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Civil Division
The Civil Division of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is supervised and operated by a captain, and two (2) sworn deputies, one of which is strictly assigned to Child Support processes, who are available at the administrative offices of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office on weekdays, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and can be reached at (910) 997-8341. However, Civil Processes are served 24 hours a day by the entire sworn staff of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office to more timely serve the citizens of Richmond County.
Civil Division
Captain Prentice Dawkins
PT.Dawkins@richmondnc.com
910-997-8341
Physical Address
114 E. Franklin St
Rockingham NC, 28379
Division Statistics
This Division, in 2016, received nearly five-thousand (5,000) court documents per year and is responsible for the service of Summonses and Subpoenas for the civil cases scheduled by District Court, Superior Court, and Juvenile Court. The Unit receives court processes from every jurisdiction in the State of North Carolina as well as from out-of-state. Some of the types of court process served by this Division include:
- Civil restraining order issued by the District Court
- Court Orders
- Emergency Evaluation Petitions for psychiatric situations
- Judgments
- Magistrate Summonses
- Notice of Hearings
- Pleadings
- Reports
- Special orders of court
- Subpoenas
Special orders of court usually consist of Custody/Child Seizure situations, Injunctions to prevent a situation from happening, Show Cause Orders for addressing possible violation of child support or special orders issued by a judge, and any special requests from the judges. Both Pre-judgment and Post-judgment remedies are enforced.
Hours & Location
The Sheriff's Office Civil Division is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. However, persons wishing to stop-in to pick up their court papers can do so twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. The location for picking up court papers, our departmental office, is located at:
114 E. Franklin Street, Suite 105
Rockingham, North Carolina 28379
Inside the Former Richmond County Courthouse
Completion of Process
Successful service of papers is based upon the information you provide. Please include all information that will assist us in serving your papers. This information may include age, description, work hours, place of employment, vehicle description, or other pertinent information you feel may be of assistance. The more information you provide, the better the probability of a successful service.
Fees for service, in cash (U.S. Currency), must be paid in full in advance.
If the service is from out-of-state, a notarized Affidavit of Service will be supplied in our return.
**NOTE** The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office cannot assist citizens in completing any paperwork for Plaintiffs, nor does any member of the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office provide legal advice. If a citizen of Richmond County requires legal advice, please contact an attorney.
Service Fee
- There is a $30 per person, per case, fee assessed for service of civil papers received by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for service of in-state processes.
- There is a $50 per person, per case, fee assessed for service of civil papers received by the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office for service of out-of-state processes.
The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office is charged with the task by North Carolina General Statutes requiring that each Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina maintain the Sex Offender Registry in their prospective counties. The statutes require that when a sex offender is convicted by the courts and the offender is ordered by the judge to register, the offender must report immediately to the Sheriff’s Office in the county they will reside.
Registry
Once a convicted sex offender is registered by the Sheriff’s Office, the offender receives a resident verification letter on or about their anniversary date of registration. After that the process is repeated every six months.
The offender must report to the Sheriff’s Office in person to verify that he / she still resides at the address currently on file. As long as the offender abides by all the residential and educational requirements, and the offender is not on active probation, they meet the requirements of the General Statutes.
Responsibilities
The primary responsibility of this division is to register convicted sex offenders as required by law. Also, these deputies will register convicted sex offenders that have been released from a penal institution or moved to Richmond County either from another county or state. These deputies also investigate any complaints that have been reported. North Carolina General Statute requires registered sex offender’s address be verified every six months.