Last updated 2026-08-21
TL;DR
There is no storefront windows board in Delaware, and window cleaning is not a DPR trade. You still need a Division of Revenue business license plus any city license where you work. An LLC has a published $90 formation fee and a $300 annual tax in statute. Confirm current forms and fees with those offices before you file.
Is there a storefront windows board in Delaware?
There is no storefront windows board in Delaware. The Division of Professional Regulation does not license window cleaners, and you will not sit a trade exam to wash glass on a Wilmington block. Your paper path is a state business license, optional entity filings, local licenses, and insurance. Confirm each current form with the office that issues it.[1][5]
People search for a board because other states treat glass work like a construction trade. Delaware does not. The DPR boards and commissions list is the public roster of professions the state actually regulates. Window washing is not on that list.[1]
That does not mean you can just start cashing checks. Title 30 still expects a business license for occupations the statute covers. Cities can pile on their own license. Property managers will ask for a certificate of insurance before you touch a pane. The board people talk about is really three or four offices that do not share a counter.
Skip the consultant who promises to get you boarded in Delaware. There is nothing to board. Spend that money on liability insurance and a written contract. If you moved here from a heavy contractor state, read the Delaware pages and ignore a Facebook thread built around the storefront windows board in Florida or the storefront windows board in California. Those systems do not map.
The closest official starting point is the state's starting-a-business page, then the Division of Revenue license instructions. Use those, not a national blog that invents a Delaware window washer license number.[5][3]
Do you need a license for storefront windows in Delaware?
Yes. Run storefront windows Delaware work as a business and you need a Delaware business license from the Division of Revenue. You do not need a window-cleaner occupational license, because the state does not issue one. Title 30 requires listed occupations to obtain a license and pay an annual fee, and a separate license is required for each location.[2][3]
The statute is blunt. 30 Del. C. § 2301 states, "All persons engaged in the occupations or businesses listed in this subsection shall first obtain a license from the Department of Finance and pay therefor an annual license fee in the amount set forth in this subsection." Read the current subsection list on the official code site before you pick a category on the application.[2]
How you classify the work matters. Some operators file as a contractor. Some file under a general service or cleaning line. I will not pick your box. The wrong box can mean the wrong gross receipts treatment. Call Division of Revenue or use their published category list, then keep a note of what they told you.
You file through the Combined Registration Application so Revenue can set up the business license and the tax accounts that go with it. If you will have employees, that same registration path opens the withholding accounts. Confirm the current CRA instructions on the Revenue site. Do not pay a third-party shop a markup to hand you a form you can file yourself.[3]
A state license is not a city license. Wilmington writes its own business license rules in Chapter 5 of the city code. Dover and other towns can too. If your first accounts sit inside city limits, ask the clerk before you wash the first door.[12]
Sole proprietors still need the state business license. Forming an LLC does not replace it. The entity filing and the Revenue license are different desks.
| Paper | Who issues it | Typical trigger |
|---|---|---|
| State business license | Division of Revenue | Operating a listed business |
| Entity filing | Division of Corporations | If you form an LLC or corporation |
| City business license | Wilmington, Dover, other towns | Work or a base inside the city |
| EIN | IRS | Banking, hiring, most LLCs |
| Workers' compensation | Private carrier under DOL rules | Employees |
How much does storefront windows cost in Delaware?
Two different bills get mixed up. The paper to operate is one number. What a shop pays you to wash glass is another. On paper, a Delaware LLC has a published $90 Certificate of Formation fee and a $300 annual tax written into 6 Del. C. § 18-1107. The IRS EIN is free if you apply on IRS.gov. The state business license fee sits in Title 30 and on Revenue's schedule. Confirm that dollar amount before you write the check, because the General Assembly can change it.[4][6][8][2]
A Delaware limited liability company pays an annual tax of $300 under 6 Del. C. § 18-1107.[4]
City licenses are extra. Wilmington's Chapter 5 is the starting text if you work or base inside the city. I will not invent a Wilmington fee. Call Finance or read the current city fee table.[12]
Insurance dwarfs the filing fees. General liability is what property managers ask for. If you hire anyone, workers' compensation is not optional under Delaware's workers' compensation chapter. Shop carriers. Nobody honest publishes one statewide premium that fits both a one-person pole route and a three-person ladder crew.[10][11]
On the customer side, there is no official Delaware pane rate. The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics page for Delaware is the honest labor floor for cleaning occupations. Build a bid from wage, drive time, water, insurance, and the time glass actually takes on that block. Ignore national average window cleaning slideshows. They are not Delaware, and they mix houses with storefronts.[9]
I would rather lose a bid than work a long Wilmington block at a rate that does not cover parking, winter water, and the endorsement the landlord wants. Price the route, not the pane, once you know the glass count and the access.
How long does storefront windows take in Delaware?
Paper time and route time are not the same. Entity filings and an EIN can move fast. A business license and a city license move on the office's clock, not yours. We will not invent a processing time. Confirm current turnaround with the Division of Corporations, Division of Revenue, and the city clerk.[5][8][3]
Delaware's Division of Corporations is used to volume. Expedited options exist on their fee materials. Whether you need them depends on when the first landlord wants a W-9 and a certificate of insurance, not on a blog countdown.[8]
Insurance binding can take longer than the state stamp. So can a business bank account. So can a property manager's vendor packet. If someone promises you will be fully legal in 48 hours, they are selling anxiety.
The work itself is the other clock. A small storefront run on a quiet Dover street is a short stop. A long glass line downtown is not. First-year operators underestimate setup, water fills, and the walk-around with the manager. I plan extra time on the first visit to every new account. I do not book the next stop back to back until I have washed that building once.
Hiring stretches the calendar. Workers' comp, unemployment registration, and a written safety talk all sit in front of the first employee shift. Confirm those steps with the Department of Labor and your carrier.[10][11]
What state paper do you file first in Delaware?
Decide the entity question first, then get the EIN, then file the Combined Registration Application, then handle the city. That order keeps the names consistent on the bank account, the license, and the insurance. Other people reverse EIN and entity and still survive. Inconsistent legal names cause more pain than the filing order.[5][6][3]
If you stay a sole proprietor under your own name, you may not need a Division of Corporations filing. You still need the Revenue license. You still need an EIN if you want to avoid handing customers your Social Security number. The IRS does not charge for an EIN on its own site.[6]
Form a Delaware LLC and you file a Certificate of Formation with the Division of Corporations. The published fee on the Corporations fee materials is $90. Confirm it on the day you file. Then you owe an annual $300 tax under the LLC statute. That tax is not the business license. People mix them up every year.[8][4]
6 Del. C. § 18-1107 says "every domestic limited liability company and every foreign limited liability company registered to do business in the State of Delaware shall pay an annual tax, for the use of the State of Delaware, in the amount of $300." That sentence is the whole franchise-tax surprise for a tiny route.[4]
Registered agent rules sit with Corporations. If you live in Delaware you can often serve as your own, depending on the current instructions. Confirm that. Out-of-state owners already using Delaware as a filing state should not pretend they have a local office they do not have.
After the entity exists, complete the CRA so Revenue can issue the business license and set up gross receipts and withholding accounts that apply. Delaware has no state sales tax. You will still hear people tell you to collect sales tax on windows. That is a different state leaking into the group chat. Confirm your gross receipts category and exclusion with Revenue. Do not invent a sales tax line on the invoice.[3][13]
Do Delaware cities add their own window work licenses?
Often, yes. A state business license does not automatically cover a city business license. Wilmington's code has a business license chapter. If your accounts or your shop sit in the city, read Chapter 5 and ask Finance how they treat a mobile cleaning route. I would not guess from a forum post dated 2014.[12]
Dover, Newark, and smaller towns can have their own rules. County offices can too. The pattern is messy on purpose. Each clerk is protecting a local fee, not designing a clean statewide system for storefront windows Delaware operators.
If you live in New Castle County and wash glass in Wilmington three mornings a week, ask both the city and the county what they want. Then ask again if you add a Rehoboth seasonal stop. Coastal towns care about vendors in the summer.
I treat local licenses as a checklist item before the first invoice, not after a ticket. The fine and the awkward conversation with a landlord cost more than the license.
Compare that patchwork to states with one contractor board and you understand why people keep searching for a Delaware board. They want one desk. They will not get it. For a regional contrast that is still not a Sun Belt contractor regime, see the storefront windows board in Connecticut notes. For a heavier trade-license culture, storefront windows board in Illinois is a different animal.
What insurance and labor paper do you actually need?
There is no window-washer bond board in Delaware. Landlords will still ask for general liability. Get it. Write the additional insured wording they want or you will redo the certificate four times. I would not start a storefront route on a personal renter policy. Glass, interiors, and sidewalk claims are how these jobs go bad.
If you have employees, Delaware's workers' compensation law applies. 19 Del. C. Chapter 23 is the statute. The Department of Labor Industrial Affairs page is the practical starting point, then a licensed carrier. Confirm who counts as an employee. Relatives and helpers you pay in cash are how people get surprised.[10][11]
Unemployment insurance registration belongs in the same pile once you have staff. Use the Department of Labor, not a payroll ad.
OSHA is federal here. Delaware is not a private-sector state-plan state, so federal standards apply to private employers. That includes walking-working surfaces and fall protection.[7][14]
I do not buy a branded contractor package from the first search ad. I buy a commercial general liability policy from a person who has actually written a cleaning risk, plus workers' comp if I hire, plus hired and non-owned auto if we use personal cars to reach accounts. Auto is the quiet hole. A pole through a parked car in a shopping center lot is a real claim.
Skip extra riders and wrapping the van until the route pays. Paper first. Coverage second.
Does OSHA treat storefront window work like construction?
Usually it is general industry, not construction, when you are washing finished storefronts. That still is not a free pass. OSHA 29 CFR 1910.28 requires fall protection at 4 feet on unprotected sides or edges in general industry. The rule says the employer must ensure that each employee on a walking-working surface with an unprotected side or edge that is 4 feet (1.2 m) or more above a lower level is protected from falling, except where the section says otherwise.[7]
Read that again if you like second-story glass and a tired ladder. A water-fed pole from the sidewalk changes the exposure. Climbing above that 4-foot line puts you back in the rule. I would rather keep both feet on the ground and lose a high pane than fake a rope descent I am not trained to do.
OSHA does not issue your Delaware business license. OSHA will still cite you after a fall. Training records, ladder condition, and a simple written procedure are the unglamorous parts. You do not need a 40-page manual on day one. You need a rule your helper can repeat.
If a building wants swing-stage work, that is a different job. Do not take it because the manager thinks window guy means high rise. Send it to a contractor who actually has the gear and the plan.
Confirm current OSHA text at the regulation page, not a safety vendor's brochure.[7]
How do you price storefront routes in Delaware without guessing?
Start with the BLS Delaware wage table for building cleaning workers, then add burden. Burden is taxes, insurance, water, fuel, broken tips, unpaid drive time, and the winter morning you rewash because the wind dumped grit on wet glass. If your number sits below a realistic loaded wage, you are donating.[9]
I bid recurring routes by stop, not by hour, once I have washed the glass once. The first visit is discovery. After that the pane count is known. Food uses change the frequency. A quiet professional office is not a beach-town ice cream block in July.
Delaware traffic is real on the I-95 spine and silly in beach season. Price the windshield time. A cheap bid in Newark that strands you on the way to Wilmington is not cheap.
Do not copy a national per-pane number. Glass height, film, and access kill those averages. A door and two sidelights is not a full curtain wall.
Equipment is not the hard part. If you already own a tank and poles, you do not need another kit. If you are starting from a bucket and you want a simple water-fed pole starter list, StorefrontWash sells a $149 one-time Pure-Water Pole Route Kit at /start. Buy it only if the contents match gaps you actually have.
Keep a written rate card even if you negotiate. Otherwise you will invent a new number in every parking lot.
What first-year costs catch people off guard?
The $300 LLC tax comes every year whether the route is busy or not. Gross receipts tax is the other quiet one. Delaware uses gross receipts instead of a sales tax. Confirm the current rate and exclusion for your category with Division of Revenue. Budget for it from invoice one, or you will spend the second winter paying last year's GRT with this year's cash.[4][13]
Insurance deductibles, windshields, and parking are not in the filing fee. Wilmington meters will teach you faster than I can.
Water and filters add up if you run pure-water poles. So do replacement brush heads. That is operating cost, not startup theater.
A registered agent service, a virtual mailbox, and three software subscriptions are how people turn a $90 formation into a monthly stack. I would skip most of that in year one if I live in the state and can receive mail.
If you work from Maryland or Pennsylvania into Delaware, you still have Delaware paper for the work you do here. You may also have home-state tax issues. That is accountant territory. Do not take tax advice from a pole forum.
Compare first-year friction with storefront windows board in Georgia or storefront windows board in Colorado if you are choosing a state to base the company. Delaware is light on trade licensing and picky on franchise tax and gross receipts. That tradeoff is the whole story.
Should you form an LLC or stay a sole prop in Delaware?
I would form the LLC if I am walking into other people's buildings with poles and chemicals. A broken pane or a slip claim against your personal name is a bad day. This is not legal advice. It is how I think about glass risk. Talk to a Delaware lawyer if the accounts are large.
The LLC costs the published $90 formation fee plus $300 a year in statute. A sole prop skips Corporations and still files with Revenue. Cheap is not the same as simple after a claim.[8][4]
Either way you need the business license. Either way landlords will ask for insurance in the company name or your name. Match the certificate to the contract.
Single-member LLC tax treatment is an accountant question. Delaware franchise tax is still $300 even if the IRS sees a disregarded entity. People miss that.
If you already have a Delaware holding company from some other scheme, do not assume it is the right operating entity for a wet, physical service business. Operating agreements written for a silent investment company read like a joke on a job site.
Keep the legal name short enough to fit on an invoice and a COI. A long branded name will get truncated and the building engineer will reject the certificate. Boring names clear vendor packets faster.
Hire later and the LLC still does not replace workers' comp or unemployment registration. Those desks still exist.[11]
What should you confirm before you wash the first pane?
Confirm four things in writing. One, the Division of Revenue license category and current fee. Two, any city license for the towns on your route. Three, the current Corporations fee if you are forming an entity, plus the $300 LLC tax date. Four, insurance limits the first landlord wants. Then wash glass.[3][8][12][4]
StorefrontWash is an independent publisher, not a law firm and not a cleaning company. No fee, quota, or processing time in this piece is a promise. Offices change forms. Statutes get amended. If a number here is a statute amount, read the current code section anyway.
Print the OSHA 4-foot rule and put it in the van. Print your license. Keep the COI where you can email it from a parking lot.
If you want the starter pole list after the paper is in motion, StorefrontWash keeps the $149 one-time Pure-Water Pole Route Kit at /start. The license will not be inside the box.
You do not need a board letter. You need a clean name, a Revenue license, local clearance, and insurance that a manager will accept. That is the whole Delaware path.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a license for storefront windows in Delaware?
Yes. You need a Delaware Division of Revenue business license to operate the work as a business. You do not need a window-cleaner trade license from a state board, because DPR does not license that work. Cities such as Wilmington can require their own business license on top. Confirm the current category and fee with Revenue and the city clerk before you invoice.
How much does storefront windows cost in Delaware?
Paper cost and service price are different. A Delaware LLC has a published $90 formation fee and a $300 annual tax in 6 Del. C. § 18-1107. The EIN is free on IRS.gov. State and city license fees must be confirmed with those offices. Customer pricing has no official Delaware index. Use BLS Delaware cleaning wages as a labor floor and bid the route.
How long does storefront windows take in Delaware?
Filing time is set by each office. We will not invent a processing clock. Ask the Division of Corporations, Division of Revenue, and the city for current turnaround. Insurance and landlord vendor packets often take longer than the state stamp. The first wash at a new storefront takes longer than later visits because you are still counting glass and learning access.
Is window washing a licensed contractor trade in Delaware?
Not as a statewide occupational license. Delaware has no DPR window-cleaner or general contractor board like some states. Some people still select a contractor category on the Revenue business license because of how Title 30 is written. Confirm classification with Division of Revenue. Do not assume a Florida-style contractor card exists here.
Does Delaware charge sales tax on window cleaning?
Delaware does not impose a state sales tax. Businesses pay a gross receipts tax under the Division of Revenue rules that apply to their license category. Confirm the current rate and exclusion with Revenue. Do not add a sales tax line just because a national invoice template includes one.
Do I need a Wilmington license if I only work there sometimes?
Ask the City of Wilmington. Chapter 5 of the city code covers business licenses. A state license does not automatically replace a city license. If your accounts sit in the city, get a written answer from Finance before you treat sometimes as exempt. Keep that email with your route file.
Can I operate as a sole proprietor?
Yes. You still need the Division of Revenue business license. You may skip the Division of Corporations filing if you are not forming an entity. Landlords will still want insurance. An EIN is still smart so customers are not holding your Social Security number. Confirm current sole proprietor steps on the state's starting-a-business page.
Do I need workers' comp if I have no employees?
If you have no employees, the workers' compensation chapter is aimed at employers. Confirm your facts with the Department of Labor and a licensed agent, especially if you use unpaid helpers or 1099 labor. The moment you hire, budget for coverage before the first shift. Do not guess from a forum thread.
Is there a surety bond for Delaware window cleaners?
There is no statewide window-cleaner bond board. A landlord or a general contractor on a larger site can still require a bond or higher insurance in the contract. Read the vendor packet. Do not buy a random contractor bond from an ad unless a named party asked for that exact instrument.
What about rinse water running into the street?
Local stormwater rules can apply if soapy water hits a drain. Some managers already ban certain soaps in the vendor rules. Use the least product you can and ask the city public works desk if rinse water into a storm inlet is a problem on that block. Confirm, do not assume from another town's habit.
Do I need a special vehicle permit for a pole route?
A regular insured vehicle is the normal pattern for a pole route. If you add a heavy tank or a trailer, confirm registration class with Delaware DMV before you build a tall rack that changes the vehicle. I would not buy a CDL setup for poles and a tank. Match the auto insurance to how the car is actually used.
Can I work from a ladder without formal OSHA training?
OSHA still applies to private employers. The 4-foot general industry fall rule is in 29 CFR 1910.28. A short step stool under that line is a different exposure than a second-story climb. A wallet card is not a Delaware license. Training that matches the actual work is what matters after an inspection or a fall.
How do I classify the business on the CRA form?
Use the Division of Revenue category list and ask them if the wording is ambiguous. Cleaning, janitorial, and contractor are the buckets people argue about. The wrong bucket can change gross receipts treatment. Save the written guidance. Do not copy another operator's code from a text thread.
What if I live in Pennsylvania or Maryland and wash Delaware storefronts?
You still need Delaware paper for the work you perform in Delaware, starting with the Revenue license analysis and any city license. Your home state may still tax you. Get an accountant who has actually filed a two-state service business. Forming a Delaware LLC does not, by itself, replace the need to handle the state where you live.
Sources
- Delaware Code Title 6, Chapter 18, Subchapter XI (LLC annual tax): Domestic and registered foreign LLCs pay an annual tax of $300
- IRS, Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online: An EIN can be obtained online directly from the IRS at no charge from the IRS
- OSHA 29 CFR 1910.28, Duty to have fall protection and falling object protection: General industry fall protection is required at 4 feet on unprotected sides or edges
- Delaware Division of Corporations, How to Form a New Business Entity: Official instructions for forming a Delaware entity and paying published filing fees, including the Certificate of Formation fee commonly listed at $90
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, Delaware: Official wage estimates for occupations in Delaware, including building cleaning workers
- Delaware Code Title 19, Chapter 23, Subchapter I (workers' compensation): Delaware workers' compensation chapter governing covered employment and employer duties
- Delaware Department of Labor, Workers' Compensation (Industrial Affairs): DOL Industrial Affairs is the state program page for workers' compensation information
- City of Wilmington Code of Ordinances, Chapter 5 Businesses (Municode): Wilmington regulates city business licenses in Chapter 5 of its code
- Delaware Division of Revenue, Gross Receipts Tax: Delaware imposes gross receipts tax by business category rather than a general retail sales tax
- OSHA, State Plans: OSHA lists state-plan states; Delaware is not a private-sector OSHA state-plan state