Publication
Newspaper pricing is commercial rather than a statewide fee.
North Carolina court costs
North Carolina probate filing cost: $520
North Carolina charges $10 for facilities, $4 for court technology, and $106 for the General Court of Justice, plus $0.40 per $100 of gross estate, with the General Court of Justice assessment capped at $6,000.
$520 is the lowest statutory total when the amount this charge is assessed on is $100,000, which is not the same as the estate's value. Sources reviewed August 7, 2026. Latest primary-source re-fetch September 15, 2026.
What the statute charges
Every line below is computed from the statutory schedule quoted at the end of this page. These are court charges only. They are not an estimate of the total cost of settling an estate.
Administration of a decedent estate
The column headings are not estate values. This charge is assessed on personal property received plus the proceeds of real property that is sold, and real property that is not sold is excluded entirely. An estate of $100,000 that keeps the house is assessed on the personal property alone, which is a smaller figure and a smaller charge. Use the navigator to price a specific case.
| Charge | $25,000 assessable amount | $100,000 assessable amount | $400,000 assessable amount | $1,000,000 assessable amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Courtroom and judicial facilities | $10 | $10 | $10 | $10 |
| Court technology and connectivity | $4 | $4 | $4 | $4 |
| General Court of Justice, base | $106 | $106 | $106 | $106 |
| General Court of Justice, value charge ($0.40 per $100) | $100 | $400 | $1,600 | $4,000 |
| Total from this schedule | $220 | $520 | $1,720 | $4,120 |
Gross estate means personalty received plus proceeds of realty sold. The value of realty that is not sold is excluded. A remainder greater than half a unit is charged as a whole unit, which is how the statute’s “major fraction thereof” is applied here.
Not included in this total
- Certified copies
- Publication of notice to creditors
- Bond premium
G.S. 7A-307(a)(2) caps the $0.40 per $100 charge at $6,000. Subsection (2a) restates that same charge, with the same $6,000 limit and no $106 in the sentence, so the cap is read as applying to the value charge alone and the $106 base sits outside it; confirm the total with the clerk of superior court. Value received after the inventory is charged as its own filing, and the statute sets a $15 minimum for each filing, so later receipts can cost more than the $0.40 per $100 rate alone suggests. Each account or report is priced separately: three accounts of $1,000 are three $15 charges, not one charge on $3,000, so enter them individually. The $6,000 cap applies across the inventory and all later filings together. Enter each amount once: an asset already listed above, its sale proceeds, and the later-receipts figure are three different inputs and adding the same money twice will overstate the charge.
Source: N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-307, North Carolina General Assembly. Edition/currentness: Section history through 2023-88, s. 7. Verified September 15, 2026.
Costs no statute prices
These are the costs executors most often meet after the filing fee. None of them has a statewide statutory amount, so this site does not estimate them.
Bond
Premiums depend on the bond amount, the estate, and the applicant.
Copies and local charges
Certified copies, recording, inventory, accounting, and county surcharges are billed separately.
Professional fees
Attorney, accountant, and appraiser fees are negotiated or court-reviewed.
State-specific limits
- The statute cited here applies when the decedent died intestate, meaning without a will. A separate section covers testate estates.
- Real property is not transferred through the affidavit procedure.
- Compensation is discretionary up to the statutory ceiling.
- The $30,000 surviving-spouse limit applies after any spousal allowance paid under G.S. 30-15 is deducted.
Use this as a starting point.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Probate law varies by state and county and changes over time. Verify the current rule with the court or a licensed attorney in the relevant state.
How to verify the amount for this case
Name the proceeding before asking for a total. A small-estate affidavit, an application for letters, formal administration, a later inventory or account, and a certified copy can each carry a different charge. Asking only “what does probate cost?” invites an answer for the wrong filing.
- Identify the county where the proceeding will be filed.
- Identify the exact route or petition you expect to use.
- State the value basis the schedule uses; it is not always the gross estate value.
- Ask the clerk to separate the opening fee, mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings.
- Record the schedule date or rule cited.
- Record whether payment is due at filing.
Keep that clerk quote with the estate record and compare it with the itemised statutory lines above. For the broader budget, use the probate cost-line guide; court filing is only one category.
North Carolina filing-cost map
Separate the North Carolina filing charge from the estate budget
The North Carolina filing record prices a proceeding, not every cost of settling an estate. This map connects the published amount or schedule to its value basis and identifies the local items that still need a clerk or court schedule.
| Question | Recorded North Carolina answer | Carry into the case |
|---|---|---|
| What route is being screened? | Affidavit for collection of personal property | Confirm that the will, prior appointment, family facts, and asset titles fit this route. |
| What property and basis count? | personal probate property only; net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. | Keep real property, liens, beneficiary transfers, and survivorship transfers classified separately. |
| What is the amount screen? | $20,000 | Use the counted property, not a bank-balance shortcut. |
| What is the time or deadline record? | 30 days after death; North Carolina runs its creditor bar from publication and, for individually notified creditors, from the mailing of actual notice, with a three-year outer limit measured from death. The dates differ by trigger, so they are published separately rather than as one period. | Keep the event that starts each clock with the date; do not combine separate periods into one number. |
| What does the cost record establish? | 1 published schedule; the proceeding and value basis control the total. | Ask the Clerk of Superior Court about local surcharges, copies, publication, bond, and later filings. |
| What does compensation use? | The clerk may allow compensation up to 5% of receipts and expenditures. This is a ceiling, not an automatic award. The relevant base is money received and paid out during administration. | Keep the will, task log, receipts, and accounting base together; extraordinary work is separate. |
Filing record
What the North Carolina cost record can answer
Administration of a decedent estate
Basis: nc-gross-estate. Status: operative. G.S. 7A-307(a)(2) caps the $0.40 per $100 charge at $6,000. Subsection (2a) restates that same charge, with the same $6,000 limit and no $106 in the sentence, so the cap is read as applying to the value charge alone and the $106 base sits outside it; confirm the total with the clerk of superior court. Value received after the inventory is charged as its own filing, and the statute sets a $15 minimum for each filing, so later receipts can cost more than the $0.40 per $100 rate alone suggests. Each account or report is priced separately: three accounts of $1,000 are three $15 charges, not one charge on $3,000, so enter them individually. The $6,000 cap applies across the inventory and all later filings together. Enter each amount once: an asset already listed above, its sale proceeds, and the later-receipts figure are three different inputs and adding the same money twice will overstate the charge.
- Courtroom and judicial facilities $10
- Court technology and connectivity $4
- General Court of Justice, base $106
- General Court of Justice, value charge ($0.40 per $100) per-100 value charge
Case-file context
Keep the North Carolina answer with its neighboring conditions
A route answer is easier to use when the facts that can change it stay in the same record. These are the reviewed North Carolina descriptions adjacent to this page\'s main question; they are not a substitute for the source quotations or the receiving court\'s instructions.
Route context
North Carolina provides collection by affidavit for smaller personal-property estates after a 30-day wait.
Count personal property after liens. The limit is $20,000, or $30,000 when the surviving spouse is the sole heir. G.S. 28A-25-1 is the intestate route: it applies when the decedent died without a will.
Compensation context
The clerk may allow compensation up to 5% of receipts and expenditures. This is a ceiling, not an automatic award.
The clerk may allow compensation up to 5% of receipts and expenditures. This is a ceiling, not an automatic award. The relevant base is money received and paid out during administration.
Deadline context
North Carolina runs its creditor bar from publication and, for individually notified creditors, from the mailing of actual notice, with a three-year outer limit measured from death. The dates differ by trigger, so they are published separately rather than as one period.
- The statute cited here applies when the decedent died intestate, meaning without a will. A separate section covers testate estates.
- Real property is not transferred through the affidavit procedure.
- Compensation is discretionary up to the statutory ceiling.
- The $30,000 surviving-spouse limit applies after any spousal allowance paid under G.S. 30-15 is deducted.
Court-material note: North Carolina publishes both a statewide affidavit form and a statewide cost schedule, so the numbers on this page can be checked against the court's own publication.
Arithmetic illustration
See the North Carolina amount screen without mistaking it for a result
The recorded North Carolina ceiling is $20,000, and it is tested against personal probate property only, on a basis this site records as net of enforceable liens and encumbrances. Counted that way, $15,000 sits below the North Carolina figure and $25,000 sits above it. Both are comparisons to a published number rather than legal outcomes: two estates holding the same total can land on opposite sides of this line, because what North Carolina counts and how it values it are decided before the comparison is made.
| Illustrative counted amount | Comparison to the North Carolina ceiling | What it does not decide |
|---|---|---|
| $15,000 | Below $20,000 | Title, liens, waiting period, appointment, or creditor duties |
| $25,000 | Above $20,000 | Whether another statutory route or court process applies |
Next evidence to collect
Name the proceeding and ask for mandatory surcharges, copies, publication, and later filings separately.
- Record the date of death, the county, and the exact proceeding or affidavit being considered.
- Classify each asset by title, beneficiary, trust, real-property status, and the value basis shown above.
- Open the official court material below and keep its form or schedule with the estate record.
- Do not distribute property until the route, creditor position, and required approvals are resolved.
Official material
- AOC-E-203B, Affidavit for Collection of Personal PropertyNorth Carolina Judicial Branch
- Current court costs scheduleNorth Carolina Judicial Branch
North Carolina publishes both a statewide affidavit form and a statewide cost schedule, so the numbers on this page can be checked against the court's own publication.
Source trail
Records used by this North Carolina map
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-25-1North Carolina General Statutes, Collection by Affidavit; reviewed August 7, 2026
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-307North Carolina General Statutes, Costs in Estate Administration; reviewed August 7, 2026
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-23-3North Carolina General Statutes, Commissions; reviewed August 7, 2026
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-14-1(a)North Carolina General Statutes, Notice for Claims; reviewed August 7, 2026
- N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-19-3North Carolina General Statutes, Limitations on Presentation of Claims; reviewed August 7, 2026
Filing-cost source
Each legal input links to the government source reviewed for this page. Source text can change; confirm the current rule before acting.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-307 (G.S. 7A-307)
Reviewed source note: (2) For support of the General Court of Justice, the sum of one hundred six dollars ($106.00), plus an additional forty cents (40¢) per one hundred dollars ($100.00), or major fraction thereof, of the gross estate, not to exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000).