Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 24, 2026 and October 2, 2026.
Wilmington, Delaware, in New Castle County, has about 73,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). Every warrant for Wilmington comes from a judge of the Delaware Superior Court, New Castle County or the Court of Common Pleas and the Justice of the Peace Courts, is served by whichever agency finds the person, and is recorded in the court file of the case it was issued in. This guide says who issues and serves warrants here, where a person arrested on one is held, how to check for one and how one is cleared.
This guide covers who issues warrants, who serves warrants, after a warrant arrest, checking for a warrant, clearing a warrant and common questions.
Related guides: Wilmington public records, New Castle County warrants, Wilmington arrest records, Wilmington inmate search, Wilmington criminal records, Wilmington court records, Delaware arrest records and Delaware inmate search.
Who Issues Warrants in Wilmington
In Delaware an arrest warrant is signed by a judge. For Wilmington that means the Delaware Superior Court, New Castle County, which hears felonies and civil cases without a dollar limit; the Court of Common Pleas and the Justice of the Peace Courts, which take misdemeanors in the Court of Common Pleas, traffic cases and small civil claims in the Justice of the Peace Courts, issue their own warrants on the cases before them.
When a defendant misses a court date the judge issues a bench warrant, and either kind of warrant lives in the court file of the case, kept by the Prothonotary.
For New Castle County, SearchSystems opened and checked the court records page for the county at courts.delaware.gov/docket.aspx (page title: Civil Case Search | Delaware Courts | State of Delaware), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
Statewide, CourtConnect is the Delaware courts' free online case search for civil cases and judgments.
Who Serves Warrants in Wilmington
The New Castle County Police Department and the agency that reports for Wilmington (filed by the FBI as Wilmington Police Department) serve warrants in and around Wilmington.
In Delaware the police for a given address is the town police in a town with its own department and the Delaware State Police elsewhere.
The FBI's agency list also places four state agencies, two other agencies, one campus police department and one state police unit in New Castle County (the arrest records guide names each one); each serves warrants on its own ground.
The Smyrna Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including New Castle County, so its arrests are not broken out for New Castle County here.
A warrant issued in New Castle County is good anywhere in Delaware, so it is served by whichever agency finds the person, in a traffic stop as often as at the door.
Together, the eight agencies in New Castle County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 8,104 arrests to the FBI that year; arrests on warrants are counted among them, not separately.
Each agency and what it reported is in Wilmington arrest records.
Where a Person Arrested on a Warrant from Wilmington Is Held
A person arrested on a warrant and kept in custody is in the custody of the Delaware Department of Correction, which runs every jail and prison in Delaware; its inmate locator is at doc.delaware.gov/views/inmate_locator.blade.shtml.
How to Check for a Warrant in Wilmington
Whether a warrant is out from Wilmington shows in two places:
- The court file of the case, through the Prothonotary, since a warrant is recorded in the case it was issued in.
- CourtConnect, the Delaware courts' free online case search for civil cases and judgments, for a case whose register of actions shows a warrant.
Not one of the New Castle County pages SearchSystems verified (the sheriff's and the court's) is a list of open warrants, so a check means asking the court or the prosecutor about a case by name.
The statewide criminal history kept by the Delaware State Bureau of Identification is not open to the public in Delaware, so it is not a route to a warrant check on someone else.
Clearing a Warrant from Wilmington
A warrant is recalled by the court that issued it, so clearing one from Wilmington starts with the Prothonotary: the case goes back on the calendar and the judge recalls the warrant when the person appears.
A missed date in a case before the Court of Common Pleas and the Justice of the Peace Courts is handled by that court, not by the Delaware Superior Court, New Castle County.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I check for a warrant online in Wilmington?
Not from the New Castle County pages SearchSystems verified; none of them is a warrant list. CourtConnect is the Delaware courts' free online case search for civil cases and judgments, and a case whose register of actions shows a warrant is the record of it. The court file is the record of a warrant: ask the Prothonotary.
Who serves warrants in Wilmington?
The agency that reports for Wilmington inside the city and the New Castle County Police Department outside it, or whichever agency finds the person; a Delaware warrant is valid anywhere in the state.
Where is a person arrested on a warrant in Wilmington held?
In a facility of the Delaware Department of Correction, which runs every jail in Delaware.
How is a warrant from Wilmington cleared?
By appearing before the court that issued it; the judge recalls the warrant in court. The case is put back on the calendar through the Prothonotary.
Is this the official Wilmington website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.