Generally, you will be given notice of your North Carolina court date through documentation (such as a criminal summons or citation), by a judge in open court, or by your attorney. However, if you forget your court date or just want to verify the time and place of your next court date, there are some simple methods that you can use to retrieve this information.
Sign up for notifications
You can always sign up to receive notifications through nccourts.org. This is a great option available to all criminal defendants in North Carolina. When signing up, you can choose to receive notifications via email or text message.
For this option, you will need to know the county that you are charged in as well as the case number assigned by the court. See below for information on how to locate your case number (e.g., 17 CR 92374) online.
Manually look up your court date
You can look up your court date by defendant name or by citation number on nccourts.org. You can also use this link to look up your case number (e.g., 13 CR 12497). For this option, you will only need to know the defendant’s name OR the citation number. If you are unable to find the defendant, check to ensure that the name is spelled correctly as courts sometimes spell them differently. If you are still unable to find the defendant, the court date may have passed or there may not be a pending court date.
Nccourts.org can also show you in which county your court date will be, which session you are assigned (AM or PM), and in what courtroom your court date will be. Court dates in the AM session generally begin at 9:00 AM. Court dates in the PM session generally begin at 1:30 PM to 2:00 PM. Times vary based on county and level of court (i.e., Superior versus District). Contact your attorney or the courthouse if you are unsure of what time to appear.
Call your attorney during business hours
If there is a pending court date, your attorney will usually be able to tell you when your next court date is. You should call your attorney during normal business hours, which are typically from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Please note that if you have been charged with a felony, there are times when you may not have a pending court date and will just have to wait until you are assigned your next court date. Your criminal defense attorney does not control this and cannot expedite this process.
Call the courthouse
If all else fails, you may call the courthouse in the county in which your criminal case is scheduled in order to inquire about your upcoming court date.
If you or a loved one has been charged with a crime in North Carolina and you are in need of a criminal defense attorney, contact us to discuss your options.
