New Castle County Criminal Court Records
New Castle County criminal court records sit with the Prothonotary at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington. The Superior Court handles felony files for the county. The Court of Common Pleas holds most misdemeanor case files. Juvenile criminal matters rest with the Family Court on the same campus. This page walks you through where to look, who to call, and what forms to file. You will find addresses, hours, phone numbers, and links to the online tools that point to New Castle County criminal court records.
New Castle County Criminal Court Records Overview
Superior Court Criminal Court Records
All felony case files for New Castle County start at the Superior Court. The court sits inside the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center at 500 N. King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801. Phone is 302-255-0800. The main desk is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. Jury Services can be reached at 302-255-0824. The Prothonotary Suite 1500 on Level 1 is the file room for New Castle County criminal court records. To view a file, call 302-255-0740 for an appointment.
Grand jury work runs out of this courthouse as well. Misdemeanor appeals from JP Court land here on the appellate docket. The Superior Court also hears traffic appeals and civil matters, but criminal records are the bulk of the public requests. Most New Castle County criminal court records sit in paper files. A staff member can pull the file, but you review it at the courthouse. Files cannot leave the building.
The New Castle County Superior Court location page lists all the office hours, parking info, and phone contacts for this building.
Security screening applies to every visitor. Free WiFi is offered inside the public areas. A public parking garage sits next to the building.
Note: Call 302-255-0740 at least one business day ahead to schedule file review. Walk-in access is not available for most New Castle County criminal court records.
Court of Common Pleas Criminal Records
The Court of Common Pleas shares the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center at 500 N. King Street. Phone is 302-255-0900. This court handles misdemeanor criminal cases, preliminary hearings in felony matters, civil cases up to $75,000, traffic appeals, and landlord-tenant appeals. Walk-in filing runs from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. File review for criminal cases at the Court of Common Pleas follows the same rules as Superior Court. The clerk pulls the file, you review on site, copies come at a set fee.
Preliminary hearings at the Court of Common Pleas set the stage for felony prosecutions. A judge hears early evidence and decides if the case moves up to Superior Court. These hearings create their own docket entries. A person tracking a case through the system can watch it step up from this court to the higher court as the case proceeds. Court of Common Pleas criminal records tie to the Superior Court file once the case is bound over.
The Court of Common Pleas page lists the hours, contact phone, and direct links to court forms.
Staff at the Court of Common Pleas can confirm a case number and tell you what file to ask for. The same court uses the CP22001 case number format for quick tracking.
Family Court Juvenile Criminal Records
Juvenile criminal matters rest with the New Castle County Family Court. The office sits at 500 N. King Street in Wilmington. Phone is 302-255-0300. Juvenile records are confidential by law. A parent, guardian, or the juvenile can ask to view the file. Others need a court order. Juvenile expungement petitions follow Title 10 § 1014 through § 1019 of the Delaware Code. A clean record after a waiting period can be sealed under these rules.
Family Court also hears protection from abuse cases, custody matters, and child support. These records are not criminal, but can tie to a criminal case. Protection orders are often part of a larger pattern that shows up in New Castle County criminal court records at the Superior Court or Court of Common Pleas. A Family Court staff member can help you find a file if you have the case number or the name and date range.
The New Castle County Family Court page has the full address, phone directory, and office hours.
Juvenile expungement forms live in the Delaware Courts forms library. The case must meet age, offense type, and waiting period rules to qualify.
Sheriff's Warrant Criminal Court Records
The New Castle County Sheriff's Office sits at 87 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720. Phone is 302-395-8450. The Sheriff serves court processes, runs courthouse security, carries out property evictions, and holds Sheriff's sales. Warrants issued out of Superior Court and the Court of Common Pleas land with the Sheriff for service. A person with a name on a warrant should contact the court that issued it, not the Sheriff.
The New Castle County Sheriff's Office page shows contact info, sale schedules, and civil process fees.
The Sheriff does not issue criminal history reports. For a certified report, you use the Delaware State Police State Bureau of Identification. Fingerprints are required.
Active warrants for serious crimes are sometimes posted on the state wanted persons list. Check the DSP wanted persons page before calling a court about a named person.
County and State Police Criminal Records
The New Castle County Police Department runs out of 3601 N. DuPont Highway, New Castle. Main line is 302-573-2800. The Records Unit is at 302-395-8171. Records Unit hours run Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM. Copies cost $0.25 per page. Police reports, crash reports, and incident reports tie to the case file at the court. A request for a police report can be made in person, by mail, or through the online portal.
The county police page lists forms for records requests and the fees that apply.
Delaware State Police Troop 1 covers unincorporated areas in the northern part of New Castle County. Troop 1 is at 2225 Troop 1 Lane, Wilmington. Phone is 302-633-4200. The Troop 1 information page has district maps and contact details. State Police arrests feed into Superior Court criminal records the same way county police arrests do.
Both agencies use the statewide DELJIS system to log arrests. DELJIS is the state's official criminal history repository. Public access is limited. Law enforcement and the courts share data through this system. A person asking for a certified criminal history works through the DSP process, not DELJIS directly.
Detention Facility Criminal Court Records
The Howard R. Young Correctional Institution is the main pre-trial detention center for New Castle County. The facility sits at 1 East Dale Road, Wilmington. Phone is 302-429-7701. A person arrested in the county and held pending bail goes here in most cases. Inmate records at Howard Young show booking date, charges, bail status, and court dates.
Once a case ends with a guilty plea or trial verdict, a sentenced person may move to another facility inside the Delaware Department of Correction system. The court file at Superior Court still shows the full record. A person looking for a case outcome should start at the courthouse.
VINE, the victim notification service, also covers Howard Young. A victim or witness can register to get alerts when an inmate's status changes. This tool ties into the New Castle County criminal court records workflow for victims who want to stay informed.
How to Request New Castle County Criminal Court Records
To request a case file, start with the Prothonotary. For Superior Court, that is Suite 1500 at 500 N. King Street. For the Court of Common Pleas, the clerk's desk on the first floor takes requests. Bring the case number if you have one. If you do not, bring the full name of the defendant and an approximate date range. Staff can search the index and point you to the right file.
Some New Castle County criminal court records live at the Delaware Public Archives in Dover. Older cases, long-closed files, and historic dockets move there once they leave courthouse active storage. The archives search catalog is on the archives home page. Research room hours run Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM to 4:15 PM.
Forms for file requests live on the Delaware Courts forms page. The main form for Superior Court criminal file access is ADM_ADM_03_A. Justice of the Peace Court uses MISC35. A criminal continuance request uses CRF35. Fee waiver applications use CF49 with proof of income. Each form has a page of instructions.
For civil case searches that can help fill in the picture, the CourtConnect portal covers name, business, and case type searches. CourtConnect does not show criminal case files, but a civil record tied to a defendant can still help.
Fees, Copies, and Processing Times
Copy fees at the Prothonotary run $2 per page for plain copies. Certified copies cost $15 for the first three pages, then $2 for each page after. A $25 retrieval fee applies to extensive searches that need staff time beyond the routine pull. Records cannot leave the courthouse. A person who wants certified copies for court use in another state can request them here.
Processing time for a simple file pull is same-day once you arrive for your appointment. A large file pull may take a few business days to stage. Certified copies are prepared while you wait in most cases, but a busy day can push the wait into the afternoon. Mail requests take two to four weeks. Include a self-addressed stamped envelope and a money order for the fee.
The Office of the Prothonotary page has the full schedule of fees for all civil and criminal filings.
Note: Fee waivers under Form CF49 need proof of income and are subject to court review, not automatic approval.
Public Access to Criminal Court Records
Delaware's public records law sits in Title 29, Chapter 100 of the Delaware Code. The statute gives the public a right to see public records of state and local bodies. The law sets a 15 business day response time for most requests. Police records, active investigation files, and grand jury work are exempt under Section 10002(l)(4). Court records are handled under court rules rather than the FOIA process.
For a closed criminal file, the court is the right route. For a police incident report, the records unit at the agency that made the arrest is the place to ask. A denial of a police records request can be appealed. The Sex Offender Registry is open to the public under state law. Look up a name at the state registry for tier level and address.
New Castle County Cities and Criminal Court Records
Several cities in New Castle County have their own police records units and local courts. Each city feeds arrests into the county court system. Pick a city page below for the local records unit, fees, and contacts tied to that city.