Last updated 2026-08-19
TL;DR
Delaware does not issue a guardian ad litem license. Child cases run through the Office of the Child Advocate and Family Court. Paid attorney GALs must hold a Delaware Supreme Court law license, including the five-month clerkship. Volunteer CASAs complete OCA training and a background check. Adult cases sit in the Court of Chancery. Confirm local training with the appointing court. Nobody can sell you a Delaware GAL card.
Do you need a license for guardian ad litem in Delaware?
No. Delaware does not issue a guardian ad litem occupational license, and no board prints a GAL card.
If you want paid work speaking for a child, you need a Delaware law license. That credential comes from the Supreme Court of Delaware. It is not a GAL credential. Volunteer work for abused, neglected, or dependent children runs through the Court-Appointed Special Advocate Program inside the Office of the Child Advocate. That path uses training and a background check. It is not a license. [1]
Adult incapacity files are a third pile. Those sit in the Court of Chancery under Title 12, Chapter 39. Judges there often appoint a lawyer as guardian ad litem for the person who may need a guardian. The gate is bar admission plus the appointment order. [2]
People still type guardian ad litem Delaware queries as if a license bureau exists. Other states keep extra GAL courses or county rosters that feel official. Delaware's statute book does not. Title 29, Chapter 90A of the Delaware Code creates the Office of the Child Advocate and the Court-Appointed Special Advocate Program. There is no parallel statute creating a GAL occupational license. [1]
I would not pay anyone who promises a Delaware GAL license. You will not receive a number a clerk can look up. If a judge later wants a local orientation, that is a court practice. Confirm it with that court.
Federal law already requires a trained representative when abuse or neglect goes to court. CAPTA requires states to have "provisions and procedures requiring that in every case involving a victim of child abuse or neglect which results in a judicial proceeding, a guardian ad litem, who has received training appropriate to the role, including training in early childhood, child, and adolescent development, and who may be an attorney or a court appointed special advocate who has received training appropriate to that role (or both), shall be appointed to represent the child in such proceedings." [3]
Delaware meets that duty through OCA lawyers and CASA volunteers, not through a private certificate.
If you are comparing states before you move, the paper path in California and Alabama will not file in Wilmington. Read them as contrast.
What is a guardian ad litem in Delaware?
A Delaware GAL (or a CASA volunteer on the same kind of child-welfare file) tells the court what is in the child's best interests, or, for some attorney roles, presents the child's position. The exact hat depends on who appointed you and which docket you are on.
In dependency and neglect work, OCA staffs the federal duty described above. Deputy Child Advocates are lawyers. CASA volunteers are screened civilians who report on best interests under OCA's program. Both appear because Chapter 90A put that program inside the Office, not because someone passed a GAL exam. [1] [3]
In private custody fights, Family Court still decides legal custody and residence under Title 13, Chapter 7. The statute is blunt. "The Court shall determine the legal custody and residential arrangements for a child in accordance with the best interests of the child." That sentence is 13 Del. C. § 722(a). The same section then lists eight factors the court must consider. A judge can appoint an attorney for the child or a GAL when the adults cannot be trusted to present the child's situation. That appointment is a court order. It is not a license application you file in advance. [4]
The work is interviews, records, visits, and a report or recommendation the judge can use. It is not therapy. It is not a parenting coordinator job with a different caption.
Say which docket you mean. OCA child welfare, private custody, and Chancery adult guardianship do not share an application.
| Role | Court | What Delaware actually checks | Paid? |
|---|---|---|---|
| CASA volunteer | Family Court via OCA | OCA training and background checks | No |
| Deputy Child Advocate | Family Court via OCA | Delaware bar and an OCA hire | State salary |
| Private attorney GAL | Family Court | Delaware bar and an appointment order | Fees in the order; confirm it |
| Adult GAL | Court of Chancery | Delaware bar and an appointment order | Fees in the order; confirm it |
Who appoints a guardian ad litem in Delaware?
Family Court appoints the child's representative in juvenile and custody matters. The Office of the Child Advocate staffs a large share of the abuse, neglect, and dependency appointments through Deputy Child Advocates and CASA volunteers. [1] [5]
The Court of Chancery appoints GALs in adult guardianship files under Title 12, Chapter 39. [2] [14]
You do not appoint yourself. You do not buy a slot. A judge signs an order, or OCA matches a trained volunteer to a petition. If someone online offers to register you as a Delaware GAL for a fee, walk away.
Family Court sits in New Castle County (Wilmington), Kent County (Dover), and Sussex County (Georgetown). OCA is statewide. Chancery is statewide, with a heavy Wilmington footprint. File and appear where the case lives.
Title 10, Chapter 9 is the Family Court organic statute. Jurisdiction and procedure live there, not in a licensing code. Title 13, Chapter 25 is the DSCYF custody chapter for children in state custody. Those two titles, plus Chapter 90A, are the real map. [5] [6]
A clerk will ask for a caption and a case number. A clerk will not ask for your GAL license number, because you do not have one.
How do you become a CASA volunteer in Delaware?
You apply to the Office of the Child Advocate's Court-Appointed Special Advocate Program, complete the training OCA assigns, and pass the background checks the statute requires. You do not apply to a licensing board. [1]
Chapter 90A tells OCA to run the CASA program. The detailed curriculum is an office practice, not a Title 24 professional license. Confirm the current hours, the night-versus-weekend calendar, and whether court observation is still required with OCA itself. I will not invent this year's class length.
After training you get matched to a child, sometimes a sibling group. You stay on the case while Family Court has it. You are a volunteer. You are not a lawyer unless you already are one. You should not give legal advice.
This is the only realistic on-ramp I would take if I were not a Delaware attorney and I still wanted child-welfare courtroom work. Paid weekend certificates will not get you an appointment in Dover or Georgetown.
OCA, not a course vendor, decides who is sworn in as a CASA. If you want a self-study map of the paper you will actually see across states, GALPath's $149 one-time GAL Certification Kit at /start is a kit. It is not a Delaware credential and not a placement service.
Expect a wait between application and first match. Background checks move at SBI speed, not at your speed. Confirm the live sequence with the Office before you quit a Tuesday night job to "start next week."
What do attorney GALs in Delaware actually need?
For paid attorney work, the real credential is admission to the Bar of the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware. Chapter 90A puts the Child Advocate job on that same professional track. Deputy Child Advocates are lawyers. Private lawyers appointed in custody cases are lawyers. None of them hold a second GAL license. [1]
Delaware Supreme Court Rule 52 requires a five-month clerkship before bar admission. That clerkship is full-time service in Delaware under a member of the Bar or a Delaware judge, plus the exam and character review. Confirm current clerkship mechanics, exam dates, and fees with the Board of Bar Examiners. Those numbers move. I will not invent this year's invoice. [7] [8]
Some Family Court judges prefer lawyers who already know child-welfare practice. That preference is not a second license. If the court or OCA posts an orientation or a contract-panel memo, read that memo. I have not found a statute that creates a mandatory extra GAL license class as a statewide occupational gate.
If you are barred elsewhere, Delaware is not a casual reciprocity state. Plan on the clerkship. People who want a faster attorney-GAL story sometimes look at Arizona or Colorado. Those are different bars and different courts.
I would not hang out a GAL shingle on a limited-practice certificate you have not confirmed with the Supreme Court. Ask the Board. Get the answer in writing.
How much does guardian ad litem cost in Delaware?
It depends on which side of the table you mean: becoming one, or having one in your case.
Becoming a CASA volunteer does not require a state license fee, because there is no license. You should budget for fingerprinting and a certified criminal history through the Delaware State Bureau of Identification. SBI publishes its own fee schedule. Confirm the current charge on the SBI criminal-history page before you write a check. [9]
Becoming a paid attorney GAL means paying whatever the Board of Bar Examiners currently charges for application, exam, and related character items, then living through five months of clerkship. Confirm every figure with the Board. Anyone quoting you a frozen Delaware GAL application fee is inventing a form that does not exist. [8]
For families, OCA and CASA representation in abuse and neglect cases is public-program work. The child does not hire them. In private custody, if Family Court appoints a private attorney as GAL, the order usually says who pays. Rates are not on a single statewide consumer menu I can cite. Ask the appointed lawyer for the engagement terms and ask the court what the order actually says.
I would not prepay a large retainer to someone who cannot show a Delaware bar number and a signed appointment order.
Travel and record-copy costs show up in real files. They are case expenses, not a license surcharge. If a vendor bundles those into a "Delaware GAL startup package," treat that as marketing.
How long does guardian ad litem take in Delaware?
Two clocks. One is how long you wait to be allowed to work. The other is how long a case lasts.
CASA intake plus training takes multiple weeks. The live schedule is an OCA fact, not a statute. Confirm it. I have not seen a published statewide promise that you will be appointed in 30 days, and I will not make one. [1]
Attorney admission includes law school, then Delaware's five-month clerkship under Rule 52, then the bar exam and the character vote. The clerkship alone is five months of full-time Delaware work. That is the honest minimum add-on compared with states that skip a clerkship. [7]
The case itself can run a year or more. Federal law at 42 U.S.C. § 675 sets the permanency hearing mark at 12 months after a child is considered to have entered foster care. A GAL or CASA who starts in month two is often still on the file at month twelve. Some files run longer. [10]
Private custody GAL assignments last until the court discharges them. That can be one evaluation cycle or the whole case. Read the order.
If someone sells you a 48-hour Delaware GAL timeline, they are not reading Rule 52 or Chapter 90A. Hang up.
What background checks does Delaware require for GAL work?
CASA volunteers get a criminal background check. Chapter 90A is the reason, not a licensing board. Expect a Delaware criminal-history product from the State Bureau of Identification and the federal fingerprint check that child-serving programs use. Confirm the exact package with OCA, because they tell you which codes to request. [1] [9]
Child-protection registry checks sit under Title 16, Chapter 9. DSCYF maintains that registry. A hit there can end a volunteer application even if your criminal court jacket is clean. [11]
Attorney applicants already go through Board of Bar Examiners character and fitness. That review is heavier than a CASA packet. It is still not a GAL license review. [8]
Do the fingerprints once the office or the Board tells you to. Do not mail a random FBI packet and hope a clerk files it.
If you have an old out-of-state case, say so early. Surprises in a child-serving background file waste everyone's month.
Is an adult guardianship GAL different from a child GAL in Delaware?
Yes. Child work is Family Court plus OCA. Adult work is the Court of Chancery under Title 12, Chapter 39. Do not mix the packets. [2] [14]
In a Chancery guardianship, the GAL is usually a Delaware lawyer appointed to look after the due-process interests of the person who may be disabled. The statute authorizes guardianship of the person, the property, or both. The GAL is not automatically the guardian. Those are different jobs.
If you are a social worker who wants adult work, Delaware does not hand you a GAL license. You might later serve as a professional guardian after Chancery qualification, which is a different paper path. Confirm guardian-of-the-person requirements with Chancery, not with a Family Court CASA coordinator.
I would pick one docket and learn that clerk's office. Splitting attention across Wilmington Family Court and Chancery in your first year is how people file the wrong form.
Chancery publishes guardianship guidance for the public. Use that page, then call the Register in Chancery if the form name still is not obvious. [14]
What paperwork do you file for GAL work in Delaware?
CASA volunteers file what OCA and Family Court tell them to file, usually reports and requests through the program. There is no Form GAL-1 at a Delaware professional board. [1]
Attorneys enter through the Board of Bar Examiners, then appear under the Family Court Civil Rules or the Chancery Rules, depending on the case. Download the current rule PDFs from the Delaware Courts rules collection the week you file. Rules get amended. [7] [12]
For a parent who wants a GAL appointed in a custody case, the paper is a motion in the existing Family Court file under Title 13, Chapter 7, not a license petition. Cite the best-interest problem in plain facts. The eight factors in § 722 are the court's list, not yours. [4]
Bring the caption, the case number, and the order. Clerks respond to those. They do not respond to a certificate from an online course.
If you are building a multi-state practice plan, start with how to start in California or how to start in Arizona only after you accept that Delaware's clerkship and OCA structure will not copy over.
What does a Delaware GAL actually do week to week?
Child welfare: you read DSCYF records, visit the child, talk to caregivers and teachers, and show up for hearings. CASA volunteers coordinate with an OCA supervisor. Deputy Child Advocates carry a lawyer's caseload and the hearing calendar that comes with it. Chapter 25 files can be dense. Leave time. [1] [6]
Private custody: fewer agencies, more angry adults. Your usefulness is a clean investigation the judge can trust. If you cannot stay neutral, do not take the appointment.
Adult Chancery: medical records, capacity, money, and family fights about both. The court expects a lawyer's filing, not a volunteer essay. [2]
None of this is a high-volume side hustle in year one. Delaware is a small bar and a small volunteer corps. Reputation moves faster than marketing.
Missed visits show up in the next report. So do sloppy notes. Keep a chronology. Date everything.
Where do you confirm Delaware GAL facts before you spend money?
Call or email the Office of the Child Advocate for CASA and Deputy Child Advocate hiring. Use the Board of Bar Examiners for any attorney-admission fee, deadline, or clerkship question. Use the Court of Chancery for adult GAL appointments. Use SBI for fingerprint prices. [1] [8] [9] [14]
I cannot give you a current fee, a quota, or a processing time that will still be true next quarter. Anyone who does is guessing.
People get this wrong in predictable ways. They treat a weekend certificate as the credential. They copy a Florida roster process. They ignore the five-month clerkship and then act shocked. Rule 52 is not optional folklore. They email Family Court in Georgetown asking to be licensed as a CASA and skip OCA. They confuse the guardian of the person with a guardian ad litem. Those words share a Latin root. They do not share an application. [7]
Compare that confusion with the way Arkansas and how to start in Alabama describe their own on-ramps. Different files. Same need to read the local statute instead of a national blog.
GALPath publishes reference kits, including that $149 GAL Certification Kit. It is not a law firm, not OCA, and not a way around the Delaware bar or a CASA background check. The statutes above work without it.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for guardian ad litem in Delaware?
No. Delaware does not issue a GAL occupational license. Paid attorney work requires a Delaware Supreme Court law license. Volunteer child-welfare work goes through the Office of the Child Advocate CASA program, which uses training and background checks. Adult cases go through the Court of Chancery, usually with a barred attorney. Confirm any local orientation with the appointing court.
How much does guardian ad litem cost in Delaware?
There is no GAL license fee. CASA volunteers should budget for SBI and fingerprint fees on the current State Bureau of Identification schedule. Attorney GALs pay Board of Bar Examiners amounts that change; confirm with the Board. Families in OCA child-welfare cases do not hire the child's lawyer. Private custody GAL fees come from the appointment order, not a statewide rate card.
How long does guardian ad litem take in Delaware?
CASA intake plus training takes multiple weeks. Confirm the live calendar with OCA. Attorney admission includes a five-month Delaware clerkship under Supreme Court Rule 52, plus the exam. A child-welfare case often continues to the 12-month permanency hearing in 42 U.S.C. § 675, and sometimes longer. Private custody appointments last until the judge discharges them.
Can a social worker be a GAL in Delaware without a law license?
Not as a paid attorney GAL. The CASA volunteer path is the realistic non-lawyer door for child-welfare court work, and it runs through OCA, not a social-work board. Adult Chancery GAL appointments are usually lawyers. A social-work license is a different credential. It does not convert into a Delaware GAL card, because that card does not exist.
Is CASA the same as a guardian ad litem in Delaware?
Close enough that people use the words as cousins, not twins. CASA volunteers are the Chapter 90A volunteer program inside OCA. They present best interests. Deputy Child Advocates are OCA lawyers. A private attorney GAL in a custody case is a different appointment. Ask which role the order names before you act like you hold all three.
Does Delaware have a GAL roster I can join?
There is no statewide occupational GAL roster like some other states keep. OCA recruits CASA volunteers and hires Deputy Child Advocates. Family Court and Chancery appoint lawyers by order. If a county keeps an informal list of lawyers willing to take appointments, that is a court practice. Confirm it with that court. It is still not a license.
Can I use an out-of-state law license to be a GAL in Delaware?
Do not assume it. Delaware bar admission is its own process, including the five-month clerkship in Rule 52. Limited practice permissions are Board and Supreme Court questions, not GAL-board questions. Confirm your exact status with the Board of Bar Examiners before you accept a Delaware appointment or sign a pleading.
Who pays the GAL in a Delaware custody case?
Read the appointment order. In OCA abuse and neglect work, the child's representative is program-funded. In private custody, Family Court often assigns fees to one party or splits them. There is no single published consumer tariff I can cite. Ask the appointed lawyer for engagement terms and ask the clerk what the order actually says.
What court handles adult guardian ad litem cases in Delaware?
The Court of Chancery, under Title 12, Chapter 39. The GAL is usually a Delaware lawyer appointed for the person who may need a guardian. That person is not automatically the guardian of the person or property. Those are separate jobs. Use Chancery's guardianship guidance, then confirm forms with the Register in Chancery.
Do I need CLE to stay a GAL in Delaware?
Attorneys must follow Delaware Commission on CLE rules for the law license they already hold. That is bar CLE, not a GAL-license renewal, because there is no GAL license. CASA volunteers follow whatever continuing education OCA assigns. Confirm both calendars with the Commission or with OCA. Do not invent a GAL-only credit total.
How do I ask Family Court to appoint a GAL for my child?
File a motion in the existing custody or visitation case under Title 13, Chapter 7. Explain why the judge needs an independent look at the child's best interests under § 722. There is no separate license petition. If the case is an abuse or neglect petition, OCA and CASA may already be in the file. Ask the clerk which caption you are in.
Is the Office of the Child Advocate a licensing board?
No. Title 29, Chapter 90A creates OCA to represent children and to run the CASA program. It hires lawyers and trains volunteers. It does not issue a professional GAL license or collect a GAL renewal fee. Licensing talk belongs at the Supreme Court Board of Bar Examiners for attorneys, not at OCA.
What background check does a Delaware CASA volunteer need?
Chapter 90A requires a criminal background check for CASA volunteers. In practice that means the Delaware SBI product OCA names, plus fingerprints, and usually a child-protection registry check under Title 16, Chapter 9. Confirm the exact package and who pays the SBI invoice with OCA before you schedule prints.
Can I get paid as a CASA volunteer in Delaware?
No. CASA is volunteer work. Paid child representation in the OCA system is lawyer work, mainly Deputy Child Advocates. Private attorney GALs in custody cases bill under the appointment order. If you need a paycheck from day one, the honest path is the Delaware bar, not a CASA application dressed up as a job.
Sources
- Delaware Code, Title 29, Chapter 90A (Office of the Child Advocate): Chapter 90A creates the Office of the Child Advocate and the Court-Appointed Special Advocate Program; it does not create a GAL occupational license.
- Delaware Code, Title 12, Chapter 39 (Guardianship): Adult guardianship, including court appointment practice around alleged disabled persons, is a Court of Chancery matter under Title 12, Chapter 39.
- U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 42 U.S.C. § 5106a (CAPTA state plan): CAPTA requires appointment of a trained guardian ad litem or CASA in every child abuse or neglect case that results in a judicial proceeding.
- Delaware Code, Title 13, Chapter 7, Subchapter II (custody; § 722 best interests): 13 Del. C. § 722 requires Family Court to decide custody and residential arrangements according to the child's best interests and to consider the listed statutory factors (eight factors).
- Delaware Code, Title 10, Chapter 9 (Family Court): Title 10, Chapter 9 is the organic statute for Delaware Family Court jurisdiction and procedure.
- Delaware Code, Title 13, Chapter 25 (DSCYF custody): Title 13, Chapter 25 governs children in DSCYF custody, the docket where OCA and CASA child-welfare appointments commonly appear.
- Delaware Board of Bar Examiners, Frequently Asked Questions: The Board of Bar Examiners is the body that administers Delaware bar admission procedures, fees, and clerkship questions; current amounts must be confirmed there.
- Delaware State Police, Obtaining a Certified Criminal History (SBI): The State Bureau of Identification is the state source for certified Delaware criminal-history products used in volunteer screening.
- U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel, 42 U.S.C. § 675 (case review / permanency hearing): Federal law sets a permanency hearing no later than 12 months after the date the child is considered to have entered foster care.
- Delaware Code, Title 16, Chapter 9 (Abuse of Children; child protection registry): Title 16, Chapter 9 is the child-abuse and child-protection registry chapter used in child-serving background screening.
- Delaware Family Court, Rules of Civil Procedure (court rules PDF): Family Court Civil Rules are the procedural rules attorneys follow after bar admission when they appear on Family Court GAL and custody files.
- Delaware Court of Chancery, Guardianship information page: The Court of Chancery is the court that handles adult guardianship filings and related GAL appointments in Delaware.