Statutes: North Carolina

(a) A temporary civil no-contact order may be granted ex parte, without evidence of service of process or notice, only if both of the following are shown:

(1) It clearly appears from specific facts shown by a verified complaint or affidavit that immediate injury, loss, or damage will result to the victim before the respondent can be heard in opposition.

(2) Either one of the following:

a. The complainant certifies to the court in writing the efforts, if any, that have been made to give the notice and the reasons supporting the claim that notice should not be required.

b. The complainant certified to the court that there is good cause to grant the remedy because the harm that the remedy is intended to prevent would likely occur if the respondent were given any prior notice of the complainant’s efforts to obtain judicial relief.

(b) Every temporary civil no-contact order granted without notice shall:

(1) Be endorsed with the date and hour of issuance.

(2) Be filed immediately in the clerk’s office and entered of record.

(3) Define the injury, state why it is irreparable and why the order was granted without notice.

(4) Expire by its terms within such time after entry, not to exceed 10 days.

(5) Give notice of the date of hearing on the temporary order as provided in G.S. 50C-8(a).

(c) If the respondent appears in court for a hearing on a temporary order, the respondent may elect to file a general appearance and testify. Any resulting order may be a temporary order, governed by this section. Notwithstanding the requirements of this section, if all requirements of G.S. 50C-7 have been met, the court may issue a permanent order.

(d) When the court is not in session, the complainant may file for a temporary order before any judge or magistrate designated to grant relief under this Chapter. If the judge or magistrate finds that there is an immediate and present danger of harm to the victim and that the requirements of subsection (a) of this section have been met, the judge or magistrate may issue a temporary civil no-contact order. The chief district court judge may designate for each county at least one judge or magistrate to be reasonably available to issue temporary civil no-contact orders when the court is not in session. When the office of the clerk is closed and a magistrate has been authorized under this section to grant relief, an authorized magistrate shall accept for filing a complaint for a civil no-contact order and motion for temporary civil no-contact order, note thereon the filing date, and the magistrate shall issue a summons. Any endorsement or alias and pluries summons pursuant to G.S. 1A-1, Rule 4(d) shall be issued by the clerk, assistant clerk, or deputy clerk of the court in the county in which the action is commenced. Any complaint and motion for temporary civil no-contact order and any other documents accepted for filing under this section and any order entered by the magistrate shall be delivered to the clerk’s office for processing as soon as that office is open for business.

(e) Repealed by S.L. 2021-47, § 10(j), eff. June 18, 2021.