How Do I Look Up Warrants in Delaware?

You can use DelawareCourts.us to locate a warrant in Delaware, as it compiles publicly available information reported by Delaware's courts and law enforcement agencies into a single search. A search reveals the warrant type, issuing court, case number, alleged offense, and bail or bond amount, when available.

Delaware has only three counties — New Castle, Kent, and Sussex — making it the state with the fewest county-level jurisdictions in the country. That small number might suggest that warrant records would be simple to track down, but the reality is less straightforward. The state's free court records portal, CourtConnect, provides public access to docket information in Superior Court, the Court of Common Pleas, and Justice of the Peace courts, but it does not isolate warrants as a distinct searchable category. A user searching for an active warrant has to know enough about the underlying case — a name, a case number, the correct court — to pull the right docket and then read through it for warrant-related entries.

A consolidated search bypasses that manual process by aggregating warrant data from multiple courts and agencies into a single query, which is particularly useful when the issuing court or county is unknown.

Are Warrants Public Information in Delaware?

Arrest warrants and bench warrants (called capias warrants in Delaware practice) attached to public criminal cases are accessible to the public. The legal foundation is the Delaware Freedom of Information Act, 29 Del.C. § 10003, which states that all public records shall be open to inspection and copying during regular business hours. Criminal case files in the Superior Court and Court of Common Pleas — including docket sheets, charging documents, and orders — are public records under this provision and are available through CourtConnect or by request to the Prothonotary's office in the relevant county.

Search warrants occupy a more restricted position. Delaware law does not contain a blanket seal on search warrant affidavits, but judges frequently seal them during active investigations, and there is no automatic publication mechanism once the warrant is returned. Warrants tied to sealed indictments or grand jury proceedings are entirely exempt from disclosure. Juvenile records and cases involving Family Court are excluded from FOIA under separate statutory provisions.

When a FOIA request is submitted to a Delaware public body, the response deadline is 15 business days — one of the longer statutory windows among the states. If a custodian denies a request, the requester can petition the Attorney General's office for a determination, or file directly in Superior Court. The 15-day clock and the review process mean that even for records that are legally public, obtaining them can involve a wait that an online docket search would bypass entirely.

How to Search for a Warrant in Delaware

1. Use DelawareCourts.us. Our Instant Warrant Lookup presents you with warrant record data compiled from available public resources in one convenient search. When available, you can find warrant type, issuing court, case number, alleged offense, and bail/bond amount, among other details, depending on the record type and issuing county.
2. Search CourtConnect. Delaware's CourtConnect system provides free online access to case information in the Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Justice of the Peace courts. Searches can be performed by party name or case number, and results include docket entries, charges, and dispositions. The system does not flag active warrants as a standalone category — warrant-related activity appears within the case docket alongside other filings. Family Court records are not available through CourtConnect.
3. Contact the county sheriff's office or court Prothonotary. Delaware's three county sheriff's offices serve as the primary agencies for executing warrants issued by the Superior Court. The Prothonotary (equivalent to the clerk of court) in each county can confirm whether a warrant has been entered on a particular docket. Have the subject's full legal name, date of birth, and the county where the case may have originated ready before calling.
4. Visit in person. The Prothonotary's office in each county courthouse accepts walk-in requests for public docket information during business hours. If you are inquiring about a warrant issued for yourself, appearing at a courthouse or sheriff's office carries a risk of arrest on the outstanding warrant.
5. Retain an attorney. A Delaware attorney can make confidential inquiries with the court, the Attorney General's office, or the Department of Justice and can file a motion to vacate or modify a capias warrant on a client's behalf.

How Long Is a Warrant Active in Delaware?

Arrest warrants and capias warrants in Delaware do not expire and remain enforceable until the subject is taken into custody, surrenders, or the court vacates the warrant. Search warrants carry a bifurcated execution deadline that is unusual among the states: under 11 Del.C. § 2310, a standard search warrant must be executed within 10 days, but a search warrant that authorizes a nighttime search of a dwelling must be executed within 3 days. The shorter window for nighttime warrants reflects the legislature's view that the heightened intrusion of a nighttime entry justifies a tighter clock on execution.

Delaware Warrant Records by County

Delaware's three counties — New Castle, Kent, and Sussex — each have a sheriff's office that executes warrants and a Prothonotary (clerk of court) who maintains case files. Despite the state's small size, there is no centralized statewide warrant database available to the public. CourtConnect provides a unified search interface across multiple courts, but it does not aggregate warrants into a single list, and coverage gaps exist for sealed matters and Family Court proceedings. A person who does not know which county issued a warrant will need to check each of the three individually — a manageable task given the number, but still not something the state automates.

The table below lists all three Delaware county sheriff's offices, sourced from official county government websites and the Delaware Superior Court contact directory.