Delaware is a license state, and the license comes from a court rather than a police agency. Carrying a concealed deadly weapon upon or about the...
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Delaware is a license state, and the license comes from a court rather than a police agency. Carrying a concealed deadly weapon upon or about the person without a license issued under 11 Del. C. § 1441 is the offense defined by 11 Del. C. § 1442(a). Under § 1442(b) it is a class G felony, unless the deadly weapon is a firearm or a projectile weapon, in which case it is a class D felony. The § 1441 license is what removes carrying from that section's reach.
Section 1442(c) supplies a defense where the defendant holds an otherwise valid § 1441 license that expired, applied for renewal within the allotted time frame before expiration, and is alleged to have offended while that renewal application was pending before the court. Section 1442(d) adds a second defense: that the defendant complied with § 1456(b), the vehicle provision of § 1456, unsafe storage of a firearm or projectile weapon, a class A or B misdemeanor. See Vehicle Carry and Transport.
The license is worded around the phrase "concealed deadly weapon," not around handguns. Deadly weapon is defined at 11 Del. C. § 222(6)a. to include a firearm, a bomb, a projectile weapon, a knife of any sort other than an ordinary pocketknife carried in a closed position, a switchblade knife, a billy, a blackjack, a bludgeon, metal knuckles, a slingshot, a razor, a bicycle chain, an ice pick, and a dangerous instrument used or attempted to be used to cause death or serious physical injury. Section 222(6)b. defines "ordinary pocketknife" as a knife having a blade not more than 3.75 inches in length. The license therefore reaches well past the handgun, and so does the § 1442 offense.
The Superior Court issues. Applications are filed with the Prothonotary of the proper county under § 1441(a)(1), and the Superior Court Procedural Rules for Application and Administration of 11 Del. C. § 1441, cited here as the CCDW Procedural Rules, identify that as the Prothonotary in the county where the applicant resides, for both the application and a renewal affidavit. Under § 1441(f) the Secretary of State prepares the blank license forms for the Prothonotaries, who affix a photographic representation of the licensee before lamination, so the Delaware license is a photo license.
Each county Prothonotary handles CCDW filings:
The Attorney General has a role short of issuing. CCDW Procedural Rule 6 directs the Prothonotary to send duplicates of all filed documents to the Attorney General in the county of application, who may investigate whether approval will constitute a risk to the public peace and safety and may file a response within 30 days. If no objection is filed, the application or renewal affidavit is deemed unopposed.
Section 1441(a) opens the license to "a person of full age and good moral character," and attaches no number to "full age" in its own text. 1 Del. C. § 701 supplies the age of majority: a person who attains 18 is of full legal age for all purposes whatsoever unless otherwise provided. The neighboring bar fits: 11 Del. C. § 1448(a)(5) prohibits any person under 21 from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon, and § 1448(a)(5)b.3. exempts from that bar a person 18 years of age or older who has a § 1441 license.
The conditions in § 1441(a) must be "strictly complied with." They are:
Section 1441(b) requires the Prothonotary to publish notice of every application once, at least 10 days before the next term of the Superior Court, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, then under § 1441(c) to lay the applications and accompanying certificates before the court.
The Attorney General's CCDW page describes a Delaware resident as someone who has or must have a Delaware driver's license or is registered to vote in Delaware.
Section 1441(d) is explicit: the court "may or may not, in its discretion, approve any application," and to satisfy the judges fully as to the propriety of approving it, may receive remonstrances, hear evidence and arguments for and against, and establish general rules for that purpose. Section 1441(e) requires the court to endorse an application "approved" with the date, or "not approved." The Prothonotary notifies the applicant of an approval and, on receipt of the notarized training certification, issues the license. CCDW Procedural Rule 7 allows an applicant aggrieved by any action of the court to request a hearing in writing no later than 10 days after notification of the contested action.
One provision cuts against that discretion on necessity. Under § 1441(i), an adult who, as a successful petitioner under Part D, subchapter III of Chapter 9 of Title 10, has caused a protection from abuse order with a firearms prohibition under § 1045(a)(8) of Title 10 or § 1448(a)(6) of Title 11 to be entered against a person for alleged acts of domestic violence as defined in § 1041 of Title 10, is deemed to have shown necessity. All other requirements of § 1441(a) still apply.
Section 1441(a)(5)a. sets the terms directly. The license issued upon initial application is valid for 3 years. On or before the expiration date, the licensee may renew, without further application, for a further period of 5 years on payment of a $65 fee to the Prothonotary and on filing an affidavit stating that carrying is necessary for personal protection or protection of property, or both, and that the person possesses all the requirements for issuance. Like renewals may be made every 5 years thereafter. The court may inquire into a renewal request and deny it for good cause shown, and no renewal requirement beyond those in that paragraph may be imposed.
Two other provisions describe the term differently. Section 1441(e) directs issuance "for a term to expire on June 1 next succeeding the date of such approval." CCDW Procedural Rule 9 provides that on granting an initial application the Prothonotary issues the license for a term to expire on the first day of June of the second year next succeeding, and on granting a renewal affidavit for a term to expire on the first day of June of the third year next succeeding. The dating orders them. The CCDW Procedural Rules took effect on May 1, 1993 under their Rule 12, while § 1441 has been amended repeatedly since, most recently by 83 Del. Laws, c. 339, so the statutory 3-year and 5-year terms in § 1441(a)(5)a. are the later enactment. Confirm the expiration date printed on your license with the Prothonotary rather than calculating it. APPLICATION_PROCESS covers the renewal filing.
Three provisions apply to officers, and they do different things.
Section 1441(g) provides that § 1441 does not apply to the carrying of the usual weapon by police or other peace officers.
Section 1441(h) is a licensing path through the same Superior Court process for a person retired as a police officer, as "police officer" is defined by § 1911 of Title 11, who served at least 20 years in a law-enforcement agency within Delaware, or who remains currently eligible for a duty-connected disability pension. Applying within 90 days of retirement, § 1441(h)(1) requires a $65 fee to the Prothonotary of the county of residence, an Attorney General certification of good standing, and a letter from the officer's chief verifying good standing. Applying more than 90 days but within 20 years after retirement, § 1441(h)(2) requires the $65 fee and Attorney General certification forms addressing good standing, no conviction of any crime greater than a violation since retirement, and no psychiatric commitment since retirement.
Sections 1441A and 1441B are neither licensing nor reciprocity provisions. Each is Delaware's implementation of the federal Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004: § 1441A implements 18 U.S.C. § 926B for qualified law-enforcement officers, and § 1441B implements 18 U.S.C. § 926C for qualified retired law-enforcement officers. Each authorizes a covered individual carrying the identification described in its subsection (d) to carry a concealed firearm shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, defines the covered officer in its subsection (c), and preserves in its subsection (b) state laws restricting concealed firearms on private property and on state or local government property.
The Superior Court's published instructions for the new and the renewal application are captioned for Delaware residents only, and the county residency structure of § 1441(a)(2) and CCDW Procedural Rule 3 matches.
Section 1441(k) is the narrow non-resident route, and it runs through the Attorney General rather than the court. The Attorney General has discretion to issue, on a limited basis, a temporary license to carry a concealed deadly weapon to a non-resident whom the Attorney General determines has a short-term need to carry within the State in conjunction with that individual's employment, for the protection of person or property. Such a license automatically expires 30 days from issuance, is not subject to renewal, and must be carried at all times while in the State. A second or subsequent one may issue, but no individual may be issued more than three. Section 1441(l) requires the application to be in writing and to bear a notice that false statements are punishable by law.
Recognition of out-of-state licenses is a different question governed by § 1441(j). See Reciprocity.
The handgun qualified purchaser permit under 11 Del. C. § 1448D is issued by the State Bureau of Identification within the Division of State Police, not by the Superior Court. A federal court order in the Delaware district records that the permit-to-purchase law took effect as 11 Del. C. § 1448D on November 16, 2025.
Holding a CCDW license substitutes for it. Section 1448D(c)(2) provides that a person holding a valid license to carry concealed deadly weapons issued by the Superior Court under § 1441 need not apply for a handgun qualified purchaser permit before purchasing a handgun. The Delaware State Police Permit to Purchase page states the same, and adds that transferors, including licensed dealers, may lawfully sell or deliver a handgun to a CCDW holder who has no permit to purchase. Section 1448D(g)(4) separately exempts § 1441 licensees from that section's training requirement, but § 1448D(p) qualifies all of subsection (g): a person identified there is exempt only if the firearm training undertaken pursuant to their employment meets all the requirements of § 1448D(f)(4). Because § 1448D(c)(2) independently removes the permit requirement for a CCDW holder, that qualifier is moot for a licensee who does not apply for the permit anyway. The background-check statutes carry parallel exemptions in their non-application lists: § 1448A(e)(5), which puts a buyer or transferee holding a valid concealed deadly weapons license under §§ 1441, 1441A, and 1441B outside the dealer background-check requirement entirely, and § 1448B(c)(6) for a prospective buyer holding a current and valid concealed carry permit issued under § 1441.
The two permits do not otherwise line up. Under § 1448D(f)(1) the Director may not issue a handgun qualified purchaser permit to a person under the age of 21, and § 1448D(j)(1) makes that permit valid for 2 years from issuance.
Section 1441(m) provides that any license issued under § 1441 is void, and automatically repealed by operation of law, if the licensee is or becomes prohibited from owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon as specified in 11 Del. C. § 1448. CCDW Procedural Rule 11 lets the court revoke a license at any time for good cause shown, and states that good cause includes but is not limited to the provisions of § 1448.
Section 1448(a) bars a listed set of persons from purchasing, owning, possessing, or controlling a deadly weapon or ammunition for a firearm in Delaware. The categories include felony and crime-of-violence convictions, certain mental-health commitments and findings, specified drug convictions, juvenile felony-equivalent adjudications until age 25, persons under 21 subject to the § 1448(a)(5) exceptions, misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence, and fugitives from justice. Under § 1448(c), possession of a deadly weapon by a person prohibited is a class F felony, unless the weapon is a firearm or ammunition for a firearm and the violation falls under paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(8), in which case it is a class D felony, or unless the person is eligible for sentencing under § 1448(e), in which case it is a class C felony. Restrictions carries the full list and the relief provisions.
For current forms and filing instructions, use the Superior Court CCDW page at courts.delaware.gov and the Prothonotary in your county of residence.
This page covers one part of our Delaware concealed carry guide.
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