The Delaware Clean Slate Act, created by Senate Bill 111 in 2021 and active since August 1, 2024, requires the State Bureau of Identification to identify and expunge eligible criminal records on a monthly basis without any application from the person whose record is being cleared. An estimated 290,000 Delaware residents have records that qualify. If yours qualifies but the state hasn’t reached it yet, you can still file your own request, and records that don’t qualify for automatic clearing may still be expungeable through a court petition.
What Gets Cleared Automatically
Two broad groups of records move through the automatic track: cases that ended without a conviction, and certain convictions after a waiting period.
Non-conviction cases clear automatically with no waiting period and regardless of anything else on your record. Under Delaware law, a case is treated as terminated in favor of the accused when you were acquitted, the prosecutor entered a nolle prosequi, the charges were dismissed, no charges were filed within a year of arrest, you completed probation before judgment and were discharged, or the case is at least seven years old with no final disposition and no active warrants.1Justia. Delaware Code Title 11 4372 – Applicability, Definitions, Effect of Expungement
Some convictions clear automatically no matter what else appears on your record, as long as every charge in that specific case is eligible:
- Violations, three years after the conviction date.
- Marijuana possession and drug paraphernalia possession, with no wait.
- Underage alcohol possession or consumption, with no wait.
Other convictions clear automatically only if you have no other disqualifying convictions anywhere on your record:
- Misdemeanors, five years after conviction.
- Drug possession beyond marijuana, five years after conviction.
- A short list of felonies, ten years after conviction or release from incarceration, whichever is later.
The felonies eligible for automatic expungement are limited to certain drug offenses (miscellaneous drug crimes, dealing in counterfeit controlled substances, and maintaining a drug property), possession of burglary tools, second-degree forgery, and unlawful use of a payment card.2Justia. Delaware Code Title 11 4373 – Mandatory Expungement, Application Through SBI
What the Automatic Track Won’t Cover
Several categories of offenses are locked out of automatic expungement even after any waiting period. These include domestic violence crimes, crimes against children or vulnerable adults, sex offenses under subchapter VI of Chapter 5 of Title 11, and specific misdemeanors such as sexual harassment, indecent exposure, organized retail crime, official misconduct, resisting arrest, hate crimes, and various weapons offenses.2Justia. Delaware Code Title 11 4373 – Mandatory Expungement, Application Through SBI Many of these can still be pursued through a court petition. A separate, narrower list of offenses cannot be expunged under any provision of Delaware law: second-degree vehicular assault, incest, third-degree unlawful sexual contact, coercion, and unlawfully dealing with a child.1Justia. Delaware Code Title 11 4372 – Applicability, Definitions, Effect of Expungement
The rule that trips up the most people is the “no other convictions” requirement. For most conviction-based categories, a single disqualifying conviction anywhere on your record blocks every other conviction from being cleared, even offenses that would qualify on their own.2Justia. Delaware Code Title 11 4373 – Mandatory Expungement, Application Through SBI Violations, marijuana and paraphernalia possession, and underage alcohol offenses are the exceptions; those get case-by-case treatment.
One more limit worth knowing: once you have any felony conviction expunged, you can never expunge a felony you’re convicted of after that expungement date.1Justia. Delaware Code Title 11 4372 – Applicability, Definitions, Effect of Expungement
If the automatic system misses an eligible record of yours, you cannot sue the state over it. The law specifically forecloses that. Your remedy is to file for expungement yourself.3Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 11 – Expungement of Criminal Records – Section: 4373A
If Your Record Doesn’t Clear Automatically
Records that fall outside the automatic rules can often be expunged through a court petition. This route uses shorter waiting periods but puts the burden on you to show the record causes a “manifest injustice,” meaning ongoing harm that outweighs the public interest in keeping the record.4Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 11 – Expungement of Criminal Records – Section: 4374
Waiting periods for the petition track, measured from the conviction date or release from incarceration (whichever is later):
- Misdemeanors not on the exclusion list: three years, with no other convictions.
- Misdemeanors on the mandatory exclusion list: seven years, with no other convictions.
- Felonies not on the exclusion list: seven years, with no other convictions.
- Multiple violations or misdemeanors across different cases: five years from the most recent conviction or release, with no other convictions that would themselves be ineligible for mandatory expungement.
Violent felonies listed in the state’s sentencing guidelines, felonies involving physical or sexual assault under the Beau Biden Child Protection Act, and certain drug manufacturing offenses cannot be cleared through a petition. A gubernatorial pardon opens a separate expungement path for some otherwise-ineligible offenses, though murder, manslaughter, first- and second-degree rape, and first-degree sexual abuse of a child by a person in a position of trust remain permanently off limits.5Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 11 – Expungement of Criminal Records – Section: 4375
How to File
Start with a certified criminal history report from the State Bureau of Identification. The fee is $72.6Delaware State Police. Obtaining a Certified Delaware Criminal History Every case number, arrest date, and charge on your petition must match the official record, so work from the certified report rather than memory.
The Petition for Expungement form is on the Delaware courts website.7Delaware Courts. Expungement of Criminal Records Forms All expungement petitions are filed with the Prothonotary Office in Superior Court, no matter which court originally handled your case.8Delaware Courts. Expungement/Pardon of Criminal Record The prosecutor’s office reviews the petition once filed. Most petitions are decided on the paperwork alone; hearings are scheduled only when the court thinks one is warranted. When an expungement order is granted, law enforcement and court records must be pulled from public access within 60 days.1Justia. Delaware Code Title 11 4372 – Applicability, Definitions, Effect of Expungement
What Expungement Actually Does For You
Once a Delaware record is expunged, you are not required to disclose the arrest, charge, or conviction to anyone for any purpose, and no one should ask you about it.1Justia. Delaware Code Title 11 4372 – Applicability, Definitions, Effect of Expungement On job, housing, and loan applications, you can legally answer “no” to criminal history questions if every offense on your record has been expunged.
The state backs this up with teeth. Anyone who accesses or discloses information from an expunged record without a court order commits a class B misdemeanor. The exceptions are narrow: law enforcement officers investigating criminal activity and applications for employment with law enforcement agencies. Criminal justice agencies also keep limited access for specific purposes such as diversion program eligibility and concealed-carry permit decisions.9Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 11 – Expungement of Criminal Records – Section: 4376
Where Expungement Stops
A Delaware expungement doesn’t automatically wipe your record from the FBI database. The state is supposed to notify the FBI and request deletion, but federal and state records can fall out of sync. The FBI removes federal arrest data only at the request of the submitting agency or by federal court order.10FBI. Identity History Summary Checks Frequently Asked Questions If an expunged record still surfaces on a federal background check, contact the State Bureau of Identification to confirm the removal request went out.
For noncitizens, this matters even more. USCIS treats an expunged conviction as still a conviction. Its policy manual states that state actions to expunge, dismiss, or vacate a guilty plea or conviction under a rehabilitative statute have no effect on the underlying conviction for immigration purposes.11USCIS. Policy Manual Volume 12 Part F Chapter 2 – Adjudicative Factors USCIS officers can require the original conviction records, and controlled substance offenses and crimes involving moral turpitude remain disqualifying whether or not the state has cleared them. Talk to an immigration attorney before treating expungement as an immigration fix.
How to Check on Your Record
Delaware doesn’t offer an online portal to check where you sit in the automatic queue. To confirm your record’s current status, request a new certified criminal history from the State Bureau of Identification for $72, or visit a court clerk’s office to check case records in person.6Delaware State Police. Obtaining a Certified Delaware Criminal History If a record that should have been cleared automatically is still showing, you can file your own mandatory expungement request with the bureau or a petition with the court at any time.