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.
Laws change at the state line.The free LawLert iPhone app alerts you when you cross into a state where a law you track differs: firearms, cannabis, alcohol, fireworks and 9 more. No account.Get the appWhat changes for you (11)
Firearm silencers are banned in Delaware: a silencer is a "destructive weapon" under 11 Del. C. 1444, and civilian possession is a class E felony even if the device is registered under the federal National Firearms Act…
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
Delaware prohibits home cultivation for adult recreational users: there is no personal home grow under state 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
Delaware requires every rider to have a helmet, but only riders under 19 — and newly endorsed riders, for their first two years — actually have to wear one. See 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Delaware repealed its switchblade ban (former 11 Del.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
Delaware permits Sunday off-premises sales statewide, and package (liquor) stores sell on Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. and Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Larger municipalities of 50,000 or more may limit…
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
Online casino play is legal in Delaware, and you must be 21 or older. Delaware was one of the first states (since 2013), offering it via the Delaware Lottery and the three casinos' platform.
Full Delaware rule · Official source · verified Aug 2, 2026
Delaware allows Sunday hunting: HB 278 (signed June 10, 2026) repealed its remaining Sunday-hunting restrictions, so all legal game animals and game birds may be hunted on Sundays during established seasons — permission…
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 — Firearm silencers are banned in Delaware: a silencer is a "destructive weapon" under 11 Del. C. 1444, and civilian possession is a class E felony even if the device is registered under the federal National Firearms Act… 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 — Delaware prohibits home cultivation for adult recreational users: there is no personal home grow under state 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. Every rule LawLert publishes carries a source URL, and every correction it has made is public at lawlertapp.com/how-we-verify. Laws change — confirm anything consequential against the linked source.