outreach.
Open official site Wilmington Police DepartmentEverything else, organized
9 more Wilmington sources not listed above.
Local record guide
Local profile
Wilmington, a place of 115,451 people, is the seat of New Hanover County. Court and property records sit with New Hanover County, and birth and death certificates come from the State of North Carolina. Wilmington's own offices are in the cards above, and our New Hanover County page lists each county office.
Abandoned mine records
Where the workings are, and the office that holds the mine maps.
From the old mine records
The mine records hold 5 named mine sites inside the city or town limits, 2 of them worked out or abandoned; the old survey maps add 2 holes drawn inside the city or town limits, 0 of them shafts or tunnels.
A point in either file is a location, not a property line: the sheet shows the opening on the surface, not the rooms under it. The record that shows what runs under a parcel is the mine map. The OSMRE National Mine Map Repository holds scanned underground mine maps and answers requests for a named mine or an area. No abandoned mine inventory is published online.
Disclaimer: The mine information here is for general information only. Old mine records can be incomplete, outdated or wrong, and finding nothing here does not mean there is nothing there. Check with the mine map office named here before you rely on it, and have a qualified engineer look at any ground you are worried about. PublicRecordCenter.com assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or consequences arising from the use of this information.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
Voter registration in North Carolina is run by the North Carolina State Board of Elections and local election officials. Its site lists the registration deadline, online voter registration, polling places and the local election office for Wilmington.
Court records for Wilmington are kept by the clerk of the court that heard the case. See North Carolina Courts (https://www.nccourts.gov/) for the courts that serve the area and how to reach their clerks.
Certified birth and death certificates for events in North Carolina come from the state vital records office, North Carolina Vital Records. Its site lists who may order a copy, the fee and how to order.
Businesses that operate in Wilmington register with the North Carolina Secretary of State, which runs the state business entity search. A local business license, where Wilmington requires one, comes from the town or New Hanover County.
Same county
Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.