North Carolina · Trust Accounting
What North Carolina attorneys must do to keep client trust funds compliant — the governing rule, how often you must reconcile, and how long records must be kept.
N.C. Rules of Professional Conduct 1.15-1, 1.15-2, and 1.15-3 (27 N.C. Admin. Code Ch. 2)
Monthly bank reconciliation; quarterly three-way reconciliation
6 years
North Carolina State Bar
North Carolina State Bar Plan for Interest on Lawyers' Trust Accounts (NC IOLTA)
Required — banks must notify the regulator
Source: North Carolina State Bar . Rules change — always confirm against the current text before relying on it.
North Carolina's stated reconciliation requirement is: Monthly bank reconciliation; quarterly three-way reconciliation. A three-way reconciliation compares three totals that must all agree. If they do not, the difference has to be found and resolved before the reconciliation is complete.
Bank statement balance, adjusted for outstanding checks and deposits in transit.
Your internal trust account register as of the same date.
The total of every individual client ledger balance on that date.
For a full walkthrough of the procedure, common violations, and what examiners look for, see our IOLTA compliance guide.
North Carolina requires trust account records to be retained for 6 years. In practice that means keeping:
IOLTA Guard automates three-way reconciliation, blocks negative client ledgers, and keeps the audit trail North Carolina attorneys are expected to maintain.