North Carolina
Every law and rule change USCLI tracks for North Carolina, across the professions, on one page. Each entry links to its full write-up and official sources.
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Licensing Law Tracker
North Carolina licenses private investigators through the Private Protective Services Board, part of the Department of Public Safety. Since 2023 the Board has let investigators take on interns and apprentices, required license numbers in every advertisement, and tied reinstatement to continuing education, and S.L. 2025-51 widened trainee permits and the Board’s grounds to deny a license.
Full North Carolina page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (10 entries).
Application rules list required information; armed rules updated for S.L. 2025-51
The Board said most changes answer a Rules Review Commission finding that its application and renewal rules did not list what an application must contain. Rule .0203(a) now lists the information a renewal application includes. Other changes carry out S.L.…
Secret photography law rewritten; licensee exemption kept
Rewrites G.S. 14-202, the secret peeping and photography law. New subsection (e1), which replaces the former under-the-clothing offense in (e), makes it a Class I felony to knowingly create a photographic image of a person’s private area (naked or…
Wider trainee permits, new denial grounds, and a LEOSA carry exemption
Trainee permits, already available for private investigators, now extend to polygraph, electronic countermeasures, and digital forensic examiner licenses, under the same 5-trainee cap (74C-2(c), 74C-9(i)). New grounds to deny or revoke a license include…
License number required in every advertisement
New .0116 requires any advertisement of private protective services, in any medium, to include the licensee’s name and license number, even when a trade name is used. Before, Rule .0105 told licensees to include their license number only alongside the…
Reinstating a lapsed license now requires continuing education
The Board closed what it called a loophole: a licensee could let a license lapse past the late renewal window and reinstate it without the 12 continuing education hours. Reinstatement now requires proof of continuing education, and the window to reinstate…
Officer Certification Tracker
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.
Full North Carolina page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (11 entries).
New discretionary grounds: untruthfulness and on-duty sexual activity
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…
Sheriffs’ Commission critical incident reporting
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…
In-service training: where it can be taken; motor skills in person
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…
Hiring agencies must review applicants’ full personnel files from the past 5 years
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…
Deputy lateral transfers: 5-year file review and 18-month investigation check
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…
Forensic Science Tracker
North Carolina has an advisory board and an ombudsman for the State Crime Laboratory, ties lab accreditation to admitting results by affidavit, and has a standing commission that reviews claims of factual innocence. Since 2023 the State has renamed that body the Postconviction Review Commission, rewritten its procedures, required the lab to tell prosecutors of every CODIS match, and set a seven-year deadline for most new motions for appropriate relief.
Full North Carolina page: every change, its sources, and what has not changed (8 entries).
Innocence Inquiry Commission renamed the Postconviction Review Commission
The act rewrote Article 92 of Chapter 15A to rename the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission the North Carolina Postconviction Review Commission. It made matching changes in G.S. 15A-268, 15A-1411, 15A-1417, 15A-1418, 132-1.4, and 143-318.18. The…
Eastern regional crime lab study money redirected
The Department of Justice must transfer any unspent money from the S.L. 2021-180, s. 18.9 study to the Department of Adult Correction to replace high-mileage vehicles. That 2021 section provided up to $1.5 million for a study, with Elizabeth City State…
Seven-year deadline for noncapital motions for appropriate relief
New G.S. 15A-1415(a1) requires a noncapital motion for appropriate relief to be filed within seven years of the latest triggering event, such as the end of direct appeal. Some grounds may still be raised at any time. Newly discovered evidence was already…
Capital postconviction hearings within 24 months
A hearing on a capital motion for appropriate relief must be held within 24 months of filing unless the court finds extraordinary circumstances in writing (G.S. 15A-1415(a)). This applies to pending motions; motions filed more than 24 months before…
Trainee permits for private digital forensic examiners
The Private Protective Services Board may now issue a trainee permit in place of a digital forensic examiner license, as it already could for private investigators, if the trainee works under a licensee’s direct supervision (G.S. 74C-2(c)). A licensed…
Last updated October 19, 2026Source: United States Council for Law & Investigation