Occasionally, we have clients who simply forget what day they have to go to court.  They call us, frantically wondering about the date.  We will gladly inform our clients when they need to be in court, but luckily, the state of North Carolina has a very handy calendaring system readily available to the public.

On the North Carolina Courts page, you can follow the link on the right column for “Court Calendars” to access statewide court dockets. Since the site can sometimes be difficult to navigate, we would be more than happy to give you a little guide that will make you a pro in no time.

Once on the Court Calendars page, just follow these simple steps.

1. Click “Court Calendars” on the left column.
2. To search your name (if you know the county in which you must appear), click “District and Superior Court Query” on the left side.
3. Select the appropriate county.
4. Select whether you are to appear in district court, superior court, or both. Generally, if you’ve been charged with a misdemeanor, you will appear in district court, while felonies are heard in superior court.
5. Enter your last name followed by a comma and the first letter (or letters) of your first name. Do not put a space after the comma or the system will not work.
6. Push “Submit Query.”

The results page will give you quite a bit of information. First you will see your name, followed by your date of birth, your court date, the court room in which you are to appear, and finally, the case number. Clicking on the case number will take you to a screen which specifies the charge.

We hope this guide will help you better navigate the sometimes cumbersome North Carolina Courts calendar search system. If you still have trouble, just give us a call or an email, and we’ll be glad to help you figure out when you need to be in court.