# North Carolina

North Carolina certifies officers through two commissions: the Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission and the Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission. By statute both commissions must keep public databases of suspensions and revocations. Since 2023 the State has required hiring agencies to review applicants’ full personnel files, tightened lateral transfer checks, made summary suspension mandatory for listed causes, and added untruthfulness and on-duty sexual activity as grounds for discipline.

Source: https://uscli.org/officer-certification-tracker/north-carolina

## At a glance

- **Certifying body:** Two commissions, each with a staff division in the North Carolina Department of Justice. The Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission certifies police and other criminal justice officers ([G.S. 17C-3, 17C-6](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByChapter/Chapter_17C.html)). The Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission certifies deputies, detention officers, and telecommunicators ([G.S. 17E-4](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByChapter/Chapter_17E.html)).
- **Statute:** G.S. Chapter 17C (Criminal Justice Commission), including 17C-14 (public suspension and revocation database), 17C-15 (critical incident database), 17C-16 (Giglio reporting), and 17C-10.2 (personnel file review at hiring). G.S. Chapter 17E (Sheriffs’ Commission). G.S. 15A-401(d1) (duty to intervene and report). Rules are in [12 NCAC 09A to 09I](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2009%20-%20criminal%20justice%20education%20and%20training%20standards/chapter%2009%20rules.pdf) and [12 NCAC 10B](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2010%20-%20sheriffs'%20education%20and%20training%20standards%20commission/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf).
- **Minimum standards:** U.S. citizen; at least 20; a high school diploma or equivalent. A fingerprint check, medical exam, negative drug screen, psychological screening (valid 1 year), interview, and background investigation. No disqualifying crimes, and good moral character as defined by case law. Officers must report criminal charges and protective orders within 5 business days (12 NCAC 09B .0101; G.S. 17C-10).
- **Decertification:** Each commission may “certify and recertify, suspend, revoke, or deny” certification under its standards (G.S. 17C-6(a)(3); 17E-4(a)(3), express since 2023). For the Criminal Justice Commission, the rules require revocation for a felony or a crime punishable by more than 2 years in prison. They allow suspension, revocation, or denial on listed grounds. Since January 1, 2026, those grounds include on-duty or agency-linked sexual activity and a finding of untruthfulness in a criminal or internal investigation (12 NCAC 09A .0204). Since March 1, 2024, summary suspension is mandatory for listed causes (09A .0206). A felony conviction may count “whether or not that conviction was expunged,” except for expunctions under G.S. 15A-145.4 or 15A-145.8A ([G.S. 17C-13](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_17C/GS_17C-13.html), 17E-12).
- **Public decertification list:** Yes, by statute, for both commissions. It “shall develop and maintain a statewide database accessible to the public on its website” of all suspensions and revocations of law enforcement officer certifications ([G.S. 17C-14](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_17C/GS_17C-14.html)). The Sheriffs’ Commission has the same duty for justice officer certifications (G.S. 17E-14).
- **National Decertification Index:** None found. No General Statute or NCAC rule found names the Index.
- **Continuing training:** Officers certified by the Criminal Justice Commission “shall complete a minimum of 24 in-service training credits each year” (12 NCAC 09E .0108). Failing to finish results in summary suspension, except for officers hired on or after July 1 (09E .0108, .0111; 09A .0206). The 24-credit minimum dates from at least 2021. Sheriffs’ Commission in-service rules, including firearms and use of force, are in 12 NCAC 10B Sections .2000 and .2100.

## Changes, 2023 to 2026

- Jan 1, 2026 — **New discretionary grounds: untruthfulness and on-duty sexual activity** — 12 NCAC 09A .0204 (Criminal Justice Commission rule) · Effective January 1, 2026 — The Criminal Justice Commission “may suspend, revoke, or deny” certification on two new grounds. Under (b)(17), the ground is sexual activity while on duty; in an agency vehicle; on the employing agency’s premises; in uniform in a public place; with an employee the officer supervises; or with a student in a Commission-approved course the officer teaches or directs. Under (b)(18), the ground is having “been found to be untruthful during a criminal or internal formal investigation conducted by a law enforcement agency.” A finding during a rules-violation investigation by the Criminal Justice or Sheriffs’ Standards Division, or by the Company and Campus Police Administrator, also counts. The amendment drops the former ground of discharge for “any other offense involving moral turpitude.” The motor-vehicle ground remains and now refers to an officer “separated” rather than “discharged.” Both new grounds are discretionary. They apply to Criminal Justice Commission certification, not the Sheriffs’ Commission’s. — **For officers:** A finding that you were untruthful in an internal investigation can now cost you your certification. — [12 NCAC 09 rules](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2009%20-%20criminal%20justice%20education%20and%20training%20standards/chapter%2009%20rules.pdf)
- Dec 1, 2025 — **Sheriffs’ Commission critical incident reporting** — 12 NCAC 10B .0412 (new Sheriffs’ Commission rule) · Effective December 1, 2025 — The department head “shall submit” a Critical Incident Report, Form F-27, within 30 days of determining that an officer’s use of force caused death or serious bodily injury. The form gives the date, time, location, officer, and outcome. It tells the officer they have 30 days to ask a superior court whether they belong in the database. If the officer gives the Division no copy of a court filing in that time, the name is entered. Confidential information stays confidential. The Division keeps a statewide database for law enforcement agencies. The rule cites G.S. 17E-15 as its authority. — **For officers:** If you are reported, you have 30 days to go to superior court before your name is entered. — [12 NCAC 10B rules](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2010%20-%20sheriffs'%20education%20and%20training%20standards%20commission/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf)
- Oct 1, 2025 — **In-service training: where it can be taken; motor skills in person** — 12 NCAC 09E .0111 (new Criminal Justice Commission rule) · Effective October 1, 2025 — The new rule restates that failing to complete the required annual in-service topics leads to summary suspension. That has been mandatory under 09A .0206 since March 1, 2024. What is new: topics must be taken in person, through the North Carolina Justice Training and Certification portal, or at a North Carolina community college. Training that involves a motor-skills assessment or qualification must be in person with certified Specialized Instructors. Separately, 09E .0108 was amended May 1, 2025 to take in the 24-credit minimum and the option of IADLEST National Certification Program courses. Both came from 09E .0105, which was repealed November 1, 2024; they were already in that rule in 2022. — **For officers:** Take firearms and other motor-skills in-service in person with a certified Specialized Instructor. — [12 NCAC 09 rules](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2009%20-%20criminal%20justice%20education%20and%20training%20standards/chapter%2009%20rules.pdf)
- Jul 2, 2025 — **Hiring agencies must review applicants’ full personnel files from the past 5 years** — S.L. 2025-51 (SB 710), Part VI · Ratified June 26, 2025; approved and effective July 2, 2025 — New G.S. 17C-10.2 (police agencies) and 17E-7.1 (sheriffs’ offices). An agency considering an applicant for a sworn officer or deputy post “shall request access to and review the complete personnel file” kept by any North Carolina law enforcement agency that employed the applicant in the past 5 years. This applies to any applicant, not only lateral transfers. With the applicant’s signed release, prior agencies “shall grant access to” the complete file and “may, if requested, provide a copy.” That includes confidential information under G.S. 153A-98, 160A-168, and 126-24. The information stays confidential in the hiring agency’s files. Agencies and their staff are immune from civil and criminal liability for giving or receiving access. — **For officers:** When you apply to another North Carolina agency, expect it to review your full file, including confidential parts, from the past 5 years. — [S.L. 2025-51](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/HTML/2025-2026/SL2025-51.html)
- Jul 1, 2025 — **Deputy lateral transfers: 5-year file review and 18-month investigation check** — 12 NCAC 10B .0411 (new Sheriffs’ Commission rule) · Effective July 1, 2025 — An officer may transfer certification to become a deputy if they completed basic training, hold general or probationary certification from either commission, and have had no break in service over 12 months. Before the transfer, the sheriff’s office must run a fingerprint check through the State Bureau of Investigation and the AOC-CR-280 expunction check, and file a certified copy of the oath. It must get a signed, notarized release. It must review the personnel file (including confidential information), the report of separation, the background investigation, and any internal investigations from every North Carolina agency in the past 5 years. It must confirm prior-year in-service training and the absence of disqualifying charges or convictions. It must confirm no internal investigation in the last 18 months alleged a possible rule violation, and confirm firearms qualification. The office reports this on Form F-4A. — **For officers:** A recent internal investigation can hold up a transfer to a sheriff’s office. — [12 NCAC 10B rules](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2010%20-%20sheriffs'%20education%20and%20training%20standards%20commission/chapter%2010%20rules.pdf)
- May 1, 2025 — **Police lateral transfers: internal investigations and 18-month discipline check added** — 12 NCAC 09C .0306 (Criminal Justice Commission rule) · Effective May 1, 2025 — Officers with probationary certification can now transfer, not only those with general certification. Before the transfer, the hiring agency must run the AOC-CR-280 expunction check. The file review widens from 24 months to 5 years. It now covers the personnel file (including confidential information under G.S. 153A-98, 160A-168, and 126-24), the affidavit of separation, the background investigation, and any internal investigations. The agency must confirm prior-year in-service training. It must confirm no internal investigation, disciplinary, or pre-disciplinary proceeding in the last 18 months alleged conduct that could prevent certification. It reports on Form F-5D. The rule no longer lists the transfer medical exam, the drug screen, or the 60-day waiver. — **For officers:** An internal investigation in the last 18 months that alleges disqualifying conduct can block a lateral transfer. — [12 NCAC 09 rules](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2009%20-%20criminal%20justice%20education%20and%20training%20standards/chapter%2009%20rules.pdf)
- Jan 1, 2025 — **Criminal Justice Commission critical incident reporting** — 12 NCAC 09C .0104 (new Criminal Justice Commission rule) · Effective January 1, 2025; amended October 1, 2025 — This rule puts into operation the critical incident database that G.S. 17C-15 created in 2021. The agency head “shall submit” Form F-27 within 30 days of determining that an officer’s use of force caused death or serious bodily injury. An annual Form F-27A is due by January 15. The form tells officers of their right, under G.S. 17C-15, to ask a superior court for a hearing before they are entered in the database. If an officer says they will ask, the Division waits for the court, or for 30 days without proof of a filing. Entries are removed if the court finds them improper. The October 2025 amendment was not compared with the earlier text. — **For officers:** If you are reported, you can ask a superior court to decide whether you belong in the database before you are entered. — [12 NCAC 09 rules](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2009%20-%20criminal%20justice%20education%20and%20training%20standards/chapter%2009%20rules.pdf)[G.S. 17C-15](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_17C/GS_17C-15.html)
- May 15, 2024 — **Training standards for school resource officers** — S.L. 2024-1 (SB 508), section 2.8A · Ratified May 6, 2024; approved and effective May 15, 2024 — New G.S. 17C-6(a)(22) and 17E-4(a)(18) direct both commissions to set initial and in-service training standards for school resource officers. New G.S. 115C-105.58 defines a school resource officer as any officer assigned to one or more schools at least 20 hours a week for more than 12 weeks a year, at public or authorized nonpublic schools. “All school resource officers shall comply” with the training requirements. Until the rules are amended, officers at nonpublic schools must meet the public-school training rules (12 NCAC 10B .0510 and 09B .0313). The section applies to agreements made or renewed on or after the date it became law. — **For officers:** If you work in schools 20 or more hours a week, the school resource officer training rules apply to you, including at nonpublic schools. — [S.L. 2024-1](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/HTML/2023-2024/SL2024-1.html)
- Mar 1, 2024 — **Police lateral transfers: release, 24-month file review, and background investigation** — 12 NCAC 09C .0306 (Criminal Justice Commission rule) · Effective March 1, 2024 — For an officer separated from the prior agency for more than 30 days, the hiring agency must now get a signed, notarized release. It must obtain the full personnel file from agencies the officer worked for in the previous 24 months, and complete a background investigation. For an officer separated 30 days or less, a shorter track applies. The agency verifies certification, reviews the affidavit of separation (Form F-5B), runs a fingerprint check, files Form F-19, and completes in-service firearms training. The amendment drops the notice that a transferring officer serves a 1-year probationary appointment. — **For officers:** A transfer after more than 30 days out now brings a background investigation and a review of your recent personnel file. — [12 NCAC 09 rules](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2009%20-%20criminal%20justice%20education%20and%20training%20standards/chapter%2009%20rules.pdf)
- Mar 1, 2024 — **Summary suspension becomes mandatory for listed causes** — 12 NCAC 09A .0205 and .0206 (Criminal Justice Commission rules) · Effective March 1, 2024 — Rule 09A .0206 changes “may” to “shall.” The Commission must now summarily suspend an officer who has committed or been convicted of a crime that requires permanent revocation, fails to complete in-service training, or has a positive drug test. Rule 09A .0205 also changes “may” to “shall” for reducing or suspending the minimum 5-year sanction, or substituting probation, “as determined on a case-by-case basis” for listed causes. A positive drug screen now counts when it cannot be explained to the satisfaction of the agency’s Medical Review Officer, a licensed physician. Before, the test was whether it could be explained as lawful. — **For officers:** Missing in-service training or a positive drug test now means mandatory summary suspension. — [12 NCAC 09 rules](http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2012%20-%20justice/chapter%2009%20-%20criminal%20justice%20education%20and%20training%20standards/chapter%2009%20rules.pdf)
- Jun 23, 2023 — **Some expunctions cannot count against certification; Sheriffs’ Commission gets express suspend and revoke powers** — S.L. 2023-56 (HB 611) · Ratified June 22, 2023; approved and effective June 23, 2023 — G.S. 17C-13(b) and 17E-12(b) still let a commission act on a felony conviction “whether or not that conviction was expunged,” unless it was expunged under G.S. 15A-145.4 or 15A-145.8A. Until the commissions amend their definition rules, “convicted” and “commission of offense” exclude those expunctions. No such amendment was found; under the act, its interim text applies until one takes effect. The Sheriffs’ Commission may now “certify, recertify, suspend, revoke, or deny” officers, schools, and instructors (17E-4(a)(3), (5), (7)), and its investigation power was extended (17E-4(a)(8)). Standards and discipline now reach probationary and limited instructors, qualified assistants, in-service training coordinators, and executive officers. New 17E-5(c) makes records in an officer’s personnel file kept by the Sheriffs’ Commission subject to the same privacy rules as personnel records under G.S. Chapters 126, 153A, and 160A. — **For officers:** A felony expunged under G.S. 15A-145.4 or 15A-145.8A cannot be used to deny or revoke your certification. — [S.L. 2023-56](https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/SessionLaws/HTML/2023-2024/SL2023-56.html)

## Not yet in force and pending

No pending bill on officer certification was confirmed. The legislature’s bill-text search did not return results, so pending 2025–2026 bills on officer masks or identification could not be checked from official sources on October 19, 2026.

## Checked and unchanged

- G.S. 17C-14 (public database), 17C-15 (critical incident database), and 17C-16 (Giglio reporting) show no amendment since 2021. G.S. 15A-401(d1), the duty to intervene and report excessive force, was last amended in 2021; S.L. 2025-70 amended only subsection (b) (warrantless arrest).
- G.S. 132-1.4A (body and dash camera recordings), 160A-168, and 153A-98 (personnel privacy) show no 2023–2026 amendment. G.S. 126-24 was amended by S.L. 2024-23, which was not reviewed for content.
- Sheriffs’ Commission rules amended from 2023 to 2026 were not compared with their earlier text and are not counted. They include 10B .0206 (summary suspensions), .0301 (minimum standards), .0305 (background investigation), .0402 and .0404 (probationary and general certification), .0406 (lateral transfers and reinstatement), and .2103 and .2105 (in-service minimums and firearms failure). Rule 10B .0204 had only renumbering changes in 2023. Rule 10B .0110 (divulging personnel information) expired September 1, 2025; its effect was not established.
- Other Criminal Justice Commission rule amendments were noted from history notes but not compared: 09B .0103 (fingerprints, 2024), 09B .0104 (medical, 2024 and 2026), 09B .0205 (basic training, 2025), 09E .0103 (2024 and 2025), 09E .0107 (firearms failure, 2023 and 2026), and 09A .0208 (public comments at hearings, 2024).
- Not counted: S.L. 2024-57 and S.L. 2025-47 (speed-camera approvals) and S.L. 2025-20 (Space Force in G.S. 17C-10.1).