Delaware rules for contractor contracts, calls and tax

Delaware has fewer marketing-specific rules than some states, which makes the ones it has easier to miss. The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit regulates home improvement contracts, the Delaware Code regulates telemarketing separately from federal law, two criminal statutes disagree about call recording, and the tax that appears on your books is a gross receipts tax, not a sales tax. Below are the Delaware rules that reach your site, phones and mailing list, and a plain statement wherever Delaware has none. Federal rules still apply; read it alongside our TCPA guide and the call recording guide. Facts are as of October 2026.

No license number rule, but a registry that customers can search

We found no Delaware statute that requires a license or registration number in advertising. What Delaware does require is registration. Under the Delaware Contractor Registration Act (19 Del. C. ch. 36), contractors must register with the Department of Labor before doing construction services or maintenance, and the definition of construction services includes clearing and landscaping, including tree cutting. Application requires proof of Delaware workers' compensation insurance, a state business license, a tax identification number and a compliant safety plan. The initial annual fee is $200 for a contractor without a state public-works contract, as listed in § 3605(c) in October 2026. A knowing violation draws a civil penalty of $5,000 to $85,000 per violation, and a violation that is not knowing, up to $1,000.

The Consumer Protection Unit points homeowners to the contractor registry at contractorregistry.delaware.gov, so your registration shows up when a customer checks. Putting the registration on your website is a practical trust signal, though no statute we found requires it. See our Delaware contractor license guide for the trades, the business license and the gross receipts tax.

Delaware's home improvement regulation shapes online quotes

The Consumer Protection Unit publishes a summary of the Home Improvement Services regulation (revised October 31, 2023). It says consumers must receive a written home improvement contract that contains all material terms, and an approximate completion date unless the contract clearly discloses that none will be given. The contractor must fill in all relevant final terms before the customer signs, and cannot require the customer to sign a contract that would not also bind the contractor. The summary adds that the customer must be given the contractor's name, address, telephone number, website (if any) and email address.

Several practices are off the table, and they matter for quote forms and estimate emails:

• Representing that a binding contract is only an estimate.
• Telling a customer they were specifically selected for a discount when that is not so.
• Putting in a liquidated damages term that is the same regardless of how much work was done.
• Deceiving a customer into thinking a down payment is the full amount owed.
• Telling a customer that fixtures or materials are dangerous or defective when they are not.

If you do not intend your salespeople's oral promises to bind you, the regulation requires the disclaimer on a separate page of the contract. Express warranties must be in the contract, and any warranty disclaimer must be clear, conspicuous and initialed. If you price cost-plus, the contract must say so and give the method and a good faith estimate. Build these terms into your estimate template, and compare it with the general checklist in our service contract guide.

Door-to-door and phone sales carry a three day cancellation right

Chapter 44 of Title 6 (the Home Solicitation Sales Act) covers sales of consumer goods or services for $25 or more where the seller personally solicits and the buyer agrees somewhere other than the seller's place of business. Section 4404(1) requires the seller to state that the buyer may cancel any time before midnight of the third business day. The chapter also covers telephone sales unless an exception applies. The exceptions include a buyer-initiated contact for goods or services needed in a bona fide immediate personal emergency (with a signed, handwritten waiver of cancellation), a sale the buyer initiated that is completed entirely by mail or telephone, and buyer-requested home repairs or maintenance, except for added goods or services beyond necessary replacement parts. A customer who calls you for a repair, then agrees to a bigger job on your visit, may land back inside the rule. Handle that by giving the cancellation notice on any upsell you sell on site.

Organized telemarketing needs registration

Chapter 25A of Title 6 applies to a seller that uses telemarketing, meaning a program of soliciting sales by telephone. Under § 2503A, unless exempt, no person may transact business with a customer located in Delaware through telemarketing as a seller or telemarketing business without a certificate of registration from the Consumer Protection Unit's Director. The exemptions in § 2505A include solicitations where sale and payment wait until after a face-to-face presentation, communications initiated by a customer that are not the result of a solicitation, and business-to-business sales. So inbound calls from your own marketing do not count, but a team that cold-calls homeowners about services may.

Telemarketers must tell the customer at the start of the call that the purpose is to sell specific merchandise, give their name and the seller's name, and describe the merchandise accurately (§ 2506A). Each sale is only final seven business days after the customer receives a written cancellation notice. Section 2507A bars willfully calling or contacting a customer about a sale for 10 years after the customer tells you to stop. Selling by an unregistered, nonexempt seller is voidable, and customers may recover actual and punitive damages and attorney's fees (§ 2508A).

Delaware's recording statutes point in two directions

The wiretap law, 11 Del. C. § 2402(c)(4), lets a party to the call, or someone with a party's prior consent, intercept it. The privacy statute, 11 Del. C. § 1335(a)(4), makes it an offense to intercept a private telephone message or conversation without all parties' consent. With two statutes and no court ruling that settles a business line, the careful setup is an announcement that opens every call and tells the caller it is being recorded. That covers the office line, tracking numbers and AI answering. Compare other states in our call recording table.

Gross receipts tax on your invoices, and no card fee statute

The Division of Revenue describes the gross receipts tax as a tax on a business's total gross revenue, levied on the seller of goods or services instead of the consumer. As listed in October 2026, contractors exclude the first $100,000 a month, and the rate list shows 0.6472 percent for contractors. The Division's page does not say whether you may itemize the tax on a customer invoice, so ask the Division or your accountant before adding a line for it. For other states, use the sales tax table.

We found no Delaware statute that bans or limits a credit card surcharge. Senate Bill 89 of the 153rd General Assembly would bar a seller from adding a surcharge above the card company's processing fee on transactions of $1,500 or less. The legislature's site showed it in Senate Executive committee since May 15, 2025, with no later action, and a bill that stalls can lapse when the General Assembly ends. Card network rules and federal rules on debit cards still apply, so check your processor's terms before adding a fee, and see online payments for contractors.

The state privacy act: 35,000 consumers today, 10,000 in 2027

The Delaware Personal Data Privacy Act, 6 Del. C. ch. 12D, applies under § 12D-103 to persons doing business in Delaware or targeting Delaware residents who, in the preceding calendar year, controlled or processed the personal data of at least 35,000 consumers (excluding data used only for payments), or at least 10,000 consumers while deriving more than 20 percent of gross revenue from selling personal data. The Delaware Code shows a later version effective January 1, 2027, with thresholds of 10,000 consumers, or 5,000 consumers with the same revenue test, and it also names third parties that acquire personal data from a controller. A small contractor is unlikely to reach these counts, but a company with a large email or lead list should count.

What this means for your setup

• Website: display your contractor registration, put your name, address, phone, website and email on every estimate and contract, and keep estimate wording from calling a binding price "just an estimate."
• Phone line: record only after the opening announcement.
• AI receptionist: script the recording notice first; see the AI receptionist service.
• Email and texts: honor every stop request (Delaware's telemarketing chapter bars contact for 10 years after a customer says stop), and register before running an outbound calling campaign.

This is general information, not legal advice. Delaware rules shift over time. Check the present wording with the Consumer Protection Unit, the Department of Labor or an attorney.

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