New Charter Schools

Apply to Open a Charter School

This page provides information on requirements to submit a public charter school proposal to the North Carolina Charter Schools Review Board.

NOW OPEN - 2025 NC Charter Applications 

The 2025 NC Charter School Application opened on Friday, January 31st, at 5 PM (EST) and will close on April 25, 2025, at 5 PM (EDT). Applicants interested in opening a charter school in 2026 under the accelerated timeline or in 2027 under the standard timeline must submit their charter application and payment by the April 25, 2025, deadline.

The online application and $1,000 application fee must be submitted by April 25, 2025, at 5 PM (EDT). 

Additionally, applicant boards must attend in-person interviews at the Department of Public Instruction in Raleigh, NC, during the monthly Charter Schools Review Board meetings starting in September 2025.
For questions about the charter application process, please reach out to Melanie.Rackley@dpi.nc.gov. 

Instructions for applicants: 

The main applicant user should initiate a new application.

1. Each applicant team should designate one person as their "main applicant" who will be the one to initiate (and eventually submit) the application. Whoever initiates the application is the only user who can submit the application. 
2. Only one person should do this and only once because each time it's done, a new application will be started (i.e. doing this more than once will start redundant applications).
3. On future visits, there will be a link to continue this application on the user's EdLusion home page (after submission or deadline that link will go away). 
4. Other applicant users (collaborators) should wait until the main applicant user has added them as a collaborator.
5. They will get an email notification when that happens. 
6. After that, they will have a link to collaborate on the application on their EdLusion home page (after submission or deadline that link will disappear). 

To initiate a new application

• If you are already an Epicenter user, use the “Sign in with Epicenter” option. 
• If you are not an Epicenter user, you might need to register yourself as a new user.
  INITIATE A NEW APPLICATION THROUGH THIS LINK

   

Continue the application. 

• To continue an in-progress application, CLICK HERE
• For further instructions, please watch the Applicant Training Video
  1. If you have any questions, please consult the Applicant FAQ. 
  2. If you still have questions, please reach out to Melanie.Rackley@dpi.nc.gov

Application Resources

• 2025 Charter Application Timeline.
• Charter Application Resource Manual
• Local Allotments 2024-25
• 2025 Budget Template[Corrected 2/11/25] 
• 2025 Application Fee Payment Form Please use a money order or certified check. 

Post-Approval Resources