Privacy in Delaware for first responders

On sources: The statutes below were confirmed against Delaware's official code and Justia as of July 2026. Section text changes, so verify the current wording with the state before you file.

What protects you in Delaware

Delaware gives most first responders no dedicated public-records exemption and no broker-removal statute. It does have one Daniel's-Law-style takedown law, the Judicial Privacy Act, but that one covers state judicial officers only, not police, fire, or EMS. For everyone else there is no Delaware equivalent of New Jersey's Daniel's Law, which lets covered officers demand that data brokers take down their home address. What Delaware offers instead is three narrower levers: a DMV confidentiality affidavit, a voter-roll court order, and an Address Confidentiality Program written for crime victims.

21 Del. C. §305 is the DMV lever, and it is the one you can use without a court. The law restricts what the DMV can release about you. It also lets you go further: submit a notarized affidavit swearing that you fear harm, and the DMV keeps your address, phone number, and Social Security number confidential until you ask to release them.

15 Del. C. §1303 keeps your registration address off the public voter roll, but it takes a court order. You petition the Superior Court on a showing of legitimate need. If you are already in the Address Confidentiality Program, that participation counts as the need. File it if your name is on the rolls, because Delaware voter data feeds commercial broker lists.

The Address Confidentiality Program under 11 Del. C. §9612 gives you a substitute address, administered by the Department of Justice. Eligibility is the catch. It covers victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, human trafficking, or kidnapping who have filed a protection order or been named as a victim in a criminal case. Being a first responder is not, by itself, a listed reason to qualify. If you have been threatened because of the job, contact the program intake. Otherwise the DMV affidavit and the voter-roll order are the practical path.

10 Del. C. §§1921–1924, the Judicial Privacy Act, is the one Delaware statute that works like Daniel's Law: a covered person files a written request, and any government agency or private party then has 72 hours to pull their home address, phone numbers, Social Security number, and other listed data from public display. The catch is scope. It covers state judicial officers and their families, meaning judges and magistrates, not law enforcement, fire, or EMS. If you are a judge, it is your strongest tool. If you are not, it does not reach you, and the DMV affidavit and voter-roll order remain the practical path.

What still leaks

1. County property records. Delaware county recorders publish deed transfers, tax assessments, and mortgage filings. No statute redacts an officer's name or address from them, and a recorded deed ties your home to you and to everyone living there.
2. Public-records requests. With no sworn-personnel exemption in the state FOIA, a request for your information runs through the general balancing test. That is weaker than a categorical exemption.
3. Out-of-state brokers. Spokeo, Whitepages, BeenVerified, and similar sites are not bound by Delaware law. They pull from national aggregators that already copied your data.

Laws that work for you here

• 21 Del. C. §305: file the DMV confidentiality affidavit to keep your address, phone, and Social Security number out of released motor vehicle records.
• 15 Del. C. §1303: get a Superior Court order to keep your registration address off the public voter roll.
• 11 Del. C. §9612 (ACP): substitute-address program for qualifying crime victims; first-responder eligibility on the job alone is not explicit, so check intake if you have been threatened.
• 10 Del. C. §§1921–1924 (Judicial Privacy Act): a 72-hour takedown demand for home address, phone, and Social Security number, but only for state judicial officers and their families, so it helps you only if you are a judge or magistrate.

What we handle that the state doesn't

For most first responders, Delaware's own protections stop at the DMV affidavit and the voter-roll order. The federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act also limits what the DMV can release. None of that touches data brokers, and the brokers are where your home address actually circulates. That is where we work. We file opt-outs across the major people-search and data-broker sites and keep re-checking, because listings come back. When a site needs something only you can provide, we tell you plainly.

Run a free scan to see which broker listings already carry your Delaware address.