Guide
About Delaware public records
Delaware is the second smallest of all states in the U.S. and governed by separately operating agencies and departments. As a high number of corporate filings, Delaware's division of Corporations role in providing verification information is vital to requestors inside and outside the state. Public Access Web Service document viewer to the state's three county recorders for New Castle, Kent and Sussex offers select real estate information, sales and transfers. State regulators for professional license's database verifies information for 35 fields and over one hundred professions. Certified criminal records to the public can be obtained from the Delaware State Bureau of Identification. To help with court records, the state clearly outlines the policy regarding public access to judicial records at courts.delaware.gov
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State background and court information
The state of Delaware is located on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States and covers an area of 1,982 square miles. The state is populated by 897,934 people, resulting in a population density of 401 persons per square mile. Delaware entered the union in December, 1787, and was the first of the original thirteen states to ratify the U.S. Constitution, later earning it's state nickname of 'The First State'. The capital city of Delaware is Dover. Located just outside the capital city is Dover Air Force Base, one of the main employers in the state. The largest employer, however, is the State of Delaware itself. Because of Delaware's business friendly corporation and tax franchise laws, 50% of the publicly traded corporations in America are incorporated in Delaware, as well as 60% of Fortune 500 companies.
As in other states, Delaware conforms to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to provide public access to state documents and records in an effort to allow the citizenry to monitor the performance of state agencies and public companies. Information regarding official state decisions, the operation of state agencies and access to meeting minutes can be requested online. Records and documents maintained by most state agencies are also available. Reasonably, there is certain information that is exempt from the FOIA, such as personal medical files, intelligence records, trade secrets, pending litigation, public library users and other records that would infringe on personal privacy rights.
Delaware criminal histories and records are maintained by the Delaware State Identification Bureau, a division of the Delaware State Police. This would include crime reports, fingerprint records, firearm purchase approvals and the official state sex offender registry. These records can be requested individually through Kent, Sussex and New Castle counties. Procedures vary by county and are outlined on the Delaware State Police website.
Because there are a large number of the nation's corporations and companies that file in Delaware, public access to state business records and assets are in great demand. Corporation and UCC filing information is available through the office of the Delaware Secretary of State. The Delaware Entity Search is available online and provides a database of both active and inactive entities. Another useful resource is the Recorder of Deeds office maintained by each county. These individual county web sites offer online document searches of land transaction records, corporate filings and financing statements.
Delaware provides public access to many of the state's court records. The state court system is broken down by individual courts such as Superior, Appellate, Family, Bankruptcy, Supreme, and Court of Common Pleas. The court system provides online database searches via the various court web sites. This information would also include records on civil judgments and liens, divorces and criminal cases.
Delaware's Alderman's court hears cases involving misdemeanors traffic and minor violations. Delaware's justice of the peace courts have jurisdiction over real property rights ($0/$15,000), small claims (where the amount in controversy ranges from $0-$15,000). Criminal justice court hears misdemeanor cases.
Family courts have exclusive jurisdiction over domestic relations matters. The justice of the peace courts have exclusive jurisdiction over juvenile matters, hear cases involving misdemeanors, traffic, criminal appeals and hold venue to preliminary hearings. Delaware's courts of common pleas hear tort cases, contract cases, real property rights cases ($0/$50,000), and other miscellaneous civil and civil appeals matters.
Superior courts hear torts, contracts, real property rights, mental health matters, civil and civil appeals, exclusive felony jurisdiction of misdemeanors and criminal appeals matters.
Chancery courts hear torts, contracts, real property rights matters, and mental health matters, has exclusive jurisdiction over estate matters.
State's highest court, the Delaware Supreme court has mandatory jurisdiction over cases involving civil matters, capital criminal matters, criminal matters, disciplinary matters, advisory opinions for the executive and legislature and original proceeding matters, has discretion to hear ("discretionary jurisdiction") cases involving civil matters, noncapital criminal matters, certified questions from federal courts, and interlocutory decision matters.
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Court records and filings
Delaware court records are maintained by the Delaware Courts system including the Supreme Court, Court of Chancery, Superior Court, and Family Court. Delaware Court of Chancery is renowned for handling corporate law cases.
Case information is available through the Delaware Courts online portal and individual court offices.
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Criminal records and background checks
Delaware criminal records are maintained by the Delaware State Police State Bureau of Identification (SBI). Criminal history background checks are obtained through fingerprints and require photo identification. IdentoGo is the exclusive provider for Delaware criminal history reports through electronic fingerprinting. Court records are accessible through Delaware CourtConnect for civil cases. The Delaware State Police operates the Sex Offender Registry. The Delaware Department of Correction provides an inmate locator and central offender records access.
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Vital records
Certified copies of Delaware birth and death certificates are issued by the Office of Vital Statistics in the Delaware Division of Public Health. Marriage records are also kept by the local office that issued the license, and divorce records by the court that granted the divorce.
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Government records and agencies
The Delaware.gov state directory lists Delaware agencies, and the Delaware Code is online from the state.
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Driving and vehicle records
The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles keeps driving records and handles vehicle titles.
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Expungements and record clearing
In Delaware, petitions to expunge adult records from Superior Court, the Court of Common Pleas and the Justice of the Peace Court are all filed with the Prothonotary in Superior Court; Family Court has its own adult and juvenile petitions. The Board of Pardons handles pardons.
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Genealogy and historical research
For family history, start with the Delaware Public Archives and the Delaware Division of Libraries.
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Missing children resources
The Delaware State Police keep a public list of Delaware's missing children.
- Delaware's Missing ChildrenDelaware State Police
- NamUsU.S. Justice Department database of missing and unidentified people
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