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ROW Record

State record · NC · 2026-09-01 · Statute

North Carolina

Live on this state’s ALPR statute. The occupancy form on file is not a named ALPR highway instrument. A live card is not a permit in hand.

Statute
Open the workbenchThe method
Highway system
Primary
Statewide system of hard-surfaced and other dependable highways that NCDOT takes over, establishes, constructs, and maintains, running to county seats, principal towns, State parks, and principal State institutions, and linking adjoining-state and national highways (G.S. 136-45).
Owner
Primary
North Carolina Department of Transportation. G.S. 136-18 gives NCDOT power to locate and acquire rights-of-way for the State highway system and to control the system.
Right-of-way
Not retrieved
not packed. North Carolina’s statutory ROW definition is not packed in this build. G.S. 136-18 authorizes NCDOT to locate and acquire rights-of-way; it does not define the term. Do not substitute Florida § 334.03(21).
Public records
Primary
North Carolina Public Records Law (N.C. Gen. Stat. Chapter 132; definition and access policy § 132-1). Who may request: The people — public records are the property of the people and may be obtained free or at minimal (actual reproduction) cost unless a statute says otherwise (§ 132-1(b)) G.S. 20-183.32(e) makes captured plate data confidential and not a public record as defined in G.S. 132-1. Do not send a plate-data request citing only Chapter 132.

G.S. 20-183.32(e) makes captured plate data confidential and not a public record as defined in G.S. 132-1. Do not send a plate-data request citing only Chapter 132.

Open meetings
Primary
Open Meetings Law (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 143-318.9 to 143-318.10)
ALPR statute
Primary
N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-183.30 to 20-183.33 (Article 3D) — Automatic License Plate Reader Systems. Applies to mobile or fixed high-speed cameras used with algorithms to convert plate images to data; excludes traffic-control photographic systems (G.S. 160A-300.1) and open-road tolling (G.S. 136-89.210(3)). A State or local LE agency must adopt a written policy covering comparison databases, retention, sharing, operator training, supervisory oversight, internal security and access, at-least-annual audit/report to the agency head, and access to other agencies’ ALPR data — before the system is operational (§ 20-183.31(a)). Data may be obtained, accessed, preserved, or disclosed only for a “law enforcement purpose” as defined in § 20-183.30(5) (criminal investigation/arrest/prosecution/post-conviction confinement or supervision; felony-warrant apprehension; missing or endangered person; lost or stolen vehicle). Data may not be used to enforce traffic violations (§ 20-183.31(b)). Captured plate data is confidential and not a public record under G.S. 132-1; it may be disclosed only to a criminal-justice officer at a State or local LE agency or a similar federal official for a legitimate law-enforcement purpose on written request (electronic ok). Sale is forbidden. Hot-list databases used by the system must be updated every 24 hours if updates are available (§ 20-183.32(d)). Violation of the Article is a Class 1 misdemeanor (§ 20-183.33). § 20-183.32A (highway pilot) was repealed effective 1 Jan 2024. Retention: Default: captured plate data shall not be preserved more than 90 days after capture (§ 20-183.32(a)). Longer hold only on a written sworn preservation request under (c), a G.S. Chapter 15A Article 11 search warrant, or a federal search warrant. After one year from the initial preservation request, destroy per the custodian’s own retention policy unless another preservation request resets the clock..
ROW permit
Not retrieved
not packed as an ALPR instrument — NCDOT Encroachment Agreements for Utilities page does not name ALPR. Who may apply: NCDOT’s Encroachment Agreements for Utilities page (retrieved): when construction or utility installation is proposed within NCDOT right-of-way, an encroachment agreement is required. Listed forms are 16.1–16.7 (two-party utility, non-utility not related to road construction, road-construction-related, controlled-access, blanket telecom/cable/service, three-party, grading). None of those titles name ALPR. Unofficial local writeups that call NCDOT ALPR installs “encroachments” are not this page.. Generic encroachment is real (primary NCDOT page). Packing Form 16.1A as the ALPR instrument would be a guess. Empty beats that guess. Do not import Florida GUP, Minnesota OLPA, or Utah Special Use.

Generic encroachment is real (primary NCDOT page). Packing Form 16.1A as the ALPR instrument would be a guess. Empty beats that guess. Do not import Florida GUP, Minnesota OLPA, or Utah Special Use.

https://connect.ncdot.gov/municipalities/Utilities/pages/encroachment-agreements.aspx

Install process in this state

Steps 1–5 are Article 3D / Chapter 136. Step 6 is the encroachment hunt: primary page retrieved, ALPR not named.

  1. This is NCDOT State highway system under G.S. 136-45, not Florida’s State Highway System. Do not import FAC 14-20.010.
  2. Article 3D is a use, policy, retention, and confidentiality statute. It is not a ROW permit.
  3. Adopt the written policy in G.S. 20-183.31(a) before the system is operational. Keep maintenance and calibration records.
  4. Use captured plate data only for a defined law-enforcement purpose. Do not use it to enforce traffic violations.
  5. Destroy captured plate data at 90 days unless a sworn preservation request or a search warrant holds it. After a preservation request, the one-year clock in § 20-183.32(c) runs unless reset. Data are not a public record. Do not sell them.
  6. NCDOT requires an encroachment agreement for construction or utility installation in NCDOT right-of-way. The retrieved Encroachment Agreements for Utilities page and form titles do not name ALPR. Unofficial local writeups are not the instrument. Do not guess Form 16.1A.

Primary

Where to ask

  • City or county clerk

    Minutes, resolutions, vote records (Chapter 132; Open Meetings Law)

  • Purchasing / finance

    Contract, amendments, invoices

  • Law-enforcement agency

    ALPR use policy, calibration records, audit/report to the agency head; captured plate data are not public records

  • NCDOT Encroachments Office ([email protected])

    Encroachment agreement file if one exists for that site — ALPR is not a named form on the retrieved page

SupportedEvidence
North Carolina requires captured ALPR plate data operated by or for a law-enforcement agency to be destroyed after 90 days unless a preservation request or search warrant applies (G.S. 20-183.32).

nc-20-183-32

UnprovenInference
NCDOT’s encroachment program is the named instrument for placing ALPR in NCDOT right-of-way.

NCDOT’s own Encroachment Agreements for Utilities page requires an agreement for construction or utility installation. It does not name ALPR. Unofficial local writeups are not packed.

nc-ncdot-encr

Sources in this pack

What was checked

  1. 2026-09-01

    https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_20/Article_3D.html and G.S. 20-183.30 / .31 / .32 section pages

    Primary Article 3D packed (definitions, policy, 90-day retention, confidentiality, Class 1 misdemeanor). § 20-183.32A repealed 1 Jan 2024.

  2. 2026-09-01

    https://connect.ncdot.gov/municipalities/Utilities/pages/encroachment-agreements.aspx

    Primary NCDOT encroachment page for utilities/construction. Form list 16.1–16.7 does not name ALPR. Encroachment not packed as the ALPR instrument.

  3. 2026-09-01

    https://www.ncdot.gov/search?k=ALPR

    Search page retrieved; no NCDOT-authored ALPR permit manual packed from that result.

  4. 2026-09-01

    G.S. 132-1, 143-318.9, 143-318.10, 136-18, 136-45 on ncleg.gov

    Primary public-records, open-meetings, and highway-system text packed.

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