NC Writ of Possession Real Property (AOC-CV-401): Filing and Execution

To evict a tenant in North Carolina after winning a summary ejectment judgment, you file Form AOC-CV-401, the Writ of Possession for Real Property, with the Clerk of Superior Court in the county where the case was heard. The clerk issues the writ, the sheriff notices the tenant, and the sheriff physically removes the occupants so you can retake the property. You cannot file it the day you win. The tenant has 10 days to appeal, so the earliest most landlords can request the writ is roughly two weeks after the magistrate’s judgment.

When You Can Request the Writ

The writ is the enforcement step, not the eviction itself. Before it can issue, you need a magistrate’s judgment for possession in a summary ejectment case, and the tenant’s 10-day appeal window has to close without an appeal being filed and paid for. If the tenant fails to pay court costs within those 10 days, the appeal is automatically dismissed.¹

If the tenant does appeal, they can remain in the property by paying the undisputed back rent to the Clerk of Superior Court and signing an undertaking to keep paying rent monthly as it comes due. A tenant who qualifies as indigent under N.C.G.S. § 1-110 can skip the back-rent payment but still has to pay ongoing rent into the court.² While the appeal is pending, no writ can issue. If the tenant later stops paying rent into the Clerk’s office, you can move to lift the stay.

Filling Out AOC-CV-401

Get the form from the Clerk of Superior Court or download it from the North Carolina Judicial Branch website.³ The correct form number is AOC-CV-401. Some older references call it “AOC-CVM-401,” which is wrong.⁴

Fill it in using information that matches your original complaint and the magistrate’s judgment exactly. The fields you need:

County where the case was heard and the property sits.
File number from the summary ejectment case, copied straight off the judgment.
Plaintiff’s full legal name (or business entity name) and mailing address, matching the complaint.
Defendant’s full legal name and last known address.
Property description: the physical street address of the premises. This must match the property identified in the complaint. A mismatch can make the writ unenforceable.

Check every entry against the court’s judgment before you hand it in. A wrong file number or an inconsistent property address gives the Clerk grounds to reject the application, and you would have to refile.

What It Costs to File

You pay the fees when you submit the form. Under N.C.G.S. § 7A-311, the sheriff’s fee for serving civil process is $30 per person served, so a writ naming two defendants costs $60.⁵ For an ejectment execution, the statute also lets the sheriff recover “all necessary expenses” beyond the base fee, which covers things like movers or storage if you have to advance those costs.

Fees are paid up front unless you have been granted in forma pauperis status. Plan for a locksmith too. You will want the locks changed the moment the sheriff hands you possession, and rekeying a residential property usually runs $90 to $200 depending on how many locks are involved.

How the Sheriff Executes the Writ

Once the Clerk signs and seals the writ, it goes to the sheriff’s office. The sheriff has to execute it within five days of receiving it, and before showing up, must give the tenant advance notice of the approximate time.⁶ The notice method sets the lead time:

Hand delivery to the tenant or their agent: at least two days before.
Left at the dwelling with a person of suitable age: at least two days before.
First-class mail to the tenant’s last known address: at least five days before.

The notice also warns the tenant that any personal property left behind can be thrown away, sold, or otherwise disposed of if they do not claim it within seven days.⁷

On execution day, the sheriff oversees the removal of the occupants and lets you change the locks. If the tenant has already cleared out but belongings remain, you can ask the sheriff to padlock the premises instead of removing the property. You sign a statement saying the belongings can stay inside, and those costs get added to the court costs.⁶ If the tenant has paid off the court costs and debt owed by then, you can sign a statement declining to eject, and the sheriff will return the writ unexecuted.

Handling Belongings Left Behind

This is where landlords most often create liability for themselves. North Carolina law is specific about what you can do with property left after the sheriff finishes, and the rules depend on the estimated value.

Property worth $500 or more: you must hold it for at least seven days after execution. During those seven days you can move it into storage but cannot throw anything away, sell it, or dispose of it. If the tenant asks for the property within seven days, you must release it during regular business hours. After seven days you may sell the property at a public or private sale, but you have to mail written notice to the tenant’s last known address at least seven days before the sale. Proceeds go first to unpaid rent, damages, and storage; any surplus is returned to the tenant within seven days of the sale on request.⁸
Property worth less than $500: it is deemed abandoned five days after execution, and after those five days you can dispose of it however you choose.⁸
Property worth $750 or less, nonprofit option: instead of storing and selling, you can deliver the items to a nonprofit that provides free clothing and household goods. The nonprofit has to agree to store it separately for 30 days and release it to the tenant at no charge during that window. You must post notices at the premises and where rent is collected, and mail a copy to the tenant.⁸

If you seize, throw away, or block access to a tenant’s belongings outside these procedures, the tenant can sue for actual damages and recover the value of the lost property. Getting this piece wrong can cost more than the unpaid rent that started the case.

What Can Delay or Block the Writ

Tenant Appeals

A tenant who appeals within 10 days and posts the required undertaking stays in the property until district court hears the case. The appeal is a trial de novo, so district court starts fresh rather than reviewing the magistrate. Depending on the docket, this can add weeks or months.

Active-Duty Military Tenants

Federal law adds a step when the tenant did not appear in court. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a court cannot enter a default judgment without the landlord first filing an affidavit stating whether the defendant is in military service. If you cannot determine the tenant’s status, the affidavit has to say so.⁹ You can verify status through the Department of Defense’s SCRA website. Filing a false military-status affidavit is a federal crime punishable by up to one year in prison.

If the tenant is on active duty and their service materially affects their ability to appear, the court must grant a stay of at least 90 days, and can extend it on further applications.¹⁰ If your tenant is a servicemember and did not show up to court, expect a significant wait before any writ issues.

Motions to Modify the Appeal Bond

Either party can move to modify the terms of the appeal bond. When such a motion is filed, the Clerk or court must hold a hearing within 10 calendar days, and no writ of possession can issue while the motion is pending.²

1
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 7A-228 – Appeal for Trial De Novo
2
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 42-34 – Undertaking on Appeal and Order Staying Execution
3
North Carolina Judicial Branch. Writ of Possession Real Property
4
North Carolina Judicial Branch. AOC-CV-401 – Writ of Possession Real Property
5
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 7A-311 – Uniform Civil Process Fees
6
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 42-36.2 – Notice to Tenant of Execution of Writ for Possession of Property
7
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 42-36.2 – Notice to Tenant of Execution of Writ for Possession of Property
8
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 42-25.9 – Disposition of Tenant’s Personal Property
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3931 – Protection of Servicemembers Against Default Judgments
10
United States Courts. Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)