Delaware ranks 44th out of 51 (the 50 states and D.C.) for how easy, fast and affordable it is to get certified birth, marriage, divorce and death records.
Cost#44of 51
Speed#26 (tie)of 51
Ease of ordering#37 (tie)of 51
Birth certificates #42 (tie) of 51
Cost
$25 first copy, $25 each extra copy
Processing time
In person: at the state offices in each county; wait time not published
Time until the copy is in hand
Not published
Where to order
State vital records office (offices in New Castle, Dover and Georgetown)
Order online
Yes, through the state’s approved vendor, for an extra fee
Records available
Statewide records from 1913
Marriage records #28 (tie) of 51
Cost
$25 first copy, $25 each extra copy
Processing time
In person: at the state offices in each county; wait time not published
Time until the copy is in hand
Not published
Where to order
State vital records office (offices in New Castle, Dover and Georgetown)
Order online
Yes, through the state’s approved vendor, for an extra fee
Records available
State records from 1974
Divorce records #27 (tie) of 51
Cost
Varies by county
Processing time
Varies by county
Time until the copy is in hand
Varies by county
Where to order
County only: the Family Court in the county where the divorce was granted (the state keeps an index only)
Order online
No statewide online ordering
Death certificates #44 (tie) of 51
Cost
$25 first copy, $25 each extra copy
Processing time
In person: at the state offices in each county; wait time not published
Time until the copy is in hand
Not published
Where to order
State vital records office (offices in New Castle, Dover and Georgetown)
Order online
Yes, through the state’s approved vendor, for an extra fee
Records available
Statewide records from 1913
Note: These rankings were done on . Prices, processing times and ordering rules may have changed since then, so check with the issuing office before you order. Times marked “estimate” add typical mail delivery to the office’s posted processing time. “Not published” means the office does not post that detail.
How to order Delaware birth, death, marriage and divorce records
How do I get a Delaware birth certificate?
A certified Delaware birth certificate costs $25 per copy from the Delaware Division of Public Health’s Office of Vital Statistics. Order by mail, in person at offices in Newark, Dover and Georgetown, or online through GoCertificates or VitalChek.
Delaware birth records: ordering details
Who can order
Delaware vital records are restricted. On the application, you check your relationship to the person on the record: yourself, your current husband or wife, your child, your parent, another family member (state the relationship), a legal guardian (court order required), an authorized agent, attorney or legal representative (proof required), or genealogy (proof required). If you aren’t the person named, include proof of relationship, such as a birth or marriage certificate. Representatives making legal requests must use the OVS legal template on official letterhead.
Fee
$25 per copy (each extra copy is also $25). If the record isn’t found, the fee is kept for the search. GoCertificates and VitalChek add their own fees.
How to order
Online or by phone:GoCertificates or VitalChek (1-877-888-0248). Both charge an extra fee and take major credit cards. By mail (which OVS encourages): the Application for a Certified Copy of a Delaware Birth Certificate, a copy of your photo ID and $25 per copy by check or money order payable to the “Office of Vital Statistics”, to the Office of Vital Statistics, Jesse S. Cooper Building, 417 Federal Street, Dover, DE 19901 (the address on the form). In person: any of the three Office of Vital Statistics (OVS) locations, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.: 258 Chapman Road, Newark (302-283-7130); James Williams State Service Center, 805 River Road, Dover (302-744-4549); or 546 S. Bedford St., Georgetown (302-515-3190).
ID needed
A copy of your valid photo ID (driver’s license, state ID or work ID or passport). If you’re requesting a child’s record, a parent’s ID is needed. OVS may ask for more documents.
Processing time
OVS doesn’t publish processing times for mail, online or in-person orders. Call the office before you order if you need a copy by a certain date.
Older and local records
Delaware law has required statewide recording of births since 1913; before that, county Recorders of Deeds kept them. The state office has birth records from 1942 (per the CDC). Birth records become public after 72 years and are then kept on microfilm at the Delaware Public Archives, which charges $25 for a certified copy needed for legal reasons.
Tip: Delaware also offers heirloom birth certificates printed on special security paper. Ask OVS about them if you want a keepsake copy.
A certified Delaware death certificate costs $25 per copy from the Office of Vital Statistics. Order by mail, in person at offices in Newark, Dover and Georgetown, or online through GoCertificates or VitalChek. Funeral directors use a separate form.
Delaware death records: ordering details
Who can order
Delaware vital records are restricted. On the application, you check your relationship to the person on the record: the person’s current husband or wife, child, parent, another family member (state the relationship), a legal guardian (court order required), an authorized agent, attorney or legal representative (proof required), or genealogy (proof required). If you aren’t the person named, include proof of relationship, such as a birth or marriage certificate. Representatives making legal requests must use the OVS legal template on official letterhead.
Fee
$25 per certificate (each extra copy is also $25); part of the fee goes to the distressed cemetery fund. If the record isn’t found, the fee is kept for the search. GoCertificates and VitalChek add their own fees.
How to order
Online or by phone:GoCertificates or VitalChek (1-877-888-0248). Both charge an extra fee and take major credit cards. By mail (which OVS encourages): the Application for a Certified Copy of a Delaware Death Certificate, a copy of your photo ID and $25 per copy by check or money order payable to the “State of Delaware”, to the Office of Vital Statistics, Jesse S. Cooper Building, 417 Federal Street, Dover, DE 19901 (the address on the form). Funeral directors use the funeral director form. In person: any of the three Office of Vital Statistics (OVS) locations, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.: 258 Chapman Road, Newark (302-283-7130); James Williams State Service Center, 805 River Road, Dover (302-744-4549); or 546 S. Bedford St., Georgetown (302-515-3190).
ID needed
A copy of your valid photo ID (driver’s license, state ID or work ID). If you’re requesting a child’s record, a parent’s ID is needed. OVS may ask for more documents.
Processing time
OVS doesn’t publish processing times for mail, online or in-person orders. Call the office before you order if you need a copy by a certain date.
Older and local records
The state office has death records from 1974 (per the CDC). Death records become public after 40 years and are then kept at the Delaware Public Archives. Before 1913, county Recorders of Deeds recorded deaths.
Tip: Researching an older death? Records over 40 years old are public at the Delaware Public Archives, so you don’t need to prove a relationship there.
A certified Delaware marriage certificate costs $25 per copy from the Office of Vital Statistics. Order by mail, in person at offices in Newark, Dover and Georgetown, or online through GoCertificates or VitalChek.
Delaware marriage records: ordering details
Who can order
Delaware vital records are restricted. On the application, you check your relationship to the person on the record: yourself, your child, your parent, another family member (state the relationship), a legal guardian (court order required), an authorized agent, attorney or legal representative (proof required), or genealogy (proof required). If you aren’t the person named, include proof of relationship, such as a birth or marriage certificate. Representatives making legal requests must use the OVS legal template on official letterhead.
Fee
$25 per copy (each extra copy is also $25); part of the fee goes to domestic violence programs. If the record isn’t found, the fee is kept for the search. GoCertificates and VitalChek add their own fees.
How to order
Online or by phone:GoCertificates or VitalChek (1-877-888-0248). Both charge an extra fee and take major credit cards. By mail (which OVS encourages): the Application for a Certified Copy of a Delaware Marriage Certificate (a same-gender marriage form is also available), a copy of your photo ID and $25 per copy by check or money order payable to the “State of Delaware”, to the Office of Vital Statistics, Jesse S. Cooper Building, 417 Federal Street, Dover, DE 19901 (the address on the form). In person: any of the three Office of Vital Statistics (OVS) locations, Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4 p.m.: 258 Chapman Road, Newark (302-283-7130); James Williams State Service Center, 805 River Road, Dover (302-744-4549); or 546 S. Bedford St., Georgetown (302-515-3190).
ID needed
A copy of your valid photo ID (driver’s license, state ID or work ID). If you’re requesting a child’s record, a parent’s ID is needed. OVS may ask for more documents.
Processing time
OVS doesn’t publish processing times for mail, online or in-person orders. Call the office before you order if you need a copy by a certain date.
Older records
The state office has marriage records from 1974 (per the CDC). Marriage records become public after 50 years and are then kept at the Delaware Public Archives. Before 1913, county Recorders of Deeds recorded marriages.
Tip: For a marriage more than 50 years ago, try the Delaware Public Archives, which holds the public marriage records on microfilm.
A certified copy of a Delaware divorce decree comes from the Family Court in the county where the divorce was granted (New Castle, Kent or Sussex). The Office of Vital Statistics doesn’t issue certified copies of divorce records.
Delaware divorce records: ordering details
Where records are kept
Divorce records are kept by the Family Court records department in the county where the divorce was granted. The state Office of Vital Statistics doesn’t issue copies of divorce decrees.
Who can order
Set by the Family Court. Contact its records department.
Fee
Set by the Family Court. Contact the records department.
How to order
Contact the Family Court records department in the county where the divorce was granted: New Castle County 302-255-0241, Kent County 302-672-5123, Sussex County 302-855-7411. The court recommends scheduling an appointment (online or by phone) to review a file.
ID needed
Ask the Family Court records department.
Processing time
Varies. The Family Court posts a monthly closure schedule for its records department, so check it before you go.
Older records
For older divorces, CDC’s federal guide notes that divorces granted up to 1975 were handled by the Prothonotary in the county where the divorce was granted. Ask the Family Court records department where older files are kept.
Tip: Book an appointment with the Family Court records department before you go. The court says that is the best way to cut your wait.
Note: Fees, processing times and rules are set by the issuing offices and can change. Times are estimates. Check with the office before you order. PublicLibraries.com is not a government agency.
Other records
Other Delaware records people search for
Official Delaware sites for other common lookups. Some records are kept by counties or carry fees; the note on each line says so.
Official Delaware sites for other records
Court case lookup
CourtConnect Civil cases in Superior Court, Common Pleas and Justice of the Peace Courts.
Inmate search
DOC Inmate Locator Delaware Department of Correction uses VINE, its designated custody lookup.
Note: Links go to official state sites or services the state designates. Access rules, fees and coverage are set by each office and can change. PublicLibraries.com is not a government agency.
About Delaware public records
Delaware has a robust Freedom of Information Act that legally defines what constitutes a public record in the state, the government agency that maintains those records and who has access to them. This public records law covers vital records, government records and information related to government contractors.
It is important to note that there are exceptions that the state of Delaware makes as to what constitutes a public record. These include: public library records, social security numbers, medical histories, assembly email correspondence and anonymous charitable contributions.
Vital Records
You can request a copy of Delaware birth certificates, death certificates, adoptee records, marriage records and civil union records either in person, in writing, by phone or online. The Delaware Health and Social Services section includes a Division of Public Health subsection, where you can fill out one of six application forms, depending on the record you need, and submit it in person at one of the three locations in the state.
Jesse S. Cooper Building 417 Federal Street Dover, DE 19901 (302) 744-4556
University Office Plaza - Chopin Building 258 Chapman Road Newark, DE 19702 (302) 283-7100
546 South Bedford Street Georgetown, DE 19947 (302) 856-5574
If you want to apply for a record in writing, you need to send your vital records request to the Office of Vital Statistics in Dover, Kent county. Phone requests are made by calling 1-877-888-0248, a number that will connect you with VitalChek, an independent company that the state has authorized to provide vital record copies requested by phone and online. For online requests you need to go to the Delaware section at VitalChek. An important point to note is that you can pay by credit card for online and phone requests, but not for requests made in writing.
Criminal Records
For Delaware criminal records and background checks, you need to contact the State Bureau of Identification’s office in one of the three counties, bearing in mind that only in Kent county do you not need an appointment. Criminal background checks are performed based on fingerprints and you need to supply a valid ID containing a photo. Payment for the document can be made in cash, company checks, debit or credit cards, excluding American Express. You don’t have to collect the record in person, the respective county office of the Delaware State Police will mail it to you as soon as it is ready.
Court Records
If you need a court case reference, you need to go to the judicial case database for Delaware. There, you can search for and obtain records based on name of person or business entity, or by case ID. This online search is free of charge. An additional resource is the Delaware Judiciary, where you can see what records are excluded from the open access regime by type of court.
Business Records
For business entity records, you can perform an online search by name of company or its file number on the Delaware state website, in the Division of Corporations subsection of the Department of State section. The search will yield information including the date of its formation or incorporation, its registered agent name, contact details and location. For certificates of status, a certified or a plain copy of a filed document, you need to contact a Delaware remote agent, choosing from an alphabetical list on the webpage.
While the general information about a business entity is supplied free of charge, you can request more detailed information, such as the status of a business or further details, for a fee that is deducted automatically from your credit card when you access the information you need.
Property and Tax Records
These records are held by county authorities. In New Castle county the relevant agency is the New Castle County Recorder of Deeds in Wilmington. The agency is the custodian of records including deeds, deed restrictions, mortgages, easements, plot plans and federal tax liens. The computer-searchable records it keeps date back to 1945. In Sussex, the County Recorder of Deeds maintains records including deeds, plats, tax maps, surveys and related information, dating back all the way to 1952. In Kent county, the relevant agency is the Count Levy Court, which is custodian of all legal real estate-related records. The County Recorder of Deeds keeps records of property and financial statements going back to 1873. All three agencies offer online search capabilities, by name, parcel number, billing address, property description and by district.
Delaware Public Archives
Set up by the state’s General Assembly in 1905, this agency is one of the earliest public records bodies created in the country. It keeps state government records and county and municipal records, including legislative documents from the 18th century to the present day, case files from the state’s courts and all public papers of the state’s governors, a register of gubernatorial actions and other documents regarding the activities of the executive branch of the local government.
The Archives also keeps genealogical information, including federal census schedules for 1800 to 1880 and 1900 to 1920, plus a number of family histories and genealogies, and private genealogical collections. The agency is also the custodian of birth certificates that are more than 72 years old and death and marriage records that were issued 40 years ago and earlier. The Archives has a number of useful application forms, which you need to fill in depending on your purpose of accessing the agency’s resources.
