Business licenses and permits in Delaware

What applies everywhere in Delaware

16 requirements are set by Delaware itself and apply whichever city you open in. Local permits sit on top of them.

Sources

Every statewide figure above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.

1. Delaware Division of Corporations — LLC flat $300 annual tax and corporate annual report fee and franchise tax computationDelaware Division of Corporations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
2. Delaware DNREC — auto repair shop hazardous waste and air quality permit guidanceDelaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
3. Delaware Business First Steps — auto body shop requirements checklist, referencing the air quality permitDelaware Department of State · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
4. Delaware Division of Revenue — business license FAQ, the $75 base fee and the December 31 expirationDelaware Division of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
5. Delaware Division of Revenue — detailed list of license fees and gross receipts tax rates by classificationDelaware Division of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
6. Delaware Division of Corporations — fee schedule, LLC formation $110 and corporation incorporation $109 minimumDelaware Division of Corporations · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
7. Delaware Division of Public Health — the certified food protection manager requirement, effective April 1, 2016Delaware Division of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
8. Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing — FAQ confirming there is no fee for a child care licenseDelaware Department of Education · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
9. Delaware Division of Revenue — resident and non-resident contractor licensing and bonding requirementsDelaware Division of Revenue · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
10. Delaware Board of Cosmetology and Barbering — establishment and shop license fee of $142Delaware Division of Professional Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
11. Delaware Board of Cosmetology and Barbering — establishment license renewal cycle, June 30 of odd yearsDelaware Division of Professional Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
12. Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners — license fees by classificationDelaware Division of Professional Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
13. Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners — continuing education and renewal cycleDelaware Division of Professional Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
14. Delaware Division of Public Health — food establishment plan review and annual operating permit feesDelaware Division of Public Health · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
15. Delaware Board of Plumbing, HVACR Examiners — license fees, expiring October 31 of even yearsDelaware Division of Professional Regulation · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04
16. Delaware Code Title 24, Chapter 33 — veterinary practice act, licensing individual veterinarians with no separate premises permitDelaware General Assembly · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-04

Which Delaware city are you opening in?

• Wilmington, DEWilmington's own current 'Doing Business' page confirms a business must hold both a State of Delaware business license and a separate City of Wilmington business license, the latter administered by the Department of Finance's Wage/Business License Division under roughly ninety named license-type categories (fee table effective 1/1/2024): confirmed figures include Veterinarians $300.00, Retailers Non-Edible $250.00, Retailers Edible $250.00, Retailer Mobile Food Vendor $151.00, Gas Station/Auto Repair $300.00, Day Care Centers $200.00, and Beauty Parlors-Barber Shop $200.00. Restaurants ($300.00, code 2009) and Health Spa/Club ($300.00, code 2007) are confirmed in both the City's fee table and the codified schedule at City Code § 5-101 as amended by Ord. No. 23-014; under § 5-78(e) a food business counts as a restaurant only with 15 or more tables and chairs, table service and accessible public bathrooms, and is otherwise licensed as Retailers Edible. The Zoning Board of Adjustment variance fee is $300.00 commercial and $150.00 per specific variance residential from the City's own application dated 6/24/2025. A genuine, verified departmental reorganization has moved zoning administration, the Zoning Board of Adjustment, and building/electrical/plumbing/mechanical permit issuance to a newly-structured 'Department of Land Use and Planning,' while 'Licenses and Inspections' now focuses on rental-property licensing, vacant-property registration, and code enforcement. The City's own current (Nov. 2025) Building Permit Application prices a permit at $12.00 per $1,000 of construction cost plus $20.00 per trade, a $100.00 Commercial Certificate of Occupancy, and a $50.00 Certificate of Compliance; the Fire Marshal's Office's own current (Jan. 2024) Fire Protection Plan Review Application prices that separate review at $9.00/$1,000 up to $1 million plus $5.00/$1,000 above that with a $200.00 minimum, a real increase over the City's own older 2016 figures. The $25.00 Zoning Certificate fee is published in the City's 2016 Development Review Process guide. The Department of Land Use and Planning's own current (6/24/2025) Zoning Board of Adjustment Application is the source of the variance fee. For the Fire Annual Permits bill category, City Code §12-99(d), as amended effective July 1, 2023, sets a per-activity fire permit schedule rather than a flat per-business annual charge, with express annual fees for liquid propane gas ($75.00-$150.00 by tank capacity), compressed natural gas ($100.00), flammable/combustible liquid tanks ($50.00 per site), spray booths ($100.00), tire storage ($150.00) and welding/cutting/burning ($50.00), plus §12-64(c)(7)'s $75.00 annual mobile food service inspection and §12-64(c)(1)'s $75.00/$100.00/$200.00 annual child care license-renewal inspections. The sign permit fee is set in Chapter 41 of the Code rather than in a published fee schedule: §41-65 charges $6.00 per $1,000.00 of valuation to erect, alter or relocate a sign (plus $6.00 for an illuminated sign's wiring), and an annual maintenance renewal of $10.00 for the first 50 square feet of face area plus $5.00 per additional 50 square feet, with a $5.00 minimum, renewing each July 1. Public Assembly and Elevator permits remain confirmed as real, recurring L&I annual bills whose rates are held per-account in the City's billing system; the 2014 L&I fee table's own 'Annual License Permits' block covers only Theaters, Movie Picture Theaters and Assembly Halls ($50.00 each). Food-safety permits for Wilmington businesses come from Delaware's own Office of Food Protection. A free 'Mobile Food Service Establishment License' plus a real $22.00/day curbside vending-space reservation fee, both distinct from the general business license's own $151.00 mobile-vendor code, are confirmed directly from the City's own Mobile Food Truck Program page. The City publishes no additional local layer for childcare, auto-repair, or salon businesses beyond the general business license's own named categories.20 published records
• Dover, DEDover's own current Business License Application confirms a City of Dover general business license, layered on top of Delaware's own state business license, priced by dozens of named occupation/business-type categories rather than one flat fee, administered by the Planning and Inspections Department (Public Inspections Division) under Dover Code Chapter 26, Article II, §26-35 — a genuinely different administrative model than Wilmington's dedicated Finance Department license division. Figures for the ten industries covered here: Eating Establishment/Operator $128.00 (restaurant, coffee shop), Merchant $64.00 minimum with a 0.00046-of-gross-purchases renewal formula (retail store), Food Truck $180.00, Day Care Operator $52.00 (Home Day Care Operator $28.00 for a family child care home), Health Spa or Health Club $192.00 (fitness studio), Contractor $128.00 minimum with a 0.00046-of-gross-receipts renewal formula, Motor Vehicle Serviceman $96.00 (the closest named category to auto repair), Veterinarian $320.00 (assessed per individual professional, not per practice), and Barber/Beautician $64.00 plus $4.00 per chair beyond two (salon). The license year runs August 1 to July 31, due by August 1 with a 10%-per-month late penalty after August 31. A single 'Planning and Inspections Department' — not Wilmington's two-department split — houses both zoning administration (Planning Division) and building/business-license/sign permitting (Public Inspections Division); the Fire Marshal's Office is a separate department under Emergency Management and Communications. A 'Permit Fees' brochure (7/2022), not the application forms themselves, is the confirmed source for a Building Permit priced at $25.00 for the first $1,000 of construction value plus $8.00/$1,000 up to $10 million (tapering above that), a commercial Certificate of Occupancy at $75.00 for the first 20,000 sq ft plus $15.00/10,000 sq ft, and a Sign Permit at $0.75/sq ft with a $50.00 minimum. A genuinely separate 'Public Occupancy Permit' (effective 1/1/2022, issued jointly by Planning and Inspections and the Fire Marshal) prices by building-code occupancy classification, with no fee stated for Mercantile/Business/Storage occupancies under 10,000 sq ft. A Fire Prevention Permit for fire alarm/sprinkler/suppression system work is confirmed at $25.00/$1,000 of cost with a $150.00 minimum, cross-confirmed across two City documents. A $60.00 Zoning Verification Letter fee is confirmed; a Zoning Board of Adjustment variance and a Planning Commission conditional-use review both exist, and no current fee for either is published in the City's current fee documents. Food-safety permitting is by Delaware's Office of Food Protection. The City's Business License Application prices food trucks under its general Food Truck category, unlike Wilmington's two-tier structure.18 published records
• Newark, DENewark's own current 'Business Licenses' page confirms a City of Newark general business license, layered on top of Delaware's own state business license, administered by the Code Enforcement Division of the Planning and Development Department under Code of the City of Newark Chapter 13 (Fire Prevention and Taxation), Article VII (Business License), §§13-43 through 13-64 — a genuinely different administrative model than Dover's combined Planning and Inspections Department and Wilmington's dedicated Finance Department license division. The fee is a ratio formula: $1.00 multiplied by a class-specific 'license fee ratio' (20 classes, I-XX), plus an occupancy- or employee-based adjustment, plus a flat $5.00 technology fee, plus an additional $35.00 Downtown Partnership fee for businesses located specifically in Downtown Newark. Confirmed class matches: restaurant is Class IV (ratio 255, non-alcohol sit-down; alcohol-serving restaurants fall into higher Classes XIV-XVI, ratios 550-2,950), retail store is Class II (ratio 170), auto repair is Class VI (ratio 150), veterinary is Class VIII ('medical offices,' its own text explicitly naming 'veterinary hospitals,' ratio 157), and salon is Class IX ('Personal services,' explicitly naming 'barbers, health and beauty care,' ratio 100). Coffee shop is recorded under Class I ('General mercantile (edible)...bakery-restaurant, deli and similar business,' ratio 190) as the closest named fit rather than an exact name. The ordinance's 20 classes name no fitness/health-club category, and the City's own application form states that Finance Department staff assign the class administratively rather than the applicant self-selecting one, so no specific fitness-studio fee is given here. Day care centers and preschools are explicitly exempt from this business license entirely (§13-59). Contractors and peddlers/vendors are also exempt from this ratio-based license because each is licensed under its own separate chapter instead: a flat $100.00 Contractor License (cross-confirmed from the Contractor License Application and the City's own current 2026 Fee Schedule) and a Peddlers/Vendors License ($50.00/day, $250.00/month, or $500.00/year) that is a food truck's confirmed local credential, alongside a mandatory $100.00/year Fire Safety Registration that explicitly names 'Mobile Food Trucks' among the occupancies required to register annually. Newark has no separate municipal fire department; fire prevention permitting and inspection is performed directly by 'Fire Protection Specialists' inside the Code Enforcement Division (informally titled the 'Office of the Fire Marshal' on the City's own forms), with the Delaware State Fire Marshal reaching in only for fire investigations — a further structural difference from Dover's and Wilmington's own separate Fire Marshal departments. A real, current (effective 1/1/2026) Code Enforcement Division Fee Schedule prices a Building Permit at $15.00/$1,000 of construction value up to $1,000,000 plus $8.00/$1,000 above that, a Certificate of Occupancy at $150.00 (single-occupancy commercial) or $125.00 per tenant (multi-occupancy), and an Annual Sign Fee of $1.25/sq ft with a $55.00 minimum. The City's Food Vendor Check List directs food vendors to the Delaware Division of Public Health for permits, and the City's list of its own departments names no municipal health department. Board of Adjustment variance and Special Use Permit fees are set by Code Sec. 32-3.1 as amended by Bill 24-29 (see the Zoning Board of Adjustment record).16 published records
• New Castle County, DENew Castle County, Delaware, seat Wilmington; population 588,093 (U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate). The county Department of Land Use licenses contractors (permit-endorsed building and utility contractors, and non-permit-endorsed contractors doing NAICS Sector 23 construction work), issues building, mechanical, plumbing and sign permits, certificates of occupancy and certificates of use under County Code Chapter 6, issues temporary limited use permits under the Unified Development Code (Chapter 40), and issues closing-out sale licenses under Chapter 8. The Department of Public Works runs the fats, oil and grease programme for commercial food establishments under §38.02.711. New Castle County Code §6.01.001 states that Chapter 6 "shall apply to the unincorporated territory of New Castle County, Delaware, and may apply to incorporated municipalities if by appropriate action of its governing body, any such governing body elects to be included in its application. Such jurisdictions are defined in Appendix 6 of this Chapter." The county's Contractor Licensing page states: "Any properties that are incorporated in a specific property tax area are not New Castle County's jurisdiction." The State of Delaware's Incorporated Municipalities page lists under New Castle County: Arden, Ardencroft, Ardentown, Bellefonte, Clayton, Delaware City, Elsmere, Middletown, New Castle, Newark, Newport, Odessa, Smyrna, Townsend and Wilmington (Clayton and Smyrna are marked as lying in more than one county). Each municipality runs its own licenses, zoning and permits, which stack on any county records that apply there and on the state records.9 published records
• Kent County, DEKent County, Delaware, seat Dover; population 192,690 (U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate). The county is governed by the Kent County Levy Court, whose Department of Planning Services is the building official under Kent County Code Chapter 105, which applies to the unincorporated area and to any municipality whose governing body elects to be included. The Division of Inspections and Enforcement issues building permits and certificates of occupancy, the Planning Division issues zoning certificates of use and administrative home business approvals under Chapter 205, and the Department of Public Works permits connections to the county central sewer system and grease interceptors and traps at food service facilities under Chapters 128 and 180. The county's Municipal Information page lists Camden, Cheswold, Clayton, Dover, Frederica, Harrington, Milford, Smyrna and Wyoming under "Towns Which Require Their Own Permits / No Permits are Required from Kent County, Delaware", and lists Bowers, Farmington, Felton, Hartly, Houston, Kenton, Leipsic, Little Creek, Magnolia, Viola and Woodside under "Towns Which Kent County Issues Building Permits, BUT Does NOT Enforce their Zoning" (those towns require a town permit or letter of approval before the county building permit). A business inside any of these 20 municipalities also applies to that town for its own licenses, zoning and permits, which stack on the county records that apply there and on the state records. Kent County Code §105-17A states: "Contractor's license. All contractors shall possess a current business license with the State of Delaware."7 published records
• Sussex County, DESussex County, Delaware, seat Georgetown; population 271,134 (U.S. Census Bureau 2024 estimate). The county's Permits and Licenses page states: "Among the types of permits and licenses the County issues are building permits, certificates of occupancy, and marriage licenses. Other permits and licenses, including business licenses, dog licenses, plumbing and electrical inspections, and septic permits are issued through municipal and/or state agencies." Under Sussex County Code Chapter 62, Article III the Assessment Division's building permit applies to all property owners in the county, including those inside municipalities where town permits are also required, and the county's Building Permits page states: "County permits are required for all construction activity regardless of whether in a municipality or the unincorporated areas of the county." The Building Code Office enforces the building code adopted under Chapter 52 in the unincorporated area and in 14 incorporated towns (Bethel, Blades, Bridgeville, Dagsboro, Dewey Beach, Ellendale, Fenwick Island, Frankford, Georgetown, Greenwood, Henlopen Acres, Ocean View, Slaughter Beach and South Bethany). Planning & Zoning administers zoning, site plans, sign permits and temporary vendor permits in the unincorporated area, and the Engineering Department's Utility Permits Division permits connections to County sewer and water districts. The county's Cities and Towns page lists 25 municipalities: Bethany Beach, Bethel, Blades, Bridgeville, Dagsboro, Delmar, Dewey Beach, Ellendale, Fenwick Island, Frankford, Georgetown, Greenwood, Henlopen Acres, Laurel, Lewes, Milford, Millsboro, Millville, Milton, Ocean View, Rehoboth Beach, Seaford, Selbyville, Slaughter Beach and South Bethany. A business inside one of them also applies to that municipality for its own licenses, zoning and permits, which stack on the county building permit and the state records.6 published records

Is there a single Delaware business license?

Who issues permits in Delaware?

• Delaware Department of State, Division of CorporationsEntity formation · Annual franchise tax and reports4 permits
• Delaware Division of RevenueBusiness licenses · Gross receipts tax4 permits
• Delaware Division of Public Health, Office of Food ProtectionFood establishment permits · Food protection manager certification2 permits
• Delaware Board of Cosmetology and Barbering, Division of Professional RegulationSalon and barbershop licensing1 permit
• Delaware Board of Electrical Examiners, Division of Professional RegulationElectrician licensing1 permit
• Delaware Board of Plumbing, Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration ExaminersPlumber and HVACR licensing1 permit
• Delaware Board of Veterinary Medicine, Division of Professional RegulationVeterinarian licensing1 permit
• Delaware Department of Education, Office of Child Care LicensingChild care facility licensing1 permit
• Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division of Air QualityAuto body shop air quality permits1 permit

By industry

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