NC · rules
N.C. Gen. R. Prac. Super. & Dist. Ct. 5.1
Filing of Pleadings and Other Documents in Counties without Odyssey
(a) Scope. This rule applies only in those counties that have not yet
implemented Odyssey, the Judicial Branch’s new electronic-filing and
case-management system. In a county with Odyssey, a person must proceed under
Rule 5 of these rules.
(b) Electronic Filing. Electronic filing is available only in (i) cases that
are either designated “complex business” or assigned to a Business Court judge under
Rule 2.1 of these rules and (ii) cases subject to the legacy North Carolina eFiling Pilot
Project. The procedure for filing documents electronically in those cases is governed
by the North Carolina Business Court Rules and by the Supplemental Rules of
Practice and Procedure for the North Carolina eFiling Pilot Project, respectively.
In all other cases, only paper filing is available.
(c) Paper Filing. Documents filed in paper with the court should be
unfolded and firmly bound with no manuscript cover. They must be letter size
(8 ½" x 11"), except for wills and exhibits. The clerk of superior court may require a
party to refile a document that does not conform to these requirements.
In civil actions, special proceedings, and estates, documents filed in paper with
the court must include a cover sheet that summarizes the critical elements of the
document in a format that the Administrative Office of the Courts prescribes.
The clerk of superior court may not reject the filing of a document that does not
include a cover sheet. Instead, the clerk must file the document, notify the party of
the omission, and grant the party no more than five days to file the cover sheet.
Other than dismissing the case, the court should not act on the document before the
cover sheet is filed.
A document filed in paper is filed when it is file-stamped by the clerk of
superior court or by another judicial official who is authorized by law to accept the
document.
History
Comment The North Carolina Judicial Branch Rule 5 of the General Rules of Practice is implementing Odyssey, a statewide defines filing in those counties with Odyssey. electronic-filing and case-management system. Rule 5.1 defines filing in those counties without The system will be made available across the Odyssey. state in phases. Subsection (b) of Rule 5.1 lists those contexts Carolina Business Court Rules, and the in which electronic filing exists in the counties Supplemental Rules of Practice and Procedure for without Odyssey. the North Carolina eFiling Pilot Project to undergo change. As Odyssey is implemented, litigants should expect the General Rules of Practice, the North History Note. 377 N.C. 736; 384 N.C. 692.
Provenance
- Source
- ncleg.gov; ncbar.gov; nccourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-09-17
- Edition
- 2026-09-17
- Content hash
d5eee70a24946175a60a12fd66c972cbbc5a843e85258c6be02234c4743d0932
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