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North Carolina Pleading Paper Template

North Carolina's statewide rules fix the paper, not the margins. Paper filings must be letter-size 8.5x11, unfolded and firmly bound with no manuscript cover, with an AOC cover sheet. Margins, font, and spacing are set by each local court's rules.

Introduction

North Carolina is not a numbered-line pleading paper state. Its court documents use plain paper with a caption, formatted under the rules below. North Carolina's statewide rules say much less about formatting than many states. The General Rules of Practice for the Superior and District Courts, Rule 5 and Rule 5.1, fix the paper rather than the layout: documents filed in paper should be unfolded and firmly bound with no manuscript cover, and they must be letter size, 8 1/2 by 11 inches, except for wills and exhibits. Both rules require an AOC-prescribed cover sheet, with Rule 5 governing filing in Odyssey eCourts counties and Rule 5.1 governing non-Odyssey counties as that rollout proceeds county by county. The caption itself comes from N.C.G.S. 1A-1, Rule 10. What the statewide rules do not fix are the margin width, the font, and the line spacing. Those are set by each local court's rules, so the controlling numbers for your filing depend on the county and division where you file. Widely circulated North Carolina margin and font figures usually trace to the Rules of Appellate Procedure, which govern appellate briefs, not trial-court documents, so do not assume an appellate spec applies in district or superior court. A document on the wrong paper, missing the cover sheet, or bound with a manuscript cover can be rejected at intake, which in a deadline-driven matter can cost you the date. This page covers the caption, the paper and binding rule, the cover-sheet requirement, and the honest fact that margins, font, and spacing are local. DocDraft drafts your document on properly formatted North Carolina court format from your facts, with attorney review available before you file.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Paper form is governed by the General Rules of Practice for the Superior and District Courts, Rule 5 and Rule 5.1; the caption is governed by N.C.G.S. 1A-1, Rule 10.

  2. 2

    Paper filings must be letter size, 8 1/2 by 11 inches, except for wills and exhibits, under Rule 5 / Rule 5.1.

  3. 3

    Documents should be unfolded and firmly bound with no manuscript cover under Rule 5 / Rule 5.1.

  4. 4

    Both Rule 5 (Odyssey counties) and Rule 5.1 (non-Odyssey counties) require an AOC-prescribed cover sheet, with e-filing rolling out county by county.

  5. 5

    Margins, font, and line spacing are not fixed statewide. They are set by each local court's rules, so confirm them with the county and division where you file.

  6. 6

    Widely cited North Carolina margin and font figures usually come from the Rules of Appellate Procedure, which govern appellate briefs, not trial-court filings, and should not be assumed to apply in district or superior court.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Pleading Paper in North Carolina, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Pleading Paper guide walks through them.

Open the Pleading Paper guide

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STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA [COUNTY] COUNTY IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE [SUPERIOR / DISTRICT] COURT DIVISION File No. [FILE NUMBER]

[PLAINTIFF NAME], Plaintiff,

v.

[DEFENDANT NAME], Defendant.

[TITLE OF DOCUMENT]

[Caption per N.C.G.S. 1A-1, Rule 10.]

[Body: letter-size 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, unfolded and firmly bound with no manuscript cover, per General Rules of Practice Rule 5 / Rule 5.1. Margins, font, and line spacing are set by the local court's rules for the county and division where you file. Confirm before filing.]

This the [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR].

[ATTORNEY OR SELF-REPRESENTED PARTY NAME] [BAR NUMBER, IF ATTORNEY] [ADDRESS] [TELEPHONE] [EMAIL]

[Include the AOC-prescribed cover sheet required by Rule 5 / Rule 5.1.]

North Carolina Requirements for Pleading Paper

Letter-size paper

File on letter-size, 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper, except for wills and exhibits, under General Rules of Practice Rule 5 / Rule 5.1.

Unfolded, firmly bound, no manuscript cover

File documents unfolded and firmly bound with no manuscript cover under Rule 5 / Rule 5.1.

AOC cover sheet

Include the AOC-prescribed cover sheet required by both Rule 5 (Odyssey counties) and Rule 5.1 (non-Odyssey counties).

Caption block

Head the document with the court, county, division, parties, file number, and document title per N.C.G.S. 1A-1, Rule 10.

Margins, font, and spacing are local

Margins, font, and line spacing are not fixed statewide. They are set by each local court's rules, so confirm them with the county and division where you file. Do not assume appellate-brief specs apply at trial court.

Frequently Asked Questions

North Carolina's statewide trial-court rules do not fix a margin width. Margins are set by each local court's rules, so the controlling figure depends on the county and division. Margin specs found in the Rules of Appellate Procedure govern appellate briefs, not district or superior court documents.

Under the General Rules of Practice, Rule 5 and Rule 5.1, paper filings must be letter size, 8 1/2 by 11 inches, except for wills and exhibits. They should be unfolded and firmly bound with no manuscript cover, and both rules require an AOC-prescribed cover sheet.

No. North Carolina does not require consecutive left-margin line numbers. The statewide rules fix paper size and binding, while margins, font, and spacing are set by each local court's rules.

North Carolina's statewide trial-court rules do not specify a font or size. That is set by each local court's rules. Font requirements seen in the Rules of Appellate Procedure apply to appellate briefs, not district or superior court filings.