Delaware Marriage Laws: Requirements, License, and Divorce

Delaware marriage laws set the age to marry at 18, require no residency, impose a 24-hour waiting period after the Clerk of the Peace issues the license, and give couples 30 days to hold the ceremony before the license expires. Divorce is available only on the ground that the marriage is irretrievably broken, and couples generally must live apart for six months before a court will grant it. The details below cover what the state requires at each step, who can perform the ceremony, and what makes a marriage void or a divorce possible.

Who Can Marry in Delaware

Both applicants must be at least 18. Anyone under 18 needs a Family Court judge’s order before a license can be issued, 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 individuals, any criminal history, and whether the proposed marriage would violate other Delaware laws.¹ Simple parental consent is not enough.

There is no residency requirement. You can live anywhere and still obtain a Delaware license and marry in the state. Blood tests and premarital counseling are not required.

Same-sex couples have full marriage rights in Delaware under the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges,² and the federal Respect for Marriage Act, enacted in 2022, requires the federal government and all states to recognize marriages that were valid where performed, regardless of the sex, race, or ethnicity of the spouses.³

Getting the 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.⁴ Each applicant needs valid government-issued photo identification such as a driver’s license, state ID, passport, or military ID.⁵

If either applicant has been divorced, a certified copy of the divorce decree or a certificate from the court that granted it must be presented before a new license will issue.⁶ Bring the document with you; without it, the Clerk will turn you away.

Fees

Fees depend on residency and vary slightly by county. In Kent County, Delaware residents pay $70 and non-residents pay $120, cash only.⁷ Check with the specific Clerk of the Peace office where you plan to apply for its current amount and accepted payment forms.

Waiting Period and Expiration

After the license is issued, a mandatory 24-hour waiting period must pass before the ceremony can take place. The license is then valid for 30 days. If the marriage is not solemnized within that window, the license expires and you must apply and pay again. Extensions of 30, 60, or 90 days are available for an additional fee if you know in advance that you need more time.⁴

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 may perform ceremonies:⁸

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, 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.

The Clerk of the Peace can also grant written authorization for an out-of-state judge, or a Clerk of the Peace from another Delaware county, to officiate if good cause is shown.⁹

Every ceremony must have at least two witnesses aged 18 or older who sign the marriage certificate. Ceremonies may follow religious traditions or be entirely secular.⁸

Returning the Signed Certificate

The officiant must return the signed marriage certificate to the issuing Clerk of the Peace within 15 days of the ceremony. Missing that deadline triggers a $50 late fee.¹⁰ If you want the marriage on the public record promptly, remind your officiant.

Marriages Delaware Will Not Recognize

Delaware prohibits marriage between a person and their ancestor, descendant, sibling, half-sibling, uncle, aunt, niece, nephew, or first cousin. Any such marriage is automatically void, even if it was performed in another state or country.⁶

A marriage is voidable if either party was already legally married at the time. Marrying while you or your intended spouse has a living spouse is bigamy under Delaware law, a class G felony that can result in imprisonment and a permanent felony record. The statute reaches anyone who “purports to contract” a marriage, so going through a ceremony while knowing it cannot be legal is itself a criminal act.¹¹

Providing false answers on the marriage license application, after being sworn to answer truthfully, is perjury under Title 13, Section 127, and Delaware perjury is a felony.¹² Lying about your age, marital history, or identity can lead to criminal charges on top of the marriage itself being invalidated.

Common Law Marriage

Delaware’s statute says nothing in its marriage licensing chapter renders a common law marriage “otherwise lawful” invalid simply because the couple never obtained a license.¹³ In practice, Delaware does not offer a straightforward way to establish a new common law marriage inside the state, and courts have generally read the provision as preserving recognition of common law marriages validly formed in jurisdictions that allow them. If you think you may already be in one, consult a Delaware family law attorney.

Ending a Delaware Marriage

Divorce

Delaware recognizes only one ground for divorce: irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. There is no separate fault track for adultery or cruelty. The law identifies four ways to demonstrate irretrievable breakdown:¹⁴

Voluntary separation, meaning both spouses agreed to live apart.
Misconduct, where the separation was caused by one spouse’s behavior.
Mental illness, where the separation was caused by a spouse’s mental illness.
Incompatibility, where the spouses are simply unable to live together.

Couples generally must live separately for at least six months before the court will grant the divorce. One practical detail: bona fide reconciliation attempts, including temporarily sharing a bedroom or resuming sexual relations, do not reset the separation clock, provided 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 the following grounds:¹⁵

Lack of mental capacity due to mental incapacity, intoxication, or drugs at the time of the ceremony.
Physical incapacity, where one party could not consummate the marriage and the other did not know beforehand.
Underage marriage that was not confirmed after the party reached legal age.
Fraud, where one party relied on a fraudulent act or misrepresentation by the other going to the essence of the marriage.
Duress, where one or both parties were coerced.
Marriage entered into as a joke or dare.
A marriage that was void or voidable under the prohibited-relationships statute.

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