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Office of Defense Services

Expungements

Clearing, or “expunging,” your criminal record isn’t as easy as 1-2-3. Read on to learn about expungements in Delaware. Or scroll down for ways to get assistance.

Who can get an expungement?

There can be a lot of steps in figuring out who can get an expungement. In many cases, a pardon is required before an individual can seek an expungement. Our Post Disposition Unit is dedicated to reviewing criminal records and educating individuals on what their specific second chance eligibility may be. We created the tools below to help you understand those steps.

Events:

Meet with an attorney at a free expungement clinic. View our Events Calendar.

Contact:

Complete the Second Chances Screening form on this page or contact our Expungement Hotline at 302-577-5142 to get in touch with our Post Disposition Unit.

Is my juvenile record automatically expunged when I turn 18?

No.

Your criminal history does not automatically go away when you turn 18, even if you were not convicted or not adjudicated delinquent. In Delaware, a criminal history is never destroyed or sealed.

An expungement is the only way to remove arrests, charges, and adjudications of delinquency from a criminal background history.

I heard about a “clean slate” act. What does that do?

Delaware passed The Clean Slate Act, which went into effect in 2024 and creates a process for automatically expunging some records.

This is good news, but it is far from perfect.

  • The automatic expungement will not apply to all criminal records that could be eligible for expungement. It is only for records that qualify for a certain type called “mandatory expungement.”
  • It will take time for the state to identify and then process the eligible records.
  • It’s possible that the state could fail to identify some records that are eligible.
  • The state isn’t required to inform you when it has or hasn’t automatically expunged your criminal record.

For now, if you were charged with a crime in Delaware and want to remove it from your record, you must obtain an expungement to remove the arrest, charges, convictions, or adjudications.

Juvenile expungements

Watch to learn about juvenile criminal record expungement.

Special “thank you” to Dawn Mosley and Productions for Purpose for producing this video.