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How much does it cost to file for guardianship in North Carolina?

Filing for guardianship in North Carolina costs $120. An adult guardianship begins as a petition for adjudication of incompetence and appointment of a guardian, heard by the clerk of superior court — and in North Carolina's fee structure that makes it a special proceeding, priced by G.S. 7A-306. The statute's components are the same three this site's North Carolina probate costs page documents for estates: $106 for support of the General Court of Justice under §7A-306(a)(2), $10 for courtroom and judicial facilities under (a)(1), and $4 for judicial and courthouse telecommunications under (a)(1a) — $120 in total. Of that total, the facilities fee and $30 of the General Court of Justice fee are payable when the proceeding is initiated, under §7A-306(b).

North Carolina guardianship fees at a glance

North Carolina's Judicial Branch sorts its civil-side costs into civil actions, estates and special proceedings, and it describes special proceedings itself as the category covering family and financial relationships — naming adoptions and incompetency hearings for adults who may need guardians as its examples. That classification is the whole pricing story: a guardianship petitioner does not pay the civil action chart and does not pay the estates chart, even though a guardian of the estate will later administer property under the clerk's supervision. The $120 is uniform statewide because it is a statute, not a county schedule — the same in Wake County as in Watauga County. The land-value add-on inside §7A-306(a)(2) — thirty cents per $100 of land value, capped at $200 — applies to special proceedings involving land and is not part of an ordinary incompetency petition's price, so it is noted here rather than added. The national comparison is on the guardianship filing costs hub.

How a North Carolina guardianship is structured

Chapter 35A of the General Statutes governs the case: a verified petition asks the clerk to adjudicate the respondent incompetent and to appoint a guardian of the person, a guardian of the estate, or a general guardian exercising both roles, with limited guardianship available where the respondent retains some capacity. The respondent must be served personally — sheriff service is priced at $30 on the Judicial Branch's costs framework — and is entitled to a guardian ad litem and to a hearing, typically set in the weeks after service. Multidisciplinary evaluations, where the clerk orders one, inform the capacity decision. If incompetence is adjudicated, the clerk issues letters of appointment, and a guardian of the estate or general guardian then works under the estates side of the clerk's office, with inventories and accountings supervised under the same statutory scheme that governs other fiduciaries.

The additional expenses §7A-306(c) names

The statute is candid that $120 is not the last dollar. Section 7A-306(c) lists additional expenses that are assessable or recoverable when incurred: witness fees, counsel fees as provided by law, the cost on appeal of an essential transcript, fees for personal service of civil process and other sheriff's fees and service by publication, and the fees of guardians ad litem, referees, receivers, commissioners, surveyors, appraisers and similar court appointees, including reasonable stenographic reimbursement. The guardian ad litem line is the one nearly every guardianship meets, because the respondent is represented by one as of right; the amount is set as provided by law in the individual case rather than by a published statewide figure, so this page names it without pricing it. Evaluation charges follow the same pattern. Budgeting for a North Carolina guardianship therefore means budgeting the verified $120 filing spine plus case-set professional charges that only the clerk's office can estimate once the petition is on file.

How the case runs

1. File the verified Chapter 35A petition with the clerk of superior court in the respondent's county and pay the special proceeding costs $120
2. Have the respondent served personally — sheriff service $30 — and serve the required next of kin and interested persons
3. A guardian ad litem is appointed for the respondent and any ordered evaluation is completed
4. Attend the incompetency hearing before the clerk
5. If a guardian is appointed, qualify, receive letters, and file the required inventory and later accountings for a guardian of the estate

What guardianship really costs beyond the clerk

After appointment, the economics change from fees to administration. A guardian of the estate may be required to post bond, priced by the bonding company on the estate's size; accountings carry the estates-side charges described on this site's North Carolina probate page, including the value-based facilities of §7A-307 where they apply to the ward's estate administration; and attorney fees for the petitioner are market-priced. Commissions a guardian may receive come from the ward's estate as the clerk allows, not from a published schedule. Appeals from the clerk in a special proceeding carry their own transcript and cost exposure under §7A-306(c)(3). Compare other states' structures on the guardianship hub, including Arizona guardianship costs and Georgia guardianship costs.

Can't afford the fee?

A petitioner who cannot pay can ask the clerk about proceeding without prepayment under North Carolina's indigency provisions, supported by a sworn statement of income, assets and expenses — raise the question when the petition is filed, because costs in a special proceeding are assessed under the statute and the clerk needs the request on the record from the start. Where the respondent's own estate is at issue, some costs of the proceeding may ultimately be assessed against the estate as the clerk directs, which is a question for the hearing rather than a promise at the counter. The general mechanics of fee waivers are explained in the fee waiver guide.

Sources: N.C.G.S. §7A-306, official text, read directly — (a)(1) facilities $10; (a)(1a) telecommunications $4; (a)(2) General Court of Justice $106 (land-value add-on 30 cents per $100, capped at $200, applies to proceedings involving land); (b) facilities fee and $30 of the General Court of Justice fee payable at initiation; (c) additional assessable expenses including witness, counsel, transcript, sheriff and guardian ad litem fees as provided by law; (g) notice of hearing on a motion $20 · North Carolina Judicial Branch, Court Costs guidance and Costs and Fees Chart (special proceedings category expressly includes incompetency and guardianship matters; sheriff service $30) · N.C.G.S. ch. 35A (guardianship structure). Last verified: October 2026 — confirm current figures with the clerk of superior court.