How to Get a Delaware Certificate of Good Standing

To get a Delaware Certificate of Good Standing, submit a request to the Delaware Division of Corporations, either online through the Document Filing and Certificate Request Service or by mail or fax. The short form costs $50 and the long form $175, and same-day or faster turnaround is available for an added fee.¹ Before the Division will issue one, your entity has to be current on Delaware franchise taxes and any required annual reports.

Confirm Your Entity Is Actually in Good Standing

The Division will not issue a certificate for an entity that shows as void, inactive, or delinquent. What “current” means depends on how your entity is organized.

Delaware corporations file an annual report and pay franchise tax by March 1 each year, both online. Missing that deadline triggers a $200 penalty, with interest of 1.5% per month on any unpaid balance.² Exempt domestic corporations, including many non-profits, owe no franchise tax but still have to file the annual report by March 1; the filing fee is $25.³

LLCs, limited partnerships, and general partnerships do not file annual reports. They pay a flat $300 annual tax by June 1, and a missed deadline carries the same $200 penalty and 1.5% monthly interest.⁴⁵ The rule applies whether the entity was formed in Delaware or is registered there as a foreign entity.

Before you pay for a certificate, run a free status check on the Division of Corporations website. That lookup tells you whether your entity is in good standing but does not itself produce an official certificate; banks, courts, and agencies asking for one will not accept the screen.⁶

Pick the Right Form

Delaware issues two versions, and choosing correctly saves both money and time.

The short form costs $50 and confirms the entity’s formation date, its domestic state, and that it is current on franchise taxes and annual reports. This is the version most banks, lenders, and state filing offices want.¹

The long form costs $175 and adds a complete filing history: the original formation document, any name amendments, mergers, and other filings with timestamps for each. You generally need it only when the receiving state or party wants proof of specific corporate changes, such as a name amendment.¹ Both domestic and foreign entities can order the short form; the long form is available only for domestic entities.

How to Submit the Request

The fastest route is the Division of Corporations’ online Document Filing and Certificate Request Service, which walks you through a cover memo, uploads your request, and takes payment by credit card or ACH.⁷

If you prefer paper, download the Certification Sheet and mail it with a check to: Division of Corporations, 401 Federal Street – Suite 4, Dover, DE 19901.⁶ Fax is also accepted; call (302) 739-3073 for the current fax number and submission details.

You’ll need to supply:

The entity’s exact legal name as registered in Delaware.
The file number if you have it. Not required, but it speeds processing.
Whether you want the short form or long form.
Payment by credit card, ACH, or check.
A return address, or a FedEx or UPS account number if you want the certificate shipped rather than mailed first class.

Fees and Turnaround

Standard requests are processed in the order received and can take several business days depending on volume. Expedited fees stack on top of the base certificate price:⁸

24-hour service adds $40 (short form) or $60 (long form); the request must arrive by 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
Same-day service adds $50 (short form) or $80 (long form); the request must arrive before 2:00 p.m. Eastern.¹
Two-hour service adds $500; the request must arrive by 7:00 p.m. Eastern.
One-hour service adds $1,000; the request must arrive by 9:00 p.m. Eastern.⁸

A same-day short form runs $100 total ($50 base plus $50 expedited). A one-hour long form runs $1,175 ($175 plus $1,000). The two fastest tiers are usually reserved for last-minute closings or regulatory deadlines where a day’s delay has real consequences.

How Fresh the Certificate Has to Be

Delaware does not print an expiration date on the document. Third parties can validate it through the Division of Corporations’ online tool for one year from the issue date, using your entity file number and the authentication number printed on the certificate; after a year, the validator no longer returns a result.⁹

In practice, many banks and state filing offices want a certificate dated within the last 60 to 90 days. Some states registering foreign entities insist on one no older than 30 days, so check the receiving party’s rule before ordering. Ordering too early and hitting a delay can force you to buy a second certificate.

If You’re Not in Good Standing

People often discover a problem on a tight timeline: a bank or closing needs a certificate this week, and the entity turns out to have missed a franchise tax payment two years back. The Division will not issue a certificate until the underlying problem is fixed, and taxes keep accruing until Delaware receives a legal filing to terminate or revive the entity.¹⁰

A voided corporation files a Certificate of Revival of Charter under Section 312 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Before the Division accepts it, you must pay all back franchise taxes, penalties, and interest for every year the entity was void, and file any missing annual reports. The filing fee is $169, plus $9 for each page beyond the first; a certified copy of the filed document adds $50.¹¹

A cancelled or voided LLC follows a parallel path under Title 6, Section 18-1109 of the Delaware Code, with all back taxes, penalties, and interest paid before revival. The LLC revival filing fee is $200, plus $50 for a certified copy if needed.¹² Call the Franchise Tax Section at (302) 739-3073 before submitting your revival to confirm the exact amount owed; the calculation gets tricky once penalties and interest have compounded across multiple years.

If the Certificate Is for Use Outside the United States

For foreign bank accounts, overseas subsidiaries, or international contracts, the certificate usually needs an apostille or authentication attached. The Delaware Secretary of State handles this directly.

The base fee is $30 per apostille or authentication for commercial use.¹ Expedited service adds $50 (same-day) or $500 (two-hour). If all your documents belong to the same entity, the expedited fee applies once; multiple entities mean a separate expedited fee for each.¹³

By mail, use the Certification Sheet and check the box for “Apostille/Gold Seal Country,” specifying the destination country. Paying by credit card or ACH, submit through the Document Upload Service instead; the system builds the cover memo for you.⁷

1
Delaware Division of Corporations. Division of Corporations Fee Schedule
2
Delaware Division of Corporations. Annual Report and Tax Information
3
Delaware Division of Corporations. Annual Report and Tax Instructions
4
Delaware Division of Corporations. LLC/LP/GP Franchise Tax Instructions
5
Division of Revenue – State of Delaware. Franchise Taxes
6
Delaware Division of Corporations. Online Status
7
Delaware Division of Corporations. Instructions for Properly Completing a Certification Memo
8
Delaware Division of Corporations. Expedited Services
9
Delaware Division of Corporations. Validate a Certificate
10
Division of Corporations – State of Delaware. Frequently Asked Tax Questions
11
Delaware Division of Corporations. Certificate of Revival of Charter for a Voided Corporation
12
Delaware Division of Corporations. Certificate of Revival Limited Liability Company
13
Delaware Division of Corporations. Apostilles/Authentications Expedited Fees