Filing a Grievance: The Three-Step Process (What Families Should Know)

North Carolina's prison grievance process has three levels. Step 1 goes to a designated staff person. Step 2 goes to the facility head. Step 3 lands with the Inmate Grievance Resolution Board. This structure matters - especially if your loved one is considering legal action down the road. Both state and federal law require incarcerated people to exhaust administrative remedies before filing a lawsuit against the state of North Carolina, the NC Department of Adult Correction (NCDAC), or its employees. That means completing the grievance process first.

Each level runs on its own clock. Once a grievance is accepted at Step 1, the designated staff member has 15 days to investigate and file a written response with supporting documentation. Appealing to Step 2? That review must wrap up within 20 days. Step 3 works differently - the Inmate Grievance Resolution Board meets at least quarterly, so the final level can take longer than the earlier steps.

At admission, each person should receive both written notification and a verbal explanation of the grievance process. When someone submits a grievance, a facility screening officer does the initial review and notifies them whether it's accepted or rejected for processing.

The biggest deadline hits right at the start: with some exceptions, grievances must be filed within 90 days of the incident. If you're supporting someone from home, encourage them to act fast and keep track of dates. That 90-day window connects directly to the exhaustion rule. Miss the deadline - or skip steps in the process - and your loved one could hit a wall later. Administrative remedies have to be exhausted before filing a lawsuit against the state, NCDAC, or its employees.

Practical Tips

• ✓ Ask your loved one if they received the written and verbal explanation of the grievance process at admission, and encourage them to keep any paperwork they were given.
• ✓ If they’ve filed something, remind them that a facility screening officer does the initial review and will notify them whether the grievance is accepted or rejected for processing.
• ✓ Set expectations about privacy: grievance information is confidential under North Carolina law, so the facility may be limited in what it can share with family.

1. Write down the incident date right away - with some exceptions, grievances generally must be filed within 90 days of the incident, so dates matter.
2. Track Step 1 once it’s accepted - Step 1 is handled by a designated staff member, who must investigate and provide a written response with supporting documentation within 15 days.
3. If needed, appeal to Step 2 and keep tracking - after an appeal to Step 2, the Step 2 review must be completed within 20 days of the appeal.

Even when something feels urgent or unfair, the grievance process is usually the required first stop. If your loved one may eventually pursue a lawsuit against the state of North Carolina, NCDAC, or its employees, they generally must exhaust administrative remedies first. Completing each grievance step protects their options later.