Garage door rules & licensing in Delaware

Delaware Division of Revenue (Department of Finance) — official site

A business license from the Division of Revenue, not a trade license. The Division states: "Any contractors conducting business activity in Delaware are required to register with and obtain a business license from the Delaware Division of Revenue." 30 Del. C. Sec. 2501(1) defines "contractor" to include every person furnishing labor or labor and materials for construction, alteration, repairing, dismantling or demolition of buildings and every other type of structure, whether general contractor or subcontractor, resident or nonresident. No exam or trade qualification is imposed.

No job-value threshold triggers the license - it is required of any person engaging in business as a contractor in Delaware. 30 Del. C. Sec. 2502(a) sets an initial license fee of $75. Sec. 2502(c) adds a gross receipts license fee of 0.6472% of aggregate gross receipts, payable monthly with a $100,000 monthly deduction (quarterly filing with a $300,000 quarterly deduction is allowed where lookback gross receipts do not exceed $1,500,000).

No bond requirement appears in 30 Del. C. ch. 25 for resident contractors. For non-residents, the Division of Revenue's contractors page publishes non-resident forms: "Non-Resident Contractor - Bond", "Non-Resident Contractor - Cash Bond Receipt Form", "Non-Resident Contractor - Irrevocable Letter of Credit", and "Non-Resident Contractor - Letter for Contract Under $ 20,000", and directs bonding questions to a named Division contact. The exact bond amount is not stated on the page.

There is no single mandatory statewide building code. 16 Del. C. Sec. 7601: "The Levy Court of Kent County and the County Councils of New Castle County and Sussex County may adopt and enforce building codes, plumbing codes, electrical codes or other similar codes." Sec. 7602(a) requires county and municipal building codes to meet the most recent ICC International Energy Conservation Code within 12 months of adoption by the Delaware Energy Office. Building permits for a garage door therefore come from the county or municipality where the work is done.