An abstract of judgment is a written summary of a court’s judgment (final decision made by the judge or jury) that reflects how much the party who lost a lawsuit (the judgment debtor) owes the party who won the lawsuit (the judgment creditor)—including the rate of interest owed on the amount of the judgment until it is paid, the amount of court costs, and possibly the amount of the judgment creditor’s attorney fees the judgment debtor must pay as part of the judgment.

An abstract of judgment is usually filed in the county records and serves as notice of a lien or claim on any real estate (real property) owned or acquired by the judgment debtor in that county. If the judgment debtor does not pay the judgment, the judgment creditor may be able to force a sheriff’s sale of any real property in the county owned by the judgment debtor, with some or all of the proceeds of the sale being used to pay the judgment.

In North Carolina, an abstract of judgment is a condensed version of a court judgment that outlines the amount owed by the judgment debtor to the judgment creditor, including interest, court costs, and potentially attorney fees. Once a judgment is obtained, the creditor can file this abstract with the county's register of deeds where the debtor owns property. This filing creates a lien on the debtor's real property located in that county. The lien serves as a public notice that the creditor has a claim against the debtor's property. If the debtor fails to satisfy the judgment, the creditor may initiate a process to enforce the lien, which can lead to a sheriff's sale of the property. The proceeds from such a sale would then be used to pay off the judgment, in accordance with North Carolina's enforcement of judgments statutes, typically found in Chapter 1 of the North Carolina General Statutes.