North Carolina Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in North Carolina, with full citations and the original source on every page.
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Are leases of buildings on the North Carolina State Fair grounds, including year-round leases to flea-market vendors, exempt from the statutory ban on government competition with private enterprise (G.S. 66-58), or does the exemption apply only during the nine-day October fair?
Year-round exempt. The 1983 AG concluded that 'The North Carolina State Fair' in G.S. 66-58(b)(12) refers to the year-round operation of the State Fair, not just the nine-day October event. The conclu…
After the U.S. Supreme Court's Lehr v. Robertson decision in 1983, do North Carolina adoption courts and child-placing agencies still have to notify a child's biological father of adoption or termination-of-parental-rights proceedings when the parents were not married?
Yes, in every case, regardless of Lehr. The 1983 amendment to G.S. 48-6(a)(3) added an explicit statutory requirement: a court can dispense with a putative father's consent only after giving him notic…
In a North Carolina nonpartisan town or city election, can a candidate drop out after the filing deadline has passed and have their name taken off the ballot?
Yes, if there is still time to reprint the ballots before election day. If the candidate withdraws before the ballots are printed, the name should not appear at all. If withdrawal happens after the ba…
Can a North Carolina life care center receive a certificate of need to add nursing home beds, even though the 1983 session law has a cross-reference to a subsection that doesn't quite fit, suggesting the legislature may not have meant to include life care centers?
Yes. The 1983 AG concluded that the reference in section 1 of Chapter 920 to 'section 31(f)' was a clerical mistake. The reference should be read as a reference to section 31 (which does authorize lif…
Does a Superior Court or Appellate Court judge who took the bench before January 1, 1974 but retired after that date get later increases to keep his retirement at two-thirds of the current salary paid to the office he left?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that the Uniform Judicial Retirement System protected the initial retirement allowance for pre-1974 judges by using the higher of the old (Chapter 7A) or new (Chapter 135) ca…
Did North Carolina have to provide a free public education to children with disabilities through age 21, the same as for nondisabled students, even though the special-needs definition statute only mentioned ages 5-18?
Yes. The AG concluded that the State's obligation to children with disabilities extended through graduation or age 21, the same as for other students. The narrower age range in the special-needs defin…
In North Carolina, does a company that builds commercial billboards for lease to advertisers need a Building Code permit before putting one up?
Yes. Commercial billboards (permanent outdoor advertising displays) are governed by Chapter XXIII of Volume 1 of the State Building Code, which requires a permit from the Building Official before any …
Can a retired North Carolina state employee participate in the state employee suggestion system and collect cash awards for cost-saving ideas submitted after retirement?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that G.S. 143-340(1) limits participation in the state employee suggestion system to current state employees. The statute speaks of 'state employees' suggestions' and 'employ…
If a North Carolina truck has four axles total but only three of them are touching the road (one lift axle is raised), does it count as a four-axle truck for the higher gross-weight limit, or as a three-axle truck capped at 47,500 pounds?
Three. The 1983 AG concluded that the legislative intent behind G.S. 20-118 was that the higher four-axle weight limit (64,000 pounds) applies only when the axles are actually load-bearing. A truck wi…
When can a North Carolina National Guard member start drawing the state pension under G.S. 127A-40, and which kinds of separation, federal-technician status, or other federal-pension status disqualify the member?
Only after separation. The 1983 AG concluded that the G.S. 127A-40 pension is payable only after the member meets the age and service requirements AND has been honorably discharged and separated from …
In North Carolina, can a county board of commissioners get around the two-consecutive-term limit on county social services board members by appointing each of two sitting members to serve the 'unexpired term' of the other?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that the swap maneuver does not work. G.S. 108A-6 allows a vacancy-fill appointment to not count as a term, but a swap between two sitting members does not produce any vacanc…
Can the president of a North Carolina telephone membership corporation also serve as a member of the state Rural Electrification Authority, or does that combination violate the state's dual-office-holding rule or its conflict-of-interest statute?
Yes, both seats. The 1983 AG concluded that simultaneously serving as president of a telephone membership corporation's board and as a member of the Rural Electrification Authority is not prohibited d…
If a North Carolina professional house mover's $350,000 comprehensive general liability policy carries a rider excluding the act of moving a building, does the policy still satisfy the licensing requirements of G.S. 20-359.1?
No. The 1983 AG concluded that a CGL policy whose rider excludes liability arising during the movement of a building or structure fails to meet G.S. 20-359.1's licensing requirement. The exclusion gut…
When a sheriff's drug raid seizes cash that nobody at the scene will claim, and the cash never gets used as evidence at trial, who eventually gets the money — the county school board, or the state escheat fund?
The county school board. The AG concluded that NC's specific statute on law-enforcement-seized property (Article 2 of Chapter 15) controls over the general escheat statute (G.S. § 116B-19), even thoug…
When a North Carolina precious-metals dealer is required to hold a purchased item for five days before sale or melting under G.S. § 66-170, exactly how do you count those five days, and does the count include or exclude weekends and holidays?
The five-day hold is counted under Rule 6(a) of the Rules of Civil Procedure. You exclude the day of purchase, exclude intermediate Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays (because the period is under …
Does a self-propelled golf cart driven on a North Carolina public highway require a license, liability insurance, and a safety inspection?
Yes to all three. The AG concluded a self-propelled golf cart used on the public highway was a 'motor vehicle' under G.S. 20-4.01(23). The driver needed at least a Class C license, the cart had to mee…
When a North Carolina court or county DSS sends a child to live with the child's parent, grandparent, or other relative who lives in another state, does the Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children apply, or is this kind of relative placement exempt?
The Compact applies. The AG concluded that when a NC court, government agency, or child-placing agency arranges to send a NC child to live with a parent, relative, or guardian in another party state, …
Who regulates septic systems in North Carolina after the 1981 Ground Absorption Sewage Act, and what happens to permits issued before the transition? Can a local health board write its own septic rules?
DHR (now DHHS) generally controls. Local boards of health that want their own septic rules normally need DHR approval, but they can adopt stricter rules without approval if local conditions justify it…
Can the North Carolina Attorney General's Office act on behalf of counties under the Set-off Debt Collection Act to collect judgments against social services recipients?
No. The AG concluded N.C.G.S. § 105A-2(1)h made the Attorney General's Office a 'claimant agency' only for State agencies whose claims had been reduced to judgment. Counties were defined as claimant a…
Can a coastal North Carolina county like New Hanover regulate where floating homes can be located, how dense they can be, and how they can be built when those homes sit on public waters that border the county's shoreline?
Yes. The AG concluded that New Hanover County has authority under both its general zoning power (G.S. § 153A-340) and its land use plan under the Coastal Area Management Act to regulate floating homes…
Is a North Carolina restaurant's parking lot a 'public vehicular area' for purposes of the Motor Vehicle Code when the restaurant is closed for the night?
Yes. The AG concluded G.S. 20-4.01(32)'s 'public vehicular area' definition covers a restaurant parking lot whether the restaurant is open or closed. The statute does not condition coverage on whether…
When North Carolina paused new rest-home licensing in 1982 to slow the growth of institutional elder care, did that moratorium also block existing rest homes from getting relicensed when they changed owners or administrators?
No. The AG concluded that the moratorium's 'initial licensure' restriction applied only to new facilities or new beds, not to changes of ownership or administrator at an already-licensed facility. The…
Do North Carolina vocational-education instructors need a general contractor's license to supervise student construction of residential dwellings as a classroom project on school board property?
No. The AG concluded G.S. 87-1's general-contractor licensing requirement does not apply to vocational instructors supervising student-built residential dwellings on local school board property. G.S. …
After North Carolina rewrote its alcoholic beverage laws in 1981, could the ABC Commission issue on-premises wine permits to Gastonia restaurants and hotels even though Gastonia voters had previously voted for ABC stores only (no on-premises wine)?
Yes. The AG concluded that the 1981 rewrite of NC's ABC laws (Chapter 412) preempted prior local-option election results that had limited wine sales in ABC-store jurisdictions. Under new G.S. 18B-603(…
May a North Carolina county adopt an ordinance regulating the method of trapping wildlife?
No. The AG concluded the General Assembly had preempted the entire field of wildlife regulation in G.S. 113-133.1, leaving only ordinances with 'minor and incidental' impact (such as a no-firearm-disc…
Did the 1981 amendment to North Carolina's interest-on-judgments statute, G.S. 24-5, allow clerks to assess interest on costs?
No. The AG concluded the 1981 amendment to G.S. 24-5 (Session Laws 1981, c. 327) was aimed at changing the accrual period for interest on compensatory damages in tort actions covered by liability insu…
If a North Carolina business holds a federal firearms license and brings handguns into inventory for resale, does the business also need a sheriff's permit for each handgun, and what happens when a pawn shop owner pulls a handgun out of inventory for personal use?
No sheriff's permit is required to bring a handgun into a federally licensed dealer's or pawn shop's resale inventory. But once a handgun is removed from inventory and converted to the dealer's or paw…
When can a North Carolina sheriff deny a permit to possess a machine gun for scientific or experimental purposes, and does federal firearms registration override the state permit requirement?
The AG concluded a sheriff had wide discretion under G.S. 14-409. The sheriff had to satisfy himself the applicant fit within the statute's scientific-or-experimental exception and complied with any c…
Does the 1981 dual-compensation rule in G.S. 135-72 cut off Uniform Judicial Retirement System benefits for North Carolina judges who had already retired and started serving as federal judges before the statute's October 9, 1981 effective date?
No. The AG concluded G.S. 135-72 (enacted by Chapter 978 of the 1981 Session Laws) used the future-oriented phrases 'members who are appointed' and 'should a retired former member be appointed,' which…
Can a North Carolina nonprofit raffle off a house or other real estate, and if so, who has to be licensed (the organization, the ticket sellers, real estate brokers), and is there a cap on how valuable the property can be?
Yes, an exempt nonprofit may raffle real estate. The $500 prize cap in G.S. § 14-292.1(g) covers cash raffle prizes only, leaving no statutory cap on real estate prize value. The exempt organization's…
When Congress changed federal depreciation rules in August 1981 to apply retroactively to property placed in service after December 31, 1980, did NC corporations get to use those faster federal write-offs for state income tax purposes too, given that NC's corporate tax statute cross-referenced the Internal Revenue Code 'in effect on January 1, 1981'?
Yes. The AG concluded that the federal Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981's accelerated depreciation rules flowed through to NC corporate income tax for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1…
Can a North Carolina court order a criminal defendant to take psychotropic medication against his will, when the medication is needed to make him competent to stand trial and he is refusing it?
Yes, under limited conditions. The AG concluded that a NC court can order involuntary administration of psychotropic medication if a psychiatrist testifies directly that the medication is likely to re…
Can a city police officer tow a car off a private restaurant's parking lot just because the restaurant owner asks, and does the city police department have any duty to arrest people loitering on that private lot?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that the police should not tow a vehicle from private property unless the owner first puts the request in writing and assumes responsibility for damages. And police…
If a retired North Carolina district or superior court judge bought back his military service time within the Uniform Judicial Retirement System, does that purchased military service count toward the 15 years of creditable service required to be commissioned as an emergency judge?
Yes. The AG concluded that purchased military service in the Uniform Judicial Retirement System is creditable service for purposes of the 15-year requirement to serve as an emergency judge under G.S. …
Once a North Carolina felon is fully released from probation, parole, and the Department of Correction, can he legally possess a handgun outside his home or business right away, and does a Governor's Pardon of Forgiveness give him his full firearms rights back?
No on both counts. The AG concluded that, after the 1975 repeal of the restoration-of-citizenship exception, a NC felon cannot possess a handgun or weapon of mass destruction outside his home or busin…
If a North Carolina district court judge was serving as a non-attorney judge on January 1, 1981, when a new constitutional amendment required judges to be licensed attorneys, can that judge later sit out a term and then run again, or does taking a break end the grandfather protection?
The judge can run again. AG Rufus L. Edmisten concluded that Article IV, Section 22 of the NC Constitution creates a permanent grandfather clause for any person who was elected or serving as a judge o…
When a child gets a dental exam or dental treatment under North Carolina's Medicaid EPSDT program (Early Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment), do the regular Medicaid prior-approval rules and copayment rules apply, or are EPSDT dental services treated separately?
EPSDT dental services are separate and are not subject to prior approval or copayment. The AG concluded that the 1979-81 Appropriations Act's prior-approval requirement for 'dental services' applied o…
If someone in North Carolina got welfare benefits by lying on the application and then files for bankruptcy, does the bankruptcy wipe out the county's claim to be paid back, or does the county still have a route to recover the money?
The county can still recover, if the county DSS properly presents its claim in the bankruptcy. A debt for public assistance obtained by fraud, false representation, or a materially false written finan…
Can a North Carolina city deny a special use permit for a bingo establishment to a for-profit corporation whose prizes exceed ten dollars per game?
Yes. The AG concluded a Goldsboro city ordinance conditioned on compliance with the Bingo and Raffles law could be enforced to deny a permit. G.S. 14-292.1 limits regular bingo to tax-exempt organizat…
Do the administrative and investigative assistants a district attorney can hire under G.S. 7A-68 and 7A-69 have to take an oath of office, or are they just employees?
No oath required by default. The 1981 AG concluded that these positions, as defined by the statutes, do not involve the exercise of sovereign State power, so they are employees and not public officers…
When North Carolina's Child Support Enforcement statute says 'the county attorney or an attorney retained by the county and/or State shall represent the State in all proceedings brought under this section' (G.S. 110-135), does that requirement reach only debt-collection actions under 110-135, or also subrogation actions under 110-137?
Both. The 1981 AG concluded that G.S. 110-135's last sentence requires representation by a county or retained attorney in all State-instituted child support enforcement proceedings, whether the action…
When a fugitive in North Carolina waives extradition and agrees to return to the demanding state, can he post bond and walk out while waiting for officers from that state to come pick him up, or must he stay locked up until they arrive?
Must stay locked up. The 1980 AG concluded that the Uniform Criminal Extradition Act allows bail at one stage only (between arrest as a fugitive and issuance of the Governor's warrant). After arrest o…
Can a member of the Uniform Judicial Retirement System whose only prior service was as a Superior or Appellate Court judge retire from the bench before January 1984 and then later buy military service credit?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the purchase right under G.S. 135-4(f)(6) requires ten years of 'membership service,' which for judges means service as a judge while a member of the system. The Uniform…
In a county health department's venereal disease clinic with no physician on site, can a registered nurse give gonorrhea treatment (penicillin, tetracycline if allergic, spectinomycin if pregnant) under written standing orders from a physician?
Yes. The 1980 AG concluded the protocol was valid: confirmation of a positive culture or contact status is not a diagnosis the nurse makes, and the physician who wrote the standing orders pre-selected…
In North Carolina, can a Chief Medical Examiner refuse to release a body to the surviving spouse or closest relative because that person is a suspect in the death?
No. Even when the spouse or next of kin is under suspicion, has been arrested, or has been indicted, the Medical Examiner must release the body for burial once examiner duties are complete. The Chapte…
Do North Carolina foster parents who have cared for a child for two or more years have legal standing to file a petition to terminate the biological parents' rights, even if the foster parents are working as agents of the county Department of Social Services that placed the child with them?
Yes. The AG concluded that under G.S. § 7A-289.24(5), any person (including a foster parent) with whom a child has continuously resided for two or more years before the petition has standing to bring …
In North Carolina, can someone other than a licensed physician legally pronounce a person dead?
No, as a matter of medical-practice law: determining whether a person is dead is part of the practice of medicine and must be done by a licensed physician applying ordinary and accepted standards. But…
If a North Carolina defendant on probation falls behind on court-ordered restitution and then files Chapter 13 bankruptcy, does the automatic stay or the eventual discharge prevent the Superior Court from arresting him for violating probation?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the defendant-probationer may be jailed. The bankruptcy automatic stay expressly does not apply to criminal proceedings (11 U.S.C. § 362(b)(1)). Restitution ordered as a…
Can a volunteer citizen group, even one sanctioned by the Chief District Court Judge to advise the Juvenile Court on custody review, see the confidential protective service case files DSS keeps on children in foster care?
No, unless the group's review is specifically authorized by Social Services Commission or DHR rules as 'directly connected with the administration of public assistance programs.' The 1980 AG concluded…
When a Mecklenburg County partition proceeding's clerk-issued interim ruling on commissioner fees is appealed to Superior Court, does the Superior Court take over the whole case, or does the case go back to the clerk after the judge rules on the appealed issue?
The Superior Court may keep the case. G.S. 1-276 lets the judge 'hear and determine all matters in controversy' in any civil action or special proceeding that comes up from the clerk, or remand to the…
If a North Carolina parent voluntarily admits their child to a psychiatric or mental-health treatment facility, can the parent later remove the child before the required judicial hearing happens?
No. Once the child is admitted on the parent's voluntary application, only the court or the treatment facility itself can release the child, and only when one of them determines the child does not nee…
If a North Carolina county can't pay its share of Medicaid because the legislature suddenly raised the county percentage, can the county borrow money from the State Public Assistance Contingency Fund without holding a referendum?
Yes, but only if the Governor formally declares in writing that the situation is an emergency immediately threatening public health or safety. That route uses the Art. V, Sec. 4(2)(e) constitutional e…
If the State drops or loses a criminal prosecution, does that automatically let the court tax court costs against the prosecuting witness, and does the judge have to make written findings of fact before doing so?
No to automatic taxation; yes to required findings. The 1980 AG concluded that G.S. 6-49 only authorizes taxing costs against the prosecuting witness when the court forms the opinion that 'there was n…
If a North Carolina defendant enters a no-contest (nolo contendere) plea to a felony charge and is sentenced, does that plea by itself strip away the defendant's right to vote, the way a guilty plea or jury verdict of guilty would?
No. The AG concluded that the 1971 NC Constitution, which disqualifies only persons 'adjudged guilty of a felony,' is more specific than the pre-1971 language that disqualified anyone 'convicted, or w…
If a North Carolina driver gets convicted of DWI in a different North Carolina county than where they live and loses their license, do they have to apply for a limited driving privilege in the same level of court (superior or district) that convicted them, or can they pick whichever court is easier in their home county?
The driver has to apply to the equivalent level of court. The AG concluded that when an in-state out-of-county conviction triggers the limited driving privilege application, the driver must apply in t…
If a county or the State has appropriated less money for Aid to the Needy Blind than is needed to pay every fully qualified applicant, can DHR or the county turn applicants away because the money ran out?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the obligation to accept all duly qualified and otherwise eligible applicants is not reduced or limited by the amount appropriated. A county's failure to fund its share …
Under North Carolina's new Domestic Violence Act, if a police officer has probable cause to believe someone is violating a court protective order but the offender doesn't know the order exists, must the officer make a mandatory arrest under G.S. 50B-4(b)?
No. The 1980 AG concluded that the mandatory arrest provision should be read as requiring probable cause to believe the violation was 'willful.' Civil contempt requires willful disobedience, which req…
When North Carolina police arrest a juvenile under age 14, can the juvenile waive the right to have an attorney present during interrogation, or does the law require an attorney to be present no matter what the child says?
The juvenile under 14 can waive the right to have an attorney present. But the juvenile cannot waive the separate right to have some supporting adult, a parent, guardian, custodian, or attorney, prese…
Can a registered nurse give a refill dose of caudal anesthesia through a catheter the physician already set in place, when the physician orders the specific refill amount each time?
Yes. The 1979 AG concluded that injecting additional doses of a caudal analgesic through a catheter the physician inserted, on the physician's specific direct order each time, falls within the RN's sc…
Can the North Carolina State Auditor audit the books of hospitals and other Medicaid vendors to verify that DHR paid them correctly, and can the auditor see records that are confidential under state public-assistance law?
Yes to both. The 1979 AG concluded that G.S. 147-58(16) gives the State Auditor general authority to examine vendor books for transactions with State agencies. The confidentiality statute (G.S. 108-45…
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Attorney general opinions in North Carolina are written by the North Carolina Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.