As a part of the North Carolina courts’ transition to eCourts, Session Law 2023-103 improves and modernizes communication within the state court system by creating a new registry of attorneys’ “Address of Record with the Court” that court personnel, attorneys, and litigants can use for notification and Rule 5 service. Section 12 of this law is effective August 1, 2023, and makes important changes to (1) service under Rule 5 of the N.C. Rules of Civil Procedure and (2) attorneys’ contact information on record with the State Bar.

Because many attorneys use different contact information for State Bar registration than for interaction with the courts or use in their litigation matters, the State Bar has updated its systems to allow attorneys to maintain two sets of contact information.

Attorneys may now update their profile at portal.ncbar.gov to include a mailing address, telephone number, and email address to be used for Rule 5 service (see the screenshot below). If an attorney does not provide this information, or simply prefers to use their contact information already on record with the Bar, their current contact information registered with the Bar will be deemed their Address of Record with the Court.

Later this month, this registry will be imported weekly into the eCourts system for use and reference by court officials. We will send out a separate notification once the import has been implemented.