Reviewed and updated October 11, 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. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and October 11, 2026.
Delaware County, Pennsylvania, has about 585,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A DUI arrest in Delaware County starts two cases, a criminal case (in the Court of Common Pleas, after a preliminary hearing before a Magisterial District Judge) and a license case before PennDOT, 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: Delaware County public records, Delaware County arrest records, Delaware County warrants, Delaware County inmate search, Delaware County criminal records, Pennsylvania arrest records and Pennsylvania inmate search.
The DUI Law in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania the offense is DUI, and the limit is 0.08.
Driving in Pennsylvania 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 PennDOT, separately from the criminal case.
For charging and sentencing, Pennsylvania counts prior offenses within 10 years.
Who Makes DUI Arrests in Delaware County
The Delaware County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Chester (township), Chester, Yeadon, Lansdowne, Darby, Collingdale and 20 more cities make the DUI arrests in Delaware County.
The FBI's agency list also places three state agencies, three other agencies, three campus police departments and one state police unit in Delaware County (the arrest records guide names each one); the Delaware County State Police makes the arrests on the state highways.
Together, the 27 agencies in Delaware County with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 4,475 arrests to the FBI that year, all offenses together; the FBI's count for Delaware County does not break DUI out.
Booking After a DUI Arrest in Delaware County
A driver arrested for DUI and kept in custody goes to the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest. The jail, run by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, held about 1,250 people on an average day in 2023 by the Vera Institute of Justice's count and has a jail page SearchSystems verified at delcopa.gov/sheriff, phone 610-891-4296. The Delaware County inmate search guide covers the jail in full.
The Court Case
The District Attorney files the charge, and the case is heard in the Court of Common Pleas, after a preliminary hearing before a Magisterial District Judge.
The District Attorney's page SearchSystems verified is at delcopa.gov/district-attorney.
The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at delcopa.gov/row, phone (610) 891-4400.
Statewide, UJS Web Portal is the Pennsylvania courts' free statewide docket search.
The License Case
The court case is only half the record. PennDOT runs a separate administrative case over the license, which can suspend it before the criminal case is decided, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation keeps the driving record the conviction goes on.
The Records a DUI Leaves
- The arrest report: from the agency that made the arrest, under the Right-to-Know Law.
- The court file: from the Court of Common Pleas, after a preliminary hearing before a Magisterial District Judge, kept by the Prothonotary for civil cases and divorces and the Clerk of Courts for criminal cases.
- The driving record: from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
More on each: Delaware County arrest records, Delaware County police reports and Delaware County court records.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the DUI limit in Pennsylvania?
0.08 percent blood alcohol.
Where is a DUI case from Delaware County heard?
In the Court of Common Pleas, after a preliminary hearing before a Magisterial District Judge, brought by the District Attorney. The court records page SearchSystems verified for the county is at delcopa.gov/row.
Where is a person arrested for DUI in Delaware County held?
At the county jail, run by the Delaware County Sheriff's Office, if kept in custody.
Who handles the license after a DUI arrest in Pennsylvania?
PennDOT, in an administrative case separate from the court case.
How long does a DUI count as a prior in Pennsylvania?
10 years.
Is this the official Delaware 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.