Each block on this histogram represents a change—e.g., a substantive change, repeal & replace, or renumbering—to an individual section rather than an amendment. Some amendments result in multiple changes, resulting in multiple blocks being attributed to one amendment. Likewise, a section may be amended more than once in an year, but these amendments will only appear as one block on the histogram. When a block or blocks are marked red in a specific year, that means that a new constitution went into effect that year.
The Constitution’s provisions are organized into articles, and each article is split into sections. Here, you can view an outline of the Constitution, see the Constitution’s full text as it stood on any date since ratification, and compare any amended provision of the Constitution to its earlier version.
Explore by Year
View the constitution’s amendments by year of adoption and historical context for significant amendments.
The North Carolina Constitution & Its Amendments
North Carolina has had three* constitutions: the Independence Constitution of 1776, the 1868 Constitution, and the current 1971 Constitution. North Carolina’s first constitution was adopted by a provincial congress rather than by direct vote of the electorate. It established a government for the new state “compatible with the ongoing struggle for American independence.” It was accompanied by a Declaration of Rights, which enumerated the basic rights of North Carolinians, and the Ordinances of the Convention, which were “used in conjunction with the state constitution to provide for the basic legal structure of the North Carolina government.”
North Carolina’s second constitution, ratified in 1868, was the product of a federal mandate “requiring North Carolina and other former Confederate states to bring their laws into conformity with U.S. federal law.” It combined provisions copied or adapted from the Constitution and Declaration of Rights of 1776, a proposed 1866 Constitution, and the constitutions of other states, “together with some new and original provisions.” In addition to making significant changes to the structure of North Carolina’s government, it abolished slavery and provided for universal male suffrage.
North Carolina’s third constitution, which remains in force today, was adopted in 1971. This version was “the result of a series of proposals made by the North Carolina State Constitution Study Commission,” a group tasked with studying other state constitutions and federal law in order to make recommendations for modernizing North Carolina’s fundamental law.
Amending the current North Carolina Constitution can be accomplished in two ways. First, the General Assembly may refer an amendment to voters by passing a resolution with a three-fifths vote of the members of both houses. The amendment must then be ratified by a simple majority of voters. Second, the legislature may call for a constitutional convention by a two-thirds vote in both chambers. If voters concur with the legislature by a simple majority, a convention is called. Any amendments or a revised or new constitution adopted by the convention must be approved by a simple majority of voters before they go into effect.
* In 1970, the legislature sent seven amendments to voters, including one which presented a revised constitution. The document resulting from the six approved amendments is commonly called the Constitution of 1971.
For more information about North Carolina’s second constitution, see 1868, and for more information about North Carolina’s third "constitution," see 1971.
North Carolina State Capitol. Farragutful.
Additional Resources Access links to commonly referenced sources in North Carolina constitutional research.
Access links to commonly referenced sources in North Carolina constitutional research.