The North Carolina Juvenile Justice section focuses on at-risk youth and juvenile justice issues across the state.

The Juvenile Justice section serves the citizens of North Carolina, to ensure the safety of our communities and the well-being of our youth. In order to fulfill our juvenile justice function, the Juvenile Justice section provides a full continuum of public safety interventions involving children and youth ages 6 through 17 alleged to, or have been found to, have committed an undisciplined or delinquent offense; in cases where youth are placed under court jurisdiction before their 18th birthday and youth require further interventions under the Juvenile Code (Chapter 7B), they may remain under juvenile justice court supervision up until their 19th, 20th or 21st birthday, depending on their age and offense.

If a youth who is 15 years old or younger and commits a crime, his or her case will be brought to the attention of the Juvenile Justice section of the N.C. Department of Public Safety, Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice. Juvenile court now has exclusive, original jurisdiction over the offenses (non-motor vehicle related) of 16 and 17-year olds which occur on or after December 1, 2019. However, if a youth has a previous criminal (adult) court conviction, and commits a delinquent offense, the youth is no longer subject to juvenile jurisdiction (known as: once an adult, always an adult).

Thousands of youth encounter North Carolina's juvenile justice system through interaction with the Juvenile Justice Section's Juvenile Crime Prevention Council services, community programs, juvenile court services and juvenile commitment facilities.


For more information and resources visit:

Office of Juvenile Justice