Delaware Marriage Laws: Requirements, License, and Divorce

Delaware marriage laws require both people to be at least 18, allow residents and non-residents alike to marry, impose a 24-hour waiting period after the license is issued, and recognize same-sex marriage. The license comes from the Clerk of the Peace in any of the state’s three counties and costs roughly $70 for residents and $120 for non-residents. Delaware does not require blood tests or counseling, but it does criminalize bigamy and lying on the application, and it limits divorce to a single ground: irretrievable breakdown.

Who Can Legally Marry in Delaware

Both applicants must be 18 or older. Older guidance that referenced parental consent for 16- and 17-year-olds is out of date. Anyone under 18 now needs a Family Court judge’s order before a license can issue, and the judge weighs the minor’s best interests, the wishes of the minor and their parents or guardians, the mental and physical health of both parties, any criminal history, and whether the marriage would violate other Delaware laws.¹

Delaware has no residency requirement. You can live anywhere in the country or abroad and still get a license here. There are no blood tests or premarital counseling requirements either.

Some relationships are off-limits regardless of age or consent. Marriage between a person and their ancestor, descendant, sibling, half-sibling, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or first cousin is void in Delaware, even if the marriage was performed in another state or country.² A marriage is also voidable if either party already has a living spouse.

Same-Sex Marriage

Same-sex couples have full marriage rights in Delaware. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges requires every state to license and recognize marriages between two people of the same sex,³ and the 2022 Respect for Marriage Act requires federal and state recognition of marriages valid in the state where they were performed, regardless of the sex, race, or ethnicity of the spouses.⁴

Common Law Marriage

Delaware’s statute preserves “otherwise lawful” common law marriages, meaning the state will not invalidate one simply because the couple never obtained a license.⁵ In practice, Delaware does not offer a straightforward way to create a new common law marriage inside the state, and courts have generally read the provision as recognizing common law marriages validly formed in states that still allow them. If you think you may already be in one, talk to a Delaware family law attorney before relying on it.

Getting a Delaware Marriage License

Both applicants must appear together, in person, at a Clerk of the Peace office in any of Delaware’s three counties: New Castle, Kent, or Sussex. The application cannot be completed entirely online.⁶ Each applicant brings valid government-issued photo identification such as a driver’s license, state ID, passport, or military ID.⁷

If either applicant has been divorced, the Clerk of the Peace must see a certified copy of the divorce decree, or a certificate from the court that granted it, before issuing the new license.² This is also the state’s built-in guard against accidental bigamy.

Fees

The fee depends on residency. Kent County, for example, charges Delaware residents $70 and non-residents $120, cash only.⁸ Fees can vary slightly by county, so confirm the exact amount with the office where you plan to apply.

Waiting Period and How Long the License Lasts

A mandatory 24-hour waiting period follows issuance. After that, the license is valid for 30 days. Miss that window and the license expires: you apply and pay again. If you already know you need more time, you can purchase an extension of 30, 60, or 90 days for an additional fee.⁶

Who Can Perform the Ceremony

Delaware law is specific about who may solemnize a marriage, and using an unauthorized officiant can invalidate the marriage. Under Title 13, Section 106, the following people are authorized:⁹

Clergy or ministers of any religion, provided they are registered with the Clerk of the Peace in the county where they reside, or for out-of-state clergy, in the county where the ceremony will take place.
Current or former judges of Delaware’s Supreme Court, Superior Court, Family Court, Court of Chancery, Court of Common Pleas, or Justice of the Peace Court.
Current or former federal judges or magistrates with jurisdiction over Delaware.
The current or former Clerk of the Peace, but only within the county where they hold or held office.
The mayor or equivalent chief executive of an incorporated Delaware municipality, but only within that municipality’s boundaries.

With a showing of good cause, the Clerk of the Peace can also give written authorization to an out-of-state judge or a Clerk of the Peace from another Delaware county to officiate.¹⁰

Every ceremony, whether religious or secular, needs at least two witnesses who are 18 or older and who sign the marriage certificate.

Returning the Signed Certificate

After the ceremony, the officiant must return the signed marriage certificate to the issuing Clerk of the Peace within 15 days. Missing that deadline triggers a $50 late fee.¹¹ If you want your marriage recorded promptly, remind your officiant of this deadline.

Criminal Penalties for Marriage Violations

Bigamy

Marrying someone while you or they already have a living spouse is bigamy, a class G felony in Delaware. The statute reaches anyone who “purports to contract” a marriage, so going through a wedding ceremony knowing the marriage cannot be legal is itself criminal.¹² A conviction carries possible imprisonment and a permanent felony record.

False Statements on the Application

Knowingly answering falsely on a marriage license application after being sworn to answer truthfully is perjury under Delaware law, which also covers falsely executing any related document.¹³ Perjury is a felony in Delaware, so lying about age, prior marriages, or identity can produce serious criminal exposure in addition to invalidating the marriage.

Ending a Delaware Marriage

Divorce

Delaware recognizes a single ground for divorce: that the marriage is irretrievably broken. There is no separate fault track. The statute lists four ways to show the marriage is irretrievably broken:¹⁴

Voluntary separation, where both spouses agreed to live apart.
Misconduct by one spouse that caused the separation.
Mental illness of a spouse that caused the separation.
Incompatibility, where the spouses simply cannot live together.

Couples generally must live separately for at least six months before a court will grant the divorce. A practical nuance: bona fide reconciliation attempts, including temporarily sharing a bedroom or resuming sexual relations, do not reset the separation clock, as long as the couple has not shared a bedroom or had sexual relations within the 30 days immediately before the divorce hearing.¹⁴

Annulment

An annulment treats the marriage as though it never existed. Delaware courts can grant one on any of these grounds:¹⁵

Lack of mental capacity at the ceremony, including incapacity due to intoxication or drugs.
Physical incapacity to consummate the marriage, where the other party did not know.
A party was under the legal age and did not confirm the marriage after reaching legal age.
Fraud by one party that went to the essence of the marriage.
Duress on one or both parties.
The marriage was entered into as a jest or dare.
The marriage was void or voidable under the prohibited-relationships statute.

The Clerk of the Peace

The Clerk of the Peace is the elected county official at the center of this process. The Clerk issues licenses, reviews documents such as divorce decrees, maintains public marriage records, and can personally officiate ceremonies within the county.⁹ Delaware’s three counties are New Castle, Kent, and Sussex, and you can apply at any of them regardless of where you live or where the wedding will take place.

1
Delaware General Assembly. HB337 – Delaware Code Title 13 Section 123 Marriage of Minors
2
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 13 Chapter 1 – Section 101 Void and Voidable Marriages
3
Justia. Obergefell v. Hodges
4
Congress.gov. H.R.8404 – Respect for Marriage Act
5
Justia Law. Delaware Code Title 13 Section 126 – Validity of Common-Law or Other Marriage
6
New Castle County, DE – Official Website. Marriage Licenses
7
Sussex County. Applying for a Marriage License
8
Kent County Levy Court. Marriage Licenses
9
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 13 Chapter 1 – Section 106 Individuals Authorized to Solemnize Marriages
10
Sussex County. Officiators Information
11
Sussex County. Officiators Information – Section 118 Failure to Return Certificate
12
Justia Law. Delaware Code Title 11 Section 1001 – Bigamy; Class G Felony
13
Justia Law. Delaware Code Title 13 Section 127 – False Statement; Penalty
14
Justia Law. Delaware Code Title 13 Section 1505 – Divorce; Marriage Irretrievably Broken
15
Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 13 Chapter 15 – Divorce and Annulment