Kent County Bench Warrants

Kent County bench warrants are court orders signed by a Delaware judge when a person skips a court date, ignores a fine, or fails to follow a past court order. You can search Kent County bench warrants through the state DELJIS public tool, or by calling the Kent County Sheriff and the courts in Dover. The Superior Court, the Court of Common Pleas, and the Justice of the Peace Court each track their own bench warrant records. A name-based lookup will show if any active warrant or capias sits on file in Kent County today.

Kent County Sheriff and Bench Warrants

The Kent County Sheriff's Office serves and executes bench warrants issued by Kent County courts. The office handles arrest warrants, bench warrants, capias warrants, and civil warrants. Civil process covers body attachments, landlord-tenant evictions, and property seizures. Hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and the office is closed on county holidays.

When the court sends a new bench warrant, the Sheriff's Office logs it and assigns it for service. Deputies sort by priority. A felony bench warrant gets a faster push than a small civil capias. Service tries run at the last known home, place of work, and other spots where the subject may be. If the deputy cannot find the person, the bench warrant stays active in DELJIS and in the Sheriff's own file until it is recalled or served.

The Sheriff's Office works with the Dover Police Department, Delaware State Police Troop 3, Milford Police, Camden Police, and Smyrna Police on warrant runs in Kent County. Joint sweeps often round up multiple subjects in a single day. Probation and Parole and the Department of Corrections also join these sweeps to pick up absconders.

Below is a page from the Dover Police Department that covers warrant news and records topics. Visit the Dover Police Department home page for direct contact info and tip lines.

Dover Police sit at 400 S. Queen Street, Dover, DE 19904, phone (302) 736-7111. The Records Division is open weekdays and can help with local warrant questions.

Warrant status is not handed out to the general public over the phone. The Sheriff will usually only speak to the named subject or a legal agent. To check a possible warrant on yourself, you can call the office at (302) 744-2305 or use the free DELJIS Wanted Person Review site online.

Kent County Courts That Issue Bench Warrants

Three main court levels in Kent County sign bench warrants. The Superior Court hears felonies. The Court of Common Pleas hears misdemeanors. The Justice of the Peace Court hears the smallest cases. Each court keeps its own case file, and each clerk tracks active bench warrants tied to that file.

The Superior Court Prothonotary's Office is at 414 Federal Street, Dover, DE 19901, phone (302) 735-1900. Superior Court judges sign arrest warrants, search warrants, and bench warrants for felony-level work in Kent County. Civil and criminal dockets are open through CourtConnect. Public access terminals in the courthouse lobby are free to use during business hours.

Here is a look at the Superior Court site. You can visit the Delaware Superior Court page for dockets, forms, and a link to the Kent County Prothonotary.

The Justice of the Peace Court is often where a Kent County bench warrant first gets signed. Court 7 at 480 Bank Lane, Dover, DE 19904 handles most of this work for Dover area cases.

The Court of Common Pleas for Kent County shares the same building at 414 Federal Street, phone (302) 735-3900. Judges here issue bench warrants for missed misdemeanor hearings, arrest warrants for new charges, and capias warrants for unpaid fines. Data is open through CourtConnect around the clock. The Common Pleas court page has filing rules and a list of forms.

The Kent County Courthouse sits on a 5.3-acre site in Dover, bordered by Federal, Water, and The Green. The building holds the Superior Court, the Court of Common Pleas, the Justice of the Peace Court 16, the Register in Chancery, the Prothonotary, the Law Library, Jury Services, and Capitol Police. The Attorney General and the Public Defender also run offices there.

Kent County State Police Warrants

Delaware State Police Troop 3 covers all of Kent County. Troop 3 sits at 3858 Bay Road, Dover, DE 19901, phone (302) 698-8400. Troopers here handle patrol, crash work, and felony cases. The station also runs the Kent County Drug Unit and the Kent County Governor's Task Force. Both units apply for arrest warrants and search warrants almost every week.

Troop 3's Criminal Investigations Unit works with the Attorney General's Office on felony files. Recent Troop 3 operations have paired with Dover Police, Milford Police, Camden Police, and Smyrna Police to round up wanted subjects. Probation and Parole and the Department of Corrections also join these joint warrant sweeps in Kent County.

A look at the state DSP locations map helps when you need to find the right barracks. Check the Delaware State Police locations page for every troop in the state.

The Troop 3 public lobby is open during normal business hours. A trooper at the front desk may confirm whether a state system shows an active bench warrant in your name. The same record set drives the public DELJIS Wanted Person Review tool that anyone in Kent County can use from a phone or a home computer. State law under Title 11, Chapter 19 gives troopers the power to serve bench warrants anywhere in Delaware.

How to Search Kent County Bench Warrants

Start with the free DELJIS Wanted Person Review portal. Type in a last name. Add a first name to cut the list. The tool shows active warrants signed by every Delaware court, which means a Kent County bench warrant will show in the same list as one from New Castle or Sussex.

Civil matters go through CourtConnect. The site lets you pull a case by party name, business name, or case type. The docket often notes when a bench warrant or capias has been issued. The DELJIS home page also lists other state criminal data tools.

Before you run a Kent County warrant search, gather these items:

• Full legal name of the subject, with middle name if known
• Date of birth if you have it
• Case or docket number from any prior court paper
• Court level of the case, such as Superior, Common Pleas, or JP

In-person searches go through the Prothonotary in Dover at 414 Federal Street. Free public access terminals sit in the lobby. Printed pages cost about $1 each. Certified copies cost $10 per document. The clerk can confirm whether a bench warrant has been signed in your case, but only if you are the named party or a legal agent.

Kent County also handles public records requests under the Delaware Freedom of Information Act. A written request goes to the Kent County Levy Court Public Information Officer at 555 Bay Road, Dover, Delaware 19901. You may also email the request to PIO@kentcountyde.gov or call (302) 744-2305 with a question. The county must respond within 15 business days.

Types of Kent County Warrants

A bench warrant is a court order signed by a judge. A capias is similar, but often ties to a missed payment or a skipped hearing. An arrest warrant rests on probable cause laid out in a sworn police affidavit. Each type shows up in the DELJIS public list for Kent County. Rules for how a bench warrant gets issued live in Title 11, Chapter 23 of the Delaware Code.

Kent County Sheriff's deputies also serve civil warrants and body attachments. These are tools the court uses in eviction cases, debt matters, and some family court files. A body attachment is a civil order to bring a person into court, often because that person did not show up for a deposition, a contempt hearing, or a child support review. Child support bench warrants are common in Kent County and are tied to cases tracked through the Division of Child Support Enforcement.

Below is a look at the DCSE page that handles child support cases statewide. Visit the DCSE home page for program info and contact details.

DCSE works with the Kent County Court of Common Pleas on warrant filings for people who fall far behind on court-ordered support.

Records in a Kent County bench warrant file will usually list the items below:

• Full legal name and date of birth
• Physical description, with height, weight, and any marks
• Nature and class of the alleged offense
• Statutory code section cited by police
• Date of issue and the issuing judge
• Bail amount if the court has set one
• Case or docket number

Resolving a Bench Warrant in Kent County

If you find an active Kent County bench warrant, call an attorney first. A lawyer can ask the court clerk for a warrant recall hearing. Many times a judge will set a new court date and allow a bond rather than hold you in jail. Do not drive, travel by air, or go through any airport screening while a bench warrant is on record, since a routine stop can trigger an arrest.

The Delaware Department of Justice runs a 24-hour warrant hotline. The DOJ news portal also posts press items on warrant sweeps and on recent arrests in Kent County. The site is a good place to track recent enforcement action in Dover, Smyrna, and Milford.

The Office of Defense Services gives free legal help to people who qualify. The Kent County Public Defender's office works out of the courthouse in Dover and handles bench warrant recall hearings, bail review, and full criminal defense. The office can file a motion to recall the warrant and set a new court date on your behalf.

Delaware has held periodic Safe Surrender events under Administrative Directive 2018-5. A person with an old Kent County bench warrant can come in, clear the warrant, and leave the same day in many cases. Check the state courts website for event dates. Sussex and New Castle have also hosted these events in past years.

Cities in Kent County

Cities in Kent County file cases through the Kent County courts in Dover. All bench warrant records flow into the DELJIS system. Pick a city below to find local police, court, and warrant resources.

Nearby Counties

Delaware has two other counties, one to the north and one to the south. A Kent County bench warrant is still valid statewide. If you think the case sits in another county, check there next.