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Last updated: July 22, 2026 · By White Metal Resources Editorial
Quick answer: Delaware Depository is a state-chartered Delaware trust company that stores IRS-eligible gold, silver, platinum, and palladium for precious-metals IRA custodians, coin dealers, and personal-storage clients.
The main vault sits at 3601 North Market Street in Wilmington, Delaware, with a second facility at 1009 Industrial Road in Boulder City, Nevada. Customer bullion is fully allocated, held off-balance sheet, and covered by $1 billion of all-risk insurance through London underwriters, with a further $100 million of contingent vault coverage.
The site is licensed by the CME Group (COMEX and NYMEX Divisions) for all four metals and by ICE Futures US for gold and silver. It operates as a SOC 1 Type I audited organization. For most retail investors, the account is opened by the IRA custodian, not directly by the saver.
Short on time? The essentials
- Delaware Depository is a state-chartered Delaware trust company, regulated as a limited-purpose bank by the Delaware banking commissioner.
- Vault locations: 3601 North Market Street, Wilmington DE (primary), 1009 Industrial Road, Boulder City NV (western), and a silver-bar facility at 4 Meco Circle, Wilmington DE for 1,000-ounce bars.
- Licensed by the CME Group (COMEX and NYMEX Divisions) for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, and by ICE Futures US for gold and silver.
- Insurance stack: $1 billion of all-risk vault coverage plus $100 million of contingent vault coverage, both through London underwriters (Lloyd's), and up to $100,000 per package on outbound shipments.
- All customer bullion is fully allocated and held off-balance sheet under the Uniform Commercial Code, identified as customer assets, not depository assets.
- The site is SSAE 18 SOC 1 Type I audited, with annual reviews by certified public accountants and insurance brokers.
- Delaware Depository does not sell metal, does not offer home storage, and does not accept the account holder as a walk-in depositor for IRA metal.
- Deposits are typically processed within 3 business days; withdrawals in about 24 hours, with longer lead time on 100-ounce gold and 1,000-ounce silver bars.
- Insurance excludes acts of war, terrorism, cyber-attacks, radioactive contamination, and chemical, biological, biochemical, and electromagnetic weapons.
This review covers Delaware Depository the way an IRA saver actually meets it: through the custodian who opens the storage account, not as a direct customer. Below we walk through the company profile, its regulators, how bullion is titled and insured, the vault footprint, and how the site stacks up against peer IRA depositories. Every figure traces to Delaware Depository's own pages, an IRS source, or a statute cited inline.
What is Delaware Depository, and who runs it?
Delaware Depository is a state-chartered Delaware trust company that provides bullion custody, accounting, and shipping. The About Us page describes it as "an Exchange-approved, precious metals depository" offering custody, accounting, and shipping to IRA custodians, brokerages, refiners, coin dealers, and individual investors (source: Delaware Depository About Us).
The company's IRA Services page describes it as "a trust company that fully meets the IRC's requirements for IRA custody and safekeeping of precious metals," which allows the depository itself to satisfy the physical-possession rule under IRC 408(m)(3). Bullion is "fully allocated to the account holder and held off-balance sheet," and the majority of IRA custodians route their clients' metal there (source: Delaware Depository IRA Services).
The regulator profile matters. Delaware Depository is a limited-purpose Delaware trust company, so it is supervised by the state banking commissioner and follows banking standards. The company takes no cash deposits, offers no loans or checking accounts, and does not run typical high-risk banking operations. Its IRA page frames this deliberately: savers get "the security and controls of a bank without the risk of relying on a bank."
Worth knowing: Delaware Depository does not sell metal to retail buyers, does not offer any home-storage program, and does not decide which metal is IRA-eligible. Those roles belong to the dealer, the saver, and the tax code. The depository's job is titled custody and secure storage, plus the paperwork trail that keeps the IRA compliant.
Where are the vaults, and why does location matter?
Delaware Depository operates two main vaults. The primary facility sits at 3601 North Market Street in Wilmington, Delaware, near major East Coast transport hubs, but far from the political and financial centers of Washington and New York. The second facility sits at 1009 Industrial Road in Boulder City, Nevada, giving West Coast custodians and dealers a shorter shipping loop (source: Delaware Depository homepage).
There is a third address that serves a narrower purpose. Bulk deliveries of 1,000-ounce silver bars can be directed to a separate silver facility at 4 Meco Circle, Wilmington, Delaware, because those bars have unique handling and weight requirements. Most retail IRA silver flows through the main Wilmington vault (source: Delaware Depository FAQs).
State choice matters for reasons beyond geography. Delaware imposes no sales tax on precious-metals storage, no corporate net-worth tax, and no personal-inventory or bullion-transfer tax. That reduces one layer of drag on the storage bill that a saver would face in some other states, though it does not change any federal IRS rule.
For non-IRA personal storage, Delaware Depository also lists options in Long Beach, California, Zurich, Switzerland, and Toronto, Canada. These international options are not available for IRA metal. Federal rules require that IRA bullion be held by an IRS-approved trustee within the United States (source: Delaware Depository FAQs, IRA section).
Which regulators license and audit the site?
Delaware Depository's regulator stack is unusually visible for the industry. Four names show up in its own disclosures.
First, the CME Group. Delaware Depository is licensed by the CME Group's COMEX and NYMEX Divisions for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium storage. That means the site can hold bullion eligible for physical delivery against a regulated futures contract on those exchanges. Second, ICE Futures US, which licenses the site for gold and silver on the ICE side of the market.
Third, the Delaware banking commissioner regulates the company as a trust institution. That is what makes the depository a bank or IRS-approved non-bank trustee eligible for holding IRA metal under IRC 408(m). The company reinforces that framing in its own copy, noting that bullion held there "has no risk of being considered a distribution or collectible by the IRS."
Fourth, an outside audit stack. Delaware Depository states on every page that it is an SSAE 18 SOC 1 Type I audited organization. It also runs internal inventory audits, and its certified public accountants and insurance brokers perform annual reviews of operations.
Which metals and products does Delaware Depository store?
The vault accepts all four IRA-eligible precious metals: gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Each has a minimum purity set by the IRS through IRC 408(m)(3), which references the delivery standards used by regulated commodity contract markets. The commonly cited minimums are silver 0.999, gold 0.995, and platinum and palladium 0.9995 (source: 26 U.S.C. Section 408(m)).
American Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Palladium Eagles qualify under a separate carve-out for United States coins listed in 31 USC 5112 (source: IRS collectibles issue snapshot). The chart below shows how the fineness thresholds compare across the four metals the depository is licensed to store.
Bar product handling depends on whether the item is fungible or not. Delaware Depository's own FAQ explains that fungible bullion, such as small coins and small standard bars, is interchangeable within a product family. Non-fungible bars, notably 100-ounce gold and 1,000-ounce silver bars, carry a unique combination of weight, fineness, hallmark, and serial number and are tracked individually.
Because so much of the industrial supply of platinum and palladium is bar-form, PGM IRA holdings can carry more non-fungible items than a silver-heavy account. That means longer handling time on deposit and withdrawal but also more traceable ownership. See IRA-eligible silver bars, IRA-eligible platinum products, and IRA-eligible palladium products for the specifics per metal.
Segregated, commingled, and how bullion is titled
The storage tier decides what you own and how you take it back. Delaware Depository holds all customer bullion "fully allocated" and "off-balance sheet," meaning the metal is legally identified as customer property, not the depository's, under the Uniform Commercial Code (source: Delaware Depository FAQs, storage section).
Within that, savers typically choose between segregated and commingled storage through their IRA custodian. Segregated (non-fungible) storage keeps your specific coins or bars in a labeled position that only your account controls. Commingled (fungible) storage pools like-for-like bullion of the same product, with a claim on an equivalent quantity, not the identical items you sent in.
Segregated costs more per year but returns the exact same coins or bars on withdrawal. Commingled costs less and returns bullion of the same product and specification, but not the identical items. Both are legal for an IRA. Both are fully allocated at the depository level. The trade-off is usually price against sentimental or serial-number preference, not compliance.
The trade-off: commingled storage lowers the annual bill on a small silver-heavy IRA. Segregated storage matters more on 100-ounce gold and 1,000-ounce silver bars, because those are non-fungible by construction and are already tracked individually. See segregated versus commingled storage for a full comparison.
How much insurance is in place, and what does it cover?
Delaware Depository publishes its insurance in plain numbers. The site maintains $1 billion of "all-risk" vault coverage plus $100 million of contingent vault coverage, all through London-based underwriters (Lloyd's). On outbound shipments handled by mail or express carriers, it insures up to $100,000 per package.
The vault policy covers what most savers assume it should. It includes physical loss or damage, mysterious disappearance, unexplained shortages, employee dishonesty, and theft. It also covers fire, flood, and other natural disasters, which is why the site publicizes Delaware's low natural-disaster exposure as part of the site-selection story.
Read the exclusions before you rely on the number. The policy explicitly excludes losses from acts of war, terrorism, cyber-attacks, radioactive contamination, and chemical, biological, biochemical, and electromagnetic weapons. These exclusions are common in London-market coverage. Savers who want protection against those categories usually need a separate arrangement, and no IRA depository can promise otherwise.
On physical security, Delaware Depository lists Bank Protection Act and Underwriters Laboratories standards, automatic re-locking systems, time locks, dual-control procedures, metal detectors, multiple alarm systems, digital recording, and background-checked and drug-tested staff. Data backups run daily to on-site and off-site vaults.
How savers actually use Delaware Depository
You do not open a Delaware Depository IRA account directly. The IRA custodian does that on your behalf and holds the master relationship. Your job is to pick a custodian that already routes to Delaware Depository, or to instruct your custodian to route the metal there when the account is funded.
The path most savers follow looks like this:
- Open a self-directed IRA with a custodian. Pick a bank or IRS-approved non-bank trustee that services precious-metals accounts. The custodian holds legal title and files the IRS forms.
- Confirm the custodian uses Delaware Depository. Ask in writing which depository the custodian routes IRA metal to and whether Delaware Depository (Wilmington or Boulder City) is on that list.
- Fund the account. Move money into the new IRA through a direct transfer or direct rollover, custodian to custodian, to avoid the 60-day deadline and the 20% mandatory withholding on plan payouts.
- Select IRS-eligible metal through a dealer. Choose coins or bars that meet the fineness minimum or a United States coin carve-out. Favor common bullion over premium numismatic coins that carry wide spreads.
- Direct the shipment to Delaware Depository. The dealer ships the metal to the vault under the custodian's account. Delaware Depository counts, inspects, and books the bullion, usually within about 3 business days of receipt.
- Choose your storage tier. Instruct the custodian whether to hold the metal segregated (non-fungible) or commingled (fungible). Either tier is allocated at the depository level.
For source-specific rollover walk-throughs, see the plan-by-plan guides: a 401(k) into a precious metals IRA, a 403(b), a TSP, or a traditional IRA. Vetting the custodian is covered in silver IRA custodians and the best precious-metals IRA custodians compared.
How Delaware Depository compares with peer depositories
Delaware Depository is one of a small number of vaults IRA custodians use. The names below appear again and again on custodian intake forms, which is why savers meet them by proxy rather than directly. The table shows how each stacks up on the pieces that matter to an IRA account.
| Depository | Primary vault location(s) | Metals commonly stored | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware Depository | Wilmington, Delaware; Boulder City, Nevada | Gold, silver, platinum, palladium | State-chartered Delaware trust company; CME Group and ICE Futures US licensed; $1 billion all-risk plus $100 million contingent coverage. |
| Brink's Global Services | New York, NY; Salt Lake City, UT; Los Angeles, CA | Gold, silver, platinum, palladium | Global armored-carrier and vaulting operator; multiple US vaults serving IRA custodians. |
| International Depository Services (IDS) | New Castle, Delaware; Dallas / Leander, Texas | Gold, silver, platinum, palladium | Non-bank precious-metals depository with East Coast and Texas presence. |
| CNT Depository | Bridgewater, Massachusetts | Gold, silver, platinum, palladium | Confirm current IRA-custody relationships before naming for a specific account. |
| Texas Precious Metals Depository | Leander, Texas | Gold, silver, platinum, palladium | State-chartered Texas facility; often paired with Texas-based custodians and dealers. |
Sources: Delaware Depository About Us and FAQs; Brink's storage pages; International Depository Services company page. Checked July 2026. See the fact-base for the full source list.
Two takeaways matter for a saver. First, most of these sites accept the same four metals at the same statutory purity, so eligibility is not the deciding factor. Second, the differences that count are location relative to the shipping dealer, the storage-tier menu the custodian offers, the published insurance stack, and the fee schedule. Delaware Depository publishes the insurance and audit numbers cleanly. Not every peer does. See the best precious-metals IRA depositories compared for the full rankings.
Fees, processing time, and hours
Delaware Depository does not publish a public retail fee schedule, because most storage bills are set through the IRA custodian, not the depository. The custodian applies its own margin on the wholesale storage rate. Ask for the total annual storage cost in writing before you commit, and split it out from the setup and administration fees your custodian charges.
Two structural points recur. First, silver-heavy accounts pay more per dollar than gold-heavy accounts, because a given dollar buys many more ounces of silver and takes more vault space. Second, non-fungible storage on 100-ounce gold and 1,000-ounce silver bars usually costs more than fungible commingled storage on common bullion coins.
On timing, Delaware Depository's FAQ gives round numbers. Deposits are normally processed within 3 business days of receipt, which allows the vault to count, inspect, and reconcile the bullion. Withdrawals are normally processed within 24 hours. Large shipments and non-fungible bars require more time because each item is tracked individually.
Business hours are 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM Eastern time Monday through Thursday and 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM Eastern on Fridays. Instructions to move or ship metal must be in writing and come from the custodian on IRA accounts. Personal-storage instructions can come directly from the account owner using a Metal Move Request form.
Fixed annual fees drag hardest on smaller accounts. The calculator below shows how a percentage fee compounds against a balance over time.
Precious metals IRA fee-drag calculator
Precious metals IRAs charge mostly flat dollar fees (setup, annual custodian, storage). Flat fees take a much bigger bite out of a small account than a large one. Enter your numbers to see the drag.
Estimate only. Fee amounts vary by provider and are often not published; enter figures you confirm in writing. This tool ignores metal price changes and the dealer spread, which also affect returns. Not financial advice.
Picking a company that explains every fee up front is the first step. Get the free precious metals IRA company checklist.
Consider a saver who rolls $100,000 from a former employer's 401(k) into a self-directed IRA with Delaware Depository storage. Assume the custodian bills a $250 annual admin fee, and Delaware Depository storage (through the custodian) runs $150 per year on a commingled silver-and-gold mix. That is $400 fixed cost per year in this illustration.
- On $100,000: $400 of annual fixed cost is $400 divided by $100,000, which equals 0.40% per year.
- On $25,000: the same $400 is $400 divided by $25,000, which equals 1.60% per year, four times the drag.
- Separately, a dealer spread of, say, 5% on the metal purchased is a one-time cost of $5,000 on a $100,000 order, paid up front and again, in part, when you sell.
The figures above are illustrative, not quotes from Delaware Depository, any custodian, or any dealer. They show the structural point: fixed annual fees and the dealer spread both punish small accounts hardest, which is why the industry usually flags a $50,000 minimum. This is not financial advice. Consult a licensed advisor for your specific situation.
When Delaware Depository is not the right fit
The site is a well-audited depository, but a balanced review has to name the cases where it is the wrong vault for a specific saver. Not every IRA belongs there.
It is usually not the right fit in these situations:
- You want a depository closer to a specific dealer or custodian. Shipping loops matter. A West Coast saver working with a Texas-based custodian and dealer may pay less over time by using a Texas facility. Boulder City helps on the West Coast, but it is not the same as an in-state option.
- You need something Delaware Depository does not sell. The site stores metal. It does not sell coins, does not offer a home-storage program, does not run a checkbook IRA, and does not act as your IRA custodian. If a marketing pitch bundles all of those under one brand, it is not Delaware Depository, and the arrangement usually deserves a second look.
- You expect insurance to cover the excluded categories. The vault policy pays out on physical loss, employee theft, natural disaster, and mysterious disappearance. It does not pay out on acts of war, terrorism, cyber-attacks, radioactive contamination, or the biochemical and electromagnetic exclusions listed in the policy. No IRA depository can promise coverage on those.
- You want direct account access as a small individual. Delaware Depository is set up to serve IRA custodians and business clients at scale. Personal-storage clients exist, but the retail workflow expects instructions in writing and does not run like a bank branch.
If one of these describes you, the decision is not that Delaware Depository is a bad depository. It is that another vault, another custodian, or a different account structure fits better. There is no CTA in this section on purpose.
Delaware Depository questions, answered
Is Delaware Depository IRS-approved for IRA metal?
Delaware Depository is a state-chartered Delaware trust company, which makes it an IRS-approved trustee under IRC 408(m)(3). Bullion held there satisfies the physical-possession requirement for a precious-metals IRA. That is why most IRA custodians route their clients' metal to the Wilmington or Boulder City vault.
Where does Delaware Depository store IRA metal?
IRA metal is stored inside the United States, either at 3601 North Market Street in Wilmington, Delaware, or at 1009 Industrial Road in Boulder City, Nevada. Non-IRA personal storage is also offered in Long Beach, California, Zurich, and Toronto. IRA metal cannot be stored outside the United States under the federal rules.
How much insurance covers my bullion at Delaware Depository?
The site publishes $1 billion of all-risk vault coverage and $100 million of contingent vault coverage, both through London underwriters (Lloyd's). Shipments by mail or express carrier are insured up to $100,000 per package. The policy excludes acts of war, terrorism, cyber-attacks, radioactive contamination, and biochemical or electromagnetic weapons.
Can I visit the vault and see my metal?
Delaware Depository is not a walk-in bank branch. Instructions must be in writing, and IRA-account activity flows through the custodian, not the account holder. Personal-storage clients may schedule appointments, but IRA holders who visit and take personal possession of the metal risk a deemed distribution under the tax code.
Does Delaware Depository offer segregated storage?
All bullion at Delaware Depository is fully allocated and off-balance sheet under the Uniform Commercial Code. Within that, savers usually choose segregated (non-fungible) storage, which returns the same coins or bars on withdrawal, or commingled (fungible) storage, which returns an equivalent quantity of the same product. Segregated typically costs more per year.
How long do deposits and withdrawals take?
Delaware Depository's FAQ says deposits are normally processed within 3 business days of receipt, and withdrawals are normally processed within 24 hours. Large shipments and non-fungible bars, such as 100-ounce gold and 1,000-ounce silver bars, need extra time because each item is tracked individually.
Which metals can Delaware Depository store for an IRA?
The site is licensed by the CME Group's COMEX and NYMEX Divisions for gold, silver, platinum, and palladium, and by ICE Futures US for gold and silver. The four metals are the only ones IRA-eligible under IRC 408(m)(3). Rhodium and iridium are not on the statutory list and are not IRA-eligible at any purity.
Is Delaware Depository regulated and audited?
Yes. Delaware Depository is regulated as a state-chartered trust company by the Delaware banking commissioner. It is a SSAE 18 SOC 1 Type I audited organization, with annual reviews by certified public accountants and insurance brokers, plus internal inventory audits. The regulator stack is unusually visible for the industry.
Sources
- Delaware Depository, homepage. Checked July 2026.
- Delaware Depository, About Us (facilities, insurance, security). Checked July 2026.
- Delaware Depository, IRA Services (trust-company status, allocation). Checked July 2026.
- Delaware Depository, FAQs (storage, processing, insurance). Checked July 2026.
- Delaware Depository, Personal Storage Customers. Checked July 2026.
- Cornell Legal Information Institute, 26 U.S.C. Section 408 (collectibles rule and physical possession). Checked June 2026.
- IRS, Investments in collectibles in individually directed qualified plan accounts (Issue Snapshot). Checked June 2026.
- IRS, Publication 590-B, Distributions from Individual Retirement Arrangements. Checked June 2026.
