UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                               450 Fifth Street NW
                             Washington, D.C. 29549
                                
                                    Form 8-K
                                             
                       PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
                       THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
                                                           
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):           November 23, 2005
                   
                                  First Bancorp
                                                                                
             (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
                                                                           
      North Carolina               0-15572                  56-1421916
--------------------------     ------------------     ----------------------
  (State or Other Jurisdiction     (Commission             (I.R.S. Employer
       of Incorporation)           File Number         Identification Number)
                                                                 
341 North Main Street, Troy, North Carolina                    27371
--------------------------------------------          ----------------------
 (Address of Principal Executive Offices)                    (Zip Code)

                                 (910) 576-6171
                     ------------------------------------         
              (Registrant's telephone number, including area code)

                                 Not Applicable
                     ------------------------------------      
          (Former Name or Former Address, if changed since last report)
                                                 


                                  First Bancorp
                                      INDEX
                                                                           
                                                                       Page
                                                                             
Item 7.01 - Regulation FD Disclosure                                     3 
                                                                           
Item 9.01 - Financial Statements and Exhibits                            3 
                                                                           
Signatures                                                               4 
                                                                           
Exhibit 99 (a) News Release dated November 23, 2005                      5 

                                        2
                                                

Item 7.01 -- Regulation FD Disclosure

     On November 23, 2005, the Registrant issued a news release to announce that
its Board of Directors had declared a cash dividend of 18 cents per share
payable on January 25, 2006 to shareholders of record as of December 30, 2005.
The 18 cents per share dividend rate represents a 5.9% increase over the
dividend rate declared in the same period of 2004. The news release is attached
hereto as Exhibit 99(a) and is incorporated by reference.


Item 9.01 - Financial Statements and Exhibits


     Exhibit 99(a) - News Release dated November 23, 2005


Disclosures About Forward Looking Statements


     The discussions included in this document and its exhibits may contain
forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities
Litigation Act of 1995, including Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933. Such statements involve
known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual
results to differ materially. For the purposes of these discussions, any
statements that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be
forward looking statements. Such statements are often characterized by the use
of qualifying words such as "expects," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates,"
"plans," "projects," or other statements concerning opinions or judgments of the
Company and its management about future events. The accuracy of such forward
looking statements could be affected by such factors as, including but not
limited to, the financial success or changing conditions or strategies of the
Company's customers or vendors, fluctuations in interest rates, actions of
government regulators, the availability of capital and personnel or general
economic conditions.

                                        3
 


                                   Signatures

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
                                                               
                                          First Bancorp
                                                               
                                                         
           November 23, 2005       By:    /s/ James H. Garner
                                          ------------------------------
                                          James H. Garner
                                          President and Chief Executive Officer


                                        4