How Long Does an Eviction Stay on Your Record in NC?

An eviction can stay on your record in NC for up to seven years on tenant screening reports, and the underlying court file is permanent unless you take steps to remove it. A North Carolina law that took effect October 1, 2025, now creates paths to expunge certain eviction records from court files, and whether you qualify automatically or need to petition depends on how your case ended.

The Seven-Year Screening Window

Federal law sets the outer limit on how long tenant screening companies can report an eviction. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, screening companies cannot include civil suits or civil judgments that are more than seven years old, measured from the filing date or the date judgment was entered.¹ If the statute of limitations on the underlying claim has not yet run, the reporting window can extend past seven years until it does.²

The catch: even a case that was dismissed or decided in your favor can appear on screening reports for those seven years. Many landlords treat any eviction filing as a red flag, and many screening reports list the filing without noting the outcome, so a dismissed case can look identical to one the tenant lost.

The Court Record Is Permanent Unless Expunged

North Carolina calls its eviction process “summary ejectment.” Once a landlord files, the case becomes a public record held by the clerk of superior court, and that record stays in the court system indefinitely.³ Anyone searching public court records, whether online through the North Carolina Judicial Branch portal or in person at the courthouse, can find it. Tenant screening companies routinely pull those court records for background checks.

So even after the seven-year FCRA window closes and the filing drops off standard screening reports, the underlying court file is still there for anyone who looks. That is why expungement matters: it removes the record at the source.

Whether Evictions Show on Your Credit Report

An eviction judgment does not appear on your credit report from Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion. Since July 2017, the three major credit bureaus have excluded all civil judgments from credit reports, and bankruptcies are now the only public record that appears on those files.⁴

An eviction can still hurt your credit indirectly. If you owe your former landlord unpaid rent or fees and the debt gets sent to collections, that collection account will appear on your credit report and can stay there for up to seven years from the date the original debt first became delinquent.⁵ If you discharged a landlord judgment in bankruptcy, the bankruptcy filing itself can stay on your tenant screening history for up to ten years.²

Getting a North Carolina Eviction Expunged

Until recently, North Carolina had no way to clear civil eviction records from court files. The state’s expungement statute, G.S. 15A-146, covers only criminal matters like dismissed charges and not-guilty findings.⁶ House Bill 267 changed that by creating G.S. 42-36.4, the Eviction Record Expunction Act, effective October 1, 2025.⁷ The new law creates three tracks, and there is a retroactive path for older cases as well.

Automatic Expungement After a Voluntary Dismissal

If your case was voluntarily dismissed before the magistrate or district court entered a possession order, the clerk of superior court must automatically expunge all court records from the case 30 days after it was resolved. You do not need to file anything or appear in court. This applies to cases filed on or after October 1, 2025.⁸

Petition-Based Expungement When You Won

If judgment was entered in your favor on the merits, the record is not removed automatically, but you can file a petition with the clerk. Once you do, the clerk must grant the expungement without a hearing.⁸ The step is essentially a formality, but you have to take it.

Petition-Based Expungement When the Landlord Won

If the court ruled against you, the path is harder but not closed. You can petition for expungement once all three of these conditions are met:

All applicable appeal periods have passed and any appeals have been resolved.
At least three years have passed since the date the judgment was entered on the merits.
You can show the court that you have stabilized your housing situation.

If the court finds you have met the requirements, it must enter an expungement order without a hearing.⁷ The statute does not define “housing stabilization” in detail, so how courts read that phrase will develop over time.

Older Cases Filed Before October 1, 2025

The law reaches back. If your older case was voluntarily dismissed or decided in your favor, you can file a petition requesting expungement under the same framework. For older cases where the landlord won, the same three-year wait and housing stabilization requirements apply.⁸ Tenants carrying eviction records from years ago may now be eligible for relief they never had before.

Fixing Errors on a Tenant Screening Report

Expungement clears the court file, but you may still need to deal with screening companies directly. Under the FCRA, you have the right to dispute any information that is inaccurate, outdated, or does not belong to you. The screening company must investigate and notify you of the results, generally within 30 days, and it must delete or correct information it cannot verify.⁹

Start by getting a copy of the report. If a landlord denied your application based on a screening report, they must tell you which company provided it, and you can request a free copy within 60 days of the denial.¹⁰ Submit your dispute in writing, attach supporting documents like a court dismissal order, and let the landlord know you have filed it. If the investigation does not resolve the problem, you can ask the screening company to add a statement of dispute to your file so future landlords see your side.

What To Do While the Record Is Still There

Most landlords treat any eviction filing as a dealbreaker, even a dismissal, and many screening reports list the filing without the outcome. If your record has not yet been expunged and you are applying for housing, being upfront tends to work better than letting a landlord discover the filing without context. A short written explanation, paired with the court order showing dismissal or a ruling in your favor, carries more weight than silence. If the landlord won your case, proof that you have paid off any outstanding judgment and stabilized your housing can help your application well before you are eligible to petition for expungement.

1
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1681c – Requirements Relating to Information Contained in Consumer Reports
2
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Long Can Information Like Eviction Actions and Lawsuits Stay on My Tenant Screening Record
3
North Carolina Judicial Branch. Landlord/Tenant Issues
4
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. A New Retrospective on the Removal of Public Records
5
Experian. How Long Does an Eviction Stay on Your Record
6
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 15A-146 – Expunction of Records When Charges Are Dismissed or There Are Findings of Not Guilty
7
Legislative Reporting Service, UNC School of Government. Bill Summary for H 267 (2025-2026)
8
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina H.B. 267 – Expunging Certain Eviction Records
9
Federal Trade Commission. Disputing Errors on Your Tenant Background Check Report
10
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Errors in Your Tenant Screening Report Shouldn’t Keep You From Finding a Place to Call Home