North Carolina probate & fiduciary bonds.
For executors, administrators & guardians.
Before the clerk of superior court issues letters, it usually requires the fiduciary to post a bond.
This probate bond protects the heirs, beneficiaries, and creditors of the estate.
The clerk fixes the amount from the value of the personal property passing through your hands.
It is underwritten, not flat-rated — tell us the estate and the role, and we quote it.
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Built for the letters of appointment.
The clerk won’t issue your letters until the bond is approved and filed. Here is the whole process:
Tell us the role & the estate
Send your role (executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator), the county and clerk, and the estimated value of the personal property passing through your hands. That figure drives the court-set amount and the quote.
A specialist underwrites & quotes
A surety specialist reviews the matter, including a soft credit check, and returns a quote. Most fiduciary bonds clear on credit; larger estates may require financial statements, which we’ll flag up front.
Execute & file
We issue the bond on the clerk’s form, with the surety’s power of attorney attached, so it can be approved and your letters can issue.
What it is and who needs it.
What a fiduciary bond guarantees
When someone is appointed to handle a decedent’s estate or to manage the affairs of a ward, North Carolina law holds them to a fiduciary duty — and the clerk of superior court usually requires a bond to back it.
The probate (or fiduciary) bond guarantees that the personal representative or guardian will faithfully perform their duties: inventory the assets, account honestly, and distribute the estate as the law and the clerk direct. If they don’t, the bond compensates the harmed parties.
The clerk sets the amount by reference to the estate’s personal property. When the bond is secured by a licensed corporate surety, N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-8-2 sets it at one and one-fourth times the value of the personal property (or, for estates over $100,000, value plus ten percent) — versus double the value for a personal surety. Guardianship bonds follow the parallel rule in § 35A-1230.
You need this bond if you’re
Start with your role and the estate value.
These are the actual underwriting fields — your fiduciary role, the court, the estate, and your business. Submit once and a surety specialist responds in about one business day with a quote and any financial requirement. No charge until the bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
If yours isn't here, the bond team can usually answer within the hour.
What is a North Carolina probate bond? +
Who sets the bond amount? +
How much does it cost? +
Do you check credit? +
Can the bond be waived? +
Other New York bonds.
Get bonded so your letters can issue.
Send your role and the estate value. A surety specialist underwrites it and returns a quote — typically within one business day. No charge until the bond is issued.