North Carolina's public background check is a court record search. The Judicial Branch tells individuals to use the clerk of superior court: a certified criminal record search by name in one county for $25, or a free, non certified search of any county or the whole state on the public access computers in any clerk's office. No court official can certify a statewide search, and the form says so in capitals.
The State Bureau of Investigation, the state's central repository, opens its record to the public only for a personal review: a fingerprint based Right to Review of your own North Carolina record for $14. Employers and licensing entities reach SBI criminal history only when a state statute, federal mandate or local ordinance specifically authorizes a fingerprint based check, under an access agreement with the bureau.
- Certified, one county: form AOC-CR-314 to the clerk of superior court of that county with $25, by mail with a money order or certified check, or in person with a card, cash, money order or certified check; the result carries the clerk's raised seal.
- Free, statewide, not certified: the public access computers in any clerk's office, to search, view or email criminal records for yourself or anyone, with possible printing charges.
- Your own SBI record: the Right to Review, a North Carolina only fingerprint based check for $14 with a response letter on SBI letterhead, or the FBI Identity History Summary for $18 for a national record.
- Employers: SBI criminal history only with statutory authority and an access agreement; otherwise the clerk's searches, the NCAOC Remote Public Access program or a licensed vendor.
Written by SearchSystems.net from North Carolina's own systems: the North Carolina Judicial Branch criminal background check page, the AOC-CR-314 Criminal Record Search form, the SBI Background Checks page, the SBI Personal Review page, the SBI Employers and NC Licensing Entities page, the SBI background check frequently asked questions, the NCAOC list of criminal background check companies, each read on October 14, 2026 by the SearchSystems editorial team.
The certified county search: form AOC-CR-314 and $25
The Judicial Branch page describes the certified background check as a criminal record search by name, for yourself or others, in a single county, requested at the clerk of superior court's office at that county's courthouse. The requester fills out and prints form AOC-CR-314 and submits it with the $25 fee, by mail with a money order or certified check, since personal checks are not accepted, or in person with a credit card, cash, money order or certified check. The search covers only the court records of that one county and is not a statewide search.
The form itself, issued under General Statutes 7A-109, 7A-308(a)(17) and 7A-343(3), makes the requester acknowledge the limits. The clerk searches only the county named and no court official in North Carolina can provide a certified statewide search; a complete record needs both criminal and infraction records, since motor vehicle offenses span both, and electronic infraction records are purged five years after disposition; juvenile records are confidential and the clerk cannot say whether any exist; the clerk searches only the names listed, because court records are indexed by name and nothing else; a no record result does not prove there is no record, which may sit under another name, under seal or in an unreturned warrant; and a record found may belong to someone else with the same or a similar name. The certification is not valid without the clerk's raised seal and signature on each page, and the back of the form explains the system codes, from AKA and FTA to the plea, sentence and probation abbreviations. Altering an official case record is a Class H felony under G.S. 14-221.2.
The free statewide search at any courthouse
Without charge, anyone can search, view or email criminal records for themselves or others in any county or statewide on the public access computers in the clerk's office at any courthouse. The search is not certified and printing may cost. The Judicial Branch's online Portal searches case information and court records by name, case number, attorney and more, but the page says that individuals performing background checks should use the county clerk's office rather than Portal.
The SBI Right to Review: $14
State and federal law give individuals the right to a copy of their criminal history record for personal review, to make sure it is complete and accurate. The SBI's personal review page offers the North Carolina state fingerprint based check, the Right to Review, for $14, conducted by the SBI with a response letter on SBI letterhead; the request form, in English and Spanish, is among the SBI's citizen forms with a separate form for the adoption process. The Judicial Branch describes the same service as a non certified statewide search of your own record obtained by submitting a fingerprint card, form and fee. For a national record the SBI points to the FBI Identity History Summary Check at $18, from the FBI CJIS Division, Summary Request, 1000 Custer Hollow Road, Clarksburg, WV 26306, 304-625-5590. On the day it was read, the SBI's background checks page said it was processing requests received on September 18, 2026, and asked for status checks by email to CIISHelp@ncsbi.gov or by phone at 919-582-8660; the Customer Service Unit is at 3320 Garner Road, Raleigh, NC 27626-0500, fax (919) 661-5977.
Employers and licensing entities: statutory authority only
The SBI is the FBI's designated CJIS Systems Agency for North Carolina, responsible for the security of every criminal justice information exchange in the state. Its employers page states that criminal history record information it maintains may be released only to entities with statutory authority or under a judicial order or subpoena. The General Assembly defines the qualified agencies, and access for employment or licensing is permitted only where a state statute, federal mandate or local ordinance of a North Carolina town, city or county specifically authorizes a fingerprint based check. Every authorized agency signs an access agreement with the SBI and must cite the authority for checking its applicants; requests go to the Access Integrity Unit at AIUhelp@ncsbi.gov with Criminal History Record Information Access Inquiry in the subject line, or by mail to the unit at 3320 Garner Road. Employers without statutory authority are sent to the SBI's page on background checks on others, which in practice means the courts.
Businesses: Remote Public Access and licensed vendors
For ongoing access, the NCAOC's Remote Public Access program gives licensees real time access or bulk extracts of criminal and civil court data from all North Carolina counties: statewide criminal checks for pending cases and prior convictions, infractions, tax liens, evictions and judgments, the same real time information as the courthouse computers, which the Judicial Branch says reduces the risk of Fair Credit Reporting Act violations. Unofficial checks are also sold by third party companies that obtain NCAOC data under licensing agreements; the NCAOC publishes a list of those companies, updated October 9, 2026, without endorsing any, and warns that while the data it supplies reflects the clerks' databases accurately, it cannot guarantee that what the companies tell their customers is current or accurate.
The SBI's other channels
The SBI's background check questions are sorted into checks on yourself, on others and on employees, general inquiries, the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for firearms purchases and identity theft victims, each with its own mailbox: FBI-NICS@ncsbi.gov for firearms checks, cchmodification@ncsbi.gov for record changes by law enforcement agencies only, CHPHelp@ncsbi.gov for concealed handgun permits, ORI@ncsbi.gov for originating agency identifiers, and AIUaudit@ncsbi.gov for non criminal justice agency audits. Law enforcement agencies request modifications to arrest fingerprint cards on the SBI's own form, and defense attorneys have an access form of their own.
Reading a North Carolina check
A North Carolina background check is only as wide as the search that was run. A certified clerk's search is one county, by name, with the warnings printed on the form; a courthouse computer search is statewide but uncertified; the SBI Right to Review is statewide, fingerprint based and for the person themselves; and an SBI employer check exists only where the law names the job. A hit on a common name is confirmed against the case file, and a federal record comes from the FBI alone.
Questions about background checks in North Carolina
Related North Carolina records
The court search is the public North Carolina record; the others this site covers sit beside it: the North Carolina court records guide explains the Portal and the clerks' files, the arrest records guide covers what a booking makes public, the sex offender registry guide covers the SBI's registry, and the North Carolina county pages list each clerk of superior court and sheriff.