DELAWARE- Delaware has taken a major step in expanding its Clean Slate program, with more than 64,000 eligible criminal cases cleared through the state's first automated processing batch.
Gov. Matt Meyer announced the milestone, saying the automated system dramatically increases the state's ability to remove eligible low-level criminal records from public background checks. The total cleared in the first batch exceeds three times the number of cases processed in 2025.
Delaware's Clean Slate Act, approved in 2021, allows certain eligible records to be cleared automatically without people having to file paperwork or pay fees.
“The goal of our criminal justice system is not to punish people; it is to change their behavior and give them the tools to succeed when they reenter society,” Meyer said in a statement.
State agencies, including the State Bureau of Identification, the Delaware Criminal Justice Information System and the courts, have spent more than a year developing and testing the automated process.
According to the Governor’s Office, work will continue on additional batches as Delaware seeks to address a backlog of more than 1 million eligible cases. The administration's goal is to clear most of that backlog by August.
State leaders say people seeking information about expungements or pardons can contact Delaware’s APEX program or the Office of Defense Services.
