How Official was the Emancipation Proclamation?

Upon hearing the lengthy tongue twister that is the "Emancipation Proclamation", I used to envision somber slaveholders holding their front doors open while their slaves poured out. This couldn't be further from the truth. What the proclamation really said was that the slaves located in the northern Union territories were free. It did not free any slaves from southern states under Union control or any of the border states. As the war concluded, there was question to whether the proclamation had actually made the abolition of slavery permanent. The question remained (in states like Kentucky and Delaware) until it was resolved in late 1865 by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment.