North Carolina eCourts Small Claims

North Carolina completed its eCourts rollout across all 100 counties on October 13, 2025. If you are filing a small claims case today, you have a choice between the online system and traditional paper filing — and understanding the differences matters.

The eCourts Platform in Brief

NC's eCourts system has four components relevant to small claims filers:

Guide & File is the self-help interview tool. It walks unrepresented filers through a series of questions and helps prepare standard AOC small claims forms. It can help prepare Form AOC-CVM-200 (Complaint for Money Owed); the clerk issues Form AOC-CVM-100 (Magistrate Summons) after assigning the case.

File & Serve is the electronic filing portal. Licensed attorneys are required to use it in all 100 counties. Pro se (self-represented) filers can use it but are not required to.

Portal is the public search interface. Once your case is filed, you can track it, view hearing dates, and check docket entries online.

Enterprise Justice (Odyssey) runs internally for clerks and magistrates. You will never log into this one, but it is the system that processes your filing.

Can You File Entirely Online?

Yes, if you are a self-represented filer using Guide & File or File & Serve. Fees are paid electronically during the filing process. The clerk issues the magistrate summons and, after service, sends notice of the assignment with the hearing date.

But there are limits to what the online system verifies. Guide & File auto-fills your forms — it does not check whether you have identified the correct registered agent for a corporate defendant, whether you have picked the right county for venue, or whether your evidence is organized for the hearing. Those are your responsibility.

Paper Filing Still Works

Self-represented filers retain the right to submit paper filings at the Clerk of Superior Court. If you go this route:

• Bring the original plus enough copies — one for the court, plus one for each defendant
• Pay fees at the window: $96 filing fee plus $30 per defendant for sheriff service
• Acceptable payment: cash, cashier's check, money order, or card — no personal checks

The clerk's receipt stamp confirms administrative intake. It does not establish jurisdiction, validate venue, or cure service defects.

What eCourts Did Not Change

The substantive rules — the county small-claims limit of $5,000 to $10,000, the service-of-process requirements under Rule 4, the five-day minimum notice before trial, and the SCRA affidavit required before default judgment against a defendant who has not appeared — are the same whether you file on paper or online. eCourts digitized the filing and tracking layer. It did not change how a magistrate runs a hearing or evaluates evidence.

Our North Carolina Small Claims Filing Guide covers both the paper and eCourts filing workflows, with step-by-step instructions for each path.

See more North Carolina guides →