Can your winery ship wine to Delaware?

Delaware DTC wine shipping requirementsCan a winery ship wine directly to consumers in Delaware?No. A wine direct shipper licence under 4 Del. C. § 526 is required from 2026-08-15, and the delivering carrier needs a separate § 527 common carrier licence. Before that date no permit of any kind authorises shipment to a Delaware consumer's home. Last verified 2026-10-01 against primary sources; next review due 2026-11-01.

DTC shipping

Not generally permitted

Permit required

Yes — a wine direct shipper licence under 4 Del. C. § 526 is required from 2026-08-15, and the delivering carrier needs a separate § 527 common carrier licence. Before that date no permit of any kind authorises shipment to a Delaware consumer's home.

Licence

Wine Direct Shipper License (4 Del. C. § 526, effective 2026-08-15); the fee provision § 554(jj) calls it a licence 'as a direct shipper as provided in § 526 of this title'. A separate common carrier licence under § 527 is required of the delivering carrier.

Application fee

$400 biennial licence fee, or $3,600 biennial if the licensee ships more than 200 cases annually to Delaware residents (4 Del. C. § 554(jj), effective 2026-08-15). Common carrier licence: $500 biennial (§ 554, per 85 Del. Laws c. 139). Potentially an additional $1,000 application process fee under § 554(x) where the application requires investigation or a hearing.

Volume cap

Three-part structure, effective 2026-08-15. (1) Per household: up to 3 nine-litre cases of wine annually to a household located in Delaware. (2) Per licensee aggregate: not more than 1,800 nine-litre cases into Delaware per year — 'A direct shipper licensee that ships into Delaware 1,800 9-liter cases in 1 year will have its direct shipper license cancelled by the Commissioner.' (3) Fee tier, not a cap: shipping more than 200 cases annually moves the biennial licence fee from $400 to $3,600.

Sales tax

false — Delaware imposes no state or local sales tax at all, so there is no DTC sales-tax collection obligation now or after 2026-08-15

State sales-tax rate

N/A — no state sales tax exists, therefore no general rate and no wine- or DTC-specific rate

Excise tax

Yes from 2026-08-15 — the wine direct shipper must 'Pay to the Division of Revenue monthly, or as otherwise required by regulations promulgated by the Commissioner, all excise taxes due on sales to residents of this State at the rate set forth in § 581(d).' Correct as 'No' only while no lawful DTC channel exists.

Excise rate

$1.63 per gallon of wine (4 Del. C. § 581(d)) — recorded in the statute's own unit, PER GALLON, not converted

Shipment reports

Monthly from 2026-08-15. Shipper reports to the Commissioner AND the Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE): total wine shipped into Delaware, name and address of each individual to whom wine was sold with the amount of each sale, the tracking number for each shipment, and the name and licence number of the common carrier. The carrier separately reports monthly to the Commissioner, DATE and the Division of Revenue (§ 527(c)(1)), including consignor/consignee names and addresses and tracking numbers.

Record retention

At least 3 years from 2026-08-15 — 'Direct shippers shall maintain the records for at least 3 years' (4 Del. C. § 526(d))

Product registration

Not required — no brand, label or product registration with the Commissioner; federal label compliance still applies, and the licence application requires a copy of the applicant's state alcohol licence and Federal Basic Permit

Approved carriers

From 2026-08-15, delivery may be made only by a common carrier holding a Delaware licence under 4 Del. C. § 527 ($500 biennial). No carrier has been licensed and OABCC publishes no carrier list, carrier application or approved-carrier page as of 2026-08-01. FedEx/UPS are not named in the statute.

Regulator

Office of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commissioner (OABCC)

Last verified

2026-10-01

Next review due

2026-11-01

Verified 2026-10-01 by primary-source audit against 45 primary sources; next review due 2026-11-01. How we verify.

DTC wine compliance guide, all 51 jurisdictions

Wine compliance, explained — the six layers

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Compliance Vine — reports from every channel