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NC General Statutes

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-313 (2026)

Form of execution

✓ current as of July 2026
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The execution must be directed to the sheriff, or to the coroner when the sheriff is a party to or interested in the action. In those counties where the office of coroner is abolished, or is vacant, and in which process is required to be executed on the sheriff, the authority to execute such process shall be vested in the clerk of court; however, the clerk of court is hereby empowered to designate and direct by appropriate order some person to act in the clerk of court's stead to execute the same. The execution must also be subscribed by the clerk of the court, and must refer to the judgment, stating the county where the judgment roll or transcript is filed, the names of the parties, the amount of the judgment, if it is for money, the amount actually due thereon, and the time of docketing in the county to which the execution is issued, and shall require the officer substantially as follows:

(1) Against Property - No Lien on Personal Property until Levy. - If it is against the property of the judgment debtor, it shall require the officer to satisfy the judgment out of his personal property; and if sufficient personal property cannot be found, out of the real property belonging to him on the day when the judgment was docketed in the county, or at any time thereafter; but no execution against the property of a judgment debtor is a lien on his personal property, as against any bona fide purchaser from him for value, or as against any other execution, except from the levy thereof.

(2) Against Property in Hands of Personal Representative. - If it is against real or personal property in the hands of personal representatives, heirs, devisees, tenants of real property or trustees it shall require the officer to satisfy the judgment out of such property.

(3) Against the Person. - If it is against the person of the judgment debtor, it shall require the officer to arrest him, and commit him to the jail of the county until he pays the judgment or is released or discharged according to law. The execution shall include a statement that if the defendant is an indigent person he is entitled to services of counsel, that he may petition for preliminary release on the basis of his indigency, that if he does so he will have an opportunity within 72 hours to suggest to a judge his indigency for purposes of appointment of counsel and provisional release, and that the judge will thereupon immediately appoint counsel for him if it is adjudged that he is unable to pay a lawyer.

(4) For Delivery of Specific Property. - If it is for the delivery of the possession of real or personal property, it shall require the officer to deliver the possession of the same, particularly describing it, to the party entitled thereto, and may at the same time require the officer to satisfy any costs, damages, rents, or profits recovered by the same judgment, out of the personal property of the party against whom it was rendered, and the value of the property for which the judgment was recovered, to be specified therein, if a delivery cannot be had; and if sufficient personal property cannot be found, then out of the real property belonging to him on the day when the judgment was docketed, or at any time thereafter, and in that respect is deemed an execution against property.

(5) For Purchase Money of Land. - If the answer in an action for recovery of a debt contracted for the purchase of land does not deny, or if the jury finds, that the debt was so contracted, it is the duty of the court to have embodied in the judgment that the debt sued on was contracted for the purchase money of the land, describing it briefly; and it is also the duty of the clerk to set forth in the execution that the said debt was contracted for the purchase of the land, the description of which must be set out briefly as in the complaint. (C.C.P., s. 261; 1868-9, c. 148; 1879, c. 217; Code, ss. 234-236, 448; Rev., s. 627; C.S., s. 675; 1971, c. 653, s. 2; 1977, c. 649, s. 2; 2011-284, s. 3.)

 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 7 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1962–2024 · leading case: Able Outdoor, Inc. v. Harrelson, 459 S.E.2d 626 (N.C. 1995).
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Able Outdoor, Inc. v. Harrelson, 459 S.E.2d 626 (N.C. 1995). · cites it 3× “It says the orders issued in this case were issued pursuant to these sections of the statutes and are valid. These sections were in effect when Smith was decided.”
Halverson v. Halverson (In Re Halverson), 151 B.R. 358 (M.D.N.C. 1993). · cites it 2× “— If [the execution] is against the property of the judgment debtor, it shall require the officer to satisfy the judgment out of his personal property; and if sufficient personal property cannot be found, out of the real property belonging to him on the day when the judgment was…”
Cmty. Credit Co. of Lenoir, Inc. v. Norwood, 125 S.E.2d 369 (N.C. 1962). “G.S. 1-313(1); Finance Corp. v. Hodges, 230 N.”
S & D Land Clearing Ex Rel. Mitchell v. D'Elegance Mgmt. Ltd., 34 F. App'x 885 (4th Cir. 2002). “D’Elegance then argues that under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 1-313(1), Malaco may not execute against property until the appropriate North Carolina sheriff has levied upon that property.”
Ferguson v. Morgan, 191 S.E.2d 817 (N.C. 1972). “Rock Products, Inc. and United Bonding Co.” As stipulated in this Court, the first lien of The Northwestern Bank created by the security agreement of 21 March 1968 was not involved in that action.”
Slattery v. Appy City, LLC (N.C. 2024). · cites it 3× “In addition to subjecting future real and personal property to ongoing claims in execution of the judgment, N.C.G.S. § 1-313, a civil judgment—viewable by anyone as a public record—may affect a person’s ability to afford or obtain insurance, credit, or rental housing.”
Red House Furniture Co. v. Smith, 313 S.E.2d 569 (N.C. 1984). “1-480 our legislature has provided an exception to this rule and permits forcible entry where property subject to claim and delivery is concealed, no similar exception has been promulgated with respect to the execution of writs of possession pursuant to G.S. 1-313(4). We here…”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-313(1) — 4 cases
Halverson v. Halverson (In Re Halverson), 151 B.R. 358 (M.D.N.C. 1993). “— If [the execution] is against the property of the judgment debtor, it shall require the officer to satisfy the judgment out of his personal property; and if sufficient personal property cannot be found, out of the real property belonging to him on the day when the judgment was…”
Cmty. Credit Co. of Lenoir, Inc. v. Norwood, 125 S.E.2d 369 (N.C. 1962). “G.S. 1-313(1); Finance Corp. v. Hodges, 230 N.”
S & D Land Clearing Ex Rel. Mitchell v. D'Elegance Mgmt. Ltd., 34 F. App'x 885 (4th Cir. 2002). “D’Elegance then argues that under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 1-313(1), Malaco may not execute against property until the appropriate North Carolina sheriff has levied upon that property.”
Ferguson v. Morgan, 191 S.E.2d 817 (N.C. 1972). “Rock Products, Inc. and United Bonding Co.” As stipulated in this Court, the first lien of The Northwestern Bank created by the security agreement of 21 March 1968 was not involved in that action.”
— N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-313(4) — 1 case
Red House Furniture Co. v. Smith, 313 S.E.2d 569 (N.C. 1984). “1-480 our legislature has provided an exception to this rule and permits forcible entry where property subject to claim and delivery is concealed, no similar exception has been promulgated with respect to the execution of writs of possession pursuant to G.S. 1-313(4). We here…”
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