Delaware Public Criminal Records

Choose a criminal history response or a court file

Delaware public criminal records are not one unrestricted statewide name-search product. A State Police certified criminal history is fingerprint-based. A court file contains the filings and decisions in a particular prosecution. A police report describes an agency’s investigation, while a custody entry describes detention. Decide which event or document you need before paying for a history check or contacting a court.

CourtConnect is presented by the Delaware Courts as a civil case-search service. A blank CourtConnect result does not establish that no criminal case exists. Use the judicial record-access policies and the office of the court that handled the prosecution when you need a criminal charge, judgment, sentencing order or dismissal.

Use the correct service code for fingerprinting

For your own certified Delaware report, State Police publishes service code 27RVGT. It is issued only to the requesting citizen and does not satisfy a legally mandated agency check. For employment, licensing or another required check, obtain the requesting agency’s service code before registering through the linked IdentoGO service. A Delaware-only history costs $72; the $85 state-and-federal product must be mandated by law.

Bring identification accepted by the registration page. Schedule appointments and mail-in service through the State Police enrollment link; do not mail a request to an enrollment center. State Police warns that this causes significant delay. The published information number is 302-739-5884. Keep the service code, appointment confirmation and response together so the product and recipient remain clear.

State Police announces a transition to remotely assisted SMART-E fingerprint kiosks beginning October 5, 2026. If attending on or after that date, review the posted instructions. For foreign use, its personal-report instructions require further sealing at the Dover office, 600 S. Bay Road, before state apostille/authentication. A mailed or electronic history response is not automatically an apostilled document.

Request the criminal document from its court custodian

Use the Delaware Courts access-policy directory to select Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, Justice of the Peace Court or the other court named on the case. A case may have proceedings in more than one court, so retain both the originating number and later number if a transfer occurred. Identify the county as New Castle, Kent or Sussex before choosing the local office.

For a Superior Court file, use the Prothonotary or Criminal Unit in the official county directory. For example, the Sussex Criminal Unit is listed at 302-855-7055; that is not a statewide records line. Provide the defendant’s full name, case number if known, approximate year, and the precise document sought. Say whether you want inspection, an ordinary copy, certification or an exemplified copy and how you would like it delivered.

Superior Court’s policy allows inspection of public originals where maintained during working hours, or an appropriate edited copy where protected information or preservation concerns prevent direct access. It calls for requests detailed enough to identify the record. Do not request a cumulative DELJIS history through the court-copy process: the policy excludes that multi-court criminal-history product from public release.

Budget court-copy and retrieval charges separately

The Superior Court service schedule lists $15 for a certified document of up to three pages before additional copy charges, and $25 for an exemplified document on the same three-page basis. It lists a maximum ordinary-copy charge of $2 per page, $25 for closed-case retrieval and $50 for expedited closed-case retrieval. These are Superior Court services, not the $72 State Police history fee or a fee schedule for every Delaware court.

Ask the chosen clerk which charges apply to the particular file and format, whether an older file must be retrieved, and what payment and delivery method to use. The access policy requires a response as promptly as practicable, with timing dependent on the work involved; it does not guarantee an immediate copy or a universal number of days. Ask about the expected delivery when placing the request rather than assuming an expedited retrieval fee guarantees a finished transcript.

Understand restrictions and the meaning of a result

Superior Court and Common Pleas policies generally permit access to public case records but exclude sealed or expunged records and other protected material. Examples include presentence investigations, certain unreturned warrants and confidential information about witnesses or victims. A public case does not make every attachment public, and an ordinary request does not override an access restriction.

Read the final disposition, not only the arrest or initial charge. The FBI’s explanation of criminal-history reporting distinguishes an arrest from its later outcome and notes the importance of reporting dismissals and acquittals. Verify the person, dates and case identifiers before connecting a court result with a history response; absence from a limited online service cannot establish a clean statewide record.

Resolve a missing outcome, error or denied request

If your certified State Police response appears wrong or incomplete, call the published SBI number with the report reference and ask for its review procedure. Obtain the relevant court disposition from the filing court and retain it as supporting evidence. Ask separately about correcting the history response and the originating court entry; ordering the same unrelated product again will not resolve a missing disposition.

If court access is denied or delayed, ask for the stated reason and the rule supporting it. Superior Court’s published policy permits a written access appeal to the Resident Judge; the Common Pleas policy instead identifies the Chief Judge. Use the procedure for the actual court. An access appeal, correction of inaccurate data and expungement of an otherwise accurate record are different requests.