New Castle County Obituary Records
New Castle County obituary records cover deaths in Wilmington, Newark, Middletown, New Castle, Delaware City, and the rest of northern Delaware. Death certificates are kept at the New Castle County Office of Vital Statistics at 258 Chapman Road in Newark. Obituaries from the last 40 years sit with the family, the funeral home, and the local papers. Older New Castle County obituary material can be pulled from the Delaware Public Archives and from deed books held by the Recorder of Deeds. This page shows you how to search for each one.
New Castle County Overview
New Castle County Office of Vital Statistics
The New Castle County Office of Vital Statistics is the main local point for obituary-related paperwork. Staff issue certified death certificates for every Delaware death, not just those inside the county. That means you can visit this office to order a record for a relative who died in Kent or Sussex as well. The office sits at 258 Chapman Road in Newark, with University Plaza around it. Walk-in requests are usually handled the same day.
The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The phone is 302-283-7130 and the fax is 302-283-7131. A certified copy of a death certificate costs $25. Cash, check, and credit card are accepted in person. The office handles deaths that occurred at ChristianaCare Christiana Hospital and at other medical sites across New Castle County. The Delaware Division of Public Health Office of Vital Statistics page lists the forms and the mailing steps.
Only certain people can order a death certificate that is less than 40 years old. That list includes the spouse, a child, a parent, a legal agent, or a funeral director. Bring a photo ID and proof of the relationship when you visit. After 40 years, the record becomes part of the public archive and is open to anyone doing family history work on a New Castle County obituary.
Note: The Newark office serves the whole state, so a Wilmington obituary search does not force a trip to Dover or Georgetown.
New Castle County Clerk of the Peace
The New Castle County Clerk of the Peace keeps marriage licenses and handles civil ceremonies. While marriage data is not an obituary on its own, the spouse name on a marriage record is a key backup when a death notice is thin. The office sits at 800 N. French Street in Wilmington. The fee for a marriage license is $100 for Delaware residents and $150 for non-residents, with a 24-hour waiting period before the ceremony.
The photo below shows the New Castle County Clerk of the Peace page. It is the best place to start if you are trying to link a spouse to the deceased person in an older obituary.
The Clerk of the Peace also serves as the Commissioner of Elections for the county. Staff can help with questions about older marriage records and can point you to the county Recorder of Deeds for pre-1913 vital books that back up a historical obituary.
Recorder of Deeds and Historical Obituary Research
The New Castle County Recorder of Deeds keeps deed books going back to the 1600s. Before 1913, county Recorders also kept births, marriages, and deaths. Those books often hold a short line about a death that never made it into a paper. The office is in the Louis L. Redding City/County Building at 800 N. French Street in Wilmington, on the second floor.
Modern searches happen on the county web portal. The system shows deed index entries from 1978 to the present with full imaging. Older entries require a visit or a call to the office. Copies cost $2 per page, and certified copies cost $25 each. A parcel tied to a deceased owner often has a deed transfer dated close to the death.
The New Castle County Parcel Search tool lets you cross-check a name on an obituary against property that was later sold or passed to heirs. To search the parcel system, enter a street number without the direction or apartment suffix. Spell out numbered streets, so 25th Street becomes "TWENTY FIFTH." The Wills Search at newcastlede.gov covers decedent name, will file number, affidavit file number, and date of death. That will record is a solid companion to the obituary when you are working through probate history.
How to Search New Castle County Obituary Records
Most people start with a newspaper search. The Wilmington News Journal is the primary paper for New Castle County. Its archive holds death notices from the last several decades. Local libraries keep older papers on microfilm. The University of Delaware library in Newark has a strong newspaper collection that covers many Delaware obituary entries by date.
For a modern death, the fastest online tool is VitalChek for Delaware, which processes certified death certificate orders. The state charges $25. A small fee is added by VitalChek. Mail orders can also go to the Jesse S. Cooper Building in Dover or straight to the New Castle County office in Newark.
Probate files help confirm what an obituary says. The Delaware Court of Chancery hears estate cases for New Castle County. You can look up a case on CourtConnect by the decedent's name. The system shows basic case data. Full files live at the courthouse in Wilmington.
Useful items to bring or write down before you search:
- Full legal name of the deceased
- Date of death or approximate year
- City or town where the death took place
- Name of the spouse or parent if known
- Funeral home that handled the service
FOIA Requests in New Castle County
The Delaware Freedom of Information Act applies to the county government and its offices. The statute is at 29 Del. C. ยงยง 10001-10006. A written request goes to the New Castle County FOIA coordinator. The office has 15 business days to answer. Death certificates are not a FOIA record. They fall under the vital statistics law and the 40-year public access rule.
The Delaware Attorney General FOIA page has the full list of opinions. A denial can be appealed to the AG within 60 days. The AG then has 20 days to answer. If a violation is found, the requester can file suit in Superior Court or ask the AG to do it.
Note: FOIA is a good tool for police reports and meeting minutes but not for pulling a private death certificate less than 40 years old.
Fees for New Castle County Obituary Records
A certified death certificate in New Castle County costs $25. That is the state rate at every office. Mail orders take a check or money order. Walk-in orders take cash, check, or credit card. Extra copies at the time of the first order cost the same $25 each.
Other fees you may run into:
- Deed copies at the Recorder of Deeds: $2 per page
- Certified deed copies: $25 per document
- Delaware Public Archives copy fee: $10 for up to ten pages
- VitalChek service fee on top of state fee
- FOIA copies: first 20 pages free, then 10 cents per page
The Delaware Public Archives charges $5 for each extra set of ten pages after the first ten. A certified archive copy is $25. Self-service microfilm prints run 50 cents per page. The Archives accepts pencil notes only near original papers. Obituary clippings and cemetery cards fall under the same rate card.
Obituary Cities in New Castle County
These New Castle County cities have their own pages with local FOIA contacts, hospital notes, and the path to a death certificate in that town.
Nearby Counties
New Castle County sits at the top of Delaware. Kent County is to the south. Any death that falls outside the New Castle line may be logged in one of these offices instead.