New Castle Family Court Records

New Castle is a small, historic city in New Castle County, Delaware, and it is not the same as the county that shares its name. Family Court Records for people who live in the city of New Castle are held at the New Castle County Family Court in Wilmington. This page shows how to search New Castle Family Court Records, where to request copies, who to call, and what to bring. You will find links to the county court, the state records portal, and local resources for divorce, custody, support, and other family case files.

New Castle City vs. New Castle County

The city of New Castle sits on the Delaware River and was the colonial capital. It is a small town of about 5,400 people. New Castle County, on the other hand, is the big county that runs up the northern tip of the state. The city is inside the county, but they are not the same thing. When you look for New Castle Family Court Records, you are really working with the county court. That court sits in Wilmington, not in the city of New Castle.

This matters a lot when you file a case or ask for a copy of a record. The Family Court is in Wilmington at 500 N. King Street. City residents drive north about eight miles to reach it. There is no Family Court in the city of New Castle itself. For the full county office list, see the New Castle County Family Court Records page. The state site for the court location is the New Castle County Family Court page, which lists the address, hours, and phone numbers.

Note: If you see an address in the city of New Castle, such as the Justice of the Peace Court 11 on Penns Way, that is a county court that sits in the city but is not the Family Court.

Access to New Castle Family Court Records

Family Court Records for New Castle city residents are kept at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington. The Records Department is on Suite 110 at 500 N. King Street. Office hours run Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The main court line is 302-255-0300. The direct line to the Records Department is 302-255-0241. Staff can pull files and make copies while you wait. Bring a photo ID and the case number if you have it.

The court keeps divorce files from 1978 to the present. Older divorce files, from before 1978, are held at the New Castle County Prothonotary's Office in Superior Court, also at 500 N. King Street. Custody files stay on the shelf until the youngest child turns 21. Juvenile files are sealed at 18 and often destroyed at 21. These rules shape what you can get and what is held back.

For a lead-in to the local search tools, take a look at the New Castle City Public Records guide, which walks through how city residents reach county and state record offices.

The guide links to the Family Court, the Recorder of Deeds, the state vital records office, and the New Castle Historical Society, which is a handy road map when you are new to the town's record system.

How to Search New Castle Family Court Records

You can search in three ways. Walk in, mail a request, or call. Walk-in is the fastest. Mail works well if you live far away. A phone call is best if you need to check on a pending case or ask about a fee. The state does not post Family Court case data online, so you will not find New Castle Family Court Records through a web search. This is a privacy rule set by the court under Family Court Civil Rule 90.1.

For civil cases tied to a divorce, such as money judgments, you can use the state's CourtConnect portal. CourtConnect shows Superior Court, Court of Common Pleas, and Justice of the Peace Court cases by name, case number, or type. The portal does not hold Family Court case files. Still, it is a good spot to check for related civil matters.

For a quick map of every court in the county, the New Castle County Courts reference page is a solid bookmark. It lists courts by type with links and hours. The state court site at Delaware Courts Locations shows where each court sits.

The page lists phone, fax, and address for every court office in the state, which helps when you need to find the right clerk fast.

Online tools such as New Castle County Court Records and New Castle County Divorce Records guide you through the county's record types and tell you what to bring for each kind of request. The Delaware Courts New Castle County page is another useful stop.

Types of Family Court Records in New Castle

The Family Court hears many kinds of cases. Divorce files are the most common. Custody and visitation cases go through the court as well. So do child support, spousal support, and paternity cases. Protection from abuse orders, name change cases, and adoption files all sit under Family Court too. Juvenile delinquency cases for youth under 18 are handled here as well.

A divorce case file in New Castle usually has the petition for divorce, the response, financial affidavits, any property settlement agreement, custody and support orders, and the final divorce decree. Under Title 13 § 1504 of the Delaware Code, at least one spouse must have lived in Delaware for six months before a divorce case can be filed. Residents of the city of New Castle meet that rule if they have lived in the state that long. The statute text is at Title 13 of the Delaware Code on Justia.

Custody cases follow the best interests of the child test under Title 13 § 722. The court weighs 14 factors, from the wishes of the parents to the health of all parties. The rule keeps the focus on the child, not on either parent. This test shapes every custody order that comes out of the New Castle Family Court.

Note: Adoption files, juvenile files, and sealed orders are not open to the public. Even parties may need court permission to view parts of these records.

Copy Fees for New Castle Family Court Records

Fees are modest. A certified copy of a divorce decree costs $4 for the first copy. Added copies of the same file cost $1 each. Plain photocopies are charged per page. Exemplified copies, which are used for other states or for work overseas, cost more. Mail requests need a check or money order made out to the Family Court. The Records Department takes walk-ins as well. Bring a photo ID and the names of both parties in the case, along with the date of the decree if you know it.

Three copy types are offered:

• Photocopy, for personal use or quick reference
• Certified copy, for legal use such as Social Security or remarriage
• Exemplified copy, for use in other states or countries

The Resource Center on the lower level of the Justice Center has blank forms, fee schedules, and basic guidance. Staff cannot give legal advice. For full records access rules, see Family Court Records Access, and for filing packets and forms see the Family Court of Delaware home page.

Courts Serving the City of New Castle

Though the Family Court sits in Wilmington, the city of New Castle does host a busy county court. The New Castle County Justice of the Peace Court 11 is at 2 Penns Way, Suite 100A, New Castle, DE 19720. The phone is 302-323-4450. This court is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. JP Court 11 handles criminal matters, minor civil cases under $25,000, landlord-tenant issues, and traffic violations. It does not hear Family Court matters, but it is the most local court to city residents and is often the first stop for arrest processing.

The New Castle Police Department also sits in the city and keeps arrest records and incident reports. Requests for police records are filed under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act. These files can show up alongside Family Court Records in cases that involve protection from abuse orders or domestic incidents. The state vital records office at the Delaware Division of Public Health keeps birth, death, and marriage records, while divorce decrees stay with the Family Court.

Marriage licenses for New Castle city residents come from the New Castle County Clerk of the Peace. Pre-1978 divorce files, as noted earlier, are at the Prothonotary's Office in Superior Court under Title 13.

Historical and Genealogical Family Records

New Castle is one of the oldest towns in the state. Its story runs back to Fort Casimir in 1651. The city served as the colonial capital. That long history means the area has deep genealogical holdings. The New Castle Historical Society preserves photos, documents, church records, and family papers. Many old family court and probate files from the colonial and early statehood periods are held there or at the state archives.

Church records are a key resource for family history work. St. Peter's Catholic Church records run from 1845 to 1991. Immanuel Church records also cover the colonial period through the 20th century. Land records and deeds trace property from the 1600s. Probate records show estates, wills, and heirs across generations. For a short overview of these holdings, see New Castle Genealogy, which links to church, land, and court record guides.

For older divorce and domestic cases, the Prothonotary's Office in the Superior Court in Wilmington is the right stop. Files from before 1978 were kept by the Prothonotary, not the Family Court. The Family Court took over divorce work in 1978 under a change to Title 13. If you are doing family history work and need a divorce record from the 1960s, ask the Prothonotary's staff first. The New Castle County Recorder of Deeds holds the deed books that match those old court files.

Note: Colonial-era files may be fragile. The archives staff or the historical society may have microfilm or digital scans to protect the originals.

Family Law Rules for New Castle Cases

All family law cases in New Castle follow state law under Title 13 of the Delaware Code. The six-month residency rule in § 1504 is the first gate for a divorce case. The best interests test for custody sits at § 722. The no-fault ground, based on a marriage that is irretrievably broken, is spelled out in § 1505. These rules apply the same way in every county and in every city in the state, including New Castle.

The court also runs under its own civil rules. Rule 90.1 keeps Family Court Records private. Only parties, their lawyers, other courts, and public agencies can view files as of right. Non-parties, such as a friend or a news outlet, must ask for court permission. Rule 42.2 sets out how to seal a record. This is why New Castle Family Court Records do not show up in public online searches.

For the full rule set and to read the statute text in context, use the Family Court of Delaware home page, which links to filing packets, forms, and the court rules.

Nearby Cities in New Castle County

City of New Castle residents often look at the same Family Court, the same county offices, and the same state tools as people in nearby towns. Use these pages for local guides:

View Major Delaware Cities