Delaware Probation Before Judgment Expungement

Probation Before Judgment is one of the most misunderstood dispositions in Delaware criminal law. If you completed PBJ successfully, you might assume the charge is already off your record. It isn't — at least not automatically. But the good news is that PBJ cases sit in one of the strongest positions for expungement eligibility in Delaware.

How PBJ Differs from a Conviction

When a Delaware court grants Probation Before Judgment, it means the judge withheld entering a formal conviction on your record. You were placed on probation, and if you completed all the conditions — community service, classes, drug testing, whatever was required — the case was disposed of without a conviction being entered.

This distinction matters enormously for expungement. Under Delaware law, a successfully completed PBJ is treated as a case that terminated in favor of the accused, similar to a dismissal or nolle prosequi. That classification opens the door to mandatory expungement rather than the more difficult discretionary petition route.

Mandatory Expungement Eligibility for PBJ

Cases that terminated in favor of the accused qualify for mandatory expungement under 11 Del. C. § 4373 with no statutory waiting period for non-conviction dispositions. If your PBJ was successfully completed and the case was closed without a conviction, you're likely eligible for immediate clearance.

Delaware's Clean Slate automation may have already processed your case — the state's June 2026 automated batch cleared over 64,000 cases from public databases. But with more than one million cases still in the queue, many eligible PBJ records remain visible on background checks.

To check, order a certified criminal history report from the SBI through IdentoGO (Service Code 27S23V, $72). If the PBJ case still appears, you can file a manual mandatory petition directly with the SBI instead of waiting for the automated sweep.

The Manual Mandatory Process

Filing a manual petition is straightforward:

1. Complete the fingerprinting and get your certified criminal history
2. Wait for the SBI determination letter (arrives about two weeks later)
3. If the SBI confirms mandatory eligibility, sign and return the application packet within 30 days
4. Include a $75 money order payable to the Delaware State Police

No court appearance is required for mandatory expungements. The SBI handles the entire process administratively.

When PBJ Cases Hit Complications

Not every PBJ case is clear-cut. Complications arise when:

• The PBJ was revoked: If you violated probation conditions and the court revoked PBJ, a conviction was entered. The case no longer qualifies as a non-conviction disposition, and you'll need to pursue the discretionary route with its longer waiting periods.
• You have other convictions: A successfully completed PBJ is a case terminated in favor of the accused, so another conviction does not by itself bar mandatory expungement of that PBJ case. Certain offenses — underage alcohol possession under 4 Del. C. § 904 and personal-use marijuana under 16 Del. C. § 4764 — are also explicitly excluded from the "prior or subsequent conviction" count.
• Outstanding fines remain: Unpaid court-ordered financial obligations must be satisfied or converted to a civil judgment before any expungement can proceed.

PBJ with Multiple Charges on the Same Case

If your PBJ case involved multiple charges and some were dismissed while others resulted in the PBJ disposition, the entire case typically qualifies for mandatory clearance as long as no conviction was entered on any charge. The key question is whether the overall case disposition is classified as favorable to the accused.

When charges from the same arrest were split across courts — some in Family Court, others in Court of Common Pleas — the filing venue for a manual petition follows the standard rule: if any charge went through a court other than Family Court, file in Superior Court.

The Bottom Line

PBJ is designed to give people a second chance, and Delaware's expungement framework follows through on that design. If you completed PBJ successfully, mandatory clearance is almost certainly available to you — the question is whether to wait for automation or file manually.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of the entire process, including the exact forms, court addresses, and filing deadlines, the Delaware Expungement & Record Sealing Guide covers everything from the initial fingerprint appointment through post-order verification.

See more Delaware guides →