Anger Management in North Carolina: Deferred Prosecution, Probation and 50B Orders

• Deferred prosecution. For misdemeanors and Class H or I felonies, the DA and you can agree to put the case on hold, with the court's approval, under G.S. 15A-1341. You get up to two years of conditions. Finish them and the charge is dismissed. An anger class is a frequent condition after a disorderly conduct or simple assault charge.
• Conditional discharge. After a guilty plea, the judge can defer judgment on a joint motion from you and the DA. Meet the conditions and the plea is wiped out and the case dismissed.
• Probation. Under G.S. 15A-1343, a judge can add conditions reasonably needed to keep you law-abiding. Anger management is a common one. Community Supervision officers from the Department of Adult Correction track it.
• Custody and DSS cases. Family courts and child welfare plans sometimes list an anger class. North Carolina's own child welfare guidance calls anger programs unregulated and usually 4 to 12 weeks long.

North Carolina has no statewide list or certification for anger management, and we didn't find county lists for Mecklenburg or Wake either. The only statewide list is for abuser treatment programs, kept by the Domestic Violence Commission in the Department of Administration.

That means for a regular anger condition, your judge or officer decides what they'll take. Good Standing Courses is not on any North Carolina list. Ask your officer, or your lawyer if you're on deferred prosecution, before you enroll.

When a court finds you responsible for domestic violence, North Carolina law makes an abuser treatment program a regular condition of probation if an approved program is reasonably available. A 50B protective order can require one too, with attendance starting within 60 days. Approved programs run at least 39 hours of group sessions over 26 to 30 weeks, in groups of no more than 16.

The UNC School of Government, which trains North Carolina judges, has pointed out that anger management can't be swapped in for an approved abuser treatment program when one is available. Some approved programs now meet online, which can be confusing: that is still an abuser treatment program, not an anger class. Good Standing Courses is not a Batterer Intervention Program and is not an abuser treatment program.

No North Carolina court or probation office publishes a standard number of hours for anger management. The state's own child welfare guidance describes anger programs as usually running 4 to 12 weeks. In practice:

• 4 or 8 hours when a deferred prosecution agreement names hours.
• 12 or 16 hours when the condition is written as weeks and your officer converts it.

If the agreement doesn't name a number, ask before you buy.

Paperwork says "impulse control" or "decision making"? That's our Impulse Control & Decision Making class.

1. "Does my paperwork say anger management or abuser treatment program?" They are not the same.
2. "If it's deferred prosecution: does the DA's office take an online certificate?"
3. "How many hours, and by what date?"
4. "Who gets the proof: my probation officer, the DA, or the clerk?"
5. "Is there a review hearing where I need to bring the certificate?"

Your officer can read our page for probation officers and check any certificate at /verify.

If your court, judge or probation officer doesn't accept your certificate, we refund 100% of the course fee. Send the written rejection within 60 days of finishing; the class you bought must match the type and hours in your order. Read the refund terms.

We never ask for your case number, court or date of birth. If you need them on the certificate, you type them into your own copy of the PDF.

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