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How much does it cost to evict a tenant in North Carolina?

Eviction in North Carolina is called summary ejectment, and it costs $96 to file before a magistrate, plus $30 per defendant for sheriff's service — $126 all-in for a single-tenant case before any writ. The $96 is built in N.C.G.S. §7A-305 from an $80 General Court of Justice fee for magistrate cases, a $12 facilities fee and a $4 court information technology fee, and it is the same in all 100 counties.

North Carolina eviction fees at a glance

Summary ejectment is a small-claims action assigned to a magistrate, which is why the General Court of Justice component is the magistrate figure of $80 rather than the $130 district-court or $180 superior-court figure in the same statute. A landlord who also wants unpaid rent pleads a money claim in the same complaint, subject to the small-claims jurisdictional limit for the county; larger money claims belong in district court at district-court costs. The national comparison is on the eviction filing costs hub and the state overview on the North Carolina court costs guide.

The four grounds — and the notice that comes before the fee

Chapter 42 gives a landlord four summary-ejectment grounds: failure to pay rent after demand and a ten-day wait under §42-3, holding over after the term ends, breach of a lease condition, and criminal activity on the premises. No filing fee is due until the ground exists — most failed evictions fail on the notice, not the paperwork. The complaint itself is Judicial Branch Form AOC-CVM-201, filed with the clerk of superior court in the county where the property sits, and the magistrate hearing is typically set about a week after filing, one of the fastest eviction calendars in the country.

After judgment: the 10-day appeal window and the writ

A magistrate's judgment for possession is not the end of the timeline. The tenant has 10 days to appeal to district court for a trial de novo — county clerks publish the appeal cost at $150, and a tenant who wants to stay in the property during the appeal must post the undertaking and pay rent into the court registry under §42-34. If no appeal is filed, the landlord may obtain a Writ of Possession for Real Property after the appeal window closes, executed by the sheriff; the tenant then has a further short statutory window to retrieve personal property left behind. Landlords should budget the $96 + $30 core and treat any appeal-phase costs as contingent, not certain.

1. Establish a Chapter 42 ground and give the required notice — for nonpayment, demand rent and wait the §42-3 ten days
2. File Form AOC-CVM-201 with the clerk of superior court and pay the filing fee $96
3. Have the sheriff serve the summons and complaint $30 per defendant
4. Appear before the magistrate with the lease, rent ledger and proof of notice; obtain judgment for possession (and any money award within small-claims limits)
5. Wait out the 10-day appeal period, then request the writ of possession if the tenant has not appealed or vacated

What eviction really costs beyond the clerk

The clerk-and-sheriff core ($126 for one defendant) is genuinely most of the official cost of an uncontested North Carolina eviction — this is one of the cheapest states in the national table. The costs that grow are behavioural, not clerical: a tenant appeal moves the case to district court with its own cost structure and rent-registry deposits, and attorney fees, where a landlord hires counsel, are market-priced. North Carolina also caps what a landlord may pass through to a tenant as eviction-related fees under §42-46, and only where the written lease allows it. Compare Georgia eviction costs and Ohio eviction costs.

Can't afford the fee?

North Carolina's in forma pauperis procedure (N.C.G.S. §1-110) lets an indigent plaintiff file without prepaying costs on a verified application and affidavit; in summary ejectment it is tenants facing money judgments who more often use the related appeal-bond relief. The general mechanics are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: N.C.G.S. §7A-305 (magistrate General Court of Justice fee $80, facilities fee $12, Court Information Technology Fund $4 — $96 total) · Dare County Clerk of Superior Court — Summary Ejectment page (filing fee $96; sheriff service $30 per defendant; copy costs $2.00 first page / $0.25 additional; appeal cost $150) · N.C.G.S. ch. 42 (§42-3 rent demand, §42-34 appeal undertaking and rent registry, §42-46 eviction fee limits) · North Carolina Judicial Branch Form AOC-CVM-201. Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with your county clerk.