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North Carolina · Charlotte Metro · #745
Union County, North Carolina
Southeast of Charlotte on the South Carolina border, Union County has been one of North Carolina's fastest-growing counties for two decades - absorbing Charlotte's southeastward expansion with residential development that has made Waxhaw and Wesley Chapel into substantial communities while Monroe maintains its traditional county seat character.
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Office: Union County Emergency Management – 500 N. Main St, Ste 809, Monroe, NC 28112 | (704) 283-3575 | Non-emergency assistance line: (704) 289-1591
Services: Coordinates disaster preparedness, response, and recovery countywide
Related: Union County Emergency Communications (C-COM) – established 1981, staffed by 40+ dispatchers, serves the Sheriff’s Department, Monroe City and municipal police departments, Union EMS, Monroe Fire, 18 volunteer fire departments, Emergency Management, Public Works, and Animal Control; also answers after-hours Mental Health, Rape Crisis, and Hospice lines.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-74 and US-601 serve Monroe, the county seat, in the rapidly growing Charlotte metropolitan area of south-central North Carolina near the South Carolina border
Transit: Limited; primarily auto-dependent – confirm current regional options directly with the county.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Union County Building Code Enforcement – accessible via unioncountync.gov
Services: Building permits and inspections for unincorporated Union County
Notes: City of Monroe operates its own separate Permit Center for in-city projects – inspection requests cut off at 3 PM the business day prior; be aware of an ongoing email scam impersonating the City of Monroe requesting wire payments for permits – do not send payment to unverified requests.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
County VSO: Union County Veterans Services Office – Monroe, NC
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Union County Public Library – Monroe, NC | (704) 283-3560
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Union County is genuinely at the heart of a friendly, still-unresolved regional dispute over the birthplace of ANDREW JACKSON, the seventh President of the United States, born March 15, 1767 in the Waxhaws region straddling what is now the North Carolina/South Carolina border – a boundary that, at the time of his birth, had not yet been formally surveyed or drawn; historians have long debated between two most likely locations, both just a few miles apart: the Crawford Plantation in what is now Lancaster County, South Carolina, and the George McCamie (also spelled McKemey or McKamie) cabin in what is now Union County, North Carolina; Jackson himself, during his presidency, repeatedly claimed South Carolina as his birthplace – though historians note this may have been a strategic gesture, since South Carolina was locked in a bitter constitutional dispute with the federal government at the time (the Nullification Crisis), and Jackson may have wished to demonstrate goodwill toward the state; North Carolina’s counter-claim rests on a strong local oral tradition, most notably the testimony of Mrs. Sarah Lathan, whose own mother reportedly served as the midwife present at Jackson’s birth and specifically identified the McCamie cabin in North Carolina as the location; the debate has genuinely persisted for well over a century – an 1891 University of North Carolina student uncovered and republished a compelling contemporary newspaper account supporting the North Carolina claim, and the North Carolina Daughters of the American Revolution erected a formal historical marker at the disputed North Carolina site in 1910; today, both states proudly claim Jackson as a native son: North Carolina marks the spot with its modest 1910 monument, while South Carolina has gone considerably further, dedicating an entire state park (Andrew Jackson State Park) near the disputed site; the Museum of the Waxhaws in Union County has adopted what its staff cheerfully describe as a “Solomon-like” diplomatic position, acknowledging Jackson as belonging to both Carolinas – a resolution that, as one museum board member has noted, satisfies neither state entirely, but keeps what all involved describe as a genuinely “friendly rivalry” rather than a nasty one
Notes: The Andrew Jackson birthplace dispute’s genuine, extensively documented and still-unresolved history – complete with competing state parks, monuments, and more than a century of friendly historical rivalry – is presented here factually and evenhandedly, without taking a side in the ongoing debate.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Union County GIS – accessible via unioncountync.gov
Parcel Search: Union County Tax Office
Addressing/911: Coordinated through Union County Emergency Communications (C-COM)
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Union County Animal Services – 3340 Presson Rd, Monroe, NC 28112 | (704) 283-2308 or (704) 283-8303 | Office Hours: Mon–Fri 8 AM–5 PM; Adoption Hours: Mon–Fri 1–5 PM, Sat 10 AM–3 PM (closed Sun)
Services: Same-day adoptions available; adoption fee $85 cash/Visa/MasterCard, including well check, spay/neuter (or a signed 6-month commitment if not yet completed), and first round of shots; adopters need a driver’s license
Notes: Union County does NOT have a countywide leash law, though individual towns/cities within the county may – report strays to Animal Services with a description and your contact information.
Related: Humane Society of Union County – a separate nonprofit partner running a low-cost spay/neuter clinic.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Complaints: NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) – deq.nc.gov
Related: Union County Landfill – Austin Chaney Road, (704) 296-4260.
NOTES
Union County is genuinely at the center of a century-old, friendly interstate dispute over Andrew Jackson’s exact birthplace, straddling the North Carolina/South Carolina border in the Waxhaws region. All contact information above was sourced from official county, city, library, and shelter pages as of this writing; phone numbers and hours should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit.
About Union County
Union County’s growth story is Charlotte’s southward suburban expansion story – families seeking more space than Mecklenburg County at lower price points while maintaining Charlotte employment access via I-485 and the surrounding highway network. The result has been among the fastest percentage population growth of any county in North Carolina, with Waxhaw growing from a small farming town into a substantial suburban community with its own commercial infrastructure.
Monroe, the county seat, is the birthplace of President James K. Polk (the 11th president), a connection the county acknowledges with the James K. Polk Memorial State Historic Site in Pineville (which straddles the Mecklenburg-Union county line). The county’s agricultural heritage – peaches, tobacco, some livestock – persists in its southern and eastern rural townships away from the Charlotte suburban fringe.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
North Carolina assesses property at 100% of appraised value on periodic reappraisal cycles. Property owners may appeal to the County Board of Equalization and Review. North Carolina has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
SENIOR SERVICES
Union County Senior Services
3430 Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112
Phone: (704) 296-4310
Senior Services
Union County Senior Services
3430 Presson Road, Monroe, NC 28112
Phone: (704) 296-4310
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF SUPERIOR COURT
400 North Main St, Monroe, NC 28112
(704) 698-3100
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Union County Clerk of Superior Court, Monroe (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Union County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Union County Clerk of Superior Court – Estates Division Union County Judicial Center, 400 North Main Street (mail: P.O. Box 5038), Monroe, NC 28111 (704) 296-4600
Union County is in southwestern North Carolina, one of the state’s more populous and fastest-growing counties, seated in Monroe.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
North Carolina has NOT adopted the Uniform Probate Code. Probate is handled by the Clerk of Superior Court – an elected official who serves as the ex officio judge of probate – in the county where the decedent was domiciled, under Chapter 28A of the North Carolina General Statutes. Unlike most states, North Carolina does not have a separate probate court; the Clerk’s Estates Division handles all wills, estates, and guardianship matters.
Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of Decedent (“collection by affidavit,” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 28A-25-1 and § 28A-25-1.1) – available when the decedent’s personal property, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $20,000, or $30,000 if the surviving spouse is the sole heir and receives all property covered by the statute. Filed at least 30 days after death, using Form AOC-E-203B. Real property CANNOT be transferred through this process. If the decedent left a will, the will must first be admitted to probate and a certified copy attached to the affidavit.
Summary Administration – an abbreviated procedure available only when the surviving spouse is the sole heir.
Full Estate Administration – required for larger or more complex estates; the personal representative (called “executor” if named in a will, “administrator” if intestate) is appointed by the Clerk and receives Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and a petition with the Clerk of Superior Court, Estates Division, in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The Clerk appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes notice to creditors; North Carolina’s creditor claim period is typically at least three months from first publication.
The personal representative inventories the estate’s assets, pays debts and expenses, and distributes the remaining assets according to the will or North Carolina’s intestacy law, reporting back to the Clerk at key stages.
The estate is closed once a final accounting is filed and approved by the Clerk.
What it costs
Filing fees for full estate administration generally follow the statewide statutory schedule, which scales with the estate’s value.
North Carolina repealed its state estate tax in 2013. There is no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax – only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
3326 Presson Rd, Monroe, NC 28112
(704) 283-3789
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
902 Lane St, Monroe, NC 28112
(704) 283-3491
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Public Health
500 North Main St, Monroe, NC 28112
(704) 296-4800
Social Services
2330 Concord Ave, Monroe, NC 28110
(704) 296-4300
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Union County Health Department (Health & Human Services) – Monroe, NC | (704) 296-4300
Services: Immunizations, WIC, environmental health, vital records
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Monroe
Population: 254,000
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Union County facilities via Amazon.
