New to the idea? Can you get married online? See how it works in all 50 states — then read on for everything specific to Delaware.

Here is the practical payoff if you searched for an online Delaware marriage: no trip to the Clerk of the Peace, no day off work, no being in the same room — you can marry legally from your couch anywhere in Delaware. You obtain your marriage license and complete the ceremony entirely online through a Utah video ceremony, and Delaware recognizes the result under the U.S. Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause. The one nuance: Delaware's own license is not available online. Delaware is the only state that still uses a Clerk of the Peace to issue licenses, and under Title 13 of the Delaware Code both partners must appear together in person, observe a 24-hour waiting period, and — critically — the marriage must be solemnized within Delaware. So the online path uses a Utah license instead.

Here is how the online route works: a video ceremony on a Utah marriage license. Utah has no residency requirement and its web-conference ceremonies count as taking place in Utah, so Delaware couples qualify, and under the U.S. Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause the resulting certificate is valid across Delaware for every purpose. Because Delaware is the one state that pins both the license desk and the ceremony itself to its own soil, the two routes diverge more sharply here than almost anywhere — so the rest of this page lays out exactly when each one makes sense.

For the full national picture, see our complete guide to whether online marriage is legal and how the Utah process is recognized in all 50 states under the Full Faith and Credit Clause.

Delaware packs an outsized share of long-distance logistics into three small counties. Dover Air Force Base anchors the country's largest military mortuary and a constant rotation of airlift crews who deploy on short notice; the corporate-law world that incorporates most of the Fortune 500 keeps Wilmington attorneys and finance professionals booked through every business hour the Clerk of the Peace is open; and the Sussex County coast — Rehoboth, Bethany, Lewes — fills with seasonal couples who are never both in-state at the same time. For anyone who can't physically stand together at a Delaware Clerk of the Peace during the week, the Utah video route is usually the only practical path to a legal marriage.

How Delaware Residents Get Married Online

A Delaware marriage license is issued only in person: both partners appear together at a county Clerk of the Peace office (New Castle, Kent, or Sussex) with valid government-issued photo ID. The fee is $50 when at least one applicant is a Delaware resident, or $100 when neither is. Delaware imposes a 24-hour waiting period after the license is issued (a Clerk of the Peace may shorten or waive it for good cause), the license is valid for 30 days, and the marriage must be solemnized inside Delaware before two witnesses age 18 or older. No blood test is required. None of this can be done online. The online alternative is a Utah license + Utah video ceremony, which is valid in Delaware under the Full Faith and Credit Clause.