North Carolina Secretary of State Law Enforcement Functions

Jurisdiction and responsibilities

The Secretary of State’s enforcement responsibilities include specialized securities investigations and criminal trademark or notary matters. These are subject-matter functions within an office also responsible for business filings and professional credentials. Trademark registration itself is an administrative service; the official trademark FAQ expressly separates the registration office from law-enforcement activity.

How the agency is organized

The Securities Division regulates securities-related activity and publishes enforcement actions and investor-protection resources. Chapter 78A authorizes designated securities law-enforcement agents, while the state’s SOS Law Enforcement Agent classification describes sworn criminal investigation of notary and trademark violations. This directory groups the office’s enforcement functions without assuming that every division is a separate certified police agency.

Agency history and local context

The present functions reflect different statutory and administrative mandates. No single police-department founding date is asserted for the Secretary of State’s entire office. A historical roster labeled Trademark Enforcement should cross-link to this specialized framework rather than imply that the trademark-registration desk is a police station.

Official records and officer resources

Use Securities resources for investment-fraud reporting and the appropriate Secretary of State enforcement guidance for suspected counterfeit-goods or notary offenses. Business-registration questions belong with the relevant filing service. Current job classifications clarify qualifications but are not evidence of a particular number of staffed positions.

FBI data · 2025

No unambiguous match for this agency was made in the FBI 2025 agency tables used for this directory. This does not mean the agency had no crime, no officers or no reporting obligation.

Blank or unavailable values remain “Not published.” Participating agencies and reporting scope vary. Campus figures concern the reporting institution; a city name does not expand them to all local residents. Read the data definitions and limitations.

Sources and review date

Official agency, government and institutional sources are linked below. Contact details and organizational information were reviewed September 24, 2026. Published statistical years are identified separately.

• Department mission and divisions
• Securities regulation and enforcement resources
• Registration office distinguished from enforcement
• Official sworn investigator classification
• Securities agent statute