Cameras / NC
License plate readers in North Carolina
3,802 cameras have been documented in North Carolina. That is the 8th-largest documented total of the 52 states and territories with any readers on record, and 2.7% of the 143,301 documented nationwide. Charlotte has the most of any city in the state, with 302 — 7.9% of the total. Flock Safety accounts for the largest share of the 2,091 readers counted in the state's indexed cities, at 86%. 2,091 of them stand in the 69 cities listed below. 1,711 more are outside those city limits — along highways, in smaller towns, and in unincorporated areas.
Checked against OpenStreetMap September 29, 2026 · figures last changed September 28, 2026.
3,802
cameras documented statewide
8th
most-documented of 52 states and territories
2,091
in listed cities
1,711
outside city limits
ALPR law in North Carolina
North Carolina regulates automated license plate readers under N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 20-183.30 to 20-183.32. The statute caps retention at 90 days. Captured plate data is confidential, is not a public record, and may not be sold; access is limited to certified officers acting on a written request for a legitimate law enforcement purpose. Data must be destroyed within 90 days unless held under a preservation request or search warrant, and preserved data must be destroyed a year later unless renewed.
ALPR laws in all 21 states with a statute →
Statute last verified September 26, 2026.
Who makes them
Manufacturer, where volunteers recorded it, for cameras in the listed cities.
- Flock Safety1,803
- Motorola Solutions31
- Genetec23
- Leonardo/ELSAG12
- Neology3
- Other vendors191
- Unknown28
By city
Camera locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). City boundaries: U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Cartographic Boundary Files. Counts reflect volunteer documentation, not an official census; cities appear once ten cameras are documented.
Explore this data further
- Who operates North Carolina’s cameras — police, HOAs, and retailers →
- Every ALPR manufacturer compared nationally →
- Download this data as CSV or GeoJSON →
- How the national count is measured →
- What a Flock camera is and how it works →
- What the cameras look like, and how to spot one →
- What residents can and cannot opt out of →
North Carolina ranks 8th of 52 by documented cameras. New York (4,638) ranks just above, and Pennsylvania (3,785) just below.
