Do you need a business license in Delaware? Most businesses operating there do.
Businesses with a location, staff or sales made in Delaware. Forming in Delaware isn't doing business there, so a Delaware company run from abroad doesn't need one.
Checked by the BaseAcross team.
Delaware at a glance
- General licence
- YesDelaware business license
- Run from abroad
- Not neededOnly with a location there
- Sales tax
- NoneNo state sales tax
- Federal licence
- NoneOnly regulated activities
Business licences in Delaware
What Delaware asks of a business, and what that means for one run from abroad.
Delaware business license Businesses with a location, staff or sales made in Delaware. $75 a year for the first location in most categories. Issued by the Delaware Division of Revenue. The official page.
If you run it from abroad. Forming in Delaware isn't doing business there, so a Delaware company run from abroad doesn't need one.
Sales tax. Delaware has no sales tax. It taxes a business's gross receipts instead, through the same licence.
Cities and counties. Some Delaware cities, such as Wilmington, add their own licence.
Regulated work. Alcohol, food, health, finance, transport and the licensed professions bring their own federal or state licences, wherever you're based. The lookup below lists them.
What does your company need?
Set to a company formed in Delaware and run from abroad. Change any answer.
Your answer
Nothing to apply for right now.
Based on your answers, no licence is needed today. Below is what would change that, and what you can stop worrying about.
You'll need later, if this happens· 1
A licence in a state you sell into a lot
Only Alaska, Hawaii, Washington, West Virginia reach a seller with no presence. Every other state doesn't.
Alaska: Alaska expects a licence if any part of your business happens in Alaska, so check before you sell there regularly. Hawaii: You need one once you have $100,000 of sales or 200 transactions with Hawaii customers in a year, even with no presence there. Washington: You need one once you have more than $100,000 a year of sales to Washington customers, even with no presence there. West Virginia: You need one once you have to collect West Virginia's sales tax, which for a remote seller starts at its sales threshold.
You don't need· 5
A Delaware business license (Delaware)
Forming in Delaware isn't doing business there, so a Delaware company run from abroad doesn't need one.
A city licence where you have no office
City and county licences are for businesses located there. A company run from abroad isn't located in a US city.
A seller's permit before you have to collect sales tax
A seller's permit is a sales tax registration, not a licence to sell. You need one in a state once you have to collect its tax.
A licence to form your company
Forming an LLC or corporation is a filing, not a licence. Your EIN is a tax number, not a licence either.
A general federal business licence
There isn't one. The US licenses specific activities, such as alcohol, firearms and broadcasting, not businesses in general.
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Delaware has a Delaware business license, from the Delaware Division of Revenue. Businesses with a location, staff or sales made in Delaware. It costs $75 a year for the first location in most categories.
Forming in Delaware isn't doing business there, so a Delaware company run from abroad doesn't need one.
Delaware has no sales tax. It taxes a business's gross receipts instead, through the same licence.
Some Delaware cities, such as Wilmington, add their own licence. A company with no office or staff in Delaware isn't located in any of them.
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