(a) Service of orders, subsequent pleadings, discovery papers, written motions, written notices, and other similar papers – When required. – Every order required by its terms to be served, every pleading subsequent to the original complaint unless the court otherwise orders because of numerous defendants, every paper relating to discovery required to be served upon a party unless the court otherwise orders, every written motion other than one which may be heard ex parte, and every written notice, appearance, demand, offer of judgment and similar paper shall be served upon each of the parties, but no service need be made on parties in default for failure to appear except that pleadings asserting new or additional claims for relief against them shall be served upon them in the manner provided for service of summons in Rule 4.
Rule 5.Service and filing of pleadings and other papers.
Last amended 2025 · Last verified July 3, 2026
In one sentenceRule 5 requires every pleading after the complaint, discovery paper, and written motion to be served on each party — by delivery, mail, email under specified conditions, or the court’s e-filing system — and to be filed with the court, generally within five days of service.
Full Text of Rule 5
(a1) Service of briefs or memoranda in support or opposition of certain dispositive motions. – In actions in superior court, every brief or memorandum in support of or in opposition to a motion to dismiss, a motion for judgment on the pleadings, a motion for summary judgment, or any other motion seeking a final determination of the rights of the parties as to one or more of the claims or parties in the action shall be served upon each of the parties at least two days before the hearing on the motion. If the brief or memorandum is not served on the other parties at least two days before the hearing on the motion, the court may continue the matter for a reasonable period to allow the responding party to prepare a response, proceed with the matter without considering the untimely served brief or memorandum, or take such other action as the ends of justice require. The parties may, by consent, alter the period of time for service. For the purpose of this two-day requirement only, service shall mean personal delivery, facsimile transmission, electronic (email) delivery, or other means such that the party actually receives the brief within the required time.
(a2) Service by the Court. – With respect to any document filed by the court that is required to be served, service by the court may be made by a notice that identifies the document filed and directs the recipient to an internet location where the document is available to the recipient.
(b) Service – How made. – A pleading setting forth a counterclaim or cross claim shall be filed with the court and a copy thereof shall be served on the party against whom it is asserted or on the party's attorney of record as provided by this subsection. With respect to all pleadings subsequent to the original complaint and other papers required or permitted to be served, service shall be made upon the party's attorney of record and, if ordered by the court, also upon the party. If the party has no attorney of record, service shall be made upon the party. Service is made under this subsection if performed on an attorney through the court's electronic filing or case management system at an email address of record with the court. Service is made under this subsection if performed on a party through the court's electronic filing system or case management system at an email address of record with the court in the case if the party has consented to receive service through the court's electronic filing or case management system and a copy of the consent is filed with the court by any party. Service through the court's electronic filing or case management system must be sent by 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time on a regular business day. If the service is sent after 5:00 P.M., it will be deemed to have been sent on the next business day. When service through the court's electronic filing or case management system is not available, service may be made as follows:
(1) Upon a party's attorney of record:
a. By delivering a copy to the attorney. Delivery of a copy within this sub-subdivision means handing it to the attorney, leaving it at the attorney's office with a partner or employee, or sending it to the attorney's office by a confirmed telefacsimile transmittal for receipt by 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time on a regular business day, as evidenced by a telefacsimile receipt confirmation. If receipt of delivery by telefacsimile is after 5:00 P.M., service will be deemed to have been completed on the next business day. Service may also be made on the attorney by email to an email address of record with the court in the case. Such email must be sent by 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time on a regular business day. If the email is sent after 5:00 P.M., it will be deemed to have been sent on the next business day.
b. By mailing a copy to the attorney's mailing address of record with the court.
c. In the manner provided in Rule 4 for service and return of process.
(2) Upon a party:
a. By delivering a copy to the party. Delivery of a copy within this sub-subdivision means handing it to the party.
b. By mailing a copy to the party at the party's last known address or, if no address is known, by filing it with the clerk of court.
c. Service may also be made on the party by email if the party has consented to receive email service in the case at a particular email address, and a copy of the consent is filed with the court by any party. Such email must be sent by 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time on a regular
business day. If the email is sent after 5:00 P.M. Eastern Time, it will be deemed to have been sent on the next business day.
d. In the manner provided in Rule 4 for service and return of process. Service by mail shall be complete upon deposit of the pleading or paper enclosed in a post-paid, properly addressed wrapper in a post office or official depository under the exclusive care and custody of the United States Postal Service. (b1) Service – Certificate of Service. – A certificate of service shall accompany every pleading and every paper required to be served on any party or nonparty to the litigation, except with respect to pleadings and papers whose service is governed by Rule 4. The certificate shall show the date and method of service or the date of acceptance of service and shall show the name and service address of each person upon whom the paper has been served. If one or more persons are served by facsimile transmission or email, the certificate shall also show the telefacsimile number or email address of each person so served in that manner. Each certificate of service shall be signed in accordance with and subject to Rule 11 of these rules. With respect to persons served through the court's electronic filing systems, an automated certificate of service generated by that system and that is filed in the case satisfies the requirements of this rule.
(c) Service – Numerous defendants. – In any action in which there are unusually large numbers of defendants, the court, upon motion or of its own initiative, may order that service of the pleadings of the defendants and replies thereto need not be made as between the defendants and that any crossclaim, counterclaim, or matter constituting an avoidance or affirmative defense contained therein shall be deemed to be denied or avoided by all other parties and that the filing of any such pleading and service thereof upon the plaintiff constitutes due notice of it to the parties. A copy of every such order shall be served upon the parties in such manner and form as the court directs.
(d) Filing. – The following papers shall be filed with the court, either before service or within five days after service:
(1) All pleadings, as defined by Rule 7(a) of these rules, subsequent to the complaint, whether such pleadings are original or amended.
(2) Written motions and all notices of hearing.
(3) Any other application to the court for an order that may affect the rights of or in any way commands any individual, business entity, governmental agency, association, or partnership to act or to forego action of any kind.
(4) Notices of appearance.
(5) Any other paper required by rule or statute to be filed.
(6) Any other paper so ordered by the court.
(7) All orders issued by the court. All other papers, regardless of whether these rules require them to be served upon a party, should not be filed with the court unless (i) the filing is agreed to by all parties, or (ii) the papers are submitted to the court in relation to a motion or other request for relief, or (iii) the filing is permitted by another rule or statute. The party taking a deposition or obtaining material through discovery is responsible for its preservation and delivery to the court if needed or so ordered. (e)(1) Filing with the court defined. – The filing of pleadings and other papers with the court as required by these rules shall be made by filing them with the clerk of the court, except that the judge may permit the papers to be filed with the judge, in which event the judge shall note thereon the filing date and forthwith transmit them to the office of the clerk.
(2) Filing by electronic means. – If electronic filing is available in the county of filing, filing shall be made in accordance with Rule 5 of the General Rules of Practice for the Superior and District Courts. (3) The failure to affix a date stamp or file stamp on any order or judgment filed in a civil action, estate proceeding, or special proceeding shall not affect the sufficiency, validity, or enforceability of the order or judgment if the clerk or the court, after giving the parties adequate notice and opportunity to be heard, enters the order or judgment nunc pro tunc to the date of filing.
Amendment History
(1967, c. 954, s. 1; 1971, c. 538; c. 1156, s. 2.5; 1975, c. 762, s. 1; 1983, c. 201, s. 1; 1985, c. 546; 1991, c. 168, s. 1; 2000-127, s. 1; 2001-379, s. 3; 2001-388, s. 1; 2001-487, s. 107.5(a); 2004-199, s. 5(a); 2005-138, ss. 1, 2; 2006-187, s. 2(a); 2011-332, s. 4.2; 2017-158, s. 1; 2020-46, s. 2; 2023-103, s. 12(a); 2024-33, s. 2; 2025-25, s. 29(1).)
Plain-English Summary
Rule 5(a) casts a wide net over what must be served after the complaint: every order that requires service by its own terms, every subsequent pleading, discovery papers, written motions other than those heard ex parte, and similar notices and demands. A party already in default for failing to appear need not be served — unless a later pleading asserts a new or additional claim against that party, in which case service follows Rule 4’s procedure for an original summons. Briefs or memoranda supporting or opposing certain dispositive motions carry their own two-day advance service requirement in superior court, enforceable by a continuance or by the court disregarding an untimely brief outright.
Service on a party’s attorney of record — or on the party directly if unrepresented — can be made by hand delivery, by mailing to the attorney’s address of record, by the court’s electronic filing system, or by email to an address of record if the recipient has consented and the email is sent by 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on a business day. Service by mail is complete on deposit in the mail. A certificate of service must accompany nearly everything served, showing the date, method, and recipient of service, signed subject to the same good-faith obligation Rule 11 imposes on every court paper.
Where a case has an unusually large number of defendants, the court may relieve the parties of the need to serve every pleading on every co-defendant, deeming crossclaims and counterclaims denied and treating service on the plaintiff as notice to everyone else. Rule 5(d) also sets out what must be filed with the court — pleadings, written motions and notices of hearing, and orders affecting a party’s rights — generally before service or within five days after, while discovery material like depositions and interrogatories need not be filed unless a rule, order, or party’s request calls for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to serve every document I file after the complaint on the other side?
Yes, with narrow exceptions. Rule 5(a) requires service of orders, later pleadings, discovery papers, and most written motions and notices on every party, except a party already in default for failing to appear (unless a new claim is asserted against that party).
Can documents be served by email under Rule 5?
Yes, if the party being served has consented to receiving email service at a specific address on file with the court and the email is sent by 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on a business day; otherwise it is treated as sent the next business day.
How quickly must a filed document be served versus filed with the court?
Papers generally must be filed with the court either before service or within five days after service, though the court can order discovery material such as depositions held back from the file unless a rule or order calls for filing it.
Source & verification. The rule text and history citation are reproduced verbatim from the
official North Carolina General Statutes, Chapter 1A (N.C. R. Civ. P. 5). Enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly (S.L. 1967, c. 954, codified at N.C.G.S. § 1A-1). The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified July 3, 2026. ·
Official source
Also known as: service of pleadings and motionscertificate of serviceservice on attorney of recordservice by mailservice by emaile-serviceelectronic filing servicenumerous defendants service exceptionfiling with the courtwhen service by mail is complete