Delaware: Homestead Exemption Amounts
The short answer
Delaware is the rare state with NO homestead exemption against an ordinary money judgment. Outside of bankruptcy, your home can be seized and sold to satisfy a judgment: 'Lands, tenements and hereditaments ... may be seized and sold upon judgment and execution obtained' when there isn't enough personal property to cover the debt (10 Del. C. § 4901). The only home protection Delaware offers is $200,000 of equity in your principal residence, and it applies ONLY inside a federal bankruptcy or state insolvency proceeding (10 Del. C. § 4914): it was raised from $125,000 effective January 1, 2025. It is not something you record in advance, and it does nothing to stop a state-court judgment creditor from executing against your home.
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This is the general rule in Delaware. Ezel applies current Delaware law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law | Del. Code Title 10 ('Courts and Judicial Procedure'), ch. 49 ('Executions'), subchapter I. § 4901 makes land subject to execution and sale on a judgment; §§ 4902-4903 exempt only personal property (no real property); § 4914 ('Exemptions in bankruptcy and insolvency') is the ONLY provision that protects a home, and only in a bankruptcy or insolvency case. Delaware has no constitutional homestead provision and, uniquely among nearly all states, no general homestead exemption in ordinary civil-judgment law |
|---|---|
| Exemption amount | For an ordinary money judgment outside bankruptcy: $0: there is no homestead exemption. Real property 'may be seized and sold upon judgment and execution' (§ 4901). The only home protection is $200,000 of equity in a principal residence (or a manufactured home), available solely in a federal bankruptcy or state insolvency proceeding (§ 4914(c)(1)). That figure was raised from $125,000 to $200,000 effective January 1, 2025 (84 Del. Laws, c. 329 / HB 318) |
| Size or acreage limit | None, and not applicable. Delaware has no general homestead to limit by size, and the bankruptcy-only § 4914 exemption is capped by dollar value ($200,000 of equity), not by acreage or lot size |
| Automatic, or do you have to file something? | Neither, in the ordinary sense. Delaware has no recordable homestead declaration that protects a home from a judgment creditor, because there is no such exemption to invoke. The § 4914 principal-residence exemption exists only in a bankruptcy or insolvency case, where the debtor claims it on the bankruptcy schedules; it requires no advance recording and cannot be used to block a state-court execution |
| Who qualifies, and can spouses double it? | Only 'an individual debtor domiciled in Delaware' in a federal bankruptcy or state insolvency proceeding may claim the § 4914 principal-residence exemption. No doubling: § 4914(d) caps the principal-residence exemption at 'a total not to exceed $200,000 in value in a principal residence in an individual or a joint case,' so spouses filing a joint bankruptcy still share one $200,000 cap, not $400,000 (unlike the separate $25,000 personal-property and $25,000 vehicle/tools allowances, which each debtor may claim) |
| What it actually protects you from | Outside bankruptcy: nothing. A judgment creditor can levy on and force the sale of your Delaware home (§ 4901). Inside a federal bankruptcy or state insolvency case, § 4914(c)(1) lets a debtor exempt up to $200,000 of principal-residence equity from the bankruptcy estate, so a Chapter 7 trustee cannot liquidate that equity, but this is an exemption from the bankruptcy estate, not a shield that stops a lien from attaching or a sheriff's sale in state-court collection |
| Debts that can still reach your home | Because there is no general homestead, essentially any ordinary judgment can reach the home in state court, and mortgages, consensual liens, and property taxes reach it regardless. Even the § 4914 bankruptcy exemption is denied where the debt arises from a securities-law violation; fraud, deceit, or manipulation in a fiduciary capacity or in a securities transaction; or 'any criminal act, intentional tort, or wilful or reckless misconduct that caused serious physical injury or death to another individual in the preceding 5 years' (§ 4914(e)) |
| Protection for sale proceeds | None. Delaware has no homestead sale-proceeds provision. There is no general homestead to generate protected proceeds, and § 4914 is an exemption from a bankruptcy or insolvency estate, not a rule protecting the cash from a sale of the home |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law
Delaware has no constitutional homestead clause and no general homestead statute. The relevant law is in Del. Code Title 10 ("Courts and Judicial Procedure"), Chapter 49 ("Executions"), Subchapter I:
- § 4901 makes land subject to seizure and sale on a judgment.
- §§ 4902-4903 exempt only personal property (a Bible, tools of trade up to $75/$50, sewing machines, a $500 head-of-family wildcard), no real property.
- § 4914 ("Exemptions in bankruptcy and insolvency") is the only provision that protects a home, and it operates solely in a bankruptcy or insolvency case.
Exemption amount
For an ordinary judgment, none. Section 4901 expressly allows a creditor to seize and sell "lands, tenements and hereditaments" on a judgment when personal property is insufficient. There is no dollar figure protecting the home because there is no homestead exemption to attach one to.
In bankruptcy or insolvency, $200,000. Section 4914(c)(1) lets a Delaware-domiciled debtor exempt "equity in real property or equity in a manufactured home ... which constitutes a debtor's principal residence in an aggregate amount not to exceed $200,000." That cap was $125,000 for years; HB 318 (84 Del. Laws, c. 329) raised it to $200,000 effective January 1, 2025.
Size or acreage limit
None, and not applicable. There is no general homestead to limit by acreage, and the bankruptcy-only exemption is capped by dollar value ($200,000 of equity), not land area.
Automatic, or do you have to file something?
Neither, in the ordinary sense. Delaware has no recordable homestead declaration that shields a home from a judgment creditor, because there is nothing to record. The § 4914 principal-residence exemption exists only in a bankruptcy or insolvency case, where the debtor simply claims it on the bankruptcy schedules. It requires no advance filing, and, importantly, it cannot be used to stop a state-court execution against your home.
Who qualifies, and can spouses double it?
Only "an individual debtor domiciled in Delaware" in a bankruptcy or insolvency proceeding may claim the § 4914 principal-residence exemption. No doubling. Section 4914(d) caps it at "a total not to exceed $200,000 in value in a principal residence in an individual or a joint case", so a married couple filing jointly shares a single $200,000 cap on the home, not $400,000. (The separate $25,000 personal-property allowance and the $25,000 vehicle and $25,000 tools-of-trade allowances are available to each spouse.)
What it actually protects you from
Outside bankruptcy, nothing. A judgment creditor can levy on your home and have it sold (§ 4901). Inside a bankruptcy or insolvency case, § 4914(c)(1) lets you keep up to $200,000 of principal-residence equity out of the bankruptcy estate, so the trustee can't liquidate it. But that is an exemption from the bankruptcy estate, it is not a defense that stops a lien from attaching or a sheriff's sale in ordinary collection.
Debts that can still reach your home
Because there is no general homestead, essentially any ordinary judgment can reach your Delaware home in state court, and mortgages, other consensual liens, and property taxes reach it regardless. On top of that, the § 4914 bankruptcy exemption itself is denied where the debt arises from:
- A securities-law violation;
- Fraud, deceit, or manipulation in a fiduciary capacity or in a securities transaction; or
- Any criminal act, intentional tort, or wilful or reckless misconduct that caused serious physical injury or death to another person in the preceding five years (§ 4914(e)).
Protection for sale proceeds
None. Delaware has no homestead proceeds provision. There is no general homestead to generate protected proceeds, and § 4914 protects equity within a bankruptcy or insolvency estate, not the cash from a sale.
What trips people up
A "homestead declaration" won't protect your Delaware home from a judgment. Some states let you record a declaration to shield equity; Delaware does not, because it has no exemption for the declaration to trigger. Recording one has no effect on a state-court judgment creditor.
The $200,000 figure only means something in bankruptcy. People see "Delaware homestead $200,000" on exemption charts and assume it protects them from any creditor. It doesn't, § 4914 applies only in a federal bankruptcy or state insolvency case.
Married couples don't double the home exemption. Even in a joint bankruptcy, the principal-residence cap stays at $200,000 total (§ 4914(d)).
Tenancy by the entirety may matter more here than a homestead. Because Delaware offers no judgment-creditor homestead, married Delaware homeowners often rely on holding title as tenants by the entirety (which can shield the home from a creditor of only one spouse), a separate ownership concept, not a homestead exemption, and one to discuss with a lawyer.
Common questions
Does Delaware have a homestead exemption? Not for ordinary money judgments. Your home can be seized and sold on a judgment (§ 4901). The only home exemption, $200,000, applies solely in a bankruptcy or insolvency case (§ 4914).
How much of my home equity is protected from creditors in Delaware? Outside bankruptcy, none. In bankruptcy, up to $200,000 of principal-residence equity (§ 4914(c)(1)).
Do I file a homestead declaration in Delaware? There is none that protects against judgment creditors. The § 4914 exemption is claimed on bankruptcy schedules, not recorded in advance.
Can my spouse and I each claim $200,000 on our home? No. A joint bankruptcy shares one $200,000 principal-residence cap (§ 4914(d)).
When did Delaware's bankruptcy homestead go up to $200,000? Effective January 1, 2025, up from $125,000 (HB 318).
Statutes and sources
- 10 Del. C. § 4901 (lands may be seized and sold on judgment and execution), https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c049/sc01/index.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
- 10 Del. C. § 4914 (exemptions in bankruptcy and insolvency; $200,000 principal-residence equity; federal opt-out; joint-case cap; disqualifying debts), https://delcode.delaware.gov/title10/c049/sc01/index.html (accessed 2026-07-10)
Source links
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