Delaware earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime. Forfeiture is not permitted unless a person is charged with a crime, but no conviction is required.
Innocent Owner Burden
Stronger protections for the innocent: The government must prove third-party owners knew about criminal activity connected to their property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: Up to 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects Delaware’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in Delaware?*
Under Connecticut law, prosecutors’ and courts’ deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 104 days, but there is no deadline for providing notice of the complaint and any criminal proceedings may add to the wait. While you wait, the government has your property, but you can try to get it back by challenging the seizure.
*Under a 2024 reform, currency less than $500 cannot be forfeited and “property may not be seized or forfeited . . . unless a criminal offense is charged.”
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $26 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | Delaware Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $449,374 | $61,000 | $510,374 |
| 2001 | Unknown | $461,175 | $9,000 | $470,175 |
| 2002 | Unknown | $422,941 | $0 | $422,941 |
| 2003 | Unknown | $173,222 | $0 | $173,222 |
| 2004 | Unknown | $606,678 | $0 | $606,678 |
| 2005 | Unknown | $791,700 | $11,000 | $802,700 |
| 2006 | Unknown | $130,302 | $4,000 | $134,302 |
| 2007 | Unknown | $478,764 | $55,000 | $533,764 |
| 2008 | Unknown | $813,464 | $70,000 | $883,464 |
| 2009 | Unknown | $520,031 | $62,000 | $582,031 |
| 2010 | Unknown | $663,934 | $218,000 | $881,934 |
| 2011 | Unknown | $1,129,733 | $315,000 | $1,444,733 |
| 2012 | Unknown | $1,113,015 | $84,000 | $1,197,015 |
| 2013 | Unknown | $500,724 | $365,000 | $865,724 |
| 2014 | Unknown | $2,573,778 | $12,000 | $2,585,778 |
| 2015 | Unknown | $331,134 | $101,000 | $432,134 |
| 2016 | Unknown | $1,200,737 | $26,000 | $1,226,737 |
| 2017 | $1,575,401 | $349,045 | $66,000 | $1,990,446 |
| 2018 | $1,376,901 | $1,310,269 | $0 | $2,687,170 |
| 2019 | $1,147,873 | $412,246 | $11,000 | $1,571,119 |
| 2020 | $1,219,509 | $201,929 | $131,000 | $1,552,438 |
| 2021 | $1,197,380 | $12,764 | $143,000 | $1,353,144 |
| 2022 | $1,285,690 | $338,884 | $116,000 | $1,740,574 |
| 2023 | $1,591,050 | $272,476 | $28,000 | $1,891,526 |
| Totals | $9,393,804 | $15,258,319 | $1,888,000 | $26,540,123 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
Delaware does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, Delaware agencies have generated more than $17 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, more than 22 Delaware agencies, or an estimated 55% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under Delaware Law: Key Facts
Median Value
UNKNOWN
Delaware does not report property-level data necessary to calculate median forfeiture value.
Property Types
UNKNOWN
Delaware does not report the types of property forfeited.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
Delaware does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Outlier Cities
From 2019 to 2023, two small cities in Delaware—Newport and New Castle— forfeited over $244 per resident.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
CStatewide Forfeiture Reports
BPenalties for Failure to File a Report
BAccounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
AAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
AFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
FFor full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Reports of fiscal-year forfeiture deposits to the Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund were obtained via public records requests to the Delaware Department of Justice. Deposits represent the value of forfeited currency and property sold. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence. Forfeiture is not permitted unless a person is charged with a crime, but no conviction is required.
Del. Code Ann. tit. 16, §§ 4784(k), 4785(a).
Innocent owner burden: Government.
Del. Code Ann. tit. 16, § 4785(b)–(c).
Financial incentive: Up to 100%.
Del. Code Ann. tit. 11, §§ 4110–11; id. tit. 16, § 4784(f).
Process: Del. Code Ann. tit.16, § 4784; Del. R. Civ. P. 71.3 (forfeiture procedure).