Why every Delaware cleaner starts with a $75 state license
Because Delaware licenses every business, not just regulated trades. A house cleaner, a solo housekeeper and a janitorial crew all need a Delaware business license from the Division of Revenue before they take paid work. For one location it costs $75 a year.
The Division of Revenue’s business license FAQ says any person or entity conducting a trade or business in Delaware must obtain a business license. Licenses expire every December 31. After your first year you can choose a three-year license, but it isn’t discounted: you simply pay three years at once. The division’s requirements page puts the fee at generally $75 for a first location and notes that some counties and towns require their own licenses as well.
Where cleaning fits
Delaware sorts licenses by activity. Its tax tip for occupational and general services lists cleaners, housekeeping and janitorial work by name, with the license at $75 for the first location and $25 for each additional one. The same tip says a service business can sell some products on the side (up to $8,500 a year) without a separate retail license, so a few bottles of your favorite cleaner sold to clients won’t change your category.
Your Delaware start-up order
- Choose your structure: sole proprietor, or an LLC through the Division of Corporations.
- Get the state business license through One Stop ($75).
- Register a DBA ($25) if you trade under a name other than your own or your LLC’s.
- Check whether your town (Dover, Newark, Wilmington and others) wants a local license.
- Buy general liability insurance, and set up booking and payments.
- Before your first hire: workers’ comp, unemployment insurance, withholding and new-hire reporting.
For everything that isn’t Delaware-specific, like choosing services and buying equipment, read our general guide on how to start a cleaning business.
Gross receipts tax: why most Delaware cleaners file and owe nothing
Delaware has no sales tax, so you never add tax to a client’s bill. Instead, licensed businesses pay a gross receipts tax (GRT) on what they take in. For cleaning the rate is 0.3983%, but the first $100,000 of receipts each month is excluded. A small residential cleaner files the returns and owes nothing.
The numbers
The Division of Revenue’s current rate table lists general services at 0.3983% with a $100,000 monthly exclusion. The services tax tip adds that this works out to $300,000 a quarter for quarterly filers, and that you can’t subtract the cost of labor or supplies from gross receipts. The gross receipts tax page says every new business is set up as a quarterly filer.
Two worked examples
- A solo cleaner in Middletown billing $9,000 a month takes in $27,000 a quarter. That is far below the $300,000 quarterly exclusion, so the return shows $0 owed. You still file it on time.
- A crew business that bills $112,000 in one month (as a monthly filer) owes GRT only on the amount above $100,000: $12,000 × 0.3983% = $47.80.
In other words, the GRT is paperwork until you are a large company. The bigger tax for a profitable cleaner is ordinary income tax on your profit.
What the lack of sales tax means for you
- Your quote is your price: no tax line, no rate lookups by town.
- Your supplies are cheaper than across the line in Pennsylvania or Maryland, because there is no sales tax on what you buy either.
- If you clean homes in Pennsylvania too, its rules apply to that work. Our Pennsylvania guide explains why PA taxes house cleaning.
Set your prices from your time and costs. The house cleaning price calculator gives you a starting number for each home.
Delaware DBAs moved from the counties to the state in 2026
A DBA (trade name) is now one $25 statewide filing with the Division of Revenue, through One Stop. It never expires. But you need a Delaware business license before you can file one.
The Division of Revenue’s trade names FAQ says that as of February 2, 2026 it administers Delaware’s statewide DBA registry through One Stop. The fee stays at $25, but the name now covers the whole state, so you no longer pay once in New Castle County and again in Kent or Sussex. DBAs don’t expire and don’t need renewing. LLCs file their DBAs through One Stop too, not with the Division of Corporations.
Older guides tell you to file with the county prothonotary. That changed: the move to the Division of Revenue was set by state law, and the county route no longer applies.
When you need one
- “Dana Whitfield, house cleaning” run by Dana Whitfield: your own name, so no DBA.
- “Brandywine Home Cleaning” run by Dana Whitfield as a sole proprietor: file a DBA.
- “Whitfield Services LLC” advertising as “Coastal Clean Team”: the LLC files a DBA for the second name.
Before you settle on a name, check it against the state’s records. If you are still choosing, the cleaning business name generator can give you a shortlist.
Is a $400-a-year Delaware LLC worth it for a house cleaner?
Sometimes. A Delaware LLC costs $110 to form and $400 every year after that in LLC tax, due June 1. For a solo cleaner that is real money, so weigh it against what the LLC actually protects.
Forming it
The Division of Corporations’ Certificate of Formation lists a $110 filing fee, $50 more for a certified copy, and requires a registered agent with a street address in Delaware.
Keeping it
The division’s LLC tax instructions set the annual tax at $400, due on or before June 1. There is no annual report to file. Pay late and the penalty is $200 plus 1.5% interest a month on the tax and penalty, so a forgotten June 1 quickly turns $400 into $600 or more. Older forms still online quote $300 and $90; use the current figures.
What each structure costs the state
| Structure | Year 1 | Each year after |
|---|---|---|
| Sole proprietor, own name | $75 license | $75 |
| Sole proprietor with a DBA | $75 license + $25 DBA | $75 (the DBA never expires) |
| LLC | $110 formation + $75 license | $475 ($75 license + $400 LLC tax) |
An LLC separates business debts from personal ones, but it doesn’t pay for a scratched floor. Liability insurance does. Our LLC guide for cleaning businesses covers when the trade-off is worth it.
Dover, Newark and Wilmington: local licenses on top of the state one
Some Delaware towns license businesses on top of the state, and the bigger ones do. Dover has a fee line for janitorial and cleaning services, Newark requires a license for businesses operating in the city, and Wilmington runs its own license and city taxes.
- Dover. The city’s business license fee schedule (presented as fee changes effective July 8, 2024) includes a “Janitorial & Cleaning Service” category at $50.50 for 1 to 3 employees, $95.00 for 4 to 9 and $125.00 for 10 or more. Confirm the current fee with the city before you pay.
- Newark. The city’s business license page says a license is required for businesses operating in the City of Newark. Call the city for the fee that applies to a cleaning service working in clients’ homes.
- Wilmington. The city has its own business license and levies city taxes on wages and business profits. Its website blocked our checks, so contact Wilmington’s finance department before you take clients inside city limits.
Beach towns in Sussex County are worth a call too: many set their own business license rules, and vacation rental turnovers are a big seasonal market there. For short-stay work, our Airbnb cleaning business guide covers pricing turnovers.
Your first Delaware employee: $15 an hour, workers’ comp and unemployment tax
Pay at least $15.00 an hour, carry workers’ comp from the first employee, register for unemployment insurance (1.0% of the first $14,500 for new employers) and report each hire within 20 days.
Minimum wage
The Department of Labor’s wage and hour page lists the current minimum wage as $15.00, in effect since January 1, 2025. Tipped employees can be paid a $2.23 cash wage if tips make up the difference, but few house cleaners average enough in tips for that to work. Plan on $15.00 or more.
For pricing: a cleaner who spends 3 hours in a Newark home and 30 minutes on the road costs 3.5 × $15.00 = $52.50 in wages for that visit, before payroll taxes and insurance. Charge $150 and wages alone are 35% of the price.
Workers’ comp
The Office of Workers’ Compensation’s employer guidance says almost every employer with one or more employees must carry workers’ comp. One Stop’s hiring checklist adds that injuries must be reported within 10 days. Quote it alongside your liability policy; our guide to insurance for cleaners explains each policy.
Unemployment insurance
Delaware’s unemployment insurance employer services page sets the 2026 new-employer rate at 1.0% and the taxable wage base at $14,500. That is at most $145 per employee for the year. One Stop’s hiring checklist walks you through registering for unemployment insurance and opening a withholding account.
New-hire reporting
The Division of Revenue’s employer withholding guide says new hires go to the Delaware State Directory of New Hires within 20 days of hiring.
Paying cleaners as 1099 contractors doesn’t remove these duties if you set their schedule, supply the products and dictate the checklist. Get advice before you choose.
Delaware Paid Leave: what changes at 10 and 25 employees
Nothing until you reach 10 employees. Delaware Paid Leave, the state’s paid family and medical leave program, exempts employers with 9 or fewer employees. At 10 to 24 employees it covers parental leave only, and at 25 or more it covers all leave types.
The Department of Labor’s Delaware Paid Leave page explains the program: contributions started January 1, 2025 and benefits started January 1, 2026. Eligible employees can receive up to 80% of their wages, capped at $900 a week, for up to 12 weeks a year. An employee qualifies after 12 months and 1,250 hours with the same employer, and employers can deduct up to half of the contribution from wages. The employer page confirms the exemption for 9 or fewer employees.
What it means for a growing cleaning company
- Count part-timers. A crew of six regulars plus four weekend cleaners is 10 employees.
- At 10, budget for the parental leave contribution and the payroll setup to deduct the employee share.
- At 25, the contribution covers medical and family care leave too. Ask your payroll provider to model the cost before you hire the 25th person.
We didn’t find a separate Delaware law requiring private employers to give paid sick days. Many cleaning companies offer a few anyway, because a cleaner who comes in sick can cost you a client.
What does it cost to open a cleaning business in Delaware?
About $100 in state fees for a sole proprietor ($75 license plus a $25 DBA), or $185 for an LLC in year one and $400 a year after. Insurance and supplies are the bigger costs.
Fees below were checked on official Delaware pages on October 9, 2026. Rows marked “estimate” are our ranges, not quotes.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| State business license | $75 a year | Required. Expires December 31. |
| DBA (trade name) | $25 | Statewide, no renewal. Needs the license first. |
| LLC Certificate of Formation | $110 | Optional. Needs a Delaware registered agent. |
| LLC annual tax | $400 a year | Due June 1. $200 penalty plus interest if late. |
| Gross receipts tax | Usually $0 | 0.3983% above $100,000 a month. Returns still due. |
| Town license | About $50 in Dover | Depends on the town. Newark and Wilmington set their own. |
| Unemployment tax | Up to $145 per employee | 1.0% of the first $14,500, new employers, 2026. |
| Liability and workers’ comp | Get quotes | Workers’ comp required from the first employee. |
| Supplies and equipment | $200 to $500 (estimate) | No sales tax on what you buy. |
| Scheduling and booking software | Optional | BroomBook is $29 a month for up to 2 cleaners. |
Getting Delaware clients, and a scheduling setup that fits
Delaware is small, so drive time and referrals decide how fast you grow. Pick a tight area (Pike Creek and Hockessin, say, or Dover and Camden), ask every happy client for a referral, and keep a Google Business Profile with your towns and photos. Our guide on how to get clients for a cleaning business has the scripts.
We make BroomBook, booking, scheduling and crew software for residential cleaning businesses. For a Delaware cleaner, the tax setting simply stays off, so clients see one price. You can limit online bookings to a distance or a list of ZIP codes, which keeps you inside the towns where you hold a license. Each cleaner gets a private link with jobs, checklists and clock-in, and hours and tips export to CSV for payroll. Cards are charged after the clean through Stripe, with tips, and BroomBook takes no cut. It doesn’t file your gross receipts returns or sync with accounting software.
Plans are $29 a month on Solo (up to 2 cleaners) or $59 a month on Team (unlimited cleaners), with a 14-day free trial. See how the calendar works on the cleaning scheduling software page.