District of Columbia

DC Code Title 29 ch. 1 (hub for all entity typesEntity typesLLC (limited liability company), corporation (for-profit; 'profit corporation' in some states' vocabulary), nonprofit corporation, LP (limited partnership), LLP (limited liability partnership), LLLP (limited liability limited partnership),Read the full entry →) requires every domestic filing entity, domestic LLP, and registered foreign entity to maintain a registered agent in the District. The agent may be a commercial registered agent, or a noncommercial registered agent: an individual or entity serving in the District, an individual designated by office/position in the entity itself, or a DC Bar member with a DC office. Required addresses must be a street address in the District (sec. 29-104.03).

Consent required: yes.

Two fallbacks: (1) if the entity ceases to have a registered agent or the agent cannot with reasonable diligence be served, service by registered/certified mail to the entity's principal office; and (2) if the entity fails to maintain an agent and the server files a declaration that the agent cannot be found, the Mayor becomes the entity's agent for service and forwards a copy to the entity.

• Administrative DissolutionRevocation / administrative dissolutionThe state involuntarily ending an entity's authority to do business - for missed annual reports, a lapsed registered agent, or unpaid fees.Read the full entry →. Being without a registered agent in the District for 60 days is a ground for administrative dissolution of a domestic filing entity; the Mayor gives notice and dissolves if not cured within 60 days.
• Revocation Foreign. The Mayor may terminate a registered foreign entity's registration for not having a registered agent, or for not filing a statement of change within 30 days after the agent's name or address changes.
• Civil Penalty. Failure to designate and maintain a registered agent is itself a civil-fine offense; amounts are set by Mayor's rules under Title 2, not stated in Title 29.
• ReinstatementReinstatementRestoring an entity the state revoked or administratively dissolved for missed filings - typically back-filing reports, paying accrued fees and penalties, and filing an application.Read the full entry → Fee. To be reinstated after administrative dissolution the entity must pay all fees and penalties due at dissolution plus all that would have accrued while dissolved (amounts set administratively, not in the statute).
• No Court Access. A foreign entity whose registration lapses (including termination for registered-agent failure) doing business in the District cannot maintain an action or proceeding there until registered.

Filing officeFiling officeThe agency that keeps the business register.Read the full entry →

DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Corporations Division - registration required by DC Code 47-2855.02

State fee

$55 registration [UNVERIFIED this session - DLCP pages block automated access; fee is set by Mayor's rule under 47-2855.04, which officially caps fees at administrative cost and sets expediteExpeditePaying the state to process a filing faster than its standard queue - same-day, 24-hour, even 2-hour tiers in some states.Read the full entry → fees of $100 same-day / $50 three-day]

Term

2 years (biennial) [UNVERIFIED this session - biennial renewal is DLCP practice under rule, not stated in the statute sections fetched]

Renewal

Biennial renewal, commonly $55 [UNVERIFIED]; statute requires amendment filings for changes and cancellation + new registration for trade-name spelling or ownership changes

Publication

Not required. None

Online filing

Available

The regime

The District of Columbia requires any person doing business under a trade nameDBA / fictitious nameA name a business operates under that is not its legal name - 'doing business as.' Also: assumed name, trade name, fictitious business name.Read the full entry → to register that name with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP). Because DC has no counties, this is a single district-wide registry covering sole proprietors, general partnerships, and registered entities alike.

Where it is filed

Trade name registrations are filed with the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, the successor agency named in the subchapter's definitions.

Publication

The DC trade name subchapter contains no newspaper-publication step; the registration consists only of an application filed with the Department containing the statutorily listed information.

Name restrictions

A DC trade name must be distinguishable on the Mayor's records from entity names, reserved and registered names, other registered trade names, and government agency names.

Assumed names for registered entities

A foreign entity whose legal name does not comply with DC's entity-name rules cannot register to do business in the District until it adopts a complying alternate name; an entity registered under such an alternate name is excused from separately registering that name under the trade name subchapter, and it may also do business under an assumed or fictitious name it is authorized to use under that subchapter.

Penalties

A person doing business under an unregistered trade name cannot maintain any suit in DC courts until registration is properly completed.
Failure to register does not invalidate the business's contracts or acts and does not prevent the business from defending a suit.

Official source

code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/47-2855.02↗ (opens the official source)

What it is called

DC Corporation Franchise TaxFranchise taxA recurring tax on the privilege of existing as an entity in a state - not a tax on franchising a business.Read the full entry → (D-20) / Unincorporated Business Franchise Tax (D-30)

Administering agency

DC Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR), Office of the Chief Financial Officer

Corporation minimum

$250

How it is computed

TWO income-measured franchise taxes, both 8.25% of DC taxable income, both min $250 (min $1,000 if DC gross receipts > $1,000,000; minimum applies even at a loss). CORP (Form D-20, D.C. Code sec. 47-1807.02): every corporation doing business in / receiving income from DC files regardless of income (sec. 47-1805.02(3)) - so min $250 attaches on doing business; includes LLCs classified as corporations. LLC/UNINCORPORATED (Form D-30 Unincorporated Business Franchise Tax, sec. 47-1808.03): LLCs NOT taxed as corporations (SMLLC/partnership-classified), partnerships, and sole proprietors doing business in DC file ONLY if DC gross income > $12,000 (sec. 47-1805.02(5)); below $12,000 = no return, no minimum. UBT deductions: $5,000 exemption (sec. 47-1808.04) + 30% owner salary allowance (OTR rates page). UBT EXCLUSION: trades where >80% of gross income is from personal services of the owners/members and capital is not a material income-producing factor (sec. 47-1808.01) - exempt entirely. Due: 15th day of 4th month after year close = April 15 calendar (sec. 47-1805.03(a)); extension to Oct 15.