Welcome!

As your Chief Justice, I am proud to welcome you to the official website of the North Carolina Judicial Branch. The mission of the Judicial Branch and its more than 6,000 elected officials and employees is

To protect and preserve the rights and liberties of all the people, as guaranteed by the Constitutions and laws of the United States and North Carolina, by providing a fair, independent and accessible forum for the just, timely, and economical resolution of their legal affairs.

With that mission in mind, we hope that this website will:

1. Make our courthouses and processes more accessible for lawyers and litigants who have matters before the courts;
2. Make our court system more transparent for those seeking to understand how our courts uphold the rule of law and administer justice with fairness and impartiality; and
3. Make our court's online presence more responsive to the technologies and rhythms that define our personal and professional lives in the twenty-first century.

Each and every day, North Carolina's courts help provide safety for our communities, prosperity for our economy, and protection for the rights, liberties, and freedoms that sit at the foundation of our state and federal constitutions. We hope that you will find this website helpful as we continue our efforts to administer justice on behalf of the people of North Carolina.

Thank you for visiting,
Chief Justice Mark Martin

The law may seem complex, but at its heart is the protection of individual rights and freedoms, a precious key to a sound democracy.