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An experimental method to determine the complete stress-elongation relation for a structuraladhesive loaded in peel is presented. Experiments are performed on DCB specimens, whichfacilitate a stable experimental set-up. The method is based on the concept of equilibrium ofthe energetic forces acting on the specimen. By use of this concept, it is possible to measurethe energy release rate as a function of the elongation of the adhesive layer instantaneouslyduring an experiment. The complete stress-elongation relation is found to be the derivative ofthe energy release rate with respect to the elongation. To investigate whether or not therelation is a material property, experiments are performed on five different groups ofspecimens with different dimensions. This leads to large variations in the length of thedamage zone heading a crack in the adhesive layer. It is found that the relation is independentof the geometry tested. Thus, the investigation supports that the stress-elongation relation canbe considered as a material property.