Tongue-splitting; class A misdemeanor; class B misdemeanor; class G felony; additional civil penalties.
Del. Code tit. 11, § 1114A
in effect(a) A person is guilty of tongue-splitting in the first degree if the person is neither a physician nor a dentist, holding a valid license issued under the laws of the State of Delaware, and the person performs an act of tongue-splitting on any other person in this State. Tongue-splitting in the first degree is a class A misdemeanor.
(b) A doctor or dentist is guilty of tongue-splitting in the second degree if the doctor or dentist performs an act of tongue-splitting in this State and the person on whom the act of tongue-splitting is performed is either:
(1) Under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance; or
(2) Is a minor and the person has failed to obtain the prior written and notarized consent of the minor’s adult parent or legal guardian to the specific act of tongue-splitting.
Tongue-splitting in the second degree is a class B misdemeanor.
(c) Any person found guilty of a second or subsequent violation of this section is guilty of a class G felony for such second or subsequent offense.
(d) In any prosecution for an offense under paragraph (b)(2) of this section, it shall be an affirmative defense that the accused was presented with a piece of photo identification by the person on whom the accused performed the procedure setting forth such information that would lead a reasonable person to believe the individual was the person pictured on the identification and that the person was 18 years of age or older. Failure of the accused to present a photocopy of the identification to the court when raising a defense under this subsection shall be affirmative proof that no such identification exists.
(e) An act of tongue-splitting performed in violation of subsection (a) of this section constitutes both the practice of medicine without a license and the practice of dentistry without a license. Nothing in this section shall prohibit prosecution under the provisions of either § 1134 of Title 24 relating to the practice of dentistry without a license, or § 1766 of Title 24 relating to the practice of medicine without a license, or both.
(f) In addition to the penalties set forth herein, any person who has performed an act of tongue-splitting in violation of this section shall be held liable in a civil action, brought by any person aggrieved by such act, for actual damages or $1,000, whichever is greater; plus reasonable court costs and attorney fees.
(g) For the purposes of this section “tongue-splitting” means the surgical procedure of cutting a human tongue into 2 or more parts giving it a forked or multi-tipped appearance.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c005/sc05/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026