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.
New Castle County, Delaware, has about 588,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in New Castle County starts two cases, a criminal case in the Court of Common Pleas and a license case before the Division of Motor Vehicles, and leaves three records. This guide follows the arrest from the roadside to the court file and the driving record.
This guide covers the law, the arrest, booking, the court case, the license case, the records and common questions.
Related guides: New Castle County public records, New Castle County arrest records, New Castle County warrants, New Castle County inmate search, New Castle County criminal records, Delaware arrest records and Delaware inmate search.
The DUI Law in Delaware
In Delaware the offense is DUI, and the limit is 0.08.
Driving in Delaware is consent to a breath or blood test when an officer has cause to suspect DUI; the license case that follows a refusal or a failed test is run by the Division of Motor Vehicles, separately from the criminal case.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in New Castle County
The New Castle County Police Department and the agencies that report for Wilmington, Newark, Middletown, Elsmere, New Castle, Townsend and two more cities make the DUI arrests in New Castle County.
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); the New Castle County State Police makes the arrests on the state highways.
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, all offenses together; the FBI's count for New Castle County does not break DUI out.
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.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in New Castle County
A driver arrested for DUI 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.
The Court Case
The Attorney General files the charge, and the case is heard in the Court of Common Pleas.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.delaware.gov/docket.aspx.
Statewide, CourtConnect is the Delaware courts' free online case search for civil cases and judgments.
The License Case
A DUI arrest starts two cases: the criminal one above and an administrative one over the license, run by the Division of Motor Vehicles. The driving record, kept by the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles, carries the result of both.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act.
- The court file: from the Court of Common Pleas, kept by the Prothonotary.
- The driving record: from the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles.
More on each: New Castle County arrest records, New Castle County police reports and New Castle County court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Delaware?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from New Castle County heard?
In the Court of Common Pleas, brought by the Attorney General. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at courts.delaware.gov/docket.aspx.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in New Castle County held?
In a facility of the Delaware Department of Correction, which runs every jail in Delaware.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in Delaware?
The Division of Motor Vehicles, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
Is this the official New Castle County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.