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Companies law
Basic forms:
Sole proprietorship
Partnership (General · Limited · LLP)
Corporation (LLC)
Cooperative
United States:
Business trust LLLP · Series LLC Delaware corporation Nevada corporation
European Economic Area, including European Union:
SE · SCE
United Kingdom / Commonwealth / Ireland:
Limited company (By shares · By guarantee) (Public · Proprietary) Community interest company
Civil law countries:
AB · AG · ANS · A/S · AS
K.K. · N.V. · OY · S.A. · GmbH
Doctrines
Corporate governance
Limited liability · Ultra vires
Business judgment rule
Internal affairs doctrine
De facto corporation and corporation by estoppel
Piercing the corporate veil
Rochdale Principles
Related areas of law
Contract · Civil procedure

A Delaware corporation is a corporation chartered in the U.S. state of Delaware. Delaware is well known as a corporate haven, and thus, over 50% of US publicly-traded corporations and 58% of the Fortune 500 companies are incorporated in the state.^[1]

Because of the extensive experience of the Delaware courts, Delaware has a more well-developed body of case law than other states, which serves to give corporations and their counsel greater guidance on matters of corporate governance and transaction liability issues. Disputes over the internal affairs of Delaware corporations are usually filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, which is a separate court of equity (as opposed to a court of law). Because it is a court of equity, there are no juries, and its cases are heard by the judges, called chancellors. There is currently one Chancellor and four Vice Chancellors. The court is a trial court, with one chancellor hearing each case. Litigants may appeal final decisions of the Court of Chancery to the Delaware Supreme Court.

The status of Delaware as a corporate haven is not recent: following the example of New Jersey who enacted corporate-friendly laws at the end of the 19th century to attract businesses from New York, Delaware played the game of fiscal competition by adopting in 1899 a general incorporation act aimed at attracting more businesses.

More broadly, many U.S. states have usury laws limiting the amount of interest a lender can charge, but Federal law allows corporations to 'import' these laws from their home state.^{[citation needed]} Delaware (amongst others) has relatively lax interest laws, in effect allowing banks to charge as much as they want, hence the preponderance of credit card companies and other lenders in the state.

However, other states such as Nevada are more friendly to corporations in certain respects, especially in offering protection from hostile takeovers.

Some believe that Delaware's preeminence is related to the fact that Delaware charges no income tax on corporations not operating within the state.

A state may levy, however, a franchise tax on corporations incorporated in it. Franchise taxes in Delaware are actually far higher than in most other states which typically charge little or nothing beyond corporate income taxes on the portion of the corporation's business done in that state. For instance, Nevada does not have a franchise tax. Delaware's franchise taxes supply about one-fifth of its state revenue.^[2]

• Delaware's formation and annual fees are substantially higher than most other jurisdictions.
• The Delaware Division of Corporations charges a fee to tell you the status of an entity. This is unusual as they are de facto charging a fee to tell you if you actually owe a fee.

1. ^ Delaware Division of Corporations
2. ^ Delaware 2005 Fiscal Notebook - State General Fund Revenues by Category (F.Y. 2002 - F.Y. 2005)

• Delaware Division of Corporations
• Delaware Department of State, Division of Corporations Official website, corporation name search.
• Delaware Court of Chancery