Delaware Booking Reports
Delaware Booking Reports are the paper trail that starts when a person is taken into custody by a police agency in the state. You can search for Delaware Booking Reports through state tools, county clerks, and city police records units. The State Bureau of Identification and the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System hold most of the data. This page shows you how to look up a booking, where to send a request, and what each agency will give the public.
Delaware Booking Reports Overview
Where to Find Delaware Booking Reports
The Delaware State Police publish an Arrest Archives page that lists recent bookings made by state troopers across the state. The posts show name, age, town, date, and the charges filed. Use it to track a recent booking while the case is still moving.
The Archives are sorted by date. Each entry tells you which troop handled the arrest, so you can tell if the record sits with Troop 2 in Newark, Troop 3 in Dover, Troop 4 in Georgetown, or another post. The State Police HQ is at 1447 N DuPont Hwy, Dover, DE 19901, and the main line is (302) 739-5901.
Active warrants tell a different story. The Delaware State Police keep a Wanted Person Search on the public DELJIS site. This tool lets you check if a person has an open capias or warrant. Enter a last name to start. A first name is optional.
The database only shows court-issued warrants. Newer items may take a day to post. The site warns the public not to act on a hit. Only a sworn officer can make an arrest based on a warrant. If you see your own name, call the agency that issued the capias and turn yourself in.
Note: A warrant hit on DELJIS does not count as an arrest. The booking report comes only after the person is taken into custody and processed at a jail.
Search Delaware Booking Reports Online
The fastest way to track a current booking is through the state inmate locator. The Delaware Department of Correction runs VINELink, the online version of VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday). The tool runs 24 hours a day.
You can sign up for alerts by phone, email, or text. The system pings you when custody changes. The DOC can also hold a person past the release date if another state has a hold. Level V prison time may be followed by work release or probation, so a booking file can stay active long after the first intake.
Behind VINELink sits a bigger network. The Delaware Criminal Justice Information System (DELJIS) runs the data backbone for state and local police. DELJIS holds the Automated Warrant and Arrest System, charge summaries, mugshots, DMV photos, and police complaints. The office is at 800 Silver Lake Blvd, Suite 101, Dover, DE 19904, and the main line is (302) 739-4856.
Most public users do not touch DELJIS direct. The data feeds the Wanted Person Search, VINELink, the Sex Offender Registry, and the agency portals that post arrest news. Records officers at each police house work through DELJIS when they pull a booking file.
What is in a Delaware Booking Report
A Delaware booking file holds the same core data across the state. The DOC Central Offender Records Unit keeps those files for Level V and Level IV inmates. The unit is led by Toby Davis and works out of the DOC central office. You can read more on the Central Offender Records page.
The Active Section handles intake, sentence math, release dates, and court pull lists. The Inactive Section handles subpoenas, old record pulls, and file purges. Together they form the paper side of every in-state booking.
A typical booking report covers:
- Full legal name and known aliases
- Date of birth, height, weight, eye and hair color
- Date, time, and place of the arrest
- Arresting agency and officer
- Charges with statute numbers and class
- Mugshot and fingerprints
- Bond or bail amount and type
Some items stay off the public copy. Social security numbers, juvenile codes, and open case notes are pulled out before the file is sent out. Open case notes include tip line data and any call that would tip off a suspect.
Delaware Criminal History Checks
If you want a full rap sheet on yourself or a hire, the State Bureau of Identification is the only place that can give you a certified one. The SBI Criminal History page lays out the steps. The SBI offers fingerprint appointments at 9 sites: Wilmington, Newark (2), Middletown, Dover (2), Milford, Georgetown, and Seaford.
A certified state-only history runs $72. A state-plus-federal check runs $85 but only if a law tells you to get one. Book your slot at uenroll.identogo.com. Bring photo ID and the service code that the agency told you to use. Code 27RVGT is the one for a personal criminal history report.
The SBI main office sits at 600 S. Bay Road Suite 1, Dover, DE 19901. The SBI Services page lists all non-fingerprint tasks, from crash report copies to Driving Privilege Cards for undocumented drivers. SBI does not issue concealed carry permits; those go through the Prothonotary's Office in each county.
The bureau also runs the state's Cry Wolf false alarm program. That piece is not tied to booking files, but it runs off the same records shop.
Note: A certified criminal history is not a booking report. The booking file tracks one arrest; the criminal history lists every arrest and court outcome tied to your prints.
Sex Offender Registry and Public Lookups
The Sex Offender Registry is a second public tool that draws on booking data. Title 11, Sections 4120 and 4121 of the Delaware Code make the State Police run a public registry. You can search it at sexoffender.dsp.delaware.gov by name, address, city, county, or zip code.
Only tier 2 and tier 3 offenders show up. Tier 1 entries are held from public view. Tier 1 people must sign in for 15 years, tier 2 for 25 years, and tier 3 for life. Homeless tier 3 registrants check in every 7 days. Failure to register is a class G felony.
Delaware FOIA for Booking Reports
Most Delaware Booking Reports fall under the state's Freedom of Information Act. The rules sit in Title 29, Chapter 100 of the Delaware Code. Every public body must take FOIA requests in writing or by email. You have a right to look at and copy public records during normal work hours.
Each agency has 15 business days to reply. They can grant the request, deny it, or tell you they need more time. The first 20 photocopy pages are free. After that the fee is $0.10 per sheet. Staff time over one hour can add an admin fee. The Attorney General's Office keeps the AG FOIA page with the official request form and a list of coordinators by agency.
FOIA has hard limits when it comes to booking reports. Open investigatory files are exempt. Files where release would hurt a person's privacy are exempt. Intelligence files, pending litigation notes, and DOC records sought by inmates are all held back. Intake mugshots and names of arrest subjects are normally public once the case is charged.
Booking Reports and Job-Related Background Checks
Many Delaware licenses and certs need a fingerprint check tied to state and FBI records. The Division of Professional Regulation moved to digital prints through IdentoGO as of September 5, 2023. You pick the service code for your trade, pay the fee, and have your prints sent to SBI.
DPR is not allowed to hand a copy of the check back to you in most cases. Federal law blocks that. You can dispute a charge tied to a Delaware license, but the raw print report stays with the state.
Delaware fire and EMS volunteers go through a sister process. The State Fire Commission page explains the rules. Title 16, Section 6712 covers EMT checks. Title 16, Chapter 66, Section 6647 covers volunteer fire company checks. Service code 27S47F is for fire company members.
Fire company members pay only the IdentoGO fee. EMT applicants pay the full cost. Both tracks end at the same SBI records desk that hosts the booking files.
Where Each Delaware Booking Report Lives
Delaware has three counties and a handful of town police forces. A booking can sit in one of many places. New Castle County bookings may live with the New Castle County Police, Wilmington PD, Newark PD, or the State Police Troop 2 house in Newark. Kent County bookings are held by the Dover Police, the Kent County Sheriff, or State Police Troop 3 in Dover. Sussex County bookings run through the Sussex County Sheriff, local town police like Lewes or Seaford, or State Police Troop 4 in Georgetown.
If you do not know which house made the arrest, start with DELJIS data by calling the State Police or checking VINELink. Name, date of birth, and a rough arrest date are enough to find the lead agency. From there you can file the right FOIA request with the right records unit.
Every Delaware agency must log its arrests in DELJIS, so even small town bookings can be traced back through the state system.
Tips for a Clean Booking Records Search
Have full legal name, date of birth, and a rough date of the arrest ready. The more you know, the faster the records clerk can pull the file. Spelling counts. Aliases count too. If the subject uses a middle name as a first name, note both.
Write down the case number if you have it. Courts use one number and police use another. Bring both when you ask for a file. Pay the fee up front by check or money order. Cash is not always accepted by mail.
If you need a certified copy, say so from the start. A plain copy is cheaper but will not work for court filings or out-of-state licensing boards. A sealed record may need a court order to open, even if it was open at the time of booking.
Browse Delaware Booking Reports by County
Each Delaware county has its own police force, sheriff, and courts that keep booking data. Pick a county below for local desks, phones, and records links.
Booking Reports in Major Delaware Cities
Big-city residents get their bookings logged by the city police first. Pick a city below to find the local records unit and its rules.