Pre-trip check · MD → DE
Driving from Maryland to Delaware?
The law changes the moment you cross the line — what's legal to carry, light, or do in Maryland can be a violation in Delaware. Every status below is live from LawLert's database, dated, and linked to its official source.
What changes for you (11)
BANNED. A firearm silencer is a "destructive weapon" under 11 Del. C. 1444, and civilian possession is a class E felony even if federally NFA-registered. Narrow military/police/wildlife-biologist exceptions only.
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Jul 18, 2026
Most open burning is banned during Ozone Season, May 1–Sept 30 (7 DE Admin Code 1113, DNREC Air Quality). Residential brush burning allowed Oct 1–Apr 30, 8am–4pm, with fire-board notice. Burning leaves/grass/trash…
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Home cultivation is prohibited for adult recreational users (no personal home grow under Delaware law).
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
Delaware criminalizes operating a drone to invade the privacy of, or harass, a person on private property (11 Del. C. 1334(b)).
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Delaware bans most consumer fireworks — anything aerial or explosive is illegal. Only ground-based, non-aerial sparkling devices, wire or stick sparklers (100 g or less), snakes, smoke devices and trick noisemakers are…
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Jul 27, 2026
All riders must possess a helmet; only riders under 19 (and newly-endorsed for 2 yrs) must wear one. 21 Del. C. 4185.
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Jun 18, 2026
Delaware repealed its switchblade ban (former 11 Del. C. 1446) effective July 30, 2025 (SB 108), so owning and carrying automatic knives is now broadly legal; carrying one concealed still requires a license (11 Del. C.…
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Jul 7, 2026
Package (liquor) stores sell Mon–Sat 9am–1am and Sunday 12pm–8pm. Sunday off-premise sales permitted statewide. Larger municipalities (50,000+) may limit Sunday sales to 4 hours.
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified May 31, 2026
No state or local sales tax. Delaware instead levies a gross receipts tax on businesses (paid by the seller, not added at the register).
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Jul 5, 2026
Legal — one of the first states (since 2013), via the Delaware Lottery and the three casinos' platform. Minimum age 21.
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Aug 2, 2026
Allowed. HB 278 (signed June 10, 2026) repealed Delaware's remaining Sunday-hunting restrictions — all legal game animals and game birds may be hunted on Sundays during established seasons. Private landowners and public…
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Jul 13, 2026
Same status
Matching status ≠ identical law — details, limits and penalties can still differ.
Carrying with a permit? Whether Maryland permits are honored in Delaware is its own map — check Delaware concealed-carry reciprocity. And federal land (national parks, forests) plays by federal rules in both states — see the federal-land guide.
Also from Maryland: MD → DC · MD → PA · MD → VA · MD → WV · reverse (DE → MD)
Maryland to Delaware: common questions
- Do the laws change when you drive from Maryland to Delaware?
- Yes — 11 of the 13 categories LawLert tracks have a different status in Delaware than in Maryland: firearms, burn bans, cannabis, drones, fireworks, driving, knives, alcohol, taxes, gambling, hunting. Each is listed on this page with its current status, the official source it came from, and the date it was last verified.
- What are the firearms laws in Delaware if I'm coming from Maryland?
- Delaware: Restricted — BANNED. A firearm silencer is a "destructive weapon" under 11 Del. C. 1444, and civilian possession is a class E felony even if federally NFA-registered. Narrow military/police/wildlife-biologist exceptions only. In Maryland the same category is Conditional.
- What are the burn bans laws in Delaware if I'm coming from Maryland?
- Delaware: Restricted — Most open burning is banned during Ozone Season, May 1–Sept 30 (7 DE Admin Code 1113, DNREC Air Quality). Residential brush burning allowed Oct 1–Apr 30, 8am–4pm, with fire-board notice. Burning leaves/grass/trash… In Maryland the same category is Conditional.
- What are the cannabis laws in Delaware if I'm coming from Maryland?
- Delaware: Restricted — Home cultivation is prohibited for adult recreational users (no personal home grow under Delaware law). In Maryland the same category is Permitted.
- Is my Maryland concealed carry permit honored in Delaware?
- Permit reciprocity is decided separately from the firearms status shown on this page, so it is not answered here. LawLert publishes Delaware's recognition list, with the statute or agency page behind it, at lawlertapp.com/firearms/DE/reciprocity. Permitless carry, where a state allows it, is a different question again — it does not make an out-of-state permit valid.
- How current is this Maryland to Delaware comparison?
- Every rule on this page stores the date it was last checked against its source; the oldest on this comparison is 2026-05-31. LawLert carries 6,693 rules, each with a source URL, and publishes a log of every correction it has made at lawlertapp.com/how-we-verify. Laws change — confirm anything consequential against the linked source.