Delaware Contractor License Requirements
Registration is not a licence, but here it is still mandatory. Every figure below was read off the DOR / DOL or the statute, and the sentence it came from is listed at the bottom of this page. Where a figure could not be verified this page says so rather than showing a number.
What the state requires
- Licence
- Contractor business license (Division of Revenue) plus Contractor Registration Certificate (Department of Labor)
- Issued by
- Delaware Division of Revenue (business license) and Delaware Department of Labor, Office of Contractor Registration30 Del. C. ch. 25 (Contractors' License Requirements and Taxes)
- Exam
- No exam
- Exam fee
- No verified figureThe Division of Revenue contractor business license costs $75 on application, and the contractor then pays a gross receipts license fee of 0.6472% of aggregate gross receipts, payable monthly. Separately, the Department of Labor's Office of Contractor Registration charges, for one year, $200 for private construction, $300 for public construction, or $500 for both; two-year registration for eligible contractors is $300 (private) or $500 (public).
- Application fee
- $75
- Initial licence fee
- No verified figure
- Licence bond
- Not requiredNo licence bond is imposed by 30 Del. C. ch. 25 for resident contractors. (Nonresident contractors have separate surety/withholding obligations under Delaware tax law that were not read for this record.)
- General liability
- Not requiredBefore the Division of Revenue issues a contractor license the applicant must have filed a certificate of notice from the Delaware Department of Labor certifying contractor status and a certificate of insurance showing workers' compensation coverage as required by state law. No general liability minimum is set.
- Workers compensation
- Required
- Experience
- No verified figureDelaware imposes no experience requirement for the contractor business license or the Department of Labor contractor registration.
- Continuing education
- No continuing education requiredNo continuing education requirement — there is no qualifying license to renew.
- Renewal
- No verified period
- NASCLA exam
- Not acceptedDelaware does not appear on NASCLA's list of participating state agencies; it has no qualifying examination for which the NASCLA exam could substitute.
What people get wrong
Delaware licenses no general contractor. What the state requires is a revenue business license under 30 Del. C. ch. 25 plus registration with the Department of Labor's Office of Contractor Registration before work starts — no exam, no experience, no net worth. The trades are the exception: electricians, plumbers and HVACR technicians are licensed by the Division of Professional Regulation's boards. Municipalities (Wilmington, Newark, the beach towns) impose their own contractor licenses on top.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a contractor licence in Delaware?
- Not from the state. Delaware registers contractors rather than licensing them: Contractor business license (Division of Revenue) plus Contractor Registration Certificate (Department of Labor) through the Delaware Division of Revenue (business license) and Delaware Department of Labor, Office of Contractor Registration. Delaware licenses no general contractor. What the state requires is a revenue business license under 30 Del. C. ch. 25 plus registration with the Department of Labor's Office of Contractor Registration before work starts — no exam, no experience, no net worth. The trades are the exception: electricians, plumbers and HVACR technicians are licensed by the Division of Professional Regulation's boards. Municipalities (Wilmington, Newark, the beach towns) impose their own contractor licenses on top.
- Does Delaware accept the NASCLA exam?
- No. Delaware does not appear on NASCLA's list of participating state agencies; it has no qualifying examination for which the NASCLA exam could substitute.
Sources
“Any person desiring to engage in business in this State as a contractor shall obtain a license upon making application to the Division of Revenue and paying a fee of $75.”
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title30/c025/index.html“Every contractor shall pay a license fee of 0.6472% of the aggregate gross receipts paid to such contractor which fee shall be payable monthly on or before the twentieth day of each month with respect to the aggregate gross receipts for the immediately preceding month.”
https://delcode.delaware.gov/title30/c025/index.html“Delaware State law requires businesses who perform 'Construction Services' to also be registered with the Delaware Department of Labor's, Office of Contractor Registration BEFORE their work begins in the State.”
https://onestop.delaware.gov/Operate_Contractors“$200.00 if you perform Private Construction; $300.00 if you perform Public Construction; $500.00 if you perform Public and Private Construction”
https://onestop.delaware.gov/Operate_Contractors“Contractors conducting business activities in Delaware are required to register with and obtain a business license from the Delaware Division of Revenue.”
https://revenue.delaware.gov/business-tax-forms/contractors-resident-and-non-resident/