Del. C. » Title 10 — Procedure · CHAPTER 31. Process; Commencement of Actions · Courts and Judicial Procedure
Delaware Code

10 Del. C. § 3114 (2026)

Service of process on nonresident directors, trustees, members of the governing body or officers of Delaware corporations

✓ current as of May 2026
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(a) Every nonresident of this State who after September 1, 1977, accepts election or appointment as a director, trustee or member of the governing body of a corporation organized under the laws of this State or who after June 30, 1978, serves in such capacity, and every resident of this State who so accepts election or appointment or serves in such capacity and thereafter removes residence from this State shall, by such acceptance or by such service, be deemed thereby to have consented to the appointment of the registered agent of such corporation (or, if there is none, the Secretary of State) as an agent upon whom service of process may be made in all civil actions or proceedings brought in this State, by or on behalf of, or against such corporation, in which such director, trustee or member is a necessary or proper party, or in any action or proceeding against such director, trustee or member for violation of a duty in such capacity, whether or not the person continues to serve as such director, trustee or member at the time suit is commenced. Such acceptance or service as such director, trustee or member shall be a signification of the consent of such director, trustee or member that any process when so served shall be of the same legal force and validity as if served upon such director, trustee or member within this State and such appointment of the registered agent (or, if there is none, the Secretary of State) shall be irrevocable.

(b) Every nonresident of this State who after January 1, 2004, accepts election or appointment as an officer of a corporation organized under the laws of this State, or who after such date serves in such capacity, and every resident of this State who so accepts election or appointment or serves in such capacity and thereafter removes residence from this State shall, by such acceptance or by such service, be deemed thereby to have consented to the appointment of the registered agent of such corporation (or, if there is none, the Secretary of State) as an agent upon whom service of process may be made in all civil actions or proceedings brought in this State, by or on behalf of, or against such corporation, in which such officer is a necessary or proper party, or in any action or proceeding against such officer for violation of a duty in such capacity, whether or not the person continues to serve as such officer at the time suit is commenced. Such acceptance or service as such officer shall be a signification of the consent of such officer that any process when so served shall be of the same legal force and validity as if served upon such officer within this State and such appointment of the registered agent (or, if there is none, the Secretary of State) shall be irrevocable. As used in this section, the word “officer” means an officer of the corporation who:

(1) Is or was the president, chief executive officer, chief operating officer, chief financial officer, chief legal officer, controller, treasurer or chief accounting officer of the corporation at any time during the course of conduct alleged in the action or proceeding to be wrongful;

(2) Is or was identified in the corporation’s public filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission because such person is or was 1 of the most highly compensated executive officers of the corporation at any time during the course of conduct alleged in the action or proceeding to be wrongful; or

(3) Has, by written agreement with the corporation, consented to be identified as an officer for purposes of this section.

(c) Service of process shall be effected by serving the registered agent (or, if there is none, the Secretary of State) with 1 copy of such process in the manner provided by law for service of writs of summons. In addition, the prothonotary or the Register in Chancery of the court in which the civil action or proceeding is pending shall, within 7 days of such service, deposit in the United States mails, by registered mail, postage prepaid, true and attested copies of the process, together with a statement that service is being made pursuant to this section, addressed to such director, trustee, member or officer:

(1) At the corporation’s principal place of business; and

(2) At the residence address as the same appears on the records of the Secretary of State, or, if no such residence address appears, at the address last known to the party desiring to make such service;

provided, however, that if any such director’s, trustee’s, member’s or officer’s address as described in paragraph (c)(2) of this section shall be the same as the address described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section, then the prothonotary or Register in Chancery shall be required to make only 1 such mailing to such director, trustee, member or officer, at the address described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

(d) In any action in which any such director, trustee, member or officer has been served with process as hereinabove provided, the time in which a defendant shall be required to appear and file a responsive pleading shall be computed from the date of mailing by the prothonotary or the Register in Chancery as provided in subsection (c) of this section; however, the court in which such action has been commenced may order such continuance or continuances as may be necessary to afford such director, trustee, member or officer reasonable opportunity to defend the action.

(e) Nothing herein contained limits or affects the right to serve process in any other manner now or hereafter provided by law. This section is an extension of and not a limitation upon the right otherwise existing of service of legal process upon nonresidents.

(f) The Court of Chancery and the Superior Court may make all necessary rules respecting the form of process, the manner of issuance and return thereof and such other rules which may be necessary to implement this section and are not inconsistent with this section.

61 Del. Laws, c. 119, §  1;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;  74 Del. Laws, c. 83, §§  1-5;  77 Del. Laws, c. 24, §  1; 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 63 cases (35 in the last 5 years), 1980–2026 · leading case: Maryland Ex Rel. Sachs v. Mid-Atl. Toyota Distributors, Inc., 525 F. Supp. 1265 (D. Maryland 1981).
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Maryland Ex Rel. Sachs v. Mid-Atl. Toyota Distributors, Inc., 525 F. Supp. 1265 (D. Maryland 1981). · cites it 16× “Delaware Plaintiff properly bases personal jurisdiction over Weisman in Delaware on 10 Del. Code § 3114 which provides: Every nonresident of this State who after September 1, 1977, accepts election or appointment as a director, trustee or member of the governing body of a…”
Hana Ranch, Inc. v. Lent, 424 A.2d 28 (Del. Ch. 1980). · cites it 15× “Lent under the provisions of 10 Del.C. § 3114. Notice of such action was thereupon accordingly served upon the Delaware registered agent of Hana Ranch, Inc.”
Marnavi S.p.A. v. Keehan, 900 F. Supp. 2d 377 (D. Del. 2012). · cites it 2× “1 ¶ 84) Defendants challenge both of Plaintiffs asserted bases for personal jurisdiction, arguing: First, there is no personal jurisdiction over the Keehans under Delaware’s director-service statute, 10 Del. C. § 3114, and no derivative claim is stated against them for breach of…”
Ryan v. Gifford, 935 A.2d 258 (Del. Ch. 2007). “Gheewalla, No. 1456-N, 2006 WL 2588971 , at *6 (Del.”
Bernstein v. IDT Corp., 582 F. Supp. 1079 (D. Del. 1984). · cites it 2× “1982), the Supreme Court of Delaware expressly approved Chancellor Marvel’s earlier interpretation of Delaware’s Non-Resident Director Consent to Service Statute, 10 Del.C. § 3114, which limits the “consent” required to claims based on acts performed by a director of a Delaware…”
Hayes Lemmerz Int'l, Inc. Equity Sec. Litig. v. Cucuz, 271 F. Supp. 2d 1007 (E.D. Mich. 2003). · cites it 2× “accepts election or appointment as a director ... of the governing body of a corporation organized under the laws of this State .”
Resource Ventures, Inc. v. Resources Mgmt. Int'l, Inc., 42 F. Supp. 2d 423 (D. Del. 1999). “The Defendants also contend that the "Directors Consent Statute,” 10 Del.C. § 3114, does not confer jurisdiction on the Individual Defendants.”
Pestolite, Inc. v. Cordura Corp., 449 A.2d 263 (Del. Super. Ct. 1982). · cites it 2× “Thus, it is the rights, duties and obligations which have to do with service as a director of a Delaware corporation which make a director subject to personal service in Delaware under the terms of 10 Del.”
My Size, Inc. v. Mizrahi, 193 F. Supp. 3d 327 (D. Del. 2016). “11 at 8) The Delaware Supreme Court has held that § 3114 provides a statutory basis for personal jurisdiction over directors of corporations in Delaware in “all civil actions or proceedings brought in this State, by or on behalf of, or against such corporation, in which such…”
Istituto Bancario Italiano SpA v. Hunter Eng'g Co., 428 A.2d 19 (Del. Ch. 1981). · cites it 4× “In support of the pending motions, it is argued that Tools is incorporated in the Netherlands and maintains its principal office in Amsterdam.”
Rollins Env't Servs. (FS) Inc. v. Wright, 738 F. Supp. 150 (D. Del. 1990). “1980) (“[I]t is the rights, duties, and obligations which have to do with service as a director of a Delaware corporation which make a director subject to personal service in Delaware under the terms of 10 Del.C. § 3114.”); Pestolite, Inc. v. Cordura Corp.”
Delaware Prof'l Ins. v. Hajjar, 55 F. Supp. 3d 537 (D. Del. 2014). “The court may exercise personal jurisdiction over nonresident directors of Delaware corporations for suits involving a breach of fiduciary duty under 10 Del. C. § 3114. See Corporate Employment Res.”
Show all 63 citing cases →
— 10 Del. C. § 3114(a) — 9 cases
Hayes Lemmerz Int'l, Inc. Equity Sec. Litig. v. Cucuz, 271 F. Supp. 2d 1007 (E.D. Mich. 2003). “accepts election or appointment as a director ... of the governing body of a corporation organized under the laws of this State .”
Metro Storage Int'l LLC v. Harron (Del. Ch. 2019).
Craig T. Bouchard v. Braidy Indus., Inc. (Del. Ch. 2020).
Alex Brola v. Christopher Lundgren (Del. Ch. 2025).
Todd MacLaughlan v. Ilana Einheiber (Del. Ch. 2026).
— 10 Del. C. § 3114(b) — 20 cases
Hana Ranch, Inc. v. Lent, 424 A.2d 28 (Del. Ch. 1980). “Lent under the provisions of 10 Del.C. § 3114. Notice of such action was thereupon accordingly served upon the Delaware registered agent of Hana Ranch, Inc.”
My Size, Inc. v. Mizrahi, 193 F. Supp. 3d 327 (D. Del. 2016). “11 at 8) The Delaware Supreme Court has held that § 3114 provides a statutory basis for personal jurisdiction over directors of corporations in Delaware in “all civil actions or proceedings brought in this State, by or on behalf of, or against such corporation, in which such…”
BAM Int'l, LLC v. The MSBA Grp. Inc. (Del. Ch. 2021).
Harris v. Harris (Del. Ch. 2023).
Cytotheryx Inc v. Castle Creek Biosciences Inc & paragon Biosciences LLC (Del. Ch. 2025).
— 10 Del. C. § 3114(c) — 2 cases
ATO Enter. of Delaware, LLC a/k/a ATO Enter. v. Jennifer Cabrera (Del. Ch. 2022).
Alex Brola v. Christopher Lundgren (Del. Ch. 2025).
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