| Election Name: | 1996 North Carolina Council of State election |
| Country: | North Carolina |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1992 North Carolina Council of State election |
| Previous Year: | 1992 |
| Next Election: | 2000 North Carolina Council of State election |
| Next Year: | 2000 |
| Seats For Election: | All 10 members of the North Carolina Council of State |
| Party1: | Democratic Party (United States) |
| Last Election1: | 10 |
| Seats1: | 10 |
| Party2: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Last Election2: | 0 |
| Seats2: | 0 |
The North Carolina Council of State election of 1996 was held on 5 November 1996, to elect the Council of State. All the races were won by Democrats. All were incumbents except for Elaine Marshall, who won the post of secretary of state, and Michael E. Ward, who was elected Superintendent of Public Instruction. Both Marshall and Ward succeeded fellow Democrats.
As of 2024 this is the last election where Democrats held all council offices.
The 1996 North Carolina gubernatorial election was held on November 5, 1996. The general election was fought between the Democratic nominee, incumbent Governor Jim Hunt and the Republican nominee, state representative Robin Hayes. Hunt won by 56% to 43%, winning his fourth term as governor.