The North Carolina Board of Ethics is the State’s primary conflict of interest "watchdog" for high-level employees and appointees in the executive branch of State government. It exists by virtue of executive order. Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. first established the Board in January 1977 by Executive Order Number 1. Every Governor has continued it by executive order since that time. The current version of the order is Executive Order Number One which was issued by Governor Easley on January 12, 2001.

The Board's overall mission is to protect the public interest and maintain the public trust by helping Public Officials and the boards and commissions on which they sit avoid conflicts of interest and appearances of conflict of interest as they perform their public duties. The Board pursues it goals primarily through education, evaluation, and enforcement.

In early 1998, Governor Hunt dramatically increased the Board's powers and scope of responsibility in all three areas. Governor Easley’s Executive Order Number One modified, but largely left intact, the significant changes of the prior version of the Order. For example, there is a continued emphasis on conflict identification and avoidance through a strong education program. The Board is once again charged with developing and implementing an ethics education and awareness program for covered Public Officials. In addition to producing periodic newsletters and making ethics presentations, the Board issues advisory opinions on prospective ethics questions, including conflict of interest and the appearance of conflict. To identify areas of possible ethical concern, the Board reviews and evaluates statements of economic interest filed by persons subject to the Order to determine whether the financial interests and other information reported reveals an actual or potential conflict of interest. Finally, the Board retained its ability to investigate complaints in appropriate cases.

The Board of Ethics has limited jurisdiction. It does not, for example, cover the Legislature, local or county governments, members of various professions (engineers, doctors, lawyers, etc.), or appointees to advisory boards.

Since the Board is a creature of executive order, the first reach of the Order is to Public Officials connected to the Governor. This includes the heads of all principal State agencies appointed by the Governor and their chief deputies or chief administrative assistants, all employees in the Governor’s office, all employees in exempt policy-making positions, and the Governor’s appointees to various State of North Carolina agencies and non-advisory boards and commissions. See section 3 of the Order. In addition, the Order invites other principal State agencies and legislative officials to voluntarily cover their appointees and bring them under the Board’s jurisdiction. See section 4 of the Order. Those covered by the Order and subject to the Board’s jurisdiction are called "Public Officials."