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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Can a North Carolina probation officer throw a probationer into jail for up to 30 days for minor or technical violations, based on a special condition the sentencing judge wrote into the probation order?
No. The NC Department of Correction asked whether a sentencing judge could write a special probation condition that gave the probation officer up to 30 days of unilateral incarceration authority for t…
Do the county Site Designation Review Committees, created under G.S. § 104G-19 to advise county boards on a planned low-level radioactive waste disposal facility, have authority to enter privately-owned land for site-characterization monitoring under G.S. § 143B-285.14 or any other statute, without the landowner's consent?
No. The 1992 AG concluded that G.S. § 143B-285.14 authorizes DEHNR, the NC Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Authority, and their direct agents/contractors (including the prospective license appl…
When an insurance company denies pre-authorization for a treatment a North Carolina doctor recommends, is the company practicing medicine without a license?
No. The North Carolina Board of Medical Examiners asked whether utilization review and pre-certification by third-party payors counted as the practice of medicine. The AG said no. The statute defines …
Which agency controls bidding for grass mowing along North Carolina public highways: the Department of Administration under G.S. 143-49(3), or the Department of Transportation under G.S. 136-28.1(f)?
The Department of Administration. The AG concluded grass mowing on highway rights of way is maintenance, not 'professional or specialized services necessary in connection with highway construction or …
If a North Carolina landlord uses 'service by posting' on the door of a rental and the tenant does not show up, can the magistrate award the landlord both possession and back rent in the same default order?
No. A small-claims magistrate cannot enter a money judgment for back rent and damages when service was made under the posting method of § 42-29. Service by posting (mail plus phone attempt plus an in-…
What lights and reflectors are required on a North Carolina farm trailer used on public roads?
Every farm trailer operated on a North Carolina highway must have a stop lamp activated by the towing vehicle's foot brake. Beyond that, the requirements depend on weight, registration status, time of…
If a check-cashing company takes a customer's check that both know is currently no good, gives the customer cash minus a fee, and agrees to hold the check until the customer's account has money, is that a regulated loan, and can the company be criminally prosecuted under North Carolina's Consumer Finance Act and bad-check laws?
Yes. A deferred-presentment check-cashing transaction is in essence a small-dollar loan. If the loan amount is $10,000 or less and the fees exceed Chapter 24 interest caps, the company is making consu…
When a North Carolina home health agency takes state Home Health Services money, does it have to open its books to the State Auditor?
Yes. Private home health agencies that received Home Health Services (HHS) funds from the Division of Adult Health were subject to the audit requirements of N.C.G.S. § 143-6.1, despite the program's f…
On a North Carolina public construction project, who has to do the work of finding and using minority businesses: the contractor, the city or county, or both?
On all public construction contracts subject to N.C.G.S. § 143-128, both the State and any city, county, or other public body had a verifiable percentage goal for minority business participation. Unde…
Can a member of the public ask the North Carolina Board for Licensing of Geologists to hand over an applicant's test score?
No. The Board's records of its proceedings and its register of licensees are public records open under N.C.G.S. § 132-6. But individual test scores, applications, and supporting materials like referen…
Could the North Carolina General Assembly give a legislative oversight commission the power to indefinitely delay the effective date of any agency rule it considered to exceed statutory authority?
No. The President Pro Tempore asked the AG to review two draft bills that would have given the Administrative Rules Review Commission (a body appointed by the General Assembly) authority to indefinite…
In North Carolina, can a small-loan company sell other things (like motor-club memberships or non-credit insurance) at the same office as its loans, and can it keep the commissions?
The Commissioner of Banks can let a consumer finance licensee run another business on the same premises as its small-loan office. But that licensee cannot benefit, directly or indirectly, from any cha…
If an occupational licensing board, like the Cosmetic Art Examiners, is subject to the State Personnel Act and the State Budget Act, can it still enroll employees in the Teachers' and State Employees' Retirement System even though the 1983 General Assembly froze licensing-board participation after July 1, 1983?
No. The 1990 AG concluded that Chapter 412 of the 1983 Session Laws (amending G.S. § 135-1.1) applies to all State boards and agencies that administer professional, trade, or occupational licensing la…
Can North Carolina's Governor use an executive order to require financial disclosure and ethical-conduct compliance from people appointed to state boards by other Council of State officers?
No. Seven Council of State officers asked whether they (and their appointees) had to follow Executive Order No. 1 after Governor Jim Martin amended it in October 1990 to cover appointees of any execut…
At the North Carolina Industrial Commission, is hiring and firing the Chairman's job alone, or does the whole three-member Commission have to decide?
The whole three-member Commission decides, and the Commission cannot delegate that authority to the Chairman by rule. The Industrial Commission's personnel statutes (N.C.G.S. §§ 97-78, 97-79, and 143-…
In North Carolina, can a county commissioner who also chairs the county social services board talk and vote at county commission meetings on DSS personnel and the DSS budget?
Yes on both counts. Iredell County had a commissioner who was appointed to the DSS board under N.C.G.S. § 108A-3(a) and was then elected by the social services board to be its chair. The AG concluded …
When the Child Day Care Commission writes a rule requiring day care licenses for preschool programs in public school buildings (whether run by the school system or by a private provider), can it lawfully reach programs run by public schools for 3 and 4 year olds even though G.S. 110-86(3) excludes 'public schools' from the definition of 'day care facility'?
No, not for public school programs; yes for private providers. The 1990 AG concluded that G.S. 110-86(3) excludes 'public schools' from the day care licensing regime, and that exclusion covers all pro…
If the North Carolina legislature passes a bill creating a new crime but specifies an effective date earlier than the day it actually became law, can the State still prosecute people who commit the crime after the bill is enacted?
Yes, but only for conduct after the bill was actually passed. The retroactive effective date is unconstitutional under the Ex Post Facto Clause and cannot be enforced, but it is severable from the res…
When a logging operation transports forest products in a heavy truck, do the drivers need a commercial driver's license (CDL), or do they qualify for the same farm-vehicle exemption available to traditional farmers?
They qualify for the farm-vehicle exemption only if the forest products were raised and grown by the employer and the employer is not in the business of buying products for resale. If the forester buy…
When the State's Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services Commission writes rules for inmate substance-abuse treatment, does it have to give the Department of Correction's Substance Abuse Advisory Council a direct chance to weigh in? And can the Commission's rules drop the statutory preference for hiring recovering alcoholics and substance abusers as counselors?
No to the first, no to the second. The 1990 AG concluded that under G.S. § 148-19(d), the Commission for Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services has final authority to set inmat…
Can a North Carolina landlord and tenant agree in a lease that any eviction case will be heard by a magistrate in a different county from where the rental property sits?
No. A summary ejectment action is a small claims case under N.C.G.S. § 7A-210(2), and § 7A-211 only lets a Chief District Court Judge assign a small claim to a magistrate when the defendant is a resid…
Can a local North Carolina school board levy taxes on its own to fund its schools?
Not on its own, but yes if the General Assembly grants it the authority. Public school financing in North Carolina rests primarily with the State and the counties. Local school administrative units do…
Can a North Carolina state agency deny a performance-pay raise to an employee who has already hit the top of the salary range for the job?
Yes. A state senator asked whether N.C.G.S. § 126-7(c)(4)'s mandatory-sounding language ('shall receive a performance increase unless the employee's supervisor justifies in writing the decision not to…
Can North Carolina's Private Protective Services Board pull a private investigator's case file when reviewing a trainee, and does a private investigator with a gun have to pay the full armed security guard registration fee?
Yes on all three questions. The Board has authority under N.C.G.S. § 74C-5(3) to inspect licensees' records as part of investigations or trainee evaluations, and the disciplinary rule against unauthor…
When the General Assembly appropriated a special Clean Water Revolving Loan and Grant Fund award to Burke County for a joint water-system upgrade with the City of Morganton, can the upgraded water facilities lawfully be owned by Morganton rather than by Burke County, and does the project serve a public purpose given that a private industry, a private rural water cooperative, and a small town all benefit?
Yes to both. The 1990 AG concluded that the joint Morganton/Burke County water-system project serves a public purpose under N.C. Const. art. V, § 2 because it primarily improves a municipal water util…
After the U.S. Supreme Court's 1989 City of Richmond v. Croson decision held that local racial set-asides in public contracting must survive strict scrutiny, are North Carolina's minority-business participation provisions in G.S. 143-128, G.S. 136-28.4, G.S. 160A-17.1, the 1989 prison-construction appropriation, and Executive Order 77 still constitutional?
Yes. The 1990 AG concluded that the North Carolina provisions are facially constitutional under Croson because each one creates only a 'verifiable goal' for minority-business participation, implemente…
Can a North Carolina judge let a Level 1 or Level 2 DWI defendant serve the mandatory jail time at home on electronic monitoring instead of in the county jail?
No. N.C.G.S. § 20-179(g) and (h) required Level 1 DWI defendants to serve at least 14 days and Level 2 defendants at least 7 days of imprisonment, either as part of an active sentence or as a special …
Can a North Carolina town pass a land-use ordinance requiring all construction drawings to be sealed by a licensed engineer, blocking licensed architects from submitting drawings?
No. The Town of Carrboro had a land use ordinance requiring all construction drawings to be prepared and sealed by a licensed professional engineer. As applied to exclude licensed professional archite…
Can the North Carolina ferry system sell souvenirs like T-shirts, jackets, hats, coffee cups, and post cards at its onboard concessions?
No. The AG concluded that G.S. 136-82 limited the Department of Transportation's ferry concessions to 'food, drink, other refreshments, and personal comfort items.' Reading 'personal comfort items' ag…
When someone tries to title a salvage vehicle in North Carolina that already has a branded title from another state, who has to prove the vehicle would qualify for an unbranded title in the original state, and can North Carolina ever issue an unbranded title if the original state has no procedure to remove the brand?
The applicant must supply vehicle-specific evidence that the originating state would issue an unbranded title for that exact vehicle (a copy of the state's statute or regulation, or a written statemen…
Can a North Carolina city license newspaper vendors to sell at busy intersection traffic islands during rush hour?
Not where the sales impede normal traffic flow. The City of Durham passed Ordinance 17-1 in 1987, letting the Police Chief permit newspaper and merchandise sales at intersections and traffic islands. …
Can South Carolina lawfully charge a per-volume surcharge on Southeast generators that dump low-level radioactive waste at the Barnwell facility, and pass those funds to the Southeast Compact Commission? And can the Commission then use that money to help North Carolina pay for the prelicensing work on the planned second regional disposal facility here?
Yes to both. The 1989 AG concluded that under Article IV(h)(2)a. of the Southeast Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management Compact (codified at N.C.G.S. Chapter 104F), South Carolina, as a 'h…
Under a Type II transfer, can a transferred state authority hire and fire its own staff independently of the parent department, or does the parent department control personnel decisions?
The parent department controls. The AG concluded that the Department of Commerce had authority to manage staffing, hiring, and firing of the N.C. Technological Development Authority's employees despit…
Can a new state authority use its broad 'hire as it deems necessary' language to skip over former state employees who hold priority reemployment rights under the State Personnel Act?
No. The AG concluded that without an express statutory exemption, every state agency, including the N.C. Technological Development Authority, must offer open positions to qualified former employees wi…
When a birth mother arranges a private adoption and asks that her newborn be handed directly to the adoptive parents from the hospital, can the hospital staff release the baby that way without violating North Carolina's child-placing-agency licensing law (N.C.G.S. § 131D-10.7)?
Yes. The 1989 AG concluded that the hospital's physical discharge of a newborn to adoptive parents in a private-adoption case did not constitute unlicensed 'placement' of children under N.C.G.S. § 131…
Are pay-to-ride go-carts on a track an amusement device that the North Carolina Department of Labor can inspect and regulate?
Yes. The NC AG concluded that a go-cart operated by a patron for a fee on a fixed or restricted track meets the statutory definition of 'amusement device' in N.C.G.S. § 95-111.3(a) because it conveys …
If the State of North Carolina decides not to provide for a state employee's defense in a civil or criminal case under G.S. § 143-300.3 or § 143-300.4, can the State still pay the final judgment against the employee under G.S. § 143-300.6 when the case is over?
No. The 1989 AG concluded that G.S. § 143-300.6(a) authorizes payment of final judgments only in 'actions or suits to which this Article applies,' which the AG read to mean actions where the State agr…
May a North Carolina state-chartered credit union match what the National Credit Union Administration now allows federally-chartered credit unions to do, and provide a faithful-performance bond covering only the chief executive officer instead of every officer, employee, and agent?
No. The 1989 AG concluded that G.S. § 54-109.11(5) and § 54-109.44(2) made a blanket surety bond covering every credit union official, committee member, and employee mandatory, without regard to wheth…
When someone opens a bank account in a fake name and uses it to write worthless checks against the bank, does the bank become enough of a 'victim' that police can bypass the Financial Privacy Act's notice and subpoena rules to get at the records?
No. The 1989 AG concluded that the person who actually opened the account and transacted business with the bank is a 'customer' under N.C.G.S. § 53B-2(1) even if the name on the account was fictitious…
In NC, do the size and content rules in G.S. 47-30 (the plat mapping statute) apply to every plat a surveyor draws, or only to plats that are going to be recorded at the Register of Deeds?
Only to plats presented for recording. G.S. 47-30 sets requirements for recordable plats, not for surveys done for other purposes. Whether a surveyor must comply depends on whether the plat will be fi…
Can a North Carolina state agency hire a private executive search firm to find candidates for hard-to-fill positions, and pay the firm a fee?
Yes for a true executive search firm, with one big limit. N.C.G.S. § 126-18 is aimed at firms that charge jobseekers (or take payment for placing someone in state employment); it does not prohibit a s…
Do North Carolina's Administrative Procedure Act rules govern how the Secretary of State's Securities Division handles license actions, hearings, and investigations under the Securities Act?
Yes. The AG concluded the APA (Chapter 150B) applies to the Securities Division, because the Division is not on the exempt list and Chapter 78A does not provide a blanket exemption. Securities dealer/…
When bags of medical refuse and other trash wash up on North Carolina beaches, what state and federal laws can be used to stop the dumping, prosecute the dumpers, and recover cleanup costs, and how far out into the Atlantic does North Carolina's regulatory authority reach?
North Carolina has criminal and civil prohibitions on dumping inside the three-mile territorial sea, including § 76-40(a) (general trash dumping ban), § 75A-10(c) (waste rendering waters unsightly), a…
When a North Carolina sheriff seizes drug-related cash and the U.S. Attorney pursues federal forfeiture and shares the money back, must the cash go to the county school board under the state constitution?
No. Article IX, Section 7 of the North Carolina Constitution sends 'clear proceeds' of forfeitures only to forfeitures resulting from violations of state penal law. A federal forfeiture under 21 U.S.C…
When a five-member North Carolina county board of social services picks its fifth member, do all four other members have to be present, and do they all have to agree?
Not all present, but yes all must agree. Under N.C.G.S. § 108A-3(b), four of the five members of a five-member county board of social services are appointed (two by the county commissioners, two by th…
If a NC city contracts with a private hospital to assign uniformed, armed city police officers to provide security at the hospital full time, does the city have to obtain a private security license under Chapter 74C?
No. When officers act as municipal police performing their official duties under a contract paid by the hospital, they are not 'engaging in a private protective service business' and fall within the e…
Can NC DMV waive an out-of-state salvage-title brand, or relax the 75% repair-cost test, or require an insurer total-loss declaration to also meet that test, when a vehicle comes in for titling?
No to all three. The AG concluded G.S. 20-71.3 is mandatory: NC DMV must honor an out-of-state salvage brand, must apply the 75% repair-cost test as written, and cannot impose the 75% test on top of a…
If one partner in a law firm files a divorce complaint, can another partner in the same firm notarize the client's verification, or does that violate the rule against attorneys taking oaths in their own cases?
The AG advised against the practice. G.S. 47-8 prohibits a practicing attorney from administering an oath to any paper used in a legal proceeding in which the attorney appears. Under partnership-agenc…
If a teenage driver is involved in a car accident in NC, does the Juvenile Code's confidentiality rule prevent the police report from identifying the teen as the driver?
No. G.S. 7A-675 protects investigations and records under the Juvenile Code (abuse, neglect, delinquency, undisciplined behavior). A factual DMV collision report under G.S. 20-166.1(e) is not a juveni…
Can a North Carolina county manager put a county Criminal Intake Center (jail detention cells) under someone other than the sheriff?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 162-22, the sheriff has the care and custody of the county jail, and any facility with detention cells used to hold prisoners is a jail. Under § 162-24, the sheriff cannot delegat…
If a town council member moves out of town during their term, does the council seat automatically become vacant in North Carolina?
Yes. Under N.C.G.S. § 163-59, an elected city officer's seat is automatically (ipso facto) vacant the moment they cease to meet the qualifications for office, including the residency requirement. Once…
If a subcontractor on a NC state construction project tells the state the prime contractor owes them money, does the state have to (or should it) withhold the prime contractor's payment until the dispute is resolved?
No. The statutory payment bond under G.S. 44A-26 is the subcontractor's remedy. The state has no legal duty to withhold prime contractor payments on subcontractor notice. Withholding paragraph (Articl…
If a North Carolina town passes its own school-zone speed limit on a road that is part of the State Highway System, does the speed limit take effect on its own, or does the state DOT also have to pass a matching ordinance before drivers can actually be ticketed for going faster?
DOT has to concur. A municipal ordinance under G.S. 20-141.1 cannot, by itself, change the enforceable speed on a state highway in a school zone. As a practical matter, the town's ordinance is ineffec…
Can the Division of Motor Vehicles use its motor-carrier safety regulations to inspect and regulate a privately owned bus that is not being used to carry passengers for a fee?
No. The NC AG concluded that the Division of Motor Vehicles' authority under Article 17 of Chapter 20 extends only to for-hire transportation of passengers (common carriers, contract carriers, for-hir…
Can the NC DMV refuse to accept any proof of a name change for a driver's license except a court order or register-of-deeds filing, or does common-law name change still count?
DMV cannot make a court order or register-of-deeds filing the only acceptable proof. NC still recognizes common-law name change (use a new name openly, for non-fraudulent purposes), and DMV must accep…
When a North Carolina condominium developer adds new units to an expandable condominium, do the original plans for previously built units have to be refiled with the register of deeds?
No. Under N.C.G.S. § 47C-2-109(d), the developer can either record fresh plats and plans for the new units or record new certifications of the previously recorded plats and plans, as long as the origi…
Could North Carolina pass a law or rule allowing window tint as dark as 35% light transmittance on passenger car windows when federal safety standards require 70%?
No. A state rule allowing 35% light transmittance in windows needed for driving visibility would conflict with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (which requires 70%) and would be preempted…
Which Department of Correction employees qualify for the Salary Continuation Plan when injured on the job?
The AG concluded an employee qualifies for the Salary Continuation Plan in G.S. 143-166.13 only if (1) the position requires certification by the Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Comm…
Should North Carolina Motor Vehicle Dealers' Advisory Board members get the $7 per diem from their 1973 statute or the higher $15 per diem from the general state board compensation statute?
$15. § 138-5 was rewritten in 1973 (Chapter 1397, effective July 1, 1974) to set a uniform $15-per-day per diem for all state boards, commissions, committees, and councils operating from State Treasur…
Can a North Carolina regional airport authority member, who runs a PR firm, contract with another company that is currently providing services to the same airport authority?
Likely not under N.C.G.S. § 14-234(a). The Asheville Regional Airport Authority was created by interlocal cooperation between Buncombe County and the City of Asheville and its members are public offic…
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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.