Abstract The objective of this study is to assess controllability results in the realm of Caputo fractional derivatives, specifically focusing on time-varying linear and nonlinear fractional dynamical systems with distributed control delays. In the setting of a linear system, using the Grammian matrix's positive definiteness makes it possible to ascertain both the necessary and sufficient conditions. It is possible to determine, for nonlinear systems, the sufficient conditions for the presence of a solution by making use of the Schauder fixed point theorem. In addition to that, the paper discusses the controllability of a nonlinear integrodifferential system for a particular case. A few examples and the graphs that correspond to them are shown here to make it easier to conceptualize the conclusions of the theoretical discussion.