Courthouses after a Raleigh-area crash

A civil crash case from Wake County is filed at the Wake County Courthouse, 316 Fayetteville St. Mall, Raleigh, NC 27601. The main telephone is (919) 792-4000. Weekday hours run from 8:30 in the morning until 5 in the evening. Mail goes to PO Box 351, Raleigh, NC 27602. All civil matters except marriages are conducted in this building.

The Wake County Justice Center is at 300 S. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC 27601, with the same main telephone and the same weekday hours. All criminal matters, and marriages, are conducted there. A civil injury complaint does not belong at that door. The two buildings sit close together downtown, which is why people mix them up.

District Court is the proper division when the amount in controversy is twenty-five thousand dollars or less. Superior Court is the proper division when the amount exceeds that figure, under G.S. 7A-243. A small-claim path exists under G.S. 7A-210 when the amount is ten thousand dollars or less and the other statutory conditions are met. Ask the clerk for the current filing cost, because that figure can change.

A Durham wreck is a Durham County case. The official Durham County Courthouse is at 510 South Dillard St., Durham, NC 27701. The main telephone is (919) 808-3000. The clerk is in on weekdays from 8:30 in the morning until 5 in the evening. For Orange, Johnston, Wayne, Wilson, Nash, Edgecombe, Granville, Harnett, Franklin, or Chatham, use the official county page on the North Carolina Judicial Branch site rather than a guessed street address. A claim against the State is filed with the Industrial Commission, not first at the Wake courthouse. The longer court and city-and-state guides on this site walk through those paths.