Eastern District of NORTH CAROLINA

P.O. Drawer 2807

Wilson, NC 27894-2807

Telephone: 1-919-237-0248

Middle District of NORTH CAROLINA

P.O. Box 26100

Greensboro, NC 27420-6100

Telephone: 1-910-333-5647 

Western District of NORTH CAROLINA

401 West Trade Street

Charlotte, NC 28202

Telephone: 1-704-350-7500 

In general, a debtor may claim exemption of his homestead and certain personal property from attachment or execution or forced sale for the payment of debts. Section 1C-1602 of the North Carolina General Statutes permits the election of the exemptions provided under Article X of the North Carolina Constitution or  §1C-1601 of the North Carolina General Statutes.

Under the constitutional exemption, a debtor's homestead and the dwellings and buildings used therewith, which he uses as a residence, up to a value fixed by the General Assembly but not less than $1,000 may be exempt from sale under execution or other final process obtained on any debt, except that no property may be exempt from sale for taxes, or for payment of obligations contracted for its purchase. The debtor may also be entitled to exemption up to five hundred dollars ($500.00) in value in his personal property.   (Article X of the N.C. Constitution.)

The statutory exemptions provided under § 1C-1601 of the North Carolina General Statutes include the debtor and his dependent's aggregate interest or value in real property or personal property used as a residence, or in a burial plot,  not to exceed $10,000; any property not to exceed $500, one motor vehicle not to exceed $1,500,   household furnishings, household goods, wearing apparel, appliances, books, animals, crops, or musical instruments, that are held primarily for the personal, family, or household use up to $3,500 for the debtor plus $750, but not to exceed $3,000 in total, for each dependent, any implements, professional books, or tools of the trade of the debtor or the trade not to exceed $750, life insurance proceeds, professionally prescribed health aids, compensation for personal injury or for death, but such exemption is not exempt from claims for funeral, legal, medical, dental, hospital, and health care charges related to the accident or injury giving rise to the compensation, individual retirement accounts qualified under Section 408(a) of the Internal Revenue Code, individual retirement annuities qualified under Section 408(b) of the Internal Revenue Code, and accounts established as part of a trust described in Section 408(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

In a bankruptcy proceeding, the exemptions provided in The Bankruptcy Act, 11 U.S.C. § 522(d), are not applicable to residents of  the State of North Carolina. (§ 1C-1601(f).)

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