NC Courthouse Directory · Gaston County

This guide is for anyone charged with DWI in Gaston County, North Carolina, from Gastonia and Belmont to Mount Holly, Cherryville and the Lake Wylie and Mountain Island Lake shorelines. Gaston County is unusual: it has both a county police department and a Sheriff, plus a dozen town and city police departments. This page explains who arrested you, where your case is heard, and what comes next with the court and the DMV.

Where Gaston County DWI cases are heard

Gaston County DWI cases are heard at the Gaston County Courthouse, 325 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Suite 1004, Gastonia, NC 28052. The Judicial Branch lists the main number as (704) 852-3100, weekday hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., a free parking lot, and wheelchair-accessible parking, entrance and restrooms. Every Gaston County DWI goes here no matter which agency made the arrest.

Gaston County is its own district, District 38, for prosecution, Superior Court and District Court. A misdemeanor DWI under G.S. 20-138.1 is tried before a District Court judge without a jury; a conviction can be appealed to Superior Court for a new jury trial. Felony cases such as habitual DWI are tried in Superior Court after indictment. Nccourts.gov’s Gaston County page also links to the state’s adult treatment courts program; whether one is open to a particular DWI defendant is a question to raise with your lawyer.

For what to expect at the first setting, read what happens at your first DWI court date.

Clerk of Superior Court and key contacts

The Gaston County Clerk of Superior Court shares the courthouse main line, (704) 852-3100. These numbers are from the Judicial Branch Gaston County contact directory, checked November 2026:

Find your Gaston County court date

Search your Gaston County court date by name or citation number on the state’s online tools. eCourts has been live in all 100 North Carolina counties since October 13, 2025, so Gaston County calendars and case records are on the NC eCourts Portal and the Judicial Branch court date search.

Map: Gaston County courthouse, police departments and DMV

The map pins the courthouse campus, the Gaston County Police and every town police headquarters with a published street address, and both NCDMV driver license offices.

Coordinates: U.S. Census Bureau geocoder for each published address. The courthouse pin is an OpenStreetMap building match; the Census geocoder mis-matched the 425 Dr. MLK Jr. Way Sheriff address, so the Sheriff shares the courthouse pin. Mount Holly Police is not pinned because the city does not publish a street address for it on its police pages.

Law enforcement agencies that make DWI arrests in Gaston County

In Gaston County, the Gaston County Police Department, not the Sheriff, is the main patrol agency outside the towns. According to the county, the Gaston County Police was created by legislative act in 1957 and today provides police service to the unincorporated areas and to the towns of High Shoals and Spencer Mountain. The Town of McAdenville says it is served by Gaston County Police as well. Inside the cities and towns, local police departments handle most DWIs, and the State Highway Patrol works the interstates and state highways countywide.

Ranlo: we could not confirm from a current official town source how the Town of Ranlo is policed today, so it is not in the table. If you were stopped in Ranlo, the agency name is printed on your citation; Gaston County’s non-emergency dispatch line is 704-866-3300.

Gaston County Police vs. the Gaston County Sheriff

People are often surprised that a Gaston County DWI arrest outside city limits is usually made by a county police officer rather than a deputy. Gaston County is one of the few North Carolina counties with a separate county police force. The county describes the Gaston County Police as employing over 150 sworn officers, running 911 communications for the county, and operating a seasonal Marine Enforcement Unit. The Sheriff’s Office runs the jail, provides court operations and civil process, and lists field operations captains on its staff page. After any DWI arrest in the county, the driver is taken to a magistrate, and a person who does not make bond is held at the Gaston County Jail. More on this split is in Mount Holly DWI: distinguish city police, county police, and the court.

Gastonia Police Department

Gastonia is the county seat and largest city. The city says its police department employs 178 police officers and 24 civilians, and notes that about 50,000 cars a day travel through the city on I-85. City DWIs, including stops on Franklin Boulevard and the I-85 corridor inside city limits, are Gastonia Police cases unless a trooper made the stop.

Eastern Gaston: Belmont, Mount Holly, Cramerton, Lowell and McAdenville

The towns closest to Charlotte each have their own department except McAdenville. Mount Holly runs its own 911 answering point for city calls and a Marine Unit with a patrol boat on the Catawba River, according to the city. Stanley’s and Lowell’s officers are dispatched through Gaston County Communications. Read Belmont DWI after a collision and Stanley DWI: get the town, county and case number right (Stanley in Gaston is not Stanly County).

NC State Highway Patrol, Troop H

Troop H, District I covers Gaston County from an office at 2560 W. Franklin Blvd. in Gastonia, the same address NCDMV lists for the Gastonia driver license office. Trooper DWI cases go to the same courthouse and District 38 prosecutors as every other Gaston County case.

Breath testing in Gaston County

Gaston County breath tests are done on the Intox EC/IR II, the instrument used statewide. The same rules apply whether a Gastonia officer, a county police officer or a trooper made the arrest. The test ticket records the instrument and the chemical analyst, so it tells you where the test was given.

Blood is used when drugs are suspected or a breath test is not possible, usually under a search warrant or valid consent; see blood tests in NC DWI cases. A willful refusal brings a separate one-year DMV revocation.

Gaston County alcohol-related crash data, 2020–2025

NCDOT recorded 224 alcohol-related crashes in Gaston County in 2025, down from a 2020–2024 average of 266, but 8 alcohol-related deaths, the most of any year in the six-year table. Injuries fell from 179 in 2024 to 160 in 2025.

These are crash-report codes, not arrests or convictions. For statewide trends, see NC DWI statistics.

DMV offices for Gaston County drivers

Gaston County has two NCDMV driver license offices: Gastonia, 2560 W. Franklin Blvd. (704-853-5427), and Mount Holly, 785 W. Charlotte Ave. (704-827-9486). Both appear on NCDMV’s extended-hours office list; confirm current hours at ncdot.gov/dmv. These offices handle license reinstatement steps after a revocation, while a limited driving privilege comes from the court.

A chemical-test refusal hearing under G.S. 20-16.2 is held in the county where the charge was brought, before a DMV hearing officer; the hearing notice sets the place. See the DMV refusal hearing and the 30-day civil revocation.

More Gaston County DWI articles

Gaston County DWI FAQ

General North Carolina legal information as of November 2026, not legal advice for any specific case. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Attorney advertising.