The Delaware State Courts will be closed on Tuesday, November 5th for Election Day. Justice of the Peace Court 11 (New Castle County) and Court 7 (Kent County) will remain open 24 hours and Justice of the Peace Court 3 (Sussex County) will be open from 6AM – 12PM (no new cases after 11:00PM).

Sussex County Courts including Justice of the Peace Court 2, 4, and 17 will be closing at noon on Thursday, November 7th for Return Day. JP Court 14 will be closed the entire day due to proximity to Return Day events.

Custody Forms



Below is a listing of and links to blank forms that are necessary in filing for Custody.
They are separated into two categories:

Required Forms or Situational Forms
The forms listed under "Required Forms" MUST be submitted in order for your filing to be accepted by the Court.   The forms listed under "Situational Forms" should only be filed if your circumstances match those described.
All forms are provided in Microsoft Word (.doc) format. If you do not own Microsoft Word or the Microsoft Office Suite, you may want to consider downloading Open Office, free of charge, from the www.openoffice.org.

If you are not able to determine which forms you need to file , please review the Custody Instruction Packet, visit the Family Court Resource Center in your County, or consider contacting an attorney. ALL Pro Se litigants are encouraged to review the Custody Instruction Packet while preparing their filing.

Required Forms

Required Form Prior to Mediation or First Court Appearance

Situational Forms

(Please review all forms and scenarios)

  • Affidavit of Unknown Address (Form 241)
    This form should be filed if you do not know where the Respondent(s) live
  • Consent Order - Custody (Form 349)
    File this document only if you and the Respondent(s) have already agreed on how the custody matters should be arranged
  • Affidavit of Non-Military Service (Form 405)
    This form should be filed if you know that the Respondent is NOT in the military service of the United States of America and ONLY if the Respondent has not filed an answer or otherwise entered an appearance with the Court by the day of your hearing
  • Waiver of Rights Under the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act (Form 420)
    • File this form only if the Respondent is in the military
    • If the Respondent does not file an Answer or Affidavit of Appearance, you must have the Respondent(s) sign this form
    • If you are unable to reach the Respondent to obtain any of these documents, you must file a Motion to Appoint an Attorney (see Motion Packet)