Search New Hanover County Court Records
The first online stop for New Hanover County court records is the North Carolina eCourts Portal. Smart Search is used for public case information, Search Hearings is used for court dates, Make Payments handles eligible payment lookup, and NC Judgment Search supports judgment searches. New Hanover County has used eCourts since February 3, 2025. The Portal requires JavaScript and cookies, and public users may need to complete a CAPTCHA during repeated searches.
Online access is broad, but it is not the full courthouse file. Anonymous Portal views may show case number, party names, filing date, case status, case type, hearings, courtrooms, judicial officer, events, and documents where public. Public terminals and paper files at the Clerk of Superior Court may provide more detail. Certified copies must be requested through the clerk, not downloaded from a search result.
The NC Judicial Branch court-records help topic explains public terminals, copy requests, case files, and criminal background check channels.
The help topic is useful when a New Hanover County court records search reaches the point where an online result is not enough.
- Open Portal Smart Search and choose a search by record number, case number, party name, or business name.
- Use New Hanover County as the location filter when a statewide search returns too many results.
- Apply case type, case status, filing date, date of birth, or business-name filters when available.
- Open the matching case result and review parties, events, hearings, disposition, and public documents.
- Contact the Clerk of Superior Court for certified copies, complete paper files, or records that are not displayed online.
New Hanover County Court Records Fields
Smart Search accepts a record number or a name in Last, First Middle Suffix format. Wildcard rules matter. For wildcard case-number searches, use at least four characters. For business names or nicknames, use at least four characters followed by an asterisk. For a name wildcard, the last name needs at least three characters plus an asterisk, and the first name needs at least one character plus an asterisk.
The official Portal training page describes public access, registration, elevated access, payments, Judgment Search, and Portal limits.
Portal training is most helpful when a New Hanover County court records search requires saved cases, user registration, or elevated access rules.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes / Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enter a Record Number or Name | Text | Yes if used | Use case number, record number, or Last, First Middle Suffix format. |
| Last Name | Text | Yes for name search | At least three characters plus asterisk for wildcard searching. |
| First Name | Text | Yes for name search | At least one character plus asterisk for wildcard searching. |
| Filter by Location | Dropdown | No | All Locations or a county list including New Hanover County. |
| Filter by Search Type | Dropdown | No | Party Name, Nickname, Business Name, or Sounds Like. |
| Date of Birth From / To | Date | No | Advanced party search filter. |
| Case Type / Case Status | Dropdown | No | Advanced case search filters. |
| File Date Start / End | Date | No | Useful for limiting broad New Hanover County court records results. |
Types of New Hanover County Court Records
New Hanover County court records come from Superior Court, District Court, magistrate proceedings, the Clerk of Superior Court, and estate or special proceeding functions. Civil records can include complaints, answers, motions, notices, orders, judgments, settlements, dismissals, and docket entries. Criminal court records can include charges, warrants, summonses, indictments, bond orders, pleas, motions, judgments, sentence terms, restitution, probation conditions, and appeal entries.
Family and domestic records include divorce, custody, child support, equitable distribution, domestic violence protective orders, and related District Court matters. Probate records are handled by the Clerk of Superior Court Estates Division and can include wills, applications, inventories, letters, accountings, guardianship filings, and special proceedings. Traffic records include citation number, defendant, alleged offense, statute, court date, waiver eligibility, plea, disposition, fines, costs, and failure-to-appear entries.
- Superior Court records: felony cases, larger civil cases, and District Court appeals.
- District Court records: misdemeanors, infractions, family cases, traffic cases, and lower civil matters.
- Magistrate records: small claims, evictions, initial appearances, bond settings, and criminal process.
- Clerk records: filings, case files, judgments, estate matters, copies, and public terminal access.
- Register of Deeds records: marriage licenses and recorded documents, not divorce judgments or court case files.
What New Hanover County Court Records Show
A public search result is usually a case index and docket summary rather than every document in the file. New Hanover County court records may show the case number, party names, business names, file date, case type, case status, court location, hearing date and time, courtroom, judicial officer, docket events, financial obligations, and disposition. Public terminals and clerk files may include more complete filings or orders when access is allowed.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The unique court file identifier, such as a criminal, civil, traffic, or special proceeding number. |
| Filing Date | The date the case or initiating document was filed with the court. |
| Parties | Names of plaintiffs, defendants, petitioners, respondents, businesses, or other listed parties. |
| Case Type | The broad category, such as criminal, civil, family, probate, traffic, or judgment. |
| Hearing Details | Date, courtroom, hearing type, judicial officer, and location if available in Search Hearings. |
| Docket Events | Chronological entries for filings, motions, orders, hearings, continuances, pleas, or judgments. |
| Disposition | The outcome of a charge, claim, motion, or case when the court has entered one. |
Payment lookup can also expose case or citation search fields. The Portal Make Payments interface supports citation, case, party, business, and driver-license searches for eligible obligations.
Payment search is a related access channel, but it should not be treated as a complete New Hanover County court records index.
New Hanover County Court Records Access
Access channels include Portal Smart Search, Portal Search Hearings, Portal Make Payments, public terminals, paper files, phone contact, mail contact, and the Remote Public Access Program. The Clerk of Superior Court is the local custodian for case files in New Hanover County. NCAOC public-records requests are for Administrative Office of the Courts agency records, not local court documents or local case information.
The Remote Public Access Program is a separate licensed option for real-time or bulk court data access under state authority.
Remote Public Access is not the same as casual public case lookup, and it does not replace local clerk copy requests.
Clerk of Superior Court
New Hanover County Courthouse
316 Princess St
Wilmington, NC 28401
910-772-6600
Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM-5:00 PM
Mailing Address
New Hanover County Courthouse
PO Box 2023
Wilmington, NC 28402
Use money order or certified check for eligible mailed payments.
New Hanover County Court Records Law
North Carolina public-records law starts with G.S. 132-1, which defines public records broadly as materials made or received in connection with public business. G.S. 132-6 covers inspection and copying duties, and G.S. 132-6.2 addresses copy media and fees. Court-specific access also depends on clerk record rules, case type, privacy laws, and sealing orders.
County general records requests use NextRequest, but the county information-request page states that NextRequest does not process court, marriage, divorce, property, or background-check records. New Hanover County court records go to the Clerk of Superior Court. Marriage records go to the Register of Deeds. Sheriff records, jail data, and P2C information use sheriff channels.
Note: Local court files should be requested from the Clerk of Superior Court, not the county general records portal.
Restricted New Hanover County Court Records
Not all New Hanover County court records are public. Juvenile records are generally confidential under Chapter 7B. Sealed and expunged criminal records should not appear in public Portal or public clerk searches. Adoption files, mental-health proceedings, protected personal identifiers, financial account numbers, minor identifiers, and some safety-sensitive protective-order material can be withheld, sealed, or redacted.
Law-enforcement investigative material is different from a court case file. G.S. 132-1.4 limits access to criminal-investigation and criminal-intelligence records, even though certain arrest and incident information may be released. Expunction rules, including G.S. 15A-146 for dismissed or not-guilty charges, can clear eligible public entries after a court order.
Restricted status can also explain a mismatch between an online search and a courthouse file. A case may exist but show fewer fields because a juvenile, adoption, mental-health, sealed, or expunged record rule applies. A document may be public in part but have protected identifiers removed. If a record is needed for legal use, the safer route is to ask the Clerk of Superior Court which file parts may be inspected and whether a certified copy can be issued.
Case type also controls the best fallback. Divorce judgments, traffic judgments, criminal dispositions, civil orders, and estate records are court records held through the Clerk of Superior Court. Marriage licenses, certified marriage copies, and recorded instruments belong with the Register of Deeds. Current jail custody and booking charges come from the Sheriff's Office and P2C. Federal cases in Wilmington use federal court systems, not the New Hanover County court records portal.
For older or unclear files, searchers should keep the courthouse geography in mind. The current state courthouse is on Princess Street, while the Historic Courthouse, Register of Deeds, Sheriff's Office, and federal buildings serve different records.