North Carolina Background Check Guide · 2025
Banking in Charlotte, biotech in Research Triangle, healthcare at Duke or UNC, government work in Raleigh, every one of these involves a North Carolina background check, almost always pulled through the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI). The SBI runs the state's criminal history repository, and they offer a "Right to Review" process that lets you request your own record for $14.
This guide walks through how to use the Right to Review, what shows up on the SBI report, and how the 2021 expunction reforms (GS 15A-145 series) expanded eligibility to clear older convictions from your file.
North Carolina is one of the most heavily screened states in the Southeast, partly because of its banking sector, partly because of its sprawling healthcare networks, and partly because the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) makes court records broadly accessible. A self-check is the cheapest way to know exactly what shows up on both sources.
The SBI's criminal history database aggregates data from 100 counties and dozens of municipal police agencies. Common errors: cases listed as "open" long after dismissal, charges downgraded but never updated, and name-matches with similar individuals. A Right to Review catches these and the SBI has a dispute process to correct them.
An expunction order from a North Carolina superior or district court needs to make its way from the clerk to the SBI to actually remove the record from the state file. Running a self-check 30–60 days after the court grants expunction confirms the record was actually cleared statewide.
NC's banking sector, including Bank of America and Truist headquartered in Charlotte, runs FINRA-mandated background checks. Hospitals run fingerprint-based ones. Licensing boards for nursing, medicine, law, real estate, and security all do the same. Knowing what shows up beforehand is much easier than reacting to a denial.
NC's tight rental markets, particularly in Wake, Mecklenburg, and Buncombe counties, depend heavily on commercial screening reports. Errors in the underlying state data flow downstream. Fixing them at the source is the only durable solution.
Felony convictions and most misdemeanor convictions processed in North Carolina superior and district courts appear on the SBI record unless expunged. The report shows offense, court, conviction date, and sentence.
Arrest records, including arrests not leading to conviction, appear on the SBI record. Under GS 15A-146, charges that were dismissed or resulted in acquittal can be expunged.
Open and pending charges appear on the SBI record. If a case was dismissed and the disposition wasn't transmitted to the SBI, the record may still show "pending" until corrected.
Federal court records, out-of-state convictions, juvenile records (sealed by default in NC), most traffic offenses (excluding DWI), and civil cases fall outside the SBI system. A complete personal check usually combines the state report with federal and multi-state sources.
Submit a notarized Right to Review form to the SBI in Raleigh, along with a $14 money order or certified check and a set of rolled or LiveScan fingerprints from any law enforcement agency. Turnaround is 2–4 weeks. Form available at ncsbi.gov/services/background-checks/personal-review.
NC Administrative Office of the Courts provides free public access to criminal court records at every clerk of court office in the state. Visit any courthouse in person, or use the eCourts portal at nccourts.gov for participating counties. This catches case histories that may not yet be in the SBI system.
For a single report combining NC SBI data with federal courts, multi-state records, and sex offender registries, a professional service is the simplest route. Background-Check.com consolidates all of this in one report.
For nationwide coverage based on fingerprints, request an Identity History Summary directly from the FBI. Useful if you've lived or been arrested in multiple states.
North Carolina calls expungement "expunction," and the rules are spread across more than 15 separate statutes. The 2021 reforms (S.L. 2020-35) expanded eligibility substantially:
Excluded offenses include violent felonies, sex offenses, certain drug trafficking offenses, and offenses requiring sex offender registration.
Signed by Governor Cooper in March 2020, EO 158 removes criminal-history questions from initial state job applications. State agencies must wait until after the first interview or after a conditional offer to ask about criminal history. This applies only to state government, Charlotte, Asheville, Durham, and a handful of other municipalities have local rules covering private employers within city limits.
Effective in 2025, cities and counties requesting an SBI background check on a job applicant must follow specific procedures and notice requirements, in line with EEOC individualized-assessment guidance.
Third-party background checks in North Carolina are governed by the FCRA: written consent required, pre-adverse-action notice required, right to dispute errors, and 7-year cap on non-conviction reporting.
The NCEEPA does not specifically protect criminal history, but the NC Department of Labor follows EEOC individualized-assessment guidance for employer use of conviction records.
For $14 and a notarized form, the answer is yes, particularly if you have any older conviction that might now be eligible for expunction under the 2021 reforms, any arrest you're not sure was closed, or an expunction you've never verified at the state level. The SBI Right to Review is the cheapest insurance you can buy against an unexpected hiring or licensing denial.
For a comprehensive personal report combining NC SBI data with federal records, sex offender registries, and out-of-state convictions, run a multi-source check through Background-Check.com.
The official route is the SBI Right to Review, a fingerprint-based state criminal history check costing $14. For free court-record searches, use the NC Courts public access terminals at any clerk of court office or the eCourts online portal. For broader coverage, request an FBI Identity History Summary or use a professional multi-state service.
North Carolina has no state cap on conviction reporting. The federal FCRA caps non-conviction records (arrests not leading to conviction) at 7 years on third-party employment reports. Expunged records are removed entirely.
Records expunged under the GS 15A-145 series should be removed from the SBI database and should not appear on FCRA-compliant employer background reports. Because NC expunctions aren't automatic, verify yours was processed by running a Right to Review after the court order.
SBI Right to Review (fingerprint-based): $14. NC Courts public access: free. FBI Identity History Summary: $18. Professional comprehensive multi-state checks: $20 to $80.
Yes, when they use a third-party background check company, the federal FCRA requires written authorization. State agencies covered by EO 158 cannot ask about criminal history on the initial application. You always have the right to see any report used in a hiring decision and dispute inaccuracies.