Mandatory expungement; application through SBI.
Del. Code tit. 11, § 4373
in effect(a) Eligibility. —
(1) On an appropriate request to the State Bureau of Identification under this section, the Bureau shall expunge all charges relating to a case, even if a person has prior or subsequent convictions that are ineligible for expungement, if all other charges in the case are eligible for expungement under this subchapter, and 1 or more of the following apply:
a. The person was arrested or charged with the commission of 1 or more crimes and the case is terminated in favor of the accused.
b. The person was convicted of 1 or more violations relating to the same case and 3 years have passed since the date of conviction.
c. The person was convicted of possession of marijuana under § 4764 of Title 16 or possession of drug paraphernalia under § 4771 of Title 16, or both in the same case.
d. The person was convicted of underage possession or consumption of alcohol under § 904(e) or (f) of Title 4.
(2) On an appropriate request to the State Bureau of Identification under this section, the Bureau shall expunge all charges relating to a case if the person has no prior or subsequent convictions that bar eligibility for expungement under this subchapter, all charges in the case are eligible for expungement under this subchapter, and 1 of the following applies:
a. The person was convicted of 1 or more misdemeanors, or a combination of 1 or more misdemeanors and 1 or more violations, relating to the same case, 5 years have passed since the date of conviction.
b. The person was convicted of drug possession under § 4756 of Title 16 and 5 years have passed since the date of conviction.
c. The person was convicted of any of the following felonies and 10 years have passed since the date of conviction or the date of release from incarceration, whichever is later:
1. Miscellaneous drug crimes under § 4757 of Title 16.
2. Unlawful dealing in a counterfeit or purported controlled substance under § 4758 of Title 16.
3. Maintaining a drug property under § 4760 of Title 16.
4. Possession of burglar’s tools or instruments facilitating theft under § 828 of this title.
5. Forgery in the second degree under § 861(b)(2) of this title.
6. Unlawful use of payment card under § 903 of this title.
(3) For purposes of determining eligibility for expungement under this subsection, any charge that is 7 or more years old and for which there is no disposition indicated or the disposition is listed as unknown, unobtainable, or pending shall be considered dismissed and shall not negatively affect expungement eligibility. This subsection does not apply if there is an active warrant in the case or if there is documented case activity within the last 12 months.
(b) Exclusions. —
In addition to the exclusions under § 4372(f) of this title, a conviction for any of the following is not eligible for mandatory expungement under this section:
(1) A crime of domestic violence. For purposes of this section, a “crime of domestic violence”, means an offense that meets both of the following:
a. Was committed by any of the following:
1. A member of the victim’s family, as “family” is defined under § 901 of Title 10, regardless, however, of the state of residence of the parties.
2. A former spouse of the victim.
3. A person who cohabited with the victim at the time of or within 3 years before the offense.
4. A person with a child in common with the victim.
5. A person with whom the victim had a substantive dating relationship, as defined under § 1041 of Title 10, at the time of or within 3 years before the offense.
b. Is an offense under any of the following sections: § 601, § 602, § 603, § 611, § 614, § 621, § 625, § 628A, § 781, § 785, § 791, § 804, § 811, § 821, § 822, § 823, § 1271(3), § 1271A, § 1311, or § 2113 of this title.
(2) Offenses where the victim is a child.
(3) Offenses where the victim is a “vulnerable adult”, as defined under § 1105 of this title.
(4) Any misdemeanor set forth in subparts A, B, C, or F of subchapter VI of Chapter 5 of this title.
(5) Any of the following misdemeanors:
a. Unlawfully administering drugs, under § 625 of this title, when the charged in conjunction with a sexual offense, as defined in § 761(f) of this title.
b. Sexual harassment, under § 763 of this title.
c. Indecent exposure in the second degree, under § 764 of this title.
d. Indecent exposure in the first degree, under § 765 of this title.
e. Trespassing with intent to peer or peep into a window or door of another, under § 820 of this title.
f. Organized retail crime, under § 841B of this title.
g. Home improvement fraud, under § 916 of this title.
h. New home construction fraud, under § 917 of this title.
i. Official misconduct under § 1211 of this title.
j. Offenses against law-enforcement animals, under § 1250 of this title.
k. Promoting prison contraband, under § 1256 of this title.
l. Resisting arrest, under § 1257 of this title.
m. Use of an animal to avoid capture, under § 1257A of this title.
n. Hate crime, under § 1304 of this title.
o. Malicious interference with emergency communication, under § 1313 of this title.
p. Abusing a corpse, under § 1332 of this title.
q. Violation of privacy, under § 1335 of this title.
r. Lewdness, under § 1341 of this title.
s. Patronizing a prostitute, under § 1343 of this title.
t. Permitting prostitution, under § 1355 of this title.
u. Carrying a concealed dangerous instrument, under § 1443 of this title.
v. Unlawfully dealing with a dangerous weapon, under § 1445 of this title.
w. Unlawfully permitting a minor access to a firearm, under § 1456 of this title.
x. Possession of a weapon in a Safe School and Recreation Zone, under § 1457 of this title.
(6) A felony conviction under paragraph (a)(2)c. of this section where the victim is an individual included under paragraphs (b)(1) through (b)(3) of this section.
(c) If more than 1 case or arrest is eligible for expungement under this section, it may be combined into a single application for expungement.
(d) The State Bureau of Identification shall promulgate procedures and forms relating to the implementation of this section.
(e) The State Bureau of Identification may promulgate reasonable regulations and a reasonable fee schedule to accomplish the purposes of this section.
(f) [Repealed.]
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c043/sc07/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026