Delaware court records: missing the Prothonotary's notice of judgment does not extend your time to appeal
Delaware procedure · Last verified August 17, 2026
The Prothonotary mails you notice of every judgment. Rule 77(d) then removes any comfort you might take from that:
Lack of notice of the entry by the Prothonotary does not affect the time to appeal or relieve or authorize the Court to relieve a party for failure to appeal within the time allowed.
Not receiving the notice is not an excuse, and the Court is expressly denied the power to treat it as one. Watching the docket is the only reliable practice.
The notice, and its limits
Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 77(d):
Notice of orders of judgments. Immediately upon the entry of an order of judgment, the Prothonotary shall serve a notice of the entry by mail in the manner provided for in Rule 5 upon each party who is not in default for failure to appear, and shall make a note in the docket of the mailing. Such mailing is sufficient notice for all purposes for which notice of the entry of an order is required by these Rules; but any party may in addition serve a notice of such entry in the manner provided in Rule 5 for the service of papers.
| When | immediately upon entry |
| To whom | each party not in default for failure to appear |
| How | by mail under Rule 5, with a docket note of the mailing |
| Effect | sufficient notice for all purposes the Rules require |
| In addition | any party may serve its own notice of entry |
Two consequences worth planning around.
A party in default gets nothing. The mailing goes only to parties not in default for failure to appear. If a default judgment was entered against you and you never appeared, no notice was owed.
Serving your own notice is permitted and sometimes wise. Where you want certainty that an opponent's clock has started, the rule lets you serve a notice of entry yourself.
In several states the enforcement clock runs from service of notice of entry. Delaware is not one of them — its ten-day automatic stay runs from entry. See enforcing a Delaware money judgment.
The Court is always open
Rule 77(a): "The Superior Court shall be deemed always open for the purpose of the transaction of business. Each term shall continue until the formal opening by the Court of the next succeeding term."
Rule 77(b) requires all trials on the merits to be "conducted in open court and so far as convenient in a regular courtroom", while allowing all other acts or proceedings to be done by a judge in chambers, without the Prothonotary or other court officials attending, at the judge's discretion.
What the docket has to show
Rule 79(a) requires a docket containing every civil action, each with a consecutive file number, and chronological notation of "All pleadings, motions, briefs and other papers filed with the Prothonotary, all process issued and returns made thereon, all appearances, orders, verdicts and judgments."
Notations are "brief, but shall show the nature of the paper filed or writ issued and the substance of each order of the Court and of each return of execution of process", and "The notation of an order or judgment shall include the date the notation is made."
Rule 79(b) requires specific entries for judicial action:
| Event | The docket must show |
|---|---|
| Oral argument | the date, the name of the Judge, and the subject matter |
| Trial | the date, the name of the Judge, and the elapsed trial time |
| Verdict or judgment | the date and the name of the Judge |
| Opinions | the date of filing, the subject matter, the name of the Judge, and whether it was filed without oral argument |
That last item is a small but real research aid: the docket itself records whether an opinion issued without argument.
Rule 77(e)(2) lists the dockets the Prothonotary keeps — "The continuance, foreign and domestic attachment, mechanic's lien, judgment and other dockets" — with both direct and indirect indexes, and provides that "All dockets may be maintained in an electronic form."
Exhibits: take them back, or lose them
Rule 77(f)(3):
Disposition of exhibits. After the final determination of a cause by the Court and the expiration of the period for filing a notice of appeal, if no notice of appeal has been filed, all exhibits shall be removed by the party who introduced them. If not so removed, the Prothonotary shall notify the parties by mail to remove them forthwith; and if they are not removed within 15 days from the date of mailing said notice, the Prothonotary may obtain an order of the Court for their disposition.
| Step | |
|---|---|
| After final determination and the appeal period | the introducing party shall remove its exhibits |
| If not removed | the Prothonotary mails a notice to remove forthwith |
| 15 days from that mailing | the Prothonotary may obtain an order for their disposition |
Rule 77(f)(1) gives the Prothonotary custody of the Court's records and papers, and forbids any original record, paper or exhibit being taken from the courtroom or the Prothonotary's office "except at the direction of the Court or as provided by statute or by these Rules or by Rules of the Supreme Court."
Rule 77(f)(2): exhibits may not be removed before the time the Rules provide "except on motion or stipulation and order of the Court."
Stenographic notes are destroyed after ten years
Rule 77(f)(4):
Stenographic notes. The stenographers of Superior Court in all civil matters before the Court shall retain the stenographic notes in a place designated by the Court for a period of 10 years from the date of said notes. After such time, the stenographers are directed to destroy said notes unless the Court, or any judge thereof, has prescribed a longer period of time in a particular case. Stenographic notes of all civil matter shall be presumed to be destroyed after 10 years.
Ten years, then destruction is directed — and after that period destruction is presumed. Where a transcript may be needed years later, ordering it while the notes exist is the only safeguard, and a longer retention has to be prescribed by the Court in the particular case.
Fees, and what happens if you do not pay
Rule 77(h) sets out the filing fee structure:
| A | all filing fees are non-refundable and cover costs, except Sheriff's service, paid separately to the Sheriff |
| B | the filing fee covers the first 50 filings; an additional $245.00 is due after each further increment of 50 |
| C | a request for a trial date carries a non-refundable $150.00 fee |
| D | fees do not include advertising costs, billed directly to the filing party |
| E | the Prothonotary may refuse any filing for which the fees have not been paid |
And there is a penalty for non-payment: whoever "neglects or refuses to pay the fees set forth in this rule for any service or services performed, for 10 days after demand in writing by the officer to whom such fees are due, shall be fined $25.00 in addition to the fees due."
The fifty-filing increment is worth knowing in a heavily litigated case, since it accrues silently as the docket grows.
Losing the ability to file is a recurring Delaware enforcement device. It also appears in the discovery rules, where an attorney who fails to appear at argument on a discovery motion has a fee assessed personally and "The Prothonotary shall not accept further filings of any type in the action from the attorney who did not appear until the attorney's fee is paid" — see the Delaware motion to compel. And in Rule 16.1, an attorney who will not pay an arbitrator's fee "after second notice, may be subject to a loss of civil case filing privileges" — see Delaware mandatory non-binding arbitration.
Two dates on every opinion
Rule 77(g) requires each written opinion, "including letter opinions", to bear two dates immediately under the caption:
| (1) | the date of the last oral argument, or brief filed, or other final submission for decision |
| (2) | the date of filing of the opinion or order |
That first date is the one that matters for reargument. Rule 59(e) gives five days from the filing of the Court's opinion or decision, so the second date starts your clock — see Delaware reargument.
Other duties
Rule 77(e)(1) requires the Prothonotary, a Deputy or Clerk to "attend the Court in person".
Rule 77(e)(3): on an appeal tried de novo, no appeal is entered on the docket "until a certified transcript of the record shall be filed."
Rule 77(e)(4): the Prothonotary must notify all members of the Bar of any amendment to the Rules "within 10 days from the adoption thereof."
Rule 77(e)(5) directs compliance with Supreme Court Rule 9 on transmitting the record on appeal.
Rule 79(c) requires such other books and records as the judges or the Court administrator require.
Where this connects
For appeals into the Superior Court from boards and commissions — a different route, with its own citation for the record — see appealing a Delaware board decision.
For confidential filing in the CCLD, which replaces Rule 5(g), see the Delaware Complex Commercial Litigation Division.
A short checklist
- Watch the docket, not the mail. Lack of the Prothonotary's notice does not extend your time to appeal.
- Consider serving your own notice of entry where you want an opponent's clock to start provably.
- If judgment was entered against you in default, expect no notice at all.
- Collect your exhibits after the appeal period, or lose them fifteen days after the Prothonotary's notice.
- Order any transcript you may need within ten years. After that, destruction is presumed.
- Track the fifty-filing increments in a heavy case — each further fifty costs $245.
- Pay fees within ten days of a written demand, or add a $25 fine to them.
- Read the two dates under an opinion's caption. The filing date starts the five days for reargument.
Where these rules live
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 77 — Superior Courts; Prothonotaries, records and exhibits, fees
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 79 — Books and records kept by the Prothonotary
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 59 — New trials and rearguments
- Del. Super. Ct. Civ. R. 62 — Stays by trial court and on appeal
This page explains what the rules say. It isn't legal advice, and current fee amounts should be confirmed with the Prothonotary.