Delaware, Kent County
Where Dover's records are kept. Dover has its own city government, police department and clerk's office; county and state offices keep its other public records.
Start here
The cards below include Dover's own offices, along with State of Delaware offices; the Kent County offices are on our Kent County page. Use the category buttons to narrow the list.
City records
City of Dover, Delaware, home page with links to customer service, the City Clerk, the finance and tax office, the Mayor and City Council and recorded City Council meeting videos.
Open official site City of DoverPolice & jail
City of Dover Police Department at 400 S. Queen Street, with police report requests, annual reports and statistics, a crime map, victim services, fine payment, citizen complaints and special event permits.
Open official site Dover Police DepartmentPolice & jail
Dover Police Records Unit releases crime and crash reports in person with photo ID, sells crash reports to drivers, owners and insurers, and replaces lost traffic tickets and ordinance summonses.
Open official site Obtain Police ReportCity records
The Dover City Clerk at City Hall, 15 Loockerman Plaza, links residents with City Council and staff and records and preserves official city proceedings and documents.
Open official site City ClerkCity records
City of Dover FOIA page quoting Delaware's Freedom of Information Act policy, with the city's FOIA policy and an online portal to submit requests, check their status and search past FOIA records.
Open official site Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)Police & jail
FBI wanted posters, from the Ten Most Wanted list to fugitives, terrorism suspects, kidnapped and missing persons, bank robbers and seeking information cases; tips go to tips.fbi.gov.
Open official site FBI Most WantedPolice & jail
Delaware DOC page sending the public to VINELink to check an offender's custody status at any hour and to sign up for phone, email or text alerts when that status changes.
Open official site Delaware Department of Correction: Locate an InmateVital records
USAGov explains how to get certified copies of birth and death certificates, copies of marriage and divorce records, and replacements for lost or stolen government ID cards.
Open official site USAGov Guide to Copies of Vital Records and IDsCounty court
The federal judiciary's national index of district, bankruptcy and appellate court cases. Searching needs a free PACER account; pages cost $0.10, capped at $3 per document, with quarterly charges of $30 or less waived.
Open official site PACER Case LocatorFederal
USAGov sends you to your state's unclaimed property office, which holds most unclaimed money, and to federal searches for back wages, pensions, IRS refunds, savings bonds and deposits from failed banks.
Open official site USAGov Guide to Unclaimed MoneyVital records
The Social Security Administration explains survivor benefits, monthly payments to eligible relatives of workers who paid Social Security taxes before death, including who qualifies, possible amounts and when to report a death.
Open official site Social Security Survivor BenefitsPolice & jail
U.S. Department of Justice search of public sex offender registries from every state, territory and many tribes by name or ZIP code; address radius searches cover only states that send coordinates.
Open official site Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public WebsiteFederal
USAGov explains checking your registration through Can I Vote, which opens your state's election website, and advises doing it before the state deadline, which can be up to 30 days before an election.
Open official site USAGov Guide to Confirming Voter RegistrationCounty court
Federal judiciary guide to finding a case in PACER: search the court where it was filed for current data, or the nationwide PACER Case Locator, updated daily. A PACER account is required.
Open official site PACER Find a CaseState records
Delaware Public Archives at 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. North in Dover, with digital archives, a collections portal, digital ancestry records, a research room, historical markers and FOIA requests.
Open official site Delaware Public ArchivesCounty court
Wilmington court at 824 N. Market Street, third floor, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays; it lists recent Chapter 11 filings, the hearing calendar, opinions, mediation details and trustees' final reports.
Open official site U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of DelawareCounty court
The Delaware Judiciary's website for the Supreme Court, Court of Chancery, Superior, Family, Common Pleas and Justice of the Peace courts, with civil case search, electronic filing, ticket payment and court locations.
Open official site Delaware CourtsEverything else, organized
16 more Dover sources not listed above.
Local record guide
Local profile
Dover, a place of 39,403 people, is the seat of Kent County. Court and property records sit with Kent County, and birth and death certificates come from the State of Delaware. Dover's own offices are in the cards above, and our Kent County page lists each county office.
Straight answers
Open only the answer you need.
Voter registration in Delaware is run by the Delaware Department of Elections and local election officials. Its site lists the registration deadline, online voter registration, polling places and the local election office for Dover.
Deeds for property in Dover are recorded by the Kent County Recorder of Deeds, and the county office that assesses property keeps the tax values. Our Kent County page lists the county offices.
Certified birth and death certificates for events in Delaware come from the state vital records office, Delaware Office of Vital Statistics. Its site lists who may order a copy, the fee and how to order.
Same county
Use the city page when a record was created by a municipal police department or city office; use the county page for courts, deeds, vital records and jail custody.