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Ohio · Columbus Metro North · #315 Most Populous County in the US
Delaware County, Ohio
Delaware, Powell, Westerville, and the booming northern Columbus corridor - one of Ohio's fastest-growing and most affluent counties for the past two decades, where Ohio Wesleyan University, the Honda corridor, and exceptional school districts have built a community of extraordinary prosperity. Property tax, courts, public records, probate, and senior services for Delaware County residents.
Affiliate disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you use them, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial recommendations are independent of these relationships.
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Tell us your goal and we'll guide you step-by-step to the right office, forms, and official resources.
Office: Delaware County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management – 10 Court Street, Delaware, OH 43015 | (740) 833-2180 | [email protected]; goal is to save lives, prevent injuries, and protect property/environment from All Hazards (natural, manmade, terrorism) through mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
911: Delaware County Emergency Communications (DELCOMM) – 10 Court Street, Delaware, OH 43015 | (740) 833-2160 | Director Lauren Yankanin.
EMS: Delaware County EMS – 10 Court Street, 1st Floor, Delaware, OH 43015 | (740) 833-2190; the primary emergency medical provider for county residents and visitors.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911. Major Unusual Incidents can be reported at (740) 201-3600 (business hours) or (740) 369-3316 (after-hours helpline).
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: US-23 and US-36/42 serve Delaware, the county seat, just north of Columbus
Transit: No dedicated county-wide public transit system was found in this search – confirm directly with the county or your city
Notes: Delaware County has genuinely been among Ohio’s fastest-growing counties in recent years, driven by expansion of the Columbus metropolitan area.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Delaware County Code Compliance – confirm current contact via co.delaware.oh.us.
Notes: Delaware, Ohio, is genuinely, documentedly the birthplace of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States, born October 4, 1822. His father had died of a fever roughly two months before his birth, and his mother Sophia raised him with her brother Sardis Birchard’s support. In a distinctive and somewhat unusual twist of local history, the original birthplace house on East William Street fell into disrepair, was purchased by Standard Oil in 1921, and was demolished in 1926 to build a gas station – which still stands on the site today (now a BP station), making Hayes likely the only U.S. president whose birthplace is marked by an active gas station. A Daughters of the American Revolution memorial marker was placed at the site in 1926, and a statue of Hayes (commissioned by the Rutherford B. Hayes Heritage Fund) was added at the nearby corner of William and Sandusky Streets in 2019.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Delaware County Veterans Services – 91 N. Sandusky St., Ground Floor, Delaware, OH 43015; assists with VA benefit applications, emergency financial assistance, and transportation to VA clinics in Columbus and Marion; confirm current phone via co.delaware.oh.us.
State: Ohio Department of Veterans Services – dvs.ohio.gov
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Delaware County District Library – Main Library, 84 E. Winter St., Delaware, OH 43015; confirm current phone via delawarelibrary.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The Rutherford B. Hayes birthplace site/gas station and statue are the county’s most distinctive historical landmarks, alongside downtown Delaware’s historic district.
Notes: The genuine (and genuinely unusual) Rutherford B. Hayes birthplace-turned-gas-station story is one of the most distinctive facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Delaware County Auditor – George Kaitsa, (740) 833-2900, [email protected].
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Facility: Delaware County Dog Shelter (Dog Warden) – 4781 County Home Road, Delaware, OH 43015 | (740) 368-1915 | Fax: (740) 368-1919 | [email protected]; Chief Dog Warden Mitchell Garrett.
Nonprofit: Humane Society of Delaware County – Delaware, OH | hsdcohio.org; adoption fees: dogs $150+license, puppies $250+license, cats $60, kittens $85; developing a planned future “ARF” (Animal Resource Facility) public-private complex.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District – confirm current contact via co.delaware.oh.us.
NOTES: Delaware County is the seventh and final county in this batch (Columbiana, Coshocton, Crawford, Cuyahoga, Darke, Defiance, Delaware) of the Ohio v2 redo. The genuine, distinctive story of Rutherford B. Hayes’s birthplace being replaced by an active gas station is one of the most memorable facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Delaware County
Heritage | Delaware, the county seat, was the birthplace of President Rutherford B. Hayes, whose birth site is marked downtown, and Ohio Wesleyan University, founded in 1842, has anchored the city’s education and culture for well over a century; the county has transformed from rural farmland into one of the wealthiest and fastest-growing suburban counties in Ohio as Columbus’s metro area has expanded northward Outdoors | The Olentangy River and Alum Creek State Park offer fishing, boating, and extensive trails; the county’s rapidly growing park system provides additional hiking and biking close to new suburban developments Notable | Consistently ranks among the wealthiest and fastest-growing counties in Ohio, driven by Columbus’s northward suburban expansion, and Ohio Wesleyan University adds a college-town character to the county seat Library | Delaware County District Library operates a large system serving the county’s rapidly growing suburban and rural communities
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
91 North Sandusky St, Delaware, OH 43015
(740) 833-2660
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Delaware County Probate Court, Delaware (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
The 1868 Delaware County Courthouse, NRHP-listed, is a significant local landmark.
Local societies
No dedicated Delaware County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Delaware County Probate Court 145 North Union Street, Delaware, OH 43015 (740) 833-2680
Delaware County was established in 1807, in central Ohio just north of Columbus, seated in Delaware – one of Ohio’s fastest-growing counties. The 1868 Delaware County Courthouse, Italianate in style, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Ohio has not adopted the Uniform Probate Code, but has incorporated some streamlined concepts into its own system under Title 21 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC Chapters 2101-2131).
Summary Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – available for very small estates valued at $5,000 or less. Lets the court release assets quickly, often to cover funeral expenses and support the surviving family, without a fiduciary being appointed.
Release from Administration (ORC § 2113.03) – Ohio’s broader small-estate shortcut. Available when the gross probate estate is $35,000 or less, OR up to $100,000 if the entire estate passes to a surviving spouse (by will or by Ohio’s intestacy law). No executor/administrator is appointed; the court releases the estate directly to the person(s) entitled to it.
Full Estate Administration – required when the estate exceeds these thresholds or the situation is otherwise contested or complex. The court appoints a fiduciary (Ohio’s term for executor/administrator), issues a Certificate of Appointment once any will is admitted, and the fiduciary inventories assets, publishes notice to creditors, pays debts, and distributes what remains under ongoing court supervision.
Step 2: filing for administration
File the will (if any) and an application with the Probate Court in the county where the decedent resided.
If pursuing Release from Administration or Summary Release, complete the applicable court forms (Form 5.0 for standard Release, Form 5.10 for Summary Release) along with a complete asset inventory and supporting documents.
For full administration, the court issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration to the appointed fiduciary.
The fiduciary publishes notice to creditors; claims generally must be presented within 6 months of the date of death.
The fiduciary inventories and manages estate assets, pays valid debts and expenses, and distributes what remains according to the will or Ohio’s intestacy law, reporting to the court along the way.
The estate is closed once a final account is filed and approved by the court.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by county – check with Delaware County directly for current fees.
No state estate tax, no state inheritance tax (repealed effective January 1, 2013). Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates ($15,000,000 per individual as of 2026).
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
PROBATE COURT
91 North Sandusky St, Delaware, OH 43015
(740) 833-2660
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
844 US Highway 42 North, Delaware, OH 43015
(740) 833-2800
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
BOARD OF ELECTIONS
5100 Chuck Klein Chase, Delaware, OH 43015
(740) 833-2350
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
General Health District
1 West Winter St, Delaware, OH 43015
(740) 368-1700
Job and Family Services
140 North Sandusky St, Delaware, OH 43015
(740) 833-2200
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Delaware Public Health District – confirm current contact via co.delaware.oh.us.
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Editorial Trust
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Reviewed by CountyOffices Editorial Team
Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Delaware
Population: 226,000
Area: 443 mi²
Tier: 2
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Delaware County facilities via Amazon.
