Executor Fee in North Carolina: A Discretionary Cap Set by the Clerk of Superior Court

Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: North Carolina executor compensation is capped by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-23-3 at up to 5% of the value of receipts the personal representative brings into the estate, with the clerk of superior court setting the actual amount in its discretion, considering the time, responsibility, trouble and skill involved. It is a ceiling, not an automatic entitlement; the clerk can also allow a separate commission of up to 5% on amounts actually expended administering the estate. A $500,000 estate received in full tops out at a $25,000 commission on receipts; $100,000 tops out at $5,000; $1,000,000 tops out at $50,000; each figure is the receipts-side maximum, before any separate expenditures commission the clerk may allow.

A discretionary ceiling, not a flat fee

N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-23-3 sets commissions in the discretion of the clerk of superior court, up to 5% of receipts, the value of personal property the personal representative actually brings into the estate, and up to a separate 5% of expenditures, amounts actually paid out administering the estate. The clerk weighs the time, responsibility, trouble and skill the personal representative put into the job before fixing the actual percentage; 5% is only the outer limit, not what every executor collects. Distributions to heirs and devisees are not part of either base; only receipts and expenditures the personal representative actually administers count.

The will can override this section, and small estates get a lower standard

The statute yields to the will: it can set a fixed amount or method for compensation, or, for a corporate or professional fiduciary, apply that fiduciary’s own regularly adopted schedule of compensation. Reasonable compensation can also apply if the personal representative and the beneficiaries agree to it in writing. Separately, if the gross estate is $2,000 or less, the clerk may set whatever lower amount it deems just and adequate rather than applying the standard 5% ceilings. A personal representative removed for default or misconduct receives no commission at all.

What to expect in practice

Because the amount is set at the clerk’s discretion rather than paid automatically at the statutory maximum, an executor administering a North Carolina estate should expect to itemize receipts and expenditures for the clerk of superior court and justify the commission requested against the time and responsibility actually involved, rather than assuming the full 5% plus 5% ceiling will be awarded. Check the will first for an overriding compensation clause before assuming the statute applies at all.

What the whole process costs in this state: North Carolina probate cost. Every state’s fee model side by side: probate cost by state.

Work out the number: the executor fee calculator. How the standard is applied where no schedule exists: reasonable-compensation states. Whether to take the fee at all: when the executor is also an heir, and how the fee is taxed.

Statutory text read at each state’s own legislature or official code publisher. General information, not legal advice; a court retains the final say on what compensation is allowed.