Delaware Administrative Law Research: DE Administrative Code

Every jurisdiction has an administrative code that arranges their current regulations by topic.  The Delaware Administrative Code (DAC) is the state’s administrative code.

The DAC includes all of Delaware’s current administrative regulations, arranged by subject, called titles.   These are subdivided into regulations, sections and subsections.  Some regulations, sections and subsections will have references to regulatory enactments and amendments in the Delaware Register of Regulations.

The DAC is available in electronic and print formats. The state posts a free version of the DAC online in html and an authenticated pdf format.   Researchers can browse the DAC by using its table of contents.  A general search box supports limited keyword searching.  Regrettably, there is no index or other finding aids.

The DCC, compared to the administrative codes of other states, is a fairly recent phenomenon.  Not all departmental regulations have been codified at this time.

There are significant differences between the official DAC and its commercial counterparts from West and Lexis.

Lexis acquired a commercially produced DAC that pre-existed the official code.  It contains 11 additional code titles than the official DAC.  These code titles have a slightly different format than those found in the DAC. Lexis’ DAC also includes one title, Title 29, Registrar of Regulations, which is not included in West’s DAC.

West’s DAC has the regulations of six state agencies collected under the heading “Uncodified Regulations.”  As noted above, it lacks the official DAC’s Title 29.

Bloomberg reproduces the official DAC.

The DAC Code is also available in several subscription legal information databases, including Lexis Advance, Westlaw and Bloomberg. The subscription databases support searching by browsing and keywords.  None includes an index.

Special thanks to Janet Lindenmuth, Reference/Electronic Services Librarian at Widener Law Library for explaining the strange differences between different DAC versions.