North Carolina Judicial Branch

What North Carolina Judicial Branch does

The North Carolina Judicial Branch is the constitutional judicial branch of North Carolina state government, administering a unified court system across all 100 counties. It operates the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Court, District Court, Business Court, and Recovery Courts, with administrative support delivered through the Administrative Office of the Courts (NCAOC) headquartered in the North Carolina Judicial Center in Raleigh. The branch traces its origins to the establishment of the Supreme Court of North Carolina in 1819 and underwent major structural reforms in the 1960s with the creation of the District Courts and Court of Appeals. Its primary customer segments are the General Public (citizens handling traffic, civil, criminal, family-law, and jury-service matters), the Legal Community (attorneys and paralegals filing cases), the Judicial Community (judges, clerks, and court administrators), and Media.

The branch's core technology infrastructure is the eCourts platform, built on Tyler Technologies' Odyssey case management software, which underpins statewide electronic filing, court records search, online payments, and remote public access. The platform is delivered through integrated modules: the Search Portal (portal-nc.tylertech.cloud), File & Serve (efilenc.tylertech.cloud) for attorney eFiling, Guide & File for self-represented litigants, the Appellate Court Filing System, Business Court Submissions, the award-winning Domestic Violence eFiling System (now in 16 counties), and the Case Statistics Dashboard. A May 2026 milestone of 10 million cumulative eFilings and the April 2024 Track 4 expansion to 10 counties (Alamance, Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Granville, Guilford, Orange, Person, Vance, and Warren) demonstrate the platform's scale. The branch was recognized in 2025 with the NC Tech "Public Leader of the Year" award (Chief Justice Paul Newby), the NC Tech "Public Sector CIO of the Year" award (Anthony Whitmore), and in 2026 with the national Isabella Award for guardianship and probate law.

As a state government entity, the North Carolina Judicial Branch is funded primarily through state appropriations rather than private investment. Transaction-fee revenue is generated through $175 expunction filing fees, $0.25 per-page public-records copy fees, traffic-citation payments, and a Remote Public Access licensing program for court-records data extracts. Grant inflows have supported specific programs — notably a three-year U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women grant that funded the Domestic Violence eFiling rollout. Distribution runs through 100 county courthouses complemented by 24/7 self-serve digital channels and a multi-language support program spanning Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Marketing and civic engagement are delivered through the "All Things Judicial" podcast, the Celebration 250 campaign, a Speakers Bureau for civics education, and social media accounts on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Name

North Carolina Judicial Branch

Legal name

North Carolina Judicial Branch

Website

https://nccourts.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

1819

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

The North Carolina Judicial Branch is the constitutional judicial branch of North Carolina state government, operating a unified court system across 100 counties. It delivers electronic filing, case management, records access, and payments via the eCourts platform (Tyler Technologies Odyssey) to citizens, attorneys, and judges.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Raleigh

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Court Fees and Filing Fees: Fees charged for court filings, document copies, and various court services. Government appropriation-funded court system providing public services.
2. Expunction Filing Fees: $175 filing fee for expunction petitions to remove criminal records. Some expunctions exempt from fees.
3. Public Records Copy Fees: $0.25 per page for copies of public records. Higher fees may apply for unusual requests requiring extensive IT resources.
4. Traffic Citation Payments: Court costs and fines collected from traffic violations, including waivable offenses processed online.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The North Carolina Judicial Branch administers the unified state court system, providing judicial services across 100 counties through the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Court, District Court, Business Court, and Recovery Courts. It operates the eCourts statewide case management and electronic filing platform, enabling online court records search, eFiling, Guide & File self-help services, traffic citation payments, and remote public access.

Product overview

The North Carolina Judicial Branch operates eCourts, a Tyler Tech-powered statewide case management platform that serves as the core infrastructure for the state's court system. The platform is offered through multiple integrated modules: the Search Portal for court records and payments, File & Serve for attorney eFiling, Guide & File for self-represented litigants, and specialized portals for Appellate Court Filing and Business Court Submissions. Additional services include the eCourts Civil Domestic Violence eFiling System for protective orders, the Case Statistics Dashboard for public data access, the All Things Judicial Podcast for public education, Remote Public Access licensing for court record data extracts, multi-language support services, and a Public Records Request system. The branch's courts include Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Court, District Court, Business Court, and Recovery Courts, spanning all 100 counties.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• eCourts Platform Statewide digital case management platform enabling electronic filing, court records search, online payments, and remote court access across North Carolina's judicial system. Built on Tyler Technologies Odyssey software and serves all 100 counties.
• Search Portal

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 million electronic filings processed
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Library of North CarolinacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2026New partnership with the Library of North Carolina announced in May 2026, expanding access to justice services through library locations statewide.
• Compass Center for Women and FamiliescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 April 2019Orange County court officials partnered with Compass Center for Women and Families to launch the eCourts Civil Domestic Violence System. The domestic violence service agency provides filing assistance and comprehensive support services including safety planning, housing, and childcare while victims file protective orders electronically from secure remote locations.
• Tyler TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnology provider for eCourts platform, Portal, File & Serve, and Guide & File systems. Operates portal-nc.tylertech.cloud and efilenc.tylertech.cloud platforms for case management and electronic filing statewide.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• Thomson Reuters: Provides legal information, court records aggregation, and analytics products that overlap with public court data access services. Comparable as a legal data and analytics provider adjacent to the Branch's Remote Public Access Program.
• Tyler Technologies: Primary technology vendor providing the Odyssey-based eCourts platform, Portal, File & Serve, Guide & File, and Business Court submissions for the North Carolina Judicial Branch. Comparable as the underlying infrastructure provider and as a peer serving many other state court systems with the same product line.
• National Center for State Courts: Non-profit that supports all U.S. state court systems with research, consulting, and technology guidance. Comparable as an ecosystem partner and thought leader influencing judicial branch modernization, including North Carolina's.
• LexisNexis: Aggregates court records and provides legal research and analytics. Comparable as a downstream consumer and redistributor of court record data, overlapping with the Branch's Remote Public Access Program.

Direct peers

• New York State Unified Court System: Operates the statewide court system for New York, including electronic filing (NYSCEF) and a public case search portal. Comparable as a state-level unified judiciary with similarly broad geographic reach and a digital modernization mandate.
• Florida State Courts System: Florida's statewide court administrative body manages trial and appellate courts and operates the e-Filing Portal. Comparable as a state judicial branch pursuing electronic filing and statewide case management at similar scale.
• Georgia Judicial Branch: Statewide court system operating under the Administrative Office of the Courts with electronic filing and case management programs. Comparable as a state court administrative body managing unified digital services.
• California Courts: Administrative arm of California's Judicial Branch providing statewide policy, technology, and case management support. Comparable in scope and modernization priorities, including electronic filing and self-help services.
• Texas Judicial Branch: Texas state court system operating a comparable unified judicial branch across many counties, with its own eFiling infrastructure and case management systems. Direct parallel in scale, function, and modernization roadmap to the North Carolina Judicial Branch.

Broad incumbents

• Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (PACER): Federal judiciary's administrative arm operating PACER for electronic public access to federal court records. Comparable in function as a government court administrator providing electronic access, though operating at the federal rather than state level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NCCourts
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@NorthCarolinaCourts
• Facebookfacebook.com/NCcourts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-carolina-administrative-office-of-the-courts

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North Carolina Judicial Branch