Hiring employees in Delaware: the 2026 compliance checklist for employers and recruiters

As of October 2026, an employer hiring in Delaware has to register through Delaware One Stop for a business license and as a withholding agent and new employer, carry workers' compensation from the first employee, start Delaware Paid Leave contributions and give the program notice at hire if it has 10 or more employees, tell each new hire in writing the rate of pay and when and where wages are paid, hand out the state's sexual harassment information sheet at four or more employees, never ask about pay history, and report the hire to the State Directory of New Hires within 20 days. Delaware accepts the federal W-4 but also publishes its own DE-W4. Its pay range posting law starts September 26, 2027, its ban-the-box and credit rules cover only public employers, and two conflicting recording statutes make consent the safe course.

This page is the Delaware hub: one table with every item and its official source, then a short section on each. Where we already have a full guide to an item, the section summarizes it and links there.

The Delaware hiring checklist at a glance

What must be in place before the first Delaware hire?

Registration, insurance and, for most employers, a paid leave payroll setup. Delaware One Stop, the state's business registration portal, handles the business license, registration as a Delaware withholding agent, and filing "as a new employer in the State of Delaware." The Division of Revenue says every employer maintaining an office or doing business in Delaware that pays wages must withhold. The Department of Labor's Division of Industrial Affairs says "almost every employer with one or more employees" must carry workers' compensation, generally before any covered worker starts, citing 19 Del. C. §§ 2306 and 2372.

Delaware Paid Leave, the Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program in 19 Del. C. chapter 37, covers employers with 10 or more employees: those with 10 to 24 owe only the parental leave share, and those with 25 or more owe medical (0.4%), family caregiving (0.08%) and parental (0.32%) contributions for 2025 and 2026. Contributions began January 1, 2025, and an employer may deduct up to 50% of each contribution from the employee's wages. The federal layer (an EIN, Form W-4 and Form I-9 by the third business day) applies on top.

Does a staffing or recruiting agency need a Delaware license?

No. Delaware used to license employment agencies with a $100 two-year license, but the General Assembly struck that section in 1995 and it now reads "Reserved." What a Delaware staffing firm deals with instead is the Division of Revenue business license and gross receipts tax, an unemployment insurance rule written for temporary help firms that reassign workers, and, for anyone supplying staff to long-term care facilities, a registration with the Division of Health Care Quality under 16 Del. C. § 1119D. See Delaware staffing agency rules for the details.

What must a Delaware job posting include, and can you ask about pay history?

Nothing yet on pay, but plan for 2027. Delaware's pay transparency law, Chapter 228 of Volume 85 of the Laws of Delaware, approved September 26, 2025, adds 19 Del. C. § 709C. From September 26, 2027, employers with 26 or more employees must include the hourly or salary compensation range and a general description of benefits and other compensation in every internal and external posting. As of October 2026 a Delaware posting needs no range, though a remote role open to candidates in a range state can pick up that state's rule. See the Delaware pay transparency guide.

Pay history questions have been banned since December 2017. 19 Del. C. § 709B makes it an unlawful employment practice for an employer or its agent to screen applicants on compensation history or to seek it from the applicant or a current or former employer; confirming it is allowed only after an offer has been made and accepted. The section has a safe harbor for employers whose outside recruiters ask against written instructions. See the Delaware salary history ban.

When can you ask about criminal history or run a credit check?

For a private employer, Delaware sets no timing rule. 19 Del. C. § 711(h) bars the state, its agencies and political subdivisions from asking about or considering criminal record, criminal history, credit history or credit score during the initial application process, up to and including the first interview, and later allows disqualification only where job related and consistent with business necessity. It does not bind private companies. See Delaware's ban-the-box law.

Credit checks follow the same split: the limit covers public employers only, as our credit check laws guide notes. Private employers follow the federal FCRA disclosure, authorization and adverse action steps in our FCRA background check guide.

Can you record or transcribe a job interview in Delaware?

Only with consent, to be safe. Delaware's wiretap chapter, 11 Del. C. § 2402(c)(4), says it is lawful to intercept a communication "where the person is a party to the communication," but the privacy offense in § 1335(a)(4) makes it a crime to intercept a private message or conversation "without the consent of all parties thereto." Both are current law. Our Delaware recording consent guide explains the conflict; the plan that satisfies both is to get the candidate's yes before any recording or transcription starts. See also recording calls across state lines.

Does Delaware regulate AI in hiring?

Not with a dedicated statute as of October 2026: Delaware does not appear in our state-by-state AI hiring summary, and we found no Delaware law requiring notice, consent or bias audits for AI tools used in private hiring. Delaware's anti-discrimination law in 19 Del. C. chapter 7 and federal law still apply to the outcome, so a tool that screens out a protected group creates the same exposure as a human decision; see Title VII disparate impact and AI hiring.

Can you drug test applicants in Delaware?

Generally yes; we found no Delaware statute setting procedures for private-employer drug testing. The rule to know is the medical marijuana protection in 16 Del. C. § 4905A: unless it would cost the employer a federal monetary or licensing benefit, an employer may not discriminate in hiring based on a person's status as a cardholder, or on a registered qualifying patient's positive test for marijuana, "unless the patient used, possessed, or was impaired by marijuana on the premises" or during working hours. Federally regulated roles follow federal rules. Our drug testing laws guide compares states.

Does Delaware require E-Verify?

No. As of October 2026, nothing in the Delaware Code requires a private employer, a state agency, a school district or a contractor on a state project to use E-Verify, and nothing restricts an employer that enrolls voluntarily. Form I-9 is required for every hire, and a federal contract clause can make E-Verify mandatory. Delaware firms that work across the line in neighboring states should check those states' rules; see E-Verify requirements in Delaware.

Which state withholding form does a new hire complete?

Usually just the federal W-4. The Division of Revenue's withholding FAQ says "Delaware accepts Federal Form W-4 for an employee to claim personal exemptions." The division also publishes Form DE-W4, the Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate, with resident and nonresident worksheets, which an employee may use to set Delaware withholding separately. Delaware has no reciprocity agreements, so residents working elsewhere may need extra withholding.

Which notices must a new Delaware employee get at hire?

• Pay rate and payday. 19 Del. C. § 1108 requires every employer of over three employees to "Notify each employee in writing, at the time of hiring, of the rate of pay and of the day, hour and place of payment."
• Paid Leave notice. § 3710 requires written notice "On hiring of the employee" of the right to benefits, the amount, how to claim, job protection, the ban on retaliation, the right to complain, and whether coverage is through the state or a private plan, plus a poster in English, Spanish and any language spoken first by 5% of the workforce.
• Sexual harassment information sheet. Employers with four or more employees must distribute the Department of Labor's information sheet "To new employees at the commencement of employment," physically or electronically, under § 711A(f).

How do you report a new hire in Delaware?

To the State Directory of New Hires established under 13 Del. C. § 2208. 30 Del. C. § 1156A requires every employer that must withhold Delaware income tax to report each hire "within 20 days after the date the employer hires the employee," on a W-4 or an equivalent form sent by first-class mail, magnetically or electronically. The report includes the employee's name, address and Social Security number, the date services were first performed for pay, and the employer's name, address and federal identification number. Electronic filers send two monthly transmissions 12 to 16 days apart. A rehire counts after 60 consecutive days of separation, and the fine is $25 per failure, or $500 for a conspiracy not to report.

The Delaware hiring steps in order

1. Before the first hire: register through One Stop for the business license, withholding and new employer filings; bind workers' compensation; set up Paid Leave contributions at 10 or more employees.
2. Posting: no Delaware pay range rule until September 26, 2027; check the rules of any state where remote applicants live.
3. Screening: never ask about or seek pay history; private employers follow the FCRA for background and credit checks.
4. Interview: get the candidate's consent before recording or transcribing, given the two conflicting statutes.
5. Offer: pay history may be confirmed only after the offer is accepted; do not reject a registered medical marijuana patient for a positive test alone.
6. First day: Form I-9 and W-4 (or DE-W4), the written pay notice, the Paid Leave notice and the harassment information sheet.
7. Within 20 days of hiring: report the hire to the State Directory of New Hires.

Hiring in more than one state? The same checklist is available for Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, and Delaware's neighbors Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.