Registration Guide

To register to vote in North Carolina, you must:

• Be a U.S. citizen.*

  • Citizenship documents are NOT required to register!

• Live in the county where you are registering, and have resided there for at least 30 days prior to Election Day.

  • For voters on active duty military, their families, and U.S. citizens abroad, the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) allows you to register and vote by mail-in ballot. Visit the NC UOCAVA Portal to access your ballot.

  • For college students, check the NC State Board of Elections's guide on registering in your college community.

• Be at least 18 years old, or will be by the date of the general election.

  • 16- and 17-year-olds can preregister to vote.

  • If you will be 18 at the time of the general election, you may vote in the eprimary for that election as a 17 year old.

• Not be serving a felony sentence. (This includes any period of probation, post-release supervision, or parole.)*

  • Once their period of supervision is over, a person convicted of a felony automatically regains the right to vote. They must still register to vote, even if they were previously registered to vote prior to being convicted of a felony. Learn more about registering to vote while in the criminal justice system.

  • Misdemeanor convictions in the state of North Carolina do not jeopardize your right to vote, even if you are incarcerated.​

 

*Eligible would-be voters who become naturalized U.S. citizens or whose rights are restored after being released from prison or jail for a felony sentence ahead of Election Day, but after the regular voter registration deadline, may register and vote during early voting or in-person on Election Day.