(a)        To render an appeal effectual for any purpose in a civil cause or special proceeding, a written undertaking must be executed on the part of the appellant, with good and sufficient surety, in the sum of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), or any lesser sum as might be adjudged by the court, to the effect that the appellant will pay all costs awarded against him on the appeal, and this undertaking must be filed with the clerk with whom the judgment or order was filed; or such sum must be deposited with the appropriate clerk of the appellate division in compliance with the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.

(b)        The provisions of this section do not apply to the State of North Carolina, a city or a county or a local board of education, an officer thereof in his official capacity, or an agency thereof. (C.C.P., ss. 303, 312; 1871-2, c. 31; Code, ss. 552, 561; 1889, c. 135, s. 2; Rev., ss. 593, 595; C.S., s. 646; 1969, c. 44, s. 5; 1975, c. 391, s. 1; 1985, c. 468; 1987, c. 462, s. 2; 1995 (Reg. Sess., 1996), c. 742, s. 42.3.)