New Castle County People Search

A New Castle County people search draws from county offices in Wilmington and the city of New Castle, plus state tools run for the whole of Delaware. The county holds the largest case load in the state. You can pull court files, deeds, property records, marriage licenses, and sheriff sale data from the county level. Most offices accept walk-in and mail requests. This page lists each main office with phone numbers and direct links.

New Castle County People Search: Government Office

The main New Castle County site at newcastlede.gov is the hub for the Recorder of Deeds, the Assessment Division, the Land Use Department, and the County Clerk. From the home page you can get to meeting minutes, open budgets, permit tracking, and pay a tax bill. The county has named FOIA coordinators in each main department. You can file a FOIA request from the site and track its status.

Council meetings are public. Agendas, minutes, and video of past sessions are all online. These papers are a good place to check for decisions tied to a named person, a firm, or a parcel. The county also posts key contracts and audit reports.

The image below is the New Castle County home page.

Use this site to reach each department or to pick a FOIA form for the office that has the file you want.

New Castle Court Records for People Search

The Leonard L. Williams Justice Center at 500 N. King Street in Wilmington is the main court site for New Castle County. The Superior Court runs big felony cases and civil cases over $75,000. Phone is (302) 255-0800. The Prothonotary holds civil records. The Court Clerk holds criminal records. Public access terminals at the courthouse are free to use.

The Court of Common Pleas is in the same building at (302) 255-0900. This court hears misdemeanor cases, small civil cases, and landlord-tenant matters. Records are on Court Connect for civil cases. Criminal docket data may need a call to the court clerk.

Family Court sits at the Williams Justice Center too. The phone is (302) 255-0300. This court hears divorce, child custody, child support, and domestic violence matters. Certified divorce decrees are $4. Non-certified copies are $1. You can pay with cash, money order, credit card, or check.

Most court records for the whole state show up on Court Connect. The court home page at courts.delaware.gov is also a good start.

For marriage records from March 2002 on, the Clerk of the Peace at 87 Read's Way in New Castle is the office. Older marriages go through the Office of Vital Statistics or the Delaware Public Archives.

New Castle County People Search: Recorder of Deeds

The Recorder of Deeds office is in the Louis L. Redding Building at 800 North French Street in Wilmington, on the fourth floor. Main phone is (302) 395-7700. Hours are Monday through Thursday 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., Friday 8 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. This office records and keeps all real estate papers for the county. That covers deeds, mortgages, releases, tax liens, and other key files.

The image below is the main New Castle Clerk of Court/Recorder of Deeds page, from nccde.org.

This page lists fee tables, recording hours, and the contact numbers for support staff, plus a link to the online search system.

The document search is at NewCastle.dts-de.com/PAXWorld for the public. It is free to search. You pay $1 per page to view a full document. You can search by grantor or grantee, by document type, by date range, or by book and page. Frequent users can pay $100 per month for a subscription with unlimited access at NewCastle.dts-de.com/PAXSubscription.

Below is the PAX World document search.

Call (302) 395-7792 for help with search steps or if a record is missing. Records go back many decades, with colonial-era files available at the office in person.

The Recorder also offers Property Fraud Alert. This is a free email tool. You sign up and get a note any time a document is filed with your name. Setup is on the county site. The Recorder collects transfer tax for the state, the county, and several cities, including Newark, Middletown, Delaware City, New Castle, Smyrna, and Clayton.

Fee notes from the office: copies are $0.50 per page at the card. Staff-printed copies are $1 per page. Mail, fax, or email copies are $2 per page. Recording fees are $30 state fee plus $5 tech fee plus $13 per page plus $3 per parcel. Certified copies are $3 or $6 when the Recorder provides the copy.

New Castle County Property Search

For a person-to-property search, the county parcel site at www3.newcastlede.gov/parcel/search is the main tool. It is free. You can search by owner name, address, or parcel ID. The system shows assessed value, tax info, sale history, and the deed book and page.

Below is the property search page.

A name search here can show what a person owns, what they have sold, and what they paid over time.

The New Castle County GIS portal at apps-nccde.hub.arcgis.com has a map tool that pairs with the parcel search. You can pull up parcel lines, flood zones, school districts, and zoning overlays. The system is useful for any case that turns on property lines or flood risk. Many users start here to confirm the right parcel, then move to the parcel site for full tax and sale data.

Tax district detail, exemption status, and the current tax bill show up in the parcel record. Sales show the date, the price, and the parties on each side. The county updates these pages on a set cycle.

People Search in New Castle County: Sheriff and Police

The New Castle County Sheriff is at 87 Reads Way, New Castle, DE 19720. Phone is (302) 395-8450. The Sheriff does civil process work, court security, warrant service, and sheriff sales. The office does not run a jail. For in-custody lookups, use the state DOC locator.

Sheriff sale listings are on the county site. The sales are for tax deeds and mortgage foreclosures. Each listing has the parcel, the opening bid, and the sale date. A named search through the Sheriff's file can show writs served on a person, judgment executions, and past sales on their property.

Local police in the county include Wilmington PD, Newark PD, Middletown PD, New Castle City PD, and Delaware City PD. Each city page on this site has its own police contact info and records steps. The Howard R. Young Correctional Institution in Wilmington is the main holding site for county arrests.

Note that certain sheriff records, like court security logs, are exempt from public release under the state FOIA rules.

Cities in New Castle County

The county covers the northern part of the state. Pick a city page below for local records steps and phone numbers for each main office.

Nearby Delaware Counties

New Castle County sits at the top of the state. For cases or property that cross county lines, the next two counties to check are below.