Delaware
Delaware Court Records: CourtConnect Is Civil-Only, and What That Means for a Criminal Search
Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 10, 2026). · 4 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content
Delaware's public court records search, CourtConnect, covers civil cases only. There is no public online criminal docket search on the Delaware Judiciary's own site, which is an absence worth stating plainly rather than glossing over, since most readers assume a state's main portal covers criminal cases too.
On the record-relief side, Delaware is in the middle of a large, genuinely newsworthy rollout: its first automated Clean Slate expungement sweep only ran in mid-2026, and the backlog it is working through is still in the millions.
Information last verified on 2026-08-10. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.
This guide is part of a broader look at court records by state. For the general mechanics of federal versus state versus county searches, see how to look up court records and are court records public.
CourtConnect: A Civil-Only Search
Delaware's own description of CourtConnect is direct about its scope: the Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Justice of the Peace Court now offer the ability to access civil case information online 24 hours a day through CourtConnect. Search options include name, business name, case type, judgment search, and case activities. That description does not include criminal cases, and that is not an oversight, it reflects how the tool is actually built.
The practical result: if you are looking for a criminal case in Delaware, CourtConnect will not have it. Delaware does not run a public, self-service online criminal docket search on its judiciary site. Criminal history instead runs through the State Bureau of Identification and the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System, which provide certified background-check products rather than a free public lookup. Anyone who needs criminal history information in Delaware should expect to go through that certified process, not a court website search.
That routing is statutory, not merely administrative. Access to Delaware criminal history record information is governed by 11 Del. C. § 8513, which directs the State Bureau of Identification to furnish records only to defined categories of requester. Under § 8513(a), those categories include criminal justice agencies and courts acting for the administration of criminal justice, and any person or that person’s attorney of record who requests a copy of the person’s own Delaware criminal history record, provided the person submits to an identity procedure set by the Superintendent of the State Police and pays a fee set by the Superintendent. Section 8513(b) adds further authorized categories, including individuals and public bodies acting for a purpose authorized by Delaware statute, executive order, or court rule, decision, or order, and requests tied to international travel or a national security clearance. The section also states that dissemination of criminal history record information by any person or agency other than the Bureau or its designee is prohibited.
That statute is the reason there is no open criminal docket search to point you to. Delaware treats criminal history as a controlled-dissemination system by law, released by one agency to enumerated requesters, while CourtConnect is a court administrative tool whose scope is civil dockets.
Family Court records are also handled separately from CourtConnect, through their own access process rather than the civil case-information tool.
CourtConnect's own disclaimer is worth reading before relying on any result: the Civil Docket Report obtained through this Internet service is not for official use, and the Delaware Judiciary does not guarantee or warrant the correctness, completeness, timeliness, or utility of the Civil Docket Report. The data behind it is sourced from documents actually filed with the Judiciary's office or a judge, orders entered from the bench, scheduling orders, and judgments or liens entered by operation of law.
Certified Copies
This guide does not publish a specific Delaware certified-copy fee figure, since one was not confirmed from a primary source in this session. Contact the Prothonotary (the Superior Court clerk) or the relevant court's clerk to confirm current pricing for the specific case.
Sealing Your Record: Delaware Calls It Expungement
Delaware's statutory term is expungement, not sealing. The state's automatic mechanism runs under 11 Del. C. § 4373A for adults and 10 Del. C. § 1017A for juveniles, both of which are headed “Mandatory expungement; automatic.” Its companion section, § 4373, is headed “Mandatory expungement; application through SBI” and sets the underlying eligibility rules plus the route for people who apply rather than wait for the sweep. Section 4373A(b) states that beginning August 1, 2024, on a monthly basis, the State Bureau of Identification shall identify cases that are eligible for mandatory expungement and proceed under § 4372(e)(2) of this title to expunge the eligible records.
Underlying eligibility, from § 4373(a), varies by category, and the waiting periods matter. A case terminated in favor of the accused carries no waiting period, and neither does a conviction for possession of marijuana under 16 Del. C. § 4764 or possession of drug paraphernalia under 16 Del. C. § 4771. A violation-level conviction is different: § 4373(a)(1)b makes it eligible only once 3 years have passed since the date of conviction, so a violation is not clearable the moment the case ends. Misdemeanor convictions become eligible once 5 years have passed since the date of conviction, and the specific felonies listed in § 4373(a)(3), mostly drug and forgery offenses, become eligible once 10 years have passed since the conviction or the date of release from incarceration, whichever is later.
The state's own June 2026 announcement gives a real sense of scale: Delaware's first true automated batch of Clean Slate cases cleared more than 64,000 eligible cases from public-facing criminal background checks, more than three times the volume the state processed manually in all of 2025. The state also disclosed the scope of what remains: a backlog of more than one million cases, with a stated goal of clearing the bulk of that backlog by August. In short, Delaware's automatic expungement law is real and running, but as of mid-2026 it had only begun working through a very large backlog, a genuinely different picture from a state that has already caught up.
For the full eligibility rules and process, including the petition-based route for cases outside the automatic track, see Delaware expungement laws, which this guide does not duplicate.
Using Delaware Court Records the Right Way
CourtConnect is built for checking a specific civil case, whether it is your own or one you have a legitimate reason to look into, not for compiling a background file on someone else, and it is not a criminal-history tool at all. If a Delaware record is used to screen a job applicant or a tenant, that use is governed separately by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681c, a criminal conviction is exempt from the standard seven-year reporting window that applies to most arrests and civil judgments, meaning it can be reported indefinitely unless it has been expunged under Delaware law.
Related Resources
Court Records by State covers the full 50-state picture. See also How to Look Up Court Records, Are Court Records Public?, Delaware Expungement Laws, Delaware Background Check Laws, Delaware Warrant Search, and Delaware Public Records Laws.
Disclaimer
This article provides general information about Delaware's CourtConnect system, the absence of a public criminal case search, and Delaware's Clean Slate expungement rollout as of mid-2026. It is not legal advice. Program status and portal features change; verify current details with the Delaware Judiciary or a licensed Delaware attorney before relying on anything here for a specific situation.
Last updated: 2026-08-10. Portal facts and fees reflect their published status as of August 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Delaware's CourtConnect cover criminal cases?
No. CourtConnect is civil-only, covering the Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Justice of the Peace Court for civil cases. Delaware does not run a public, self-service online criminal docket search on its judiciary site.
How do I check a Delaware criminal record?
Through the State Bureau of Identification's certified background-check process rather than a free court website search, since Delaware has no public online criminal case-lookup tool. 11 Del. C. § 8513 controls who may obtain criminal history record information, and it lets you request a copy of your own Delaware record after proving your identity under the Superintendent of the State Police's procedure and paying the fee the Superintendent sets.
Are Family Court records searchable on CourtConnect?
No. Family Court records are handled through a separate access process, not the CourtConnect civil case-information tool.
Does Delaware call it sealing or expungement?
Expungement. Delaware's statutory term is expungement, under 11 Del. C. Sections 4373 and 4373A for adults and 10 Del. C. Section 1017A for juveniles. Section 4373 is the application-based track through the State Bureau of Identification, and Section 4373A is the automatic one.
Is Delaware's Clean Slate expungement fully caught up?
Not yet as of mid-2026. The state's first true automated batch, in June 2026, cleared more than 64,000 cases, but Delaware itself has disclosed a remaining backlog of more than one million cases.
Can I use a Delaware court record to screen a job applicant or tenant?
Not on its own. Employment and tenant screening are separately governed by the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Updates
Corrected the expungement eligibility timeline: a Delaware violation-level conviction is eligible three years after conviction, not immediately, and clarified that 11 Del. C. § 4373A is the automatic track while § 4373 is the application track. Added the statute that governs access to Delaware criminal history records, 11 Del. C. § 8513.
Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources
The Law Behind This Article
This article rests on the statutory provisions below, held in our own legal record and retrieved from the official source. Tap a section to read the operative text.
Delaware Code, Title 11 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure), Chapter 085 (STATE BUREAU OF IDENTIFICATION)
§ 8513Dissemination of criminal history record information.In force
(a) Upon application, the Bureau shall furnish a copy of all information available pertaining to the identification and criminal history of any person or persons of whom the Bureau has a record to: (1) Criminal justice agencies and/or courts of the State or of any political subdivision thereof or to any similar agency and/or court in any State or of the United States or of any foreign country for purposes of the administration of criminal justice and/or criminal justice employment; (2) Any person or the person’s attorney of record who requests a copy of the person’s own Delaware criminal history record, provided that such person: a. Submits to a reasonable procedure established by standards set forth by the Superintendent of the State Police to identify one’s self as the person whose record this individual seeks; and b.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at delcode.delaware.gov
Delaware Code, Title 10 (Courts and Judicial Procedure), Chapter 009 (THE FAMILY COURT OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE)
§ 1017AMandatory expungement; automatic.In force
(a) A case that is eligible for mandatory expungement under § 1017 of this title is eligible for automatic expungement under this section. (b) Beginning August 1, 2024, on a monthly basis, the State Bureau of Identification shall identify cases that are eligible for mandatory expungement and proceed under § 1019 of this title to expunge the eligible records. (c) The Department of Safety and Homeland Security may promulgate reasonable regulations necessary for the State Bureau of Identification to accomplish the purposes of this section. (d) Nothing in this section precludes an individual from filing a petition for expungement of records under § 1017(a) of this title that are eligible for automatic expungement under this section if an automatic expungement has not occurred. (e) An individual does not have a cause of action for damages as a result of the failure to identify an individual’s case as eligible for automatic expungement.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at delcode.delaware.gov
Delaware Code, Title 11 (Crimes and Criminal Procedure), Chapter 043 (SENTENCING, PROBATION, PAROLE AND PARDONS)
§ 4373Mandatory expungement; application through SBI.In forcecited in 3 of our articles
(a) Eligibility. — (1) On an appropriate request to the State Bureau of Identification under this section, the Bureau shall expunge all charges relating to a case, even if a person has prior or subsequent convictions that are ineligible for expungement, if all other charges in the case are eligible for expungement under this subchapter, and 1 or more of the following apply: a. The person was arrested or charged with the commission of 1 or more crimes and the case is terminated in favor of the accused. b. The person was convicted of 1 or more violations relating to the same case and 3 years have passed since the date of conviction. c. The person was convicted of possession of marijuana under § 4764 of Title 16 or possession of drug paraphernalia under § 4771 of Title 16, or both in the same case. d. The person was convicted of underage possession or consumption of alcohol under § 904(e) or (f) of Title 4.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-01 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at delcode.delaware.gov
Cited in 8 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):Cornette v. State (2026) treated Section 4373 as the mandatory expungement path, applied for through the State Bureau of Identification, and read subsections 4373(a)(1) and (2) as conditioning eligibility on all charges in the case, unlike Section 4375. Scott v. State (2016) applied an earlier version of 4373(a) to deny relief.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Scott v. State (Superior Court of Delaware 2016)✓Scott sought expungement of drug and weapon charges from two arrests; the court held section 4373(a) did not reach them, since the pardoned November charges were not terminated in favor of the accused and the June charge followed earlier convictions.
- State v. Skinner (Supreme Court of Delaware 1993, 632 A.2d 82)“…f the person had no prior conviction. Compare, 11 Del.C. § 4373(a). Petitioner argued that his pardon e…”
- Ryan v. State (Supreme Court of Delaware 2002, 791 A.2d 742)“…1 Del. C. § 4372. Finally, we note that 11 Del. C. § 4373(a) vests discretion in the trial judge…”
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: Delaware Background Check Laws (2026 Guide), Delaware Expungement Laws: Mandatory, Discretionary, and Clean Slate (2026)
United States Code Title 15
§ 1681cRequirements relating to information contained in consumer reportsIn forcecited in 61 of our articles
Except as authorized under subsection (b), no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing any of the following items of information: Cases under title 11 or under the Bankruptcy Act that, from the date of entry of the order for relief or the date of adjudication, as the case may be, antedate the report by more than 10 years. Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that, from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period. Paid tax liens which, from date of payment, antedate the report by more than seven years. Accounts placed for collection or charged to profit and loss which antedate the report by more than seven years. Any other adverse item of information, other than records of convictions of crimes which antedates the report by more than seven years.
Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-16 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov
Cited in 383 court opinions in our collectionLatest citing opinion in our collection: 2026
In the courts (editorial summary, independently checked):Katz v. Donna Karan Co. (2017) addressed the FACTA truncation rule in 1681c(g) and affirmed dismissal for lack of Article III standing, treating material risk of harm as a fact question. Edward Seamans v. Temple University (2014) held the seven-year window in 1681c(a)(4) is extended for an education loan only until that loan is repaid.
Opinions citing this section in our collection:
- Katz v. Donna Karan Co. (Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit 2017, 872 F.3d 114)✓A shopper sued two stores whose receipts printed the first six digits of his credit card number; the Second Circuit affirmed dismissal for lack of standing, seeing no clear error in the finding that those digits show only the card issuer, not a material risk of identity theft.
- Edward Seamans v. Temple University (Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit 2014, 744 F.3d 853)✓A defaulted university loan kept appearing on a borrower's credit reports after he repaid it because the school never reported the delinquency date; the Third Circuit held the Higher Education Act suspends section 1681c(a)(4)'s aging-off rule only until repayment.
- Gonzales v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC (Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit 2011, 660 F.3d 1055)✓A debt buyer offered to settle health club debts over seven years old, saying that if it was reporting the account the bureaus would be told it was settled; the Ninth Circuit, treating those debts as unreportable under section 1681c(a)(4), called that implication misleading.
Identified automatically from the court opinions citing this section — not a ranking of which case controls.
Also relied on in: How Long Does a Felony Stay on Your Record? (2026), Background Check Laws by State (2026 Guide), Alabama Background Check Laws (2026 Guide)
Sources and References
- Delaware Courts, CourtConnect civil case information(courts.delaware.gov).gov
- Delaware Courts, CourtConnect disclaimer(courtconnect.courts.delaware.gov).gov
- State of Delaware, Governor Meyer Announces 64,000 Cases Cleared in Clean Slate Automation(news.delaware.gov).gov
- Delaware Code Online, Title 11, Chapter 43, Subchapter VII, Expungement of Criminal Records(delcode.delaware.gov).gov
- Delaware Code Online, Title 11 § 8513, Dissemination of criminal history record information(delcode.delaware.gov)
- Delaware Code Online, Title 10 § 1017A, Mandatory expungement; automatic (juvenile)(delcode.delaware.gov)