Secretary of State

Del. Code tit. 29, ch. 23
in effect

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2301 Salary.

The Secretary of State is to be paid an annual salary as determined by the General Assembly in the annual appropriations act.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2303 Assistant to the Secretary of State; appointment; duties.

The Secretary of State may appoint from among the employees of the Secretary’s office an Assistant to the Secretary of State who shall perform such duties as directed by law or by the Secretary of State to perform.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2304 Keeper of Great Seal and records.

The Secretary of State shall be keeper of the Great Seal of the State, and through the Delaware Public Archives of all acts and public resolutions of the General Assembly and of all archival records and public papers belonging to the Executive Department.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2305 Seal of office; documents authenticated by Great Seal as evidence.

(a) The Secretary of State shall have a seal of office. All marriage licenses shall be under the Secretary’s seal, shall be signed by the Governor and countersigned by the Secretary. Copies of records and other papers of the Secretary’s office authenticated by this seal or by the Great Seal shall be evidence. (b) The Secretary of State may from time to time replace the seal or seals of the Secretary’s office. When such replacement is made, the old seal or seals shall be destroyed in the Secretary’s presence.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2306 Use of Great Seal and Privy Seal; restrictions; reproduction of seals and other insignia subject to approval; penalties.

(a) The Secretary of State as the keeper of the Great Seal and the Privy Seal shall restrict the use of the Great Seal and the Privy Seal to documents, records, publications and other business transactions of the State. (b) The seals, coat of arms, state flag, emblems and other insignia of this State may be used, reproduced or published with the written consent of the Secretary of State, provided that use is restricted to educational uses such as encyclopedias, reference books, historical publications or similar uses which do not involve advertising or other means of personal gain or which abrogate the rights of the citizenry of the State. (c) Whoever violates or fails to comply with this section shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $250. (d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in any act enacted prior to April 17, 1961, authorizing the Governor, the State Treasurer and the Secretary of State to act as issuing officers in issuing bonds of this State or in any other law, the Secretary of State may, in executing said bonds on behalf of the State, cause a facsimile of the Great Seal of the State to be engraved or printed thereon and, in any such case, it shall not be necessary to affix to or impress on said bonds the Great Seal of the State.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2307 Preservation of legislative records.

(a) The Delaware Public Archives shall sort, arrange, label and file, according to legislative session, all original bills, resolutions, committee reports and other legislative records, keeping the Senate records separate and distinct from those of the House. (b) The Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House shall, at the end of each session of the General Assembly, deliver to the Delaware Public Archives all the original bills, resolutions, petitions and other legislative records of the session to be labeled and preserved by the Delaware Public Archives.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2308 Commissions and other instruments under the Great Seal.

The Secretary of State shall make and register commissions and affix the Great Seal to the commissions and to all other instruments and records required to be under the Great Seal or of which it is the proper authentication.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2309 Certification of records.

Except when the Great Seal of the State is required to be affixed to a certification of a record, the certification of all records, licenses, registrations, papers or other documents required to be certified by the Secretary of State shall be made under the signature and seal of office of the Secretary of State. The signature may be a printed facsimile, except when the signature of the Secretary is requested or required by law, or when the Great Seal of the State is affixed thereto, or when the document is to be authenticated, in which case the signature may be a printed facsimile when attested by the Assistant to the Secretary of State.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2310 Preparation, delivery and accounting of marriage licenses.

The Department of Health and Social Services, pursuant to § 113 of Title 13, shall prepare and deliver to the clerks of the peace marriage licenses required by law, duly signed and sealed, and shall keep a correct account of the same. The death of any officer authorized to sign marriage licenses for the State shall not void marriage licenses then duly signed by such officer.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2311 Disposition of moneys received; Division of Corporations Corporate Revolving Fund; Secretary of State Special Operations Fund.

(a) All fees which are by law taxable by and payable to the Secretary of State, except those fees collected pursuant to §§ 9-525(d)(3), 15-1207(b), 17-1107(b), and 18-1105(b) of Title 6, § 3813(b) of Title 12, § 391(h) of Title 8 and §§ 2318 and 4307 of this title, shall be collected by the Secretary of State and paid into the State Treasury, provided however that an amount equal to 23% of all fees assessed pursuant to § 9-525 of Title 6 (excluding any fees assessed pursuant to § 9-525(d)(3) of Title 6 and any fees assessed pursuant to § 9-525(a)(2) of Title 6 in excess of $15), and an annual amount not to exceed $1 million equal to the sum of: (1) All fees and taxes collected pursuant to Chapter 69 of Title 18 required by law to be transferred to the General Fund, and (2) Those fees collected pursuant to §§ 3813(a)(2) and 3862(1) of Title 12, shall be remitted monthly to the treasury of the City of Wilmington. To ensure implementation of this subsection, the Insurance Commissioner shall, transfer any amounts collected subsequent to June 30, 2007, pursuant to Chapter 69 of Title 18 and required by law to be transferred to the General Fund to the Secretary of State. (b) There is hereby created, within the Division of Corporations, a special fund to be designated as the Division of Corporations Corporate Revolving Fund which shall be used in the operation of the Division of Corporations in the performance of special requests for services and the funding of appropriated special funds positions. (c) All fees which are by law payable to the Secretary of State pursuant to §§ 9-525(d)(3), 15-1207(b), 17-1107(b), and 18-1105(b) of Title 6, § 3813(b) of Title 12 and § 391(h) of Title 8 and § 4307 of this title shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of said Division of Corporations Corporate Revolving Fund. No other fees or taxes collected by the Secretary of State shall be deposited in said Fund. (d) Funds in the Division of Corporations Corporate Revolving Fund shall be used by the Division of Corporations in the performance of the functions and duties involved in creating and maintaining the capability to perform services in response to special requests for the same day service and 24-hour turnaround service. (e) The maximum unencumbered balance which shall remain in the Division of Corporations, Corporate Revolving Fund at the end of Fiscal Year 2001 shall be $1,300,000 and any amount in excess thereof shall be transferred to the General Fund of the State. The maximum unencumbered balance which shall remain in the Division of Corporations, Corporate Revolving Fund at the end of Fiscal Year 2002 and any subsequent fiscal year thereafter shall be $1,000,000 and any amount in excess thereof shall be transferred to the General Fund of the State. (f) There is hereby created, within the office of the Secretary of State, a special fund to be designated as the Secretary of State Special Operations Fund. Funds deposited in said Special Operations Fund shall be used to maintain and improve the capability to perform the operations, functions and duties of the Secretary of State, including but not limited to maintaining and improving the statewide communications network maintained by the Secretary of State, creating, maintaining and improving electronic files, creating, maintaining and improving the ability to provide remote access to electronic files maintained by the Secretary of State and funding appropriated positions relating to such activities. (g) All fees which are by law payable to the Secretary of State pursuant to § 2318 of this title shall be deposited in the State Treasury to the credit of said Secretary of State Special Operations Fund. No other fees or taxes collected by the Secretary of State shall be deposited in said Fund.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2312 Record of newspaper publications.

The Secretary of State shall make an entry in the Executive Register of every publication made by the Secretary in a newspaper stating the name of the paper.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2313 Books and accounts open to inspection of legislative committees.

The books, papers and accounts of the Secretary of State shall be open to inspection of committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, and the Secretary shall furnish the committees with copies and extracts as required.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2314 Printing and publication of laws; certification of costs.

The Secretary of State shall publish and distribute the laws as required by §§ 902-910 of this title, and, the binding being done to the Secretary’s acceptance, shall certify the sum due therefor according to contract, stating the pages, price and all items of charge.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2315 Fees.

The fees to be charged by the Secretary of State for the use of the State are as follows: $ 3.00 $ 2.00 $ .05 $ 10.00 $ 10.00 For recording, filing and indexing certificates, articles of association and any other paper required by law to be recorded by the Secretary of State, the same fees as provided by law for the recorder, except as otherwise provided in Title 8. $ 15.00 $ 30.00 For certifying acts or resolutions of a private nature, acts of a private character pertaining to the acknowledgement or recording of deeds or other papers or to titles or conveyances of real estate, the fees prescribed in § 909 of this title [repealed]. $ 15.00 $ 10.00 $ 10.00 $ 100.00 $ 50.00

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2316 Collection of commission fees from gubernatorial appointees.

Whenever the Governor commissions to office any person, whom the Governor is or may be authorized by the Constitution or by law to commission and whose appointment is required to be confirmed by the Senate, the Secretary of State shall collect from every such person as fee for the commission which the Secretary shall receive, the proportionate part of the fee which the Secretary is by law required to demand and receive for the full term to which the appointment to the office is limited in the ratio which the time from the date of the appointment to the last day of the next session of the Senate bears to the full term to which the appointment is limited.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2317 Furnishing of copies of acts to state or county officers.

(a) Upon request of any state or county officer, the Delaware Public Archives shall furnish to the officer, without cost, a certified copy of any act of the General Assembly pertaining to the duties of the official making the request. (b) The Secretary of State shall, at the end of each session of the General Assembly, send to the Auditor a certified copy of any act passed during the session granting a tax for the support of government or concerning any duty to be performed by the Secretary.

Del. Code tit. 29, § 2318 Remote access to electronic files, authentications and apostilles.

(a) The Secretary of State may, in the Secretary’s discretion, permit persons remote access to electronic files maintained by the Secretary of State, and may from time to time make, amend, alter and rescind rules and regulations governing remote access to such electronic files. (b) The Secretary of State shall establish, and may from time to time amend or alter, a schedule of fees and charges payable to the Secretary of State by, and shall collect such fees and charges for the use of the State from, persons permitted remote access to electronic files, such schedule not to exceed $30 for each fee or charge excepting persons permitted remote access to electronic files maintained by the Secretary of State pursuant to Title 6, Article IX of the Uniform Commercial Code, such schedule not to exceed $75 for each fee or charge. (c) The Secretary of State shall establish, and may from time to time amend or alter, a schedule of fees and charges payable to the Secretary of State by, and shall collect such fees and charges for the use of the State from, persons requesting authentications and/or apostilles, such schedule not to exceed $40 for each fee or charge for regular service plus an additional sum of up to: (1) $40 for each service requested to be completed within a 24-hour period from the time of the request; (2) $50 for each service to be completed within the same day of the request; and (3) $500 for each service to be completed within a 2-hour period from the time of the request. Such schedule shall provide for a maximum fee of $30 to be charged in each instance where a natural person acting on that person’s own behalf requests more than 1 authentication and/or apostille for a noncommercial purpose, including but not limited to adoptions and custody cases.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title29/c023/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026

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