A Delaware company proves it is in good standing with a document from the Division of Corporations in Dover. The Division uses two names. The short form is called a Certificate of Status, and the long form is called a Certificate of Good Standing. Both are requested through the Document Filing and Certificate Request Service.
This page goes deeper on that one task. For search, fees and contacts in general, see the Delaware office guide.
Delaware short form or long form
The short form costs $50. The long form costs $175, so buy it only when someone asks for it by name. If a deadline is close, the fee schedule sets expedite charges per form: $40 or $50 for the short form, and $60 or $80 for the long form, for 24 hour and same day service.
| What the state calls it | Certificate of Status (short form) / Certificate of Good Standing (long form) (corp.delaware.gov, checked ) |
|---|---|
| Fee | Short form certificate of status $50; long form $175; online status check $10 (status only) or $20 (status, last 5 filings, tax due) which is not an official certificate. Expedited: short form $40 (24-hour) or $50 (same day); long form $60 or $80. (corpfiles.delaware.gov, checked ) |
| Where to order | corp.delaware.gov/directweb (corp.delaware.gov, checked ) |
Requests go in through the Division's online request service. It is a submission system, not an instant download. Staff process each order, and fees are charged at that point. The service is open Monday to Thursday from 7:45 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. and on Friday until 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
Check the status before you order
The free entity search will not tell you if a company is in good standing. For that, use the paid status check: $10 for the status alone, or $20 for the status, the last five filings and any tax due. Neither is a certificate. Use it as a test run, so you do not pay for an order that comes back blocked.
What stops a Delaware company from getting one
Almost every block in Delaware is a tax or report problem. An LLC, LP or GP that misses its $400 tax due June 1 moves to Ceased Good Standing. After three years unpaid, an LLC is Cancelled, Failure to Pay Tax. A corporation that has not paid its franchise tax for a year becomes Void.
Every status word Delaware uses is explained in our Delaware office guide.
Corporations also show split statuses. AR filed, Tax delinquent means the report is in but money is owed. AR delinquent, Tax paid means the reverse. The status PPoB Non-Compliant flags a corporation whose principal place of business address does not meet the statute, even when report and tax are done.
Fixing the record
Pay what is owed first. For an LLC that is the $400 tax plus a $200 penalty and interest of 1.5 percent a month. For a corporation it is the annual report with its franchise tax, due March 1. If a registered agent resigned, appoint a new one, since 30 days without one leads to Forfeited or Cancelled status. Then run the status check again before you order. Our guide on how to file an annual report covers the general steps.
Who asks for Delaware proof
Banks opening an account, lenders and buyers in a sale often ask. So do other states when a Delaware company registers there to do business. Each one may set its own rule on how recent the certificate must be, so order close to the date you need it.
Sources
- corp.delaware.gov/directweb/: good standing certificate, certificate ordering. Checked .
- corpfiles.delaware.gov/Fee_Schedule/AugustFee2026.pdf: certificate fee. Checked .