Delaware Division of Corporations — contact & fees
Updated August 2026
Quick Answer
Delaware's business entity registrations are handled by the Division of Corporations within the Department of State. Delaware is unusually corporation-friendly by design — its General Corporation Law and Court of Chancery have made it the formation jurisdiction of choice for a large proportion of U.S. publicly traded companies and many venture-backed startups, regardless of where those companies actually operate.
Open Official Delaware Division of Corporations Portal ↗Office contact
- Street / courier address
- John G. Townsend Building, 401 Federal Street, Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901
- Mailing address
- Division of Corporations, PO Box 898, Dover, DE 19903
- Phone
- (302) 739-3073
- Corporations email
- corp@delaware.gov
- Franchise Tax email
- DOSDOC_Ftax@delaware.gov
- Phone hours
- Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (excluding state holidays)
- Document request service hours
- Mon–Thu 7:45 a.m.–11:59 p.m. / Fri 7:45 a.m.–10:30 p.m.
- Division homepage
- corp.delaware.gov
- Document request portal
- icis.corp.delaware.gov/ecorp2
Entity formation and filing fees
Fees below are from the Division's official fee schedule, revised August 1, 2026 under House Bill 400 (signed into law May 21, 2026). Verify current amounts at corp.delaware.gov/fee before filing. All fees are non-refundable. Delaware also charges separate expedited service fees — same-day service is $100–$200 depending on document type; 1-hour priority service is $1,000 per document and 2-hour priority is $500 per document (HB 400 raised the statutory maximums for these expedited tiers, but the published fee schedule had not been updated to the new maximums as of August 2026).
LLC — Certificate of Formation
- Standard fee
- $110
LLC — Annual Tax (due June 1 each year)
- Standard fee
- $300
Corporation — Certificate of Incorporation (base rate; increases with authorized stock)
- Standard fee
- $109
Corporation — Annual Report fee (non-exempt)
- Standard fee
- $50
Corporation — Franchise Tax (minimum, Authorized Shares Method)
- Standard fee
- $175
Exempt Corporation — Annual Report (no franchise tax)
- Standard fee
- $25
Limited Partnership or Limited Liability Partnership — filing
- Standard fee
- $200
LP / GP / LLP — Annual Tax
- Standard fee
- $300
Name Reservation (120 days, all entity types)
- Standard fee
- $75
Certificate of Good Standing — Short Form
- Standard fee
- $50
Certificate of Good Standing — Long Form
- Standard fee
- $175
Delaware's LLC Certificate of Formation fee is $110. Corporation fees are tiered by authorized capital — the $109 base applies to standard 1-page incorporations; the Division publishes fee calculators for larger stock authorizations. Name reservations cost $75 in Delaware, compared to $10–$25 in most states.
House Bill 400 also raises Delaware's flat annual entity taxes, effective for the 2026 tax year and first reflected in taxes due in 2027: the alternative-entity tax for LLCs, limited partnerships, and general partnerships rises from $300 to $400, and the per-partner tax for LLPs and LLLPs rises from $200 to $300 (subject to the applicable statutory cap). The $300 LLC/LP/GP annual tax and other amounts shown above are the rates in effect for tax year 2025, due June 1, 2026.
UCC filing, notary, and apostille services
The Division of Corporations handles UCC filings and apostilles, but not notary commissions:
- UCC search and filing — handled directly by the Division of Corporations, using the standard UCC filing fee schedule.
- Apostilles and authentications — $30 per document for regular service; expedited service runs $50 to $1,000 depending on turnaround.
- Notary public commissions — not handled here. Delaware notaries are appointed by the Governor, who may delegate that duty to the Secretary of State; the application fee is $60, non-refundable.
Source: Delaware Division of Corporations apostille and UCC pages (corp.delaware.gov); Delaware Code Title 29.
Key Delaware state licensing agencies
Delaware Division of Revenue
- What it covers
- Delaware business licenses (required to operate in Delaware), gross receipts tax, withholding tax, trade name registrations (DBAs moved here effective February 2, 2026)
- Website
- revenue.delaware.gov
Delaware One Stop Business Registration
- What it covers
- Consolidated portal for all state and local licenses, certificates, and registrations — including trade names since February 2026
- Website
- onestop.delaware.gov
First Steps Delaware
- What it covers
- Guidance portal for new businesses — step-by-step checklists for common business types
- Website
- firststeps.delaware.gov
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Delaware's LLC annual tax due, and how much is it?
It's due June 1 each year and is a flat $300 for tax year 2025. Under House Bill 400, that flat tax rises to $400 starting with the 2026 tax year, first reflected in taxes due in 2027.
How much does a Delaware business name reservation cost?
A Delaware name reservation costs $75 and lasts 120 days, across all entity types — notably higher than the $10 to $25 most other states charge for the same service.
How much does expedited filing cost with Delaware's Division of Corporations?
Same-day service runs $100–$200 depending on document type, 2-hour priority service is $500 per document, and 1-hour priority service is $1,000 per document — all on top of the standard filing fee, and non-refundable.