What Is an NC Case Number and Where Do You Find It?
Not sure what your NC case number means or where to find it? Here’s how to read the format and use it to track your case on CourtDelta.
If you are trying to look up a court date or set up case monitoring in North Carolina, you will need your case number. It is the unique identifier tied to your specific case in the NC eCourts system, and without it, most lookup tools including CourtDelta cannot pull your information. Here is what it looks like, what each part means, and where to find it.
How to Read an NC Case Number
North Carolina uses the Odyssey case management system, and every case number follows a standard four-part format. Using the official example from the NC Administrative Office of the Courts:
21CR000003-910
Here is what each part means:
- 21 is the year the case was filed (2021 in this example)
- CR is the case type. CR stands for criminal. Other common types include TR (traffic), IF (infraction), CV (civil), and SP (special proceedings)
- 000003 is the sequential number assigned to the case by the clerk
- -910 is the three-digit county identifier indicating which NC county court the case belongs to
So a case number like 26TR008812-635 would be a 2026 traffic case filed in a specific NC county.
One important note: some older civil case types were carried over from the legacy system and do not follow this format. If your case is a CVD, CVM, or CVS, the number may look different. If you are unsure, contact the Clerk of Court in the county where your case was filed.
Where to Find Your Case Number
Your case number appears on any official court documents related to your case. Common places to look:
- Your citation or ticket (for traffic and infraction cases)
- A summons or complaint if you were served
- Bond paperwork if you were released after an arrest
- Any correspondence from the Clerk of Court
If you do not have any paperwork on hand, you can look it up for free using the NC eCourts Portal. Go to nccourts.gov/court-dates and click Search. On the portal, select Smart Search. Enter your name in Last, First format (for example: Doe, John) with one comma after your last name and only a space between your first and middle name. Complete the reCAPTCHA and click Submit. Your case number will appear in the results.
Why Your Case Number Matters
Once you have your case number, you can do more than just look up a hearing date. You can use it to subscribe to real-time case monitoring on CourtDelta. Enter your case number, provide your contact info, and CourtDelta will notify you by email or text any time your case is updated. Hearing rescheduled? Status change? New filing? You find out immediately without having to check manually.
This is especially useful in North Carolina where court dates shift frequently due to continuances and docket changes. Knowing your case number is the first step to staying fully informed.