Does Delaware require a state contractor license bond?

No. Delaware has no statewide general-contractor license and no state license bond — a contractor registers a business license with the Division of Revenue instead. The only state-level surety is the nonresident contractor tax bond, which an out-of-state contractor files with the Department of Finance under 30 Del. C. § 375 to guarantee Delaware taxes on a job. The contractor bonds that Delaware requires are set by its counties and cities, led by New Castle County’s building-contractor class system.

Which Delaware contractor bonds have a fixed amount set by law?

The codified ones include the New Castle County building classes ($200,000 / $150,000 / $50,000 / $25,000) and its trade bonds ($25,000 HVACR, $50,000 outside utility, $10,000 for master plumber, decorative appliance, and sewer and drain cleaner); the City of New Castle bonded-occupation bond ($10,000); the Wilmington master plumber ($3,000) and HVAC ($1,500) bonds; the Seaford excavator ($20,000) and plumbing ($5,000) bonds; the Dover street-opening bond (a $5,000 maximum per opening); and the Rehoboth Beach demolition bond (20% of cost, $2,000 minimum) and building-relocation bond ($20,000). Where a jurisdiction sets the amount administratively or by formula — Newark, Lewes, Milford, Bethany Beach, Georgetown, Harrington, and the nonresident tax bond — the requirement is listed without a fixed price.

Who needs the Delaware nonresident contractor tax bond?

An out-of-state contractor performing a Delaware contract uses it to guarantee Delaware taxes — income tax, business license tax, unemployment contributions, and withholding — on the job, filed with the Department of Finance under 30 Del. C. § 375. The amount is a percentage of the contract price rather than a fixed figure, and a cash bond or bank letter of credit is an accepted alternative, so we list it without a price.

Delaware Surety Bonds

Contractor License & Permit Bonds in Delaware

Find the exact license, permit, right-of-way, or public-works bond your Delaware obligee requires — by city, county, and the state. License and permit bonds issue online.

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How contractor bonding works in Delaware

Delaware inverts the pattern — its counties and cities bond contractors, the state does not

Delaware is a small state that runs its contractor bonding backwards from its neighbors. There is no statewide general-contractor license and no state license bond; a contractor registers a business license with the Division of Revenue and, at the state layer, only an out-of-state contractor posts a bond — the Division of Revenue nonresident contractor tax bond. But unlike Connecticut, Maryland, or New Jersey, Delaware’s counties and cities genuinely bond contractors with codified schedules. New Castle County’s building-contractor class system is the anchor, and around it sit the City of New Castle’s bonded-occupation bond, Wilmington’s trade license bonds, Newark’s administrative class scheme, and a downstate layer of street-opening and right-of-way bonds. We cover that county-and-city depth jurisdiction by jurisdiction, plus statewide general-use products for the long tail.

No statewide contractor license bond — the state layer is the nonresident tax bond

A contractor searching for a “Delaware contractor license bond” will not find a statewide one, and that is the accurate answer rather than a gap. Delaware licenses contractors through a Division of Revenue business license, not a surety bond, and resident contractors post no bond at the state level. The electrical and plumbing trades are licensed centrally by the Division of Professional Regulation — again without a state bond; where those trades are bonded, it is a county or city that requires it. The one state-level surety is the nonresident contractor tax bond under 30 Del. C. § 375: an out-of-state contractor files it with the Department of Finance to guarantee Delaware taxes on a job, and because the amount is a percentage of the contract price rather than a fixed figure — and a cash bond or bank letter of credit is an accepted alternative — we list it without a price.

New Castle County’s class system is the anchor

New Castle County codifies its contractor bonds in the Chapter 6 building code and its Department of Land Use bond schedule, and the amounts are fixed by class. A permit-endorsed building contractor posts a bond set by license class: Class U (unlimited project value) $200,000, Class A $150,000, Class B $50,000, and Class C $25,000. The county bonds the trades separately, each at a codified amount — the HVACR contractor at $25,000, the outside utility contractor at $50,000, and the master plumber, decorative appliance contractor, and sewer and drain cleaner each at $10,000. Every one is a Statutory Compliance Bond naming the County as beneficiary, renewed with the annual license.

The City of New Castle, Wilmington, and Newark

Three of New Castle County’s municipalities run their own contractor bonds — and the City of New Castle is a different jurisdiction from the county that surrounds it. The City of New Castle requires a single $10,000 bond of any “bonded occupation,” a broad list from general contractor to plumber to excavator, under Chapter 156 of its code. Wilmington bonds its trades individually through the Department of Licenses and Inspections: a master plumber posts $3,000 and an air-conditioning or heating contractor $1,500. Newark requires a contractor license bond too, in a class matching the work — minor renovation, general contracting, or subcontracting — but its Code Enforcement Division sets those amounts administratively rather than in the ordinance, so we list the requirement and name the classes without quoting a figure every contractor must post.

Downstate and beach-town street-opening bonds

Below New Castle County, the pattern shifts to street-opening, excavation, and right-of-way bonds. Seaford is the strongest example, codifying both an excavator bond at $20,000 and a plumbing bond at $5,000. The capital, Dover, sets a street opening bond at a codified maximum of $5,000 per opening, and Rehoboth Beach codifies a demolition bond at 20% of the demolition cost with a $2,000 minimum, plus a $20,000 building-relocation bond for moving a building over its streets. Other towns set the amount by formula or leave it to the local authority — the Milford right-of-way bond runs to the full cost of the work, the Bethany Beach and Georgetown street bonds track the restoration cost, the Harrington bond is set by City Council, and the Lewes plumbing bond is set by its Board of Public Works — so for those we list the requirement without a fixed price.

Statewide general-use bonds for the long tail

Delaware’s codified county and city bonds establish two clear patterns that repeat beyond the jurisdictions we carry on their own pages: the contractor license bond and the street-opening bond. For an obligee not listed individually, two statewide general-use products cover the gap — the Delaware contractor license bond and the Delaware street opening bond. Each is confirmed with the issuing county or municipality when you start it, so we list these without a fixed amount.

Delaware bonds we write

Contractor License & Permit Bonds

Statewide

Delaware Nonresident Contractor Tax Bond — Delaware Department of Finance, Division of Revenue · Portal

Statewide / General-Use Bonds

Delaware Contractor License Bond (General Use) — Various Delaware county and municipal licensing authorities · Portal
Delaware Street Opening Bond (General Use) — Various Delaware municipal public-works / permitting authorities · Portal

County

New Castle County Building Contractor License Bond — New Castle County Department of Land Use, Office of the Code Official · Varies
New Castle County Decorative Appliance Contractor Bond — New Castle County Department of Land Use, Office of the Code Official · $10,000
New Castle County HVACR Contractor Bond — New Castle County Department of Land Use, Office of the Code Official · $25,000
New Castle County Master Plumber Bond — New Castle County Department of Land Use, Office of the Code Official · $10,000
New Castle County Outside Utility Contractor Bond — New Castle County Department of Land Use, Office of the Code Official · $50,000
New Castle County Sewer & Drain Cleaner Bond — New Castle County Department of Land Use, Office of the Code Official · $10,000

City

City of Dover Street Opening Bond — City of Dover (City Manager) · Varies
City of Harrington Street Construction Bond — City of Harrington (City Council) · Portal
City of Lewes Plumbing License Bond — City of Lewes (City Council; bond approved by the Board of Public Works) · Portal
City of Milford Right-of-Way Construction Bond — City of Milford (City Manager) · Portal
City of New Castle Contractor License Bond — City of New Castle (Building Department) · $10,000
City of Rehoboth Beach Building-Relocation Bond — City of Rehoboth Beach (City Manager) · $20,000
City of Rehoboth Beach Demolition Bond — City of Rehoboth Beach (City Manager) · Varies
City of Seaford Excavator Bond — City of Seaford · $20,000
City of Seaford Plumbing Bond — City of Seaford · $5,000
City of Wilmington HVAC Contractor License Bond — City of Wilmington Department of Licenses and Inspections (Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections) · $1,500
City of Wilmington Master Plumber License Bond — City of Wilmington Department of Licenses and Inspections (Commissioner of Licenses and Inspections) · $3,000
Newark Contractor License Bond — City of Newark Code Enforcement Division, Department of Planning and Development · Portal
Town of Bethany Beach Street Opening Bond — Town of Bethany Beach · Portal
Town of Georgetown Street Excavation Bond — Town of Georgetown (Town Manager) · Portal

Underwritten bonds in Delaware

Bid, performance, and payment bonds are individually underwritten — request a quote rather than the instant portal:

Delaware surety bond FAQ

Does Delaware require a state contractor license bond?: No. Delaware has no statewide general-contractor license and no state license bond — a contractor registers a business license with the Division of Revenue instead. The only state-level surety is the nonresident contractor tax bond, which an out-of-state contractor files with the Department of Finance under 30 Del. C. § 375 to guarantee Delaware taxes on a job. The contractor bonds that Delaware requires are set by its counties and cities, led by New Castle County’s building-contractor class system.
What is the New Castle County building contractor bond?: It is a Statutory Compliance Bond a permit-endorsed contractor posts to New Castle County, with the amount fixed by license class: Class U (unlimited project value) $200,000, Class A $150,000, Class B $50,000, and Class C $25,000. The county bonds the trades separately at codified amounts — HVACR $25,000, outside utility $50,000, and master plumber, decorative appliance, and sewer and drain cleaner $10,000 each.
Which Delaware contractor bonds have a fixed amount set by law?: The codified ones include the New Castle County building classes ($200,000 / $150,000 / $50,000 / $25,000) and its trade bonds ($25,000 HVACR, $50,000 outside utility, $10,000 for master plumber, decorative appliance, and sewer and drain cleaner); the City of New Castle bonded-occupation bond ($10,000); the Wilmington master plumber ($3,000) and HVAC ($1,500) bonds; the Seaford excavator ($20,000) and plumbing ($5,000) bonds; the Dover street-opening bond (a $5,000 maximum per opening); and the Rehoboth Beach demolition bond (20% of cost, $2,000 minimum) and building-relocation bond ($20,000). Where a jurisdiction sets the amount administratively or by formula — Newark, Lewes, Milford, Bethany Beach, Georgetown, Harrington, and the nonresident tax bond — the requirement is listed without a fixed price.
Who needs the Delaware nonresident contractor tax bond?: An out-of-state contractor performing a Delaware contract uses it to guarantee Delaware taxes — income tax, business license tax, unemployment contributions, and withholding — on the job, filed with the Department of Finance under 30 Del. C. § 375. The amount is a percentage of the contract price rather than a fixed figure, and a cash bond or bank letter of credit is an accepted alternative, so we list it without a price.

Nate Jones, CPCU · Founder, Wexford Bonds

Nate Jones is a CPCU-designated surety bond producer and the founder of Wexford Insurance, LLC and Wexford Bonds. He places bonds through a panel of 10 sureties across 48 U.S. states. Call 317-942-0549 or email info@wexfordbonds.com.

Last updated June 23, 2026 · Reviewed by Nate Jones, CPCU · Contact a producer

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