General Candidate Requirements

Qualifications

Unless otherwise specified, all candidates must be registered to vote in the state, qualified to vote in an election for the office sought, and 21 years old by the date of the general election. The following table lists additional requirements for certain offices.

Office Additional requirements
U.S. Senate

Candidates must be:

  • at least 30 years of age,
  • a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years, and
  • a resident of the state by the date of the general election.
U.S. Congress

Candidates must be:

  • at least 25 years of age,
  • a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years, and
  • a resident of the state by the date of the general election. (A candidate running for U.S. House is not required to be a resident of the congressional district in which the candidate is seeking election.)
Governor & Lieutenant Governor

Candidates must be:

  • at least 30 years of age,
  • a citizen of the United States for at least five years, and
  • a resident of North Carolina for at least two years by the date of the general election. Candidates must also not have served more than two consecutive terms of the same office.
Council of State N/A
Attorney General Candidates must be duly authorized to practice law in the courts of the state.
NC House Candidates must have resided in the district for one year immediately prior to general election.
NC Senate

Candidates must:

  • be at least 25 years of age and
  • have resided in the state as a citizen for two years and in the district for one year prior to the general election.
Judicial and District Attorney Candidates must be duly authorized to practice law in the courts of the state.
County and Local N/A

Only One Office per Election

No person may file for more than one office in any one election.

A person who has filed a notice of candidacy may not subsequently file for any other office when the election is on the same date unless the notice for the first office is withdrawn by the deadline, which is the close of business on the third business day before the end of the filing period for that office. N.C.G.S. § 163-106.6. 

A candidate who is defeated in the primary may not run for the same office as a write-in candidate in the next general election. N.C.G.S. § 163-106(a).

No individual is eligible to have that individual’s name on the general election ballot for two separate offices unless one of the offices is for the remainder of the unexpired term for an office that requires an election to fill the unexpired portion of the term. N.C.G.S. § 163-124.

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