Search Wilmington Public Records

Wilmington public records cover city council files, building permits, real estate tax bills, police reports, and ordinances for Delaware's largest city. Wilmington falls within New Castle County. The city takes FOIA requests under 29 Del. C. Chapter 100 and its own Rules of Public Access to Records. Requests go through the City of Wilmington FOIA Portal and the City Council's FOIA office. Many Wilmington public records are already posted online. A direct search can save a trip to city hall. When records are not posted, a written request reaches the right desk in a few minutes.

Wilmington City Council FOIA

The Wilmington City Council runs its own public records office. Access rules come from 29 Del. C. Chapter 100 and the Rules of Public Access to Records of the City of Wilmington. See the City Council Freedom of Information page for request forms and contacts.

The office is at the Louis L. Redding City/County Building, 800 N. French Street, 9th Floor. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Council President Ernest "Trippi" Congo, II leads the body. Call (302) 576-2140 or fax (302) 571-4071. The Council's legislation page hosts a FOIA Information Request form focused on ordinances, resolutions, and legislative records.

The Council page links each department back to the citywide FOIA Portal. Legislative records are usually routed to the Council's office first. For department records outside the Council's scope, the main city portal is a faster path.

Requestable records include City Council meeting minutes and agendas, ordinances and resolutions, municipal contracts, budget documents, personnel records subject to exemptions, and general correspondence.

Wilmington FOIA Request Portal

The city's main FOIA portal runs on GovQA. File online, by email, in person, or by U.S. Mail. The request public records page hosts the portal link and lists accepted submission methods. The portal routes each request to the right department and gives you a tracking number.

Response times match state law. The City has 15 business days to grant access, deny with an explanation citing a specific exemption, or notify that more time is needed for voluminous files or legal review. Silence past that window is a violation you can escalate to the Delaware Department of Justice.

What you can ask for in a Wilmington FOIA request:

• City Council meeting minutes and agendas
• Municipal ordinances and resolutions
• Police incident reports not tied to an active case
• Fire Marshal reports
• Building permits and inspection records
• Zoning and planning documents
• City contracts and procurement records

Note: The city portal may redact records under the exemptions in 29 Del. C. § 10002(o), including pending litigation, personnel, and investigatory files. Ask the city to cite the exact subsection when a redaction is made so you can gauge whether an appeal makes sense.

Property tax information, including current rates and exemptions, is posted on the city's property tax FAQ page. That page also lists senior exemption and disabled veteran exemption steps.

Wilmington Property Tax Records

The City of Wilmington posts real estate tax data through a Citizen Self-Service portal. Start at the Wilmington tax portal to look up any parcel inside city limits.

Search by address, owner name, parcel number, or bill number. You can filter results by year. The portal shows current and historical tax bills, payment status, tax amounts due, assessment info, and payment history. For questions, call Customer Service at 302-571-4320, option 4.

The tax portal is the cleanest online source for city-level billing data. Assessments themselves are set by New Castle County at 87 Reads Way. Appeals go to the New Castle County Board of Assessment Review at (302) 395-5520.

Current rates for 2025-2026 are $3.7413 per $1,000 of assessed value on residential property and $5.8276 per $1,000 on commercial property. Senior and disabled veteran exemptions are available through the city finance office.

Wilmington Police Department Records

The Wilmington Police Department keeps incident reports, accident reports, crime statistics, and arrest logs. Some reports are available directly at the department. Others need a FOIA request routed through the City Clerk's office or the GovQA portal.

Victims can ask for copies of reports involving them. Certain investigatory files are exempt from disclosure under 29 Del. C. § 10002(o). These include ongoing cases, confidential sources, and internal affairs files that haven't been closed.

The Delaware DOJ has written several opinions on Wilmington police records. In Opinion 24-IB42 the DOJ ruled the city violated FOIA by denying access to communications about a specific event, even after the city cited a pending litigation exemption. Other opinions cover ShotSpotter records, Operation Safe Streets data, parking ticket stats, and cost estimates for text messages and emails. Opinion 21-IB06 handled Fire Marshal Office investigatory records, while 23-IB26 focused on Operation Safe Streets transparency questions.

Historic Wilmington files are held at the Delaware Public Archives. Archives content includes city deeds (1739-1917), the 1809 City Charter, and revised codes from 1942, 1965, and 1979. The archives also hold general interest collections on Wilmington's maritime history and urban development.

County and State Resources for Wilmington

Wilmington sits in New Castle County. County-level property, deed, and assessment data comes from the county, not the city. Use the New Castle County public records page to reach the Recorder of Deeds and parcel search. The Recorder's office is at 800 N. French Street on the 4th floor, the same building as City Council.

Court records for cases filed in Wilmington run through the state's CourtConnect system. The Superior Court sits downtown on North King Street. The Court of Common Pleas and Justice of the Peace Court also hear matters involving Wilmington residents. The full court directory is at courts.delaware.gov.

Criminal history records for Wilmington residents flow through the State Bureau of Identification. Wilmington has one SBI fingerprint site. Book at uenroll.identogo.com. A certified Delaware criminal history runs $72.00. A combined state and federal check costs $85.00 and must be mandated by law. See the state police page for details on service codes.

Business entities registered with a Wilmington address show up in the Division of Corporations search. Many national corporations hold Wilmington registered agent addresses, which is part of why this city sees so many business filings. The Division of Professional Regulation's background check page explains how licensed workers in Wilmington complete state-required background screenings through IdentoGO.

The Delaware Public Archives in Dover also holds historic Wilmington material. Records include printer's blocks of Wilmington scenes from the 1920s-1940s, local historical slide programs, and the 1876 Wilmington collection. These give context for deep research on older Wilmington public records.

Nearby Cities and County

Wilmington shares New Castle County with several other cities. Residents moving between them may need records from more than one city hall.