Getting legal access to a landlocked property

Does North Carolina law give the owner of a landlocked property legal rights to access their property?

The owner of the landlocked property does NOT necessarily have legal rights to a public right-of-way under North Carolina law simply because the property is landlocked.

If you run into this situation, you should contact an attorney for advice.:

There are possible avenues to pursue for obtaining right-of-way access, such as:

establishing a “cartway” or claiming an implied easement by necessity.

but there is no guarantee

The best course of action is probably to request a formal easement for legal access to a public right-of-way from the owner of the larger tract.