Can Dismissed Charges Be Expunged in Delaware

Yes, and There's No Waiting Period

Under 11 Del. C. §§ 4372 and 4373A, charges that ended in your favor — dismissals, acquittals, and nolle prosequi entries — qualify for mandatory expungement with no waiting period. This is the most straightforward category. If the case was decided in your favor and you have no pending charges or active supervision, you're eligible immediately.

This is important because many people assume a dismissed case simply disappears from their record. It doesn't. The arrest and the charge remain visible on your Delaware criminal history and on commercial background checks until the record is formally expunged.

Why a Dismissed Charge Still Shows Up

When someone is arrested in Delaware, the arrest creates a record in the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System (DELJIS). Even if the charges are later dismissed, that arrest record persists in the database. Commercial background screening companies pull from these databases, and the arrest — including the original charge — appears on reports sent to employers and landlords.

Delaware's Clean Slate Act authorized automatic clearance of eligible non-conviction records through monthly batch sweeps. But with over one million cases still backlogged as of mid-2026, waiting for the automated system to reach your record is unpredictable. The June 2026 automated batch cleared 64,000 records in a single sweep, but the queue remains deep.

How to Clear It Manually

You don't have to wait for the automated sweep. The manual process for dismissed charges follows the mandatory pathway:

1. Pull your certified criminal history through IdentoGO using Service Code 27S23V ($72 fee). Save the PDF immediately — the secure email link opens only once.

2. Receive the SBI determination letter (about two weeks). Since your charges were dismissed, the letter should confirm mandatory eligibility and include the application packet.

3. Sign and return the packet within 30 days, along with a $75 money order payable to the Delaware State Police.

4. Wait for processing — typically three to six months. No court appearance is needed.

5. Verify the seal about 70 days after the order by pulling a fresh SBI report ($72) and running a commercial background check. If the dismissed charges still appear on private screening databases, submit a dispute with a copy of the certified court order.

Nolle Prosequi and Acquittals Follow the Same Rules

Nolle prosequi — where the prosecutor formally abandoned the charges — and acquittals both count as cases terminated in favor of the accused. They qualify for the same mandatory expungement pathway as dismissals, with no waiting period.

Unlike a conviction-based expungement, mandatory expungement of a non-conviction case isn't blocked by another conviction. The SBI's determination letter will clarify which track applies to your situation.

Dead Charges Get the Same Treatment

Delaware has a specific rule for charges that have been sitting in limbo: under 11 Del. C. § 4373(a)(3), any arrest or charge that is seven or more years old with no recorded disposition — or marked as unknown or pending — is treated as dismissed for expungement purposes. The only conditions are that there's no active warrant in the case and no documented case activity in the past twelve months.

If you have a decades-old arrest that never went anywhere, it likely qualifies for automatic treatment as a dismissed case.

For a structured walkthrough of the mandatory expungement process, including the document assembly sequence and post-clearance verification steps, our Delaware Expungement & Record Sealing Guide covers the complete pathway.

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