How much does probate cost in North Carolina?
31 Jul 2026
North Carolina publishes a ceiling, not a rate. The clerk of superior court fixes the personal representative’s commission, and it may not exceed 5% of the amounts received plus 5% of the expenditures made.
The court’s own cost is worked out to the dollar: $120.00 plus 40 cents for every $100 of the gross estate, with the percentage part capped at $6,000.00. On a gross estate of $250,000 that comes to $1,120.00. Real estate is left out of that base entirely unless it is sold and the proceeds reach the personal representative.
N.C.G.S. §28A-23-3 — North Carolina General Assembly · Verified 31 Jul 2026
Informational only, not legal advice. Figures verified on the date stamped. Details: /disclaimer/
Work it out on your own number
Two different sums matter in North Carolina, and only one of them can be worked out in advance. The court cost is arithmetic. The commission is a ceiling the clerk works beneath.
| Gross estate $50,000 | $320.00 |
| Gross estate $100,000 | $520.00 |
| Gross estate $250,000 | $1,120.00 |
| Gross estate $500,000 | $2,120.00 |
| Gross estate $1,000,000 | $4,120.00 |
| Gross estate $1,500,000 and above | $6,120.00 |
How it is built: a fixed $120.00 — $10.00 for the courtroom and judicial facilities, $4.00 for court technology and $106.00 for the support of the General Court of Justice — plus 40 cents for every $100, or major fraction of $100, of the gross estate. The percentage part stops at $6,000.00, which is reached at a gross estate of $1,500,000.00, so the total never exceeds $6,120.00.
Gross estate here is narrower than you might expect. It means the fair market value of all the personal property when it is received, plus any proceeds from selling real estate that reach the personal representative. The value of the real estate itself is left out — so an estate held mostly in land can pay very little here. The figure is worked out from the inventory, and anything arriving later is charged on the account that discloses it.
What each part costs
Every row is one figure, one source, one date. Where North Carolina fixes no price, the row says so instead of guessing.
| Fee | Amount or formula | Set by | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attorney feeOrdinary services | No statutory scheduleThe fee is agreed between the personal representative and the attorney and paid as a cost of administering the estate. The clerk still sees it: in deciding the representative’s commission the clerk may take account of what the estate has paid for professional services, though not dollar for dollar. The one place the statute mentions counsel fees is the narrow case where the attorney is also the personal representative — there the clerk may allow counsel fees on top of the commission, but only for legal work beyond the ordinary routine of administration. | Agreement, weighed by the clerk | N.C.G.S. §28A-23-4, read with §28A-23-3(a) | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Personal representative commissionThe executor or administrator | Up to 5% in, 5% outThe clerk fixes the commission and it may not exceed 5% of the amounts received — including the value of all personal property when it is received — plus 5% of the expenditures made in accordance with law. In setting the figure beneath that ceiling the clerk weighs the time, responsibility, trouble and skill the estate actually took. No commission is allowed on distributing shares to heirs or devisees. Where land is sold to pay debts or legacies, the commission is worked out only on the proceeds actually applied to paying them. Where the gross estate is $2,000 or less the clerk simply fixes what is just and adequate. | Statutory maximum | N.C.G.S. §28A-23-3 | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Court costsOpening the estate | $120.00 plus 40¢ per $100$120.00 fixed, plus 40 cents for every $100 or major fraction of $100 of the gross estate, with the percentage part capped at $6,000.00 — reached at a gross estate of $1,500,000.00. On a gross estate of $250,000.00 the cost is $1,120.00. The minimum on any filing is $15.00. Proving a will without appointing anyone costs the facilities fee plus $20.00, and filing a caveat costs $200.00. | Statute, statewide formula | N.C.G.S. §7A-307(a) | 31 Jul 2026 |
| Newspaper publicationNotice to creditors | Not fixed by statuteThe law sets the schedule, not the price — and North Carolina offers a route with no newspaper in it at all. Where a paper qualified to publish legal advertisements is published in the county, the notice runs in it once a week for four consecutive weeks. Where no paper is published in the county but one circulates there, the representative may instead post the notice at the courthouse and four other public places. Either way, claims must be presented by a named day at least three months after the notice first runs, and within 75 days of the letters the representative must also serve every creditor whose claim is known or can reasonably be found. | The newspaper, or nobody | N.C.G.S. §28A-14-1 | 31 Jul 2026 |
| BondPersonal representative’s bond | A floor, not a ceilingThe bond must be in an amount not less than one and one-quarter times the value of all the decedent’s personal property where a corporate surety company stands behind it. Where the personal property comes to more than $100,000 the clerk may instead accept a bond equal to that value plus 10%. Where the security is anything other than a corporate surety — personal sureties owning North Carolina land, a first mortgage or deed of trust, or negotiable securities deposited with the clerk — the bond must be not less than double the value. On personal property of $200,000.00 those three routes come to $250,000.00, $220,000.00 and $400,000.00. | Statutory floor | N.C.G.S. §28A-8-2(3) and (4) | 31 Jul 2026 |
A will only escapes the 5% ceiling if it does more than point back at the law. The ceiling does not apply where the will names a stipulated amount, or a method or standard for working the compensation out, or where the will says reasonable compensation and the representative and the beneficiaries whose shares would bear it agree in writing on the figure. It does apply where the will says the representative is to have what the law allows, or the maximum the law allows — wording that sounds generous and changes nothing.
What changes YOUR number in North Carolina
- A ceiling is not a rate
- 5% and 5% is the most the clerk may allow, not the figure anyone is entitled to. The clerk sets the actual commission beneath it on the time, responsibility, trouble and skill the estate took. Commissions may be allowed along the way, but the total is settled at the end and cannot break the ceiling.
- Money in and money out, not money owned
- The base is amounts received plus expenditures made in accordance with law, so the commission tracks what passed through the representative’s hands rather than the size of the estate. Two estates of equal value produce different commissions.
- Nothing for handing out the shares
- No commission is allowed on distributing shares to heirs or devisees. Where land is sold to pay debts or legacies, the commission is worked out only on the proceeds actually applied to paying them — not on the whole sale.
- Land is outside the court-cost base
- The gross estate for court costs counts personal property as it is received, plus proceeds of real estate that reach the representative. The land itself is left out. An estate whose main asset is a house that passes without being sold can pay court costs close to the $120.00 floor.
- Who stands behind the bond changes the multiplier
- The multiplier is set by the type of security, not by the size of the estate: one and one-quarter times with a corporate surety, double with personal sureties or a mortgage or deposited securities, and a value-plus-10% option the clerk may accept once the personal property passes $100,000. The premium itself is a private surety rate, not a figure set by law.
- Posting instead of publishing
- Where no qualifying newspaper is published in the county, the representative may post the notice at the courthouse and four other public places instead of advertising. In that case the cash cost of this step can be nothing at all. Where the only asset is a wrongful-death claim, no notice is required.
Personal property of $20,000 or less can be collected by affidavit
Where someone dies without a will leaving personal property worth no more than $20,000 after liens and encumbrances, an heir or creditor of the decedent, or the public administrator, may collect it by affidavit once 30 days have passed since the death — provided no application for a personal representative is pending or has been granted anywhere.
- Limit $20,000, or $30,000 where the person collecting is the surviving spouse and the only heir.
- The affidavit is filed with the clerk of superior court in the county where the decedent lived, and the fee under section 7A-307 is paid. The clerk indexes it and posts a copy to everyone shown as entitled.
- Presenting it is enough to require transfer of a vehicle title, a bank or credit union account, or stock registered in the decedent’s name.
- The clerk may require a bond conditioned as provided in section 28A-8-2.
- Intestate estates only — the testate route is below.
The same figures apply where there is a will
Where the decedent left a will, section 28A-25-1.1 opens the same route on the same numbers — $20,000 of personal property after liens and encumbrances, or $30,000 where the affiant is the surviving spouse entitled to the whole estate — with two extra conditions. The will must already have been admitted to probate in the court of the proper county, and a certified copy must be attached to the affidavit. It may be used by the person named as executor, by a devisee, heir or creditor, or by the public administrator, and the same 30-day wait and the same bar on a pending or granted appointment apply.
$30,000 is not a clean ceiling. The spousal figure is a net one — it is worked out after taking off any spousal allowance already paid. A surviving spouse who has drawn the allowance has less headroom than the number suggests.
N.C.G.S. §28A-25-1 — North Carolina General Assembly · Verified 31 Jul 2026
N.C.G.S. §28A-25-1.1(a) and (b) — same source · Verified 1 Aug 2026
Three tools, in the order most people need them
North Carolina probate cost questions
How much does an executor get paid in North Carolina?
The clerk of superior court fixes the commission, and it may not exceed 5% of the amounts received plus 5% of the expenditures made in accordance with law. That is a ceiling, not an entitlement — the clerk sets the figure beneath it on the time, responsibility, trouble and skill involved. No commission is allowed on distributing shares to heirs or devisees.
Does North Carolina set probate attorney fees by statute?
No. There is no percentage schedule for the estate’s attorney. The fee is agreed with the personal representative and paid as a cost of administration, and the clerk may take it into account when fixing the commission. The statute deals with counsel fees only where the attorney is also serving as the personal representative.
What are probate court costs in North Carolina?
$120.00 plus 40 cents for every $100, or major fraction of $100, of the gross estate, with the percentage part capped at $6,000.00 — reached at a gross estate of $1,500,000.00. On a gross estate of $250,000.00 the cost is $1,120.00. The value of real estate is excluded from the base unless it is sold and the proceeds reach the personal representative.
How much is the newspaper notice in North Carolina probate?
North Carolina sets no price. Where a qualifying newspaper is published in the county the notice runs once a week for four consecutive weeks. Where none is, the representative may post the notice at the courthouse and four other public places instead, so the cash cost of this step can be nothing.
What is the small estate limit in North Carolina?
$20,000 of personal property after liens and encumbrances, rising to $30,000 where the person collecting is the surviving spouse entitled to the whole estate — and that higher figure is worked out after deducting any spousal allowance already paid. Thirty days must have passed and no personal representative may have been applied for or appointed. The same two figures apply where the decedent left a will, under section 28A-25-1.1, provided the will has already been admitted to probate and a certified copy is attached to the affidavit.
Sources & verification
Every figure on this page was checked against the official source on the date shown. Statutory figures are re-checked annually.
- Personal representative commission — N.C.G.S. §28A-23-3 ncleg.govVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Attorney fee, and counsel fees where the attorney serves as representative — N.C.G.S. §28A-23-4 ncleg.govVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Court costs — N.C.G.S. §7A-307(a) ncleg.govVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Publication and creditor notice — N.C.G.S. §28A-14-1 ncleg.govVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Bond — N.C.G.S. §28A-8-2(3) and (4) ncleg.govVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Small-estate affidavit, intestate — N.C.G.S. §28A-25-1 ncleg.govVerified 31 Jul 2026 · annual statutory re-check
- Small-estate affidavit, testate — N.C.G.S. §28A-25-1.1(a) and (b) ncleg.govVerified 1 Aug 2026 · annual statutory re-check
Researched and verified by John Terra · Methodology
This page is information, not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Laws and fee schedules change; every figure here was verified on the date stamped beside it. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney licensed in North Carolina. Full terms: /disclaimer/
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