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Storm contractor rules in Delaware: the Home Solicitation Sales Act, salesperson ID cards and solicitation hours

Delaware's Code sets three rules for anyone selling door to door: a three-business-day cancellation right, a state-issued salesperson identification card, and solicitation hours of 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. This page restates Title 6 chapters 44 and 25 and the Division of Revenue page as published, read on October 9, 2026.

Checked against the sources at the bottom of this page on October 9, 2026. Rules, fees and pay change: the source has the last word.

This page reports what the official source says. It is not legal advice: ask the office named here. The wider picture is on the storm contractor rules page. Every row is statute text or the Division of Revenue's own page. None of it names tree work or storms. The three subchapters of the emergency management chapter that were read hold no price limit for emergencies, which is different from saying Delaware has none elsewhere.

The sections in one table

SourceWhat it says
6 Del. C. 4403(3), door-to-door saleA sale of consumer goods or services of US$25 or more, where the seller or the seller's representative personally solicits and the buyer's agreement is made away from the seller's place of business, including after the buyer's invitation. Consumer services are those bought mainly for personal, family or household purposes
6 Del. C. 4403(3)(c) and (e), exclusionsNot covered: a sale where the buyer started the contact and needs the work for a bona fide immediate personal emergency and gives a separate dated, signed handwritten statement that describes it and waives the right to cancel, and a visit the buyer asked for to repair or maintain the buyer's personal property. Added services or goods sold on that visit are not excluded
6 Del. C. 4404, unlawful practicesIt is an unlawful practice for the seller not to give a completed receipt or contract with a boldface notice that the buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day, not to give a detachable Notice of Cancellation form, not to tell the buyer of the right orally, or to misrepresent it. The seller must refund within 10 business days of a valid notice
6 Del. C. 4405, identification cardA seller or representative who solicits a door-to-door sale at a home must wear a door-to-door salesperson identification card issued by the Department of Finance. It shows the business name, the person's full legal name, the seller's telephone number and address, and the Delaware business licence number. A first offense carries a fine of US$75 to US$150 and later offenses US$100 to US$250
6 Del. C. 4406, hoursA door-to-door sale may be solicited at a home only between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Delaware time
6 Del. C. 2513, unlawful practiceDeception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, unfair practice, or hiding a material fact, with intent that others rely on it, in connection with the sale of merchandise is an unlawful practice, whether or not anyone was misled. The Attorney General may seek injunctions under 2522
Division of Revenue pageCards are available at no cost and must be updated each year. The Division says holding a card does not mean the State approved its holder for door-to-door sales: the card states that the holder is an employee of the licensed business named on it. Exceptions include non-profits, home sales events, utilities and cable operators, and solicitation by telephone, mail, email, internet or door drop

Cancellation and the emergency exception

Chapter 44 gives the buyer three business days, a notice form and an oral reminder. The emergency exception in 4403 has three parts: the buyer started the contact, the need is an immediate personal emergency, and the buyer wrote and signed a waiver. The statute text read does not say whether a storm-damaged tree on a house counts. That is a question for the Delaware Department of Justice.

Who may knock on the door

Sections 4405 and 4406 say the card and hours rules apply even to a sale under the US$25 line. The Division of Revenue lists the exceptions in plain words and gives its business master file telephone line, (302) 577-8778, for questions. The page reads that card holders appear on an online list that the Division updates throughout the year. For how other states treat tree work, see contractor licences for tree work. The scam warnings that attorneys general issue after storms are on the storm tree scams page.

Sources