The Delaware Division of Corporations is the state agency that keeps the official record of every Delaware corporation, LLC, and partnership. If you incorporated in Delaware, or you are about to, corp.delaware.gov is where your company legally lives: names get searched, certificates get filed, franchise tax gets paid, and good standing gets proven there. The site is built for filers, not founders. This guide translates it, task by task, with the fees from the Division's schedule revised August 1, 2026.
The Division of Corporations, part of the Delaware Department of State, is the official registry for every Delaware corporation, LLC, and partnership.
A certificate of incorporation starts at $109 in state fees; an LLC certificate of formation is $110.
Delaware is famous for speed, but only if you pay for it: expedited service runs from $50 for 24-hour processing on a new formation up to $1,000 for one-hour service.
Corporations file a $50 annual report and pay franchise tax (minimum $175 under the Authorized Shares Method, $400 under the Assumed Par Value Capital Method, maximum $200,000) by March 1 each year. LLCs pay a flat $400 annual tax by June 1.
Certificates of good standing cost $50 (short form) or $175 (long form) and are the documents banks and investors ask for in diligence.
What is the Delaware Division of Corporations, and what does it charge?
The Delaware Division of Corporations is the state office, within the Delaware Department of State, that files formation documents, collects franchise taxes and annual reports, and issues certificates of good standing. Under its fee schedule revised August 1, 2026, a certificate of incorporation costs a $109 minimum, an LLC certificate of formation costs $110, and expedited processing on a new formation adds $50 for 24-hour or $100 for same-day service.
Every year after that, corporations owe a $50 annual report plus franchise tax (minimum $175, maximum $200,000) by March 1, and LLCs owe a flat $400 annual tax by June 1, according to the Division. Figures are as of October 17, 2026.
Best for founders forming a Delaware C-corp who want their company formed and a business account opened in the same flow, subject to approval: Rho Incorporation forms Delaware C-corps for $400. When you incorporate a Delaware C-corp with Rho, at least one owner or officer must be US-based, the company needs a US operating address, and the business must be in an eligible industry to open the account. Rho also forms LLCs for $349 all in, state filing fee included.
We assess formation options on price, what's included, and whether a business account can open in the same flow as formation.
What the Division of Corporations does
The Division of Corporations sits within the Delaware Department of State, under the Secretary of State. Its core job is maintaining the official record of every business entity formed or registered in Delaware. Concretely, it:
Accepts and records formation documents, amendments, mergers, and dissolutions
Maintains the public database of entity names, file numbers, and registered agents
Collects franchise taxes and annual reports
Issues certificates of good standing and certified copies
What it does not do matters just as much. The Division does not give legal advice, help you pick an entity type, prepare your bylaws, or get you an EIN. It records what you file; everything upstream and downstream is on you or the service you use.
Common tasks at a glance
Task | Where | State fee |
|---|---|---|
Search entity names | icis.corp.delaware.gov (General Information Name Search) | Free |
Reserve a name (120 days) | Online name reservation | $75 |
File a certificate of incorporation | Document Filing and Certificate Request Service, mail, or via a registered agent or formation service | From $109 |
File an LLC certificate of formation | Same | $110 |
24-hour expedited processing | Add to a new formation filing | $50 |
Same-day processing | Add to a new formation filing | $100 |
Two-hour (Priority 2) processing | Per document or request | $500 |
One-hour (Priority 1) processing | Per document or request | $1,000 |
Corporation annual report + franchise tax | Online franchise tax portal, due March 1 | $50 report + franchise tax (min $175, max $200,000) |
LLC annual tax | Online, due June 1 | $400 |
Certificate of good standing (short form) | Order online or through your agent | $50 |
Certificate of good standing (long form) | Same | $175 |
Certified copy of a filed document | Same | $50 + $2/page |
Change registered agent | Certificate of change filing | $50 |
Expedite fees for filings other than new formations are higher ($100 for 24-hour, $200 for same-day), and all expedite fees are added on top of the base filing fee. Source: the Division's fee schedule revised August 1, 2026, as of October 17, 2026.
Searching whether your company name is available
Before you file anything, check that your name is free. The Division's General Information Name Search (linked from corp.delaware.gov, hosted at icis.corp.delaware.gov) is free and searches every entity on record.
A few tips founders learn the hard way:
Search variations. Your name must be distinguishable from existing entities, not merely different by a suffix.
Corporate names need a designator such as Inc., Corporation, Company, or Ltd. LLC names must contain "Limited Liability Company," "L.L.C.," or "LLC."
A free Delaware name tells you nothing about trademarks or domains. Clear those separately.
Not ready to file? $75 reserves an available name for 120 days.
The same page is also the fastest way to look up any Delaware company's file number, formation date, and registered agent.
Filing a certificate of incorporation or formation
The formation document for a corporation is the certificate of incorporation (what other states call articles of incorporation); for an LLC it is the certificate of formation. Three ways to get it filed:
The Division's Document Filing and Certificate Request Service on corp.delaware.gov, which accepts filings online.
Mail with a filing cover memo, the slowest option.
Through a registered agent or formation service, which is how most startups actually file. You need a Delaware registered agent on the certificate anyway, so this route adds no extra prerequisite.
Fees. The minimum state fee is $109 for a stock corporation, plus $9 for each page beyond the first, and $110 for an LLC. The corporate fee rises with authorized shares, which is why startup lawyers set 10,000,000 authorized shares at a tiny par value to stay near the minimum.
Timing. Standard processing has no published turnaround and can take from several days to a few weeks depending on backlog. The expedite menu is how you control it: $50 gets a new formation processed in 24 hours, $100 gets same-day processing, and $500 or $1,000 buys two-hour or one-hour turnaround for genuine emergencies like a closing. For a routine incorporation, 24-hour service is the sweet spot.
Our Delaware C corp guide covers what goes in the certificate itself; if you are forming an LLC instead, see the Delaware LLC formation guide.
Annual report and franchise tax portal
This is the page of corp.delaware.gov you will visit every year. Delaware corporations must file an annual report and pay franchise tax by March 1, both in one sitting through the Division's Pay Taxes / File Annual Report page. You will need your file number from the name search.
The annual report costs $50 and asks for basics: principal place of business, directors, and one officer. The franchise tax depends on the calculation method. The Authorized Shares Method has a $175 minimum but scales brutally with share count; the Assumed Par Value Capital Method has a $400 minimum and is almost always right for a startup with 10,000,000 authorized shares, often cutting a five-figure default bill to the $400 minimum. Either way, the maximum is $200,000. The portal shows the scary number first, so recalculate before you panic. Our Delaware franchise tax guide walks through both methods with examples.
LLCs skip the annual report and pay a flat $400 annual tax by June 1, per the Division's LLC tax page. Miss either deadline and the state adds a $200 penalty plus 1.5% monthly interest, and your company loses good standing until you catch up.
Ordering certificates of good standing and certified copies
A certificate of good standing is the state's official confirmation that your entity exists and is current on its obligations. Banks ask for it when opening accounts, investors ask for it at closings, and other states require it for foreign qualification.
Short form ($50): confirms existence and good standing. What almost everyone needs.
Long form ($175): additionally lists every document ever filed. Occasionally requested in M&A diligence.
Certified copies ($50 plus $2 per page): state-certified duplicates of filed documents, most commonly your certificate of incorporation, which banks and payroll providers sometimes want.
Order through the Division directly or, more conveniently, through your registered agent. Expedited processing is available here too ($40 for 24-hour or $50 for same-day on a short-form good standing, on top of the certificate fee). The state will not issue a good standing certificate while franchise tax is unpaid, so check your status before a closing, not during it.
Contacting the Division
Phone: (302) 739-3073 for filing questions, fee confirmations, and status checks
Address: Division of Corporations, 401 Federal Street, Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901
Phone hours: operators are available 8:00am to 4:30pm ET, Monday through Friday, excluding state holidays
Website: corp.delaware.gov, with the name search, document upload, fee schedule, and franchise tax portal linked from the homepage
Staff are responsive by state-agency standards, but they discuss procedure only, not what you should file.
Where Rho fits
Everything above is what happens under the hood when you incorporate. If you would rather not learn a state filing system to start a company, Rho Incorporation files an attorney-reviewed Delaware C-corp for $400, with the registered agent covered for the first year, your EIN application filed for you, and 83(b) election support. C-corp filings take about 24 hours, with the clock starting the next business day after you submit. Rho also forms LLCs for $349 all in, state filing fee included.
When you incorporate a Delaware C-corp with Rho, your Rho business account opens in the same flow, subject to approval: banking, invoicing, cards, and bill pay, all live the moment your account is approved. To open the account, at least one owner or officer must be US-based, the company needs a US operating address, and the business must be in an eligible industry.