Last updated 2026-08-21
TL;DR
Delaware does not issue a specialty temp fence license. You need a Division of Revenue business license to operate in the state, and an entity filing with the Division of Corporations if you form an LLC or corporation. Cities and counties can add contractor registration. Fees and processing change. Confirm every form with the office that issues it. There is no approval timeline I can honestly promise.
Do you need a license for temp fence in Delaware?
Yes. You need a Delaware business license from the Division of Revenue if you run that business in the state. You do not get a separate statewide temp fence card. Some cities and counties also want contractor registration before you work inside their limits. Confirm the current form and fee with the office that issues it.
That is the real answer. People still hunt for a fence trade license because neighboring states sell contractor classifications that sound like a ticket to the trade. Delaware's state-level paper is a general business license system under Title 30, not a fence erector board card.[1][2][3]
The Division of Professional Regulation licenses electricians, plumbers, and a long list of other trades. Fence work is not on that board list. If a salesperson offers to "get you the Delaware temp fence license," they are selling a name that the state does not use.[7]
If you form an LLC or corporation, you also file with the Division of Corporations. That filing creates the entity. It is not permission to set panels.[5]
I would not start a paying job without the Revenue license in hand and a written check with the city or county where the site sits. A GC gate guard does not care that Delaware has no fence specialty license. They care about your COI, your W-9, and whatever local contractor number the owner put in the subcontract.
Say what you actually do when you talk to Revenue. Freestanding panel rental is not the same work as driving posts. The category on the license should match the work. Ask them. Do not guess from a blog.
Is there a statewide fence contractor license in Delaware?
No. Delaware has no statewide fence contractor license and no temp fence endorsement. The Division of Professional Regulation board list does not include fence contractors. Your state-level operating license is the Division of Revenue business license for the occupation you actually run.[7][1]
Title 30 is the statute stack behind that license. Chapter 21 sets the general license rules. Chapter 23 lists occupations that require a license and publishes statutory fees for those categories. Read those chapters, then match your work to the live category list on the Revenue site. Do not treat a summary as the application.[2][3]
This is a different paper path than a state like California, where a contractor state license board sits in the middle of the trade. If you also chase work out of state, compare that board model in the temp fence license in California guide so you do not copy the wrong checklist.
Texas is another contrast. The temp fence license in Texas path leans on local rules plus state contractor thresholds that Delaware simply does not copy. Steal the habit of checking the local building official. Do not steal another state's form names.
The honest operational split inside Delaware is rental versus install. Dropping stand-based panels on grade is equipment work. Digging, driving posts, or tying fence into a structure looks like contracting. Revenue, your insurer, and the city will all read that split differently if you describe the work wrong.
What Delaware business license do you actually file?
You file a Delaware business license with the Division of Revenue for each business activity you carry on in the state. That is the core state license for a temp fence shop. Confirm the category, the current fee, and whether you need more than one category if you also haul, warehouse, or retail materials.[1][3]
Revenue is not a building department. The license tax system sits in Title 30. It exists so the state can license occupations and collect the related tax, including gross receipts tax on many businesses. Delaware does not run a general sales tax the way most states do. Contractors and other licensed firms still have a Revenue account to maintain. Confirm the current contractor or rental gross receipts rules on the Revenue gross receipts pages before you price a long rental.[1]
I would apply under the category that matches the work you sell this year, not the work you might sell in three years. If you only rent panels, say rental. If you install, say contractor. If you do both, ask Revenue whether that is one license or two. Getting this cute on the application is a waste of time and a good way to amend later.
Processing time is not something I will invent. Revenue has online intake through the state's business systems. Confirm current turnaround with them. No approval promise belongs in an article.[1][14]
Keep the license account in the same legal name you put on invoices and insurance. Mismatched names are how pay apps stall.
Do you need a Delaware LLC or corporation first?
No. The state does not require an LLC before you can hold a business license. Plenty of people start as sole proprietors. I still form an LLC for this kind of field work if I want a company-named bank account, a cleaner COI, and a line between household cash and job cash. That is preference, not a statute talking.
Delaware LLC formation is a Division of Corporations filing, not a Revenue filing. The LLC Act is plain. "In order to form a limited liability company, 1 or more authorized persons must execute a certificate of formation." You file that certificate with the Secretary of State through the Division of Corporations.[5][15]
Delaware Division of Corporations lists a $90 Certificate of Formation fee for an LLC. Confirm that figure on the live fee page before you write the check, because the General Assembly can change a fee schedule.[4][5]
Delaware also charges LLCs an annual tax. The Division of Corporations fee materials have long listed that annual tax at $300. Confirm the current annual tax on the same fee pages. Missing it is how entities go bad while you are busy setting panels.[4]
A corporation is available too. I would not form a corporation for a two-person fence shop unless a CPA had a tax reason I could repeat back. The LLC is the default I would actually use.
Entity paper does not replace the Revenue license. You can have a perfect certificate of formation and still be unlicensed to do business. Do both, in that order, if you are forming an entity: Corporations first so the license can sit in the entity name, then Revenue.
Which cities and counties add their own contractor paper?
Local offices do. Delaware has 3 counties (New Castle, Kent, Sussex), and incorporated cities run their own licenses and inspections shops. A state Revenue license does not automatically satisfy a city contractor registration. Confirm the rule in the jurisdiction that contains the job, not the jurisdiction where you park the trailer.
New Castle County Licenses and Inspections is the county office for building permits and related licenses in unincorporated New Castle County. If the site is inside the City of Wilmington, you are usually talking to city licenses and inspections, not only the county. Those are different counters.[13]
Kent County work often routes through the relevant town (Dover is the one people forget to call). Sussex is a mix of county land use and beach-town building departments. Coastal towns can be picky about right-of-way, dunes, and how long a fence may stay up. I would call before I load the truck, every first job in a new town.
I cannot publish a live roster of every municipal contractor fee. Those schedules move, and a stale number is worse than no number. Use the county L&I page as the starting point, then the city clerk or building department if the site is incorporated.[13]
If you chase public school or state work, local contractor paper is only half the story. Delaware prevailing wage rules can apply to public works. Pull the county rate sheet from the Department of Labor before you bid labor. Confirm coverage and the classification with Industrial Affairs. Do not copy a private-job wage onto a public bid.[12]
Other states hide this local layer too. The temp fence license in Tennessee writeup is useful if you want to see another local-heavy path. Same habit. Different forms.
How much does a temp fence license cost in Delaware?
There is no official "temp fence license" fee because there is no such license. Your real cash out the door is the Division of Revenue business license fee for your occupation category, plus entity fees if you form an LLC or corporation, plus any city or county contractor registration. Confirm each number with the office that bills it. I will not invent a live Revenue fee here.[1][3][4]
What I can pin to a primary page is the entity side. Delaware Division of Corporations lists a $90 Certificate of Formation fee for an LLC. The same office publishes the LLC annual tax on its fee materials, listed at $300. Confirm both on the fee page the week you file.[4][5]
The IRS does not charge a fee to apply for an EIN online. If a website asks you to pay for an EIN, close it.[6]
Local contractor registrations are a separate check. Wilmington is not Georgetown. New Castle County is not Sussex County. Budget a line item and call. Anyone selling a single statewide "license package price" is bundling guesses.
Gross receipts tax is not a license fee, but it is real money after you start invoicing. Revenue administers it. Confirm the current rate, exemption, and filing period for your category before you decide a rental is "only" the panel price.[1]
Waste of money: paying a packager to obtain a fence specialty card that does not exist, or buying a multi-state license kit before you have one Delaware job. Spend the fee money on the Revenue account, the Corporations filing if you want the LLC, and a real general liability quote.
How much does temp fence cost in Delaware?
There is no official Delaware price list for temporary fence. Nobody publishes a clean statewide rental index I can cite. Anyone giving you one number for the whole state is guessing.
Cost splits into four piles you can actually bid. Panel time (rent or own). Delivery and pickup. Labor to set and strike. Add-ons (gates, stands, ballast, windscreen). Public work can add prevailing wage on top of the labor pile. Confirm wage coverage with the Department of Labor on public jobs.[12]
Purchase prices move with steel and with whether the panel is new or yard-worn. I will not fake a Delaware-only survey. Get two local quotes the week you buy. Used 6 ft panels trade in a wide band and that band is not a government statistic.
Rental on a small commercial perimeter is usually sold by the linear foot per month, or by the panel per month, plus delivery. Duration kills or saves you. A three-day emergency fence and a nine-month school job are not the same product. Coastal Sussex windscreen is not the same product as a still inland lot. Windscreen turns a fence into a sail. I would not bid heavy screen near the beach without talking ballast and removal after storms.
If the job is public, the labor line can exceed the panel line. Pull the published prevailing wage sheet for the county and the classification you actually use. That sheet is the rare hard number in this trade. Confirm the class with DOL. Do not invent "fence erector" if they want you on laborer.[12]
I would bid delivery from a real yard you can reach twice, not from a map pin in Philadelphia you have never used. Empty miles are how cheap panel quotes go bad.
For a sense of how other states talk about startup cash versus license cash, the how to start a temp fence business in Texas guide is a useful contrast. Different market. Same habit of separating license fees from yard steel.
How long does temp fence take in Delaware?
A small panel job can go up in a few hours. A long driven-post run takes days. License and entity clocks are separate, and I will not invent a processing time for either one. Confirm current turnaround with the Division of Revenue and, if you are forming an entity, with the Division of Corporations. No article gets to promise approval day counts.[1][4][14]
Field time is the part you control. Freestanding 6 ft panels on bases are fast if the truck can drive the perimeter. Mud, active excavation, and a GC who will not give you a laydown area will double that. Driven posts and drilled footings are a different trade speed. Do not quote panel speed on a post job.
811 locate time sits in the middle if you penetrate the ground. Delaware's underground damage law requires notice before excavation. Miss Utility of Delmarva runs the 811 ticket for the state. You wait for the marks. You do not guess because the GC is in a hurry.[10][11]
Local permit time is the wild card. Temporary construction fence is often a condition of the building permit, not its own two-week entitlement. A fence in the public right of way is slower because now a city or DelDOT desk is involved. Confirm that before you promise a Monday install on a Friday call.
I would not tell an owner "we always fence a site in one day." I would tell them the linear feet, the system, and whether we are waiting on locates. That sentence saves more arguments than any brochure.
What insurance and labor filings come with the work?
If you have employees, Delaware workers' compensation law applies to you as an employer. The Department of Labor Industrial Affairs pages for employers are the place to start, and Title 19 Chapter 23 is the statute. Confirm coverage questions with DOL and your carrier. I will not tell you a sole proprietor with no employees is finished with this topic, because many GCs still demand a WC policy or an exemption letter on the COI.[8][9]
Unemployment insurance is a Department of Labor employer registration if you have covered wages. Confirm whether you are an employer on their rules, not on a forum post.[8]
General liability is the policy that actually gets you through a GC gate. I am not aware of a statewide statute that forces every one-person shop to carry CGL. I am aware that you will not last a month on commercial sites without it. Ask the GC for limits before you bind a cheap policy you have to replace.
Name the legal entity the same way on the policy, the Revenue license, and the invoice. That one habit prevents more pay-app delays than any software.
If you want bid worksheets for panel counts, wind adders, and prevailing wage labor so you are not rebuilding the same spreadsheet, TempFencePath sells a $149 one-time Panel + Wind + PW Bid Kit at /start. Use it or skip it. The Department of Labor still wants its own wage sheets on public work.[12]
I would not buy a "contractor bond package" from a random ad until a specific owner or city asks for a bond. Most private temp fence jobs want a COI, not a performance bond.
What about 811, permits, and site rules?
Call 811 before you drive a post or dig a hole. Delaware's underground utility damage law is Title 26 Chapter 8. Miss Utility of Delmarva takes the ticket. That is not optional because the fence is "temporary." Temporary posts break the same gas line.[10][11]
Freestanding panels on bases often avoid the locate if you truly do not penetrate. The minute someone gets a hammer drill or a driver out, you are in ticket territory. I would rather burn a locate day than argue with a utility after the fact.
Building permits for the occupied structure usually carry the temp fence as a site condition. You still confirm that. A fence across a sidewalk, in a lane, or on a state-maintained shoulder is a right-of-way problem. That permit is slower than the panel set. Ask early.
OSHA does not issue a temp fence license. Site safety rules still apply to your crew and to how the fence meets the public. I would treat windscreen, vehicle gates, and night reflectivity as safety items in the bid, not as decorations the owner can delete for free.
Coastal Sussex deserves its own sentence. Storm week is when cheap ballast shows. I would rather lose a windscreen add-on than pick panels out of a dune line.
If you later work Arizona or Alabama jobs, their locate and registrar names change. The temp fence license in Arizona and temp fence license in Alabama pages are the right next reads for those paper stacks, not for Delaware 811.
What first-year paper path would I actually follow?
I would do it in this order. Decide rental, install, or both. Decide sole prop or LLC. If LLC, file the Certificate of Formation and pay the fee listed on the Division of Corporations page. Get a free EIN from the IRS. Open the bank account in the exact legal name. Then file the Division of Revenue business license in the category that matches the work. Then call the city or county L&I for the first job address. Then bind GL (and WC if you have people, or if the GC requires it). Then 811 if you penetrate. Then mobilize.[4][5][6][1][13][8][10]
The IRS describes the EIN in plain language. "An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, and is used to identify a business entity." You apply on the IRS EIN page. You do not pay a reseller.[6]
First-year operations are mostly boring paper. W-9s. COIs with additional insured wording the GC actually asked for. A written rental contract that says who is responsible when a truck hits your fence. A photo of the line on install day. None of that is a license. All of it keeps you paid.
I would not buy a 400-panel inventory in month one. Rent or buy enough to cover the first two jobs you have in writing. Yard space in New Castle County is not free. Steel sitting in weeds is a loan to yourself with rust interest.
Public work comes later for most shops. When it does, read the Delaware prevailing wage page before you take the bid documents seriously. The first public job is how people learn that "we always pay $X" is not a wage decision they get to keep.[12]
Starting checklists in other states can still help you see the shape of year one. The how to start temp fence in Colorado guide is a decent companion read if you like process lists. Do not file Colorado forms in Dover.
What is a waste of money when you start in Delaware?
Paying anyone for a statewide temp fence license. It does not exist. Paying for an EIN. The IRS one is free. Buying windscreen for every quote because it photographs well. Screen is a wind and liability problem, not a default accessory.
A giant trailer wrap before you have repeat GC names is a waste. So is a multi-state license bundle when you have not finished the Revenue application for Delaware. So is a registered-agent upsell you do not understand if you already live in the state and can be your own LLC contact. Confirm agent rules with Corporations if you are not a resident filer.[4][6][7]
I would spend money on a liability policy the GC will accept, on legal-name consistency, and on enough bases and clamps that the first line stands up overnight. That is the unglamorous list.
TempFencePath is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a service company. If you want the bid kit after you have the state paper straight, it lives at /start. Statutes and fees still come from the boards above. Confirm them there.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for temp fence in Delaware?
Yes. You need a Division of Revenue business license to operate in the state. Delaware does not issue a specialty temp fence license. Cities and counties can add contractor registration for jobs inside their limits. Confirm the category and fee with Revenue and with the local licenses office for the site address.
How much does temp fence cost in Delaware?
There is no official state price list. Cost is rental or purchase, delivery, labor, gates, ballast, and windscreen. Public jobs can add prevailing wage. Get current yard quotes and, on public work, the DOL county wage sheet. Anyone publishing one statewide rental number is guessing.
How long does temp fence take in Delaware?
A small freestanding panel job can be done in a few hours. Driven-post lines take longer. 811 locates add wait time if you penetrate the ground. License processing is a separate clock. Confirm current Revenue and Corporations turnaround with those offices. No honest article can promise an approval date.
Does Delaware DPR license fence contractors?
No. The Division of Professional Regulation board list covers many trades, including electricians and plumbers. Fence contractors are not on that list. Your state operating license is the Division of Revenue business license, plus any city or county contractor paper the job requires.
Do I need a Delaware LLC to rent temp fence panels?
No. A sole proprietor can hold a Revenue business license. An LLC is optional. If you form one, you file a Certificate of Formation with the Division of Corporations and then put the Revenue license in the entity name. Confirm the current formation fee on the Corporations fee page before you file.
Is the IRS EIN free for a Delaware temp fence shop?
Yes. The IRS does not charge a fee to apply for an EIN online. The EIN identifies the business for federal tax purposes. Ignore sites that charge you to "process" an EIN. Use the IRS EIN application page and match the name to your Delaware filings.
Does New Castle County need its own contractor paper?
It can. Unincorporated New Castle County jobs go through county Licenses and Inspections. Jobs inside Wilmington usually go through city licenses and inspections instead. Confirm contractor registration and permit rules with the office that has the site. A state Revenue license is not a substitute.
Do I have to call 811 to set temp fence in Delaware?
If you dig or drive posts, yes. Title 26 Chapter 8 is the underground damage law, and Miss Utility of Delmarva runs the 811 ticket. Freestanding panels on bases may avoid a ticket if you never penetrate. The minute a driver or auger comes out, get the locate.
Does prevailing wage apply to Delaware temp fence jobs?
It can on public works. Private commercial rentals usually do not use the state prevailing wage sheets. If the owner is a public body, read the Department of Labor prevailing wage page and confirm coverage and the labor classification before you bid. Do not reuse a private-job wage on a public bid.
Do I need workers' compensation for a one-person fence shop?
If you have employees, Delaware workers' compensation law applies. A true one-person shop with no employees may not buy a policy for itself, but many GCs still require WC or a written exemption on the certificate. Confirm with the Department of Labor and with the GC before you mobilize.
Does Delaware charge sales tax on temp fence rental?
Delaware does not run a general state or local sales tax like most states. Licensed businesses still deal with the Division of Revenue, including gross receipts tax rules that can apply to contractors and other categories. Confirm the current GRT treatment for your license category with Revenue before you print a rate sheet.
Can I use another state's contractor license in Delaware?
No. A Texas, California, or Tennessee contractor number does not replace the Delaware Revenue business license or a local contractor registration. Out-of-state licenses can help you describe experience to a GC. They do not satisfy Delaware paper. File here for work that sits here.
Sources
- Delaware Code Title 30, Chapter 21, General Provisions Concerning Licenses: Title 30 Chapter 21 sets the general statutory rules for state business licenses in Delaware.
- Delaware Division of Corporations, fee schedule: The Division of Corporations publishes current entity filing fees, including the LLC Certificate of Formation fee and LLC annual tax.
- IRS, Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online: An EIN identifies a business entity for federal tax purposes and can be obtained through the IRS online application.
- Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, Professional licensing boards: DPR's licensed boards and professions list does not include a fence contractor or temp fence license board.
- Delaware Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation information for employers: Delaware employers use the Department of Labor workers' compensation employer guidance to determine coverage duties.
- Delaware Code Title 19, Chapter 23, Workers' Compensation: Title 19 Chapter 23 is Delaware's workers' compensation statute, including employer insurance duties.
- Miss Utility of Delmarva, Delaware 811 locate service: Miss Utility of Delmarva processes Delaware 811 tickets before excavation.
- Delaware Code Title 26, Chapter 8, Underground Utility Damage Prevention and Safety: Title 26 Chapter 8 requires notice before excavation to protect underground utilities in Delaware.
- Delaware Department of Labor, Prevailing Wage: Delaware DOL publishes prevailing wage requirements and county rate sheets that can apply to public works labor.
- New Castle County, Licenses and Inspections: New Castle County Licenses and Inspections is the county office for building permits and related local licenses.
- Delaware Code Title 6, Chapter 18, Subchapter II, Formation of a limited liability company: 6 Del. C. § 18-201 requires a certificate of formation to be executed and filed to form a Delaware LLC.