Start a Free LLC in the District of Columbia

Per the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), as of September 2026, District of Columbia charges $99 to file the Articles of Organization. After that, the Two-Year Biennial Report for Domestic and Foreign Filing Entities (Form BRA-25) costs $300 every two years. With LLC Register, formation is included in the $99-a-year District of Columbia registered agent service, so year one costs $198.

Standard online filings take about 5 business days. Expedited filing is available for $50 extra (3-day service) or $100 extra (by the end of the next business day). Your LLC exists once the state accepts your filing.

To start an LLC in the District of Columbia, choose an available name, appoint a District of Columbia registered agent, and file the Articles of Organization with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) for $99. Then sign an operating agreement, get a free EIN from the IRS, open a business bank account and register for any state taxes. LLC Register files it for you as part of the $99-a-year registered agent service.

Yes. You can file online through BOSS (DLCP's business registration portal); walk-in filing is also available but is always charged the expedited fee. The Articles of Organization costs $99.

In the District of Columbia you form an LLC by filing the Articles of Organization (Form DLC-1) with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP). Other states call this document the articles of organization or the certificate of formation. The filing fee is $99.

Yes. Expedited filing is available for $50 extra (3-day service) or $100 extra (by the end of the next business day). Standard online filings take about 5 business days.

Use the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP)'s free online business name search to check whether your LLC name is available. Your DC LLC name must contain "limited liability company", "limited company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C.", "LLC", "L.C." or "LC" (a professional LLC must use "professional limited liability company", "P.L.L.C." or "PLLC"). It must be distinguishable from every other registered or reserved name on file with DLCP, ignoring entity words like "LLC".

Your DC LLC name must contain "limited liability company", "limited company" or the abbreviation "L.L.C.", "LLC", "L.C." or "LC" (a professional LLC must use "professional limited liability company", "P.L.L.C." or "PLLC"). It must be distinguishable from every other registered or reserved name on file with DLCP, ignoring entity words like "LLC". The rules are set by the D.C. Code Title 29, Chapter 8, Uniform Limited Liability Company Act of 2010.

Yes. You can reserve a name for $50 with Form GN-3; the reservation lasts 120 days. A reservation is optional; filing the formation document also secures the name.

Yes. Every District of Columbia LLC must have a registered agent. Your registered agent must keep a street address in the District (plus a DC mailing address if different). The LLC may use a commercial registered agent, a noncommercial registered agent, or one of its own officers or employees named by title.

Yes. The LLC can name one of its own officers or employees, by title, as its noncommercial registered agent, as long as that person has a District business office address. Your address becomes public record, and someone must be there during business hours to accept legal papers.

Not as your registered agent's address. Your registered agent must keep a street address in the District (plus a DC mailing address if different). The LLC may use a commercial registered agent, a noncommercial registered agent, or one of its own officers or employees named by title. A PO box can usually serve as a mailing address, but the registered agent needs a physical address in the District of Columbia.

File the Statement of change of registered agent (D.C. Code § 29-104.07), filed on BOSS with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP). The fee is $50.

Serving as your own District of Columbia registered agent is free if you qualify. Commercial registered agents charge a yearly fee. LLC Register's District of Columbia registered agent service is $99 a year and includes LLC formation and annual report filing.

Yes. District of Columbia LLCs must file the Two-Year Biennial Report for Domestic and Foreign Filing Entities (Form BRA-25) every two years. The state fee is $300.

The Two-Year Biennial Report for Domestic and Foreign Filing Entities (Form BRA-25) is due by April 1 every two years. Your first one is due by April 1 of the calendar year after your LLC registers. It is filed with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP).

Per the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), as of September 2026, the Two-Year Biennial Report for Domestic and Foreign Filing Entities (Form BRA-25) state fee is $300. It is due by April 1 every two years. LLC Register files it for you at no extra service fee while your registered agent service is active.

A $100 late fee applies after April 1. If the report is still missing 5 months after it is due, the Mayor may begin administratively dissolving your LLC, though you get 60 days after notice to cure it. File as soon as possible to keep your LLC in good standing.

An LLC not taxed as a corporation pays DC's unincorporated business franchise tax (Form D-30) at 8.25% of DC taxable income once gross income exceeds $12,000, with a minimum tax of $250 (or $1,000 if DC gross receipts exceed $1 million). An LLC electing corporate treatment instead pays the 8.25% corporation franchise tax (Form D-20). Small LLCs under the $12,000 threshold, and LLCs earning most of their income from members' personal services, may be exempt.

DC taxes LLC business income at the entity level rather than passing it straight through: an LLC not taxed as a corporation files the 8.25% unincorporated business franchise tax (Form D-30), and an LLC that elects corporate treatment files the 8.25% corporation franchise tax (Form D-20). Federally, a single-member LLC is taxed like a sole proprietorship and a multi-member LLC like a partnership, unless it elects to be taxed as a corporation.

If you sell taxable goods or services, register for a sales and use tax account with the Office of Tax and Revenue by filing Form FR-500 New Business Registration on MyTax.DC.gov.

Before you hire, register for income tax withholding with the Office of Tax and Revenue (Form FR-500 on MyTax.DC.gov) and for unemployment insurance with the Department of Employment Services. You also need an EIN from the IRS before you run payroll.

It depends on your industry and location: District of Columbia regulates some professions and activities through state licenses, and many cities and counties require local business licenses. Start with the BOSS, DC business registration and licensing portal (formerly CorpOnline).

DC does not require a written operating agreement, and nothing has to be filed with the District. The law recognizes an agreement that is oral, in a record, implied, or any combination, even for a single-member LLC. LLC Register includes an operating agreement with every District of Columbia LLC it forms.

You need an EIN if your LLC has employees or more than one member, and most banks ask for one to open a business account. A single-member LLC without employees can use the owner's Social Security number for federal taxes, but an EIN keeps it off business paperwork.

Apply for free on the IRS website once the state has approved your LLC; online applicants receive the EIN immediately. Owners without a Social Security number can apply with Form SS-4 by fax or mail.

Yes. You do not have to live in the District of Columbia or be a U.S. citizen to form a District of Columbia LLC. You do need a registered agent with a physical address in the District of Columbia. Non-U.S. owners without a Social Security number apply for an EIN with IRS Form SS-4.

Yes. District of Columbia allows an LLC with a single owner. By default the IRS taxes a single-member LLC like a sole proprietorship, reported on the owner's personal return.

Yes. DC permits series LLCs: your certificate of organization must state the series liability limitation, and each series needs its own Certificate of Series Designation (Form DLC-4, $220).

Yes. Licensed professionals, such as CPAs, attorneys, architects and health professionals, can form a professional LLC on Form DLC-1 by describing the professional service and using "PLLC" or "P.L.L.C." in the name.

No. District of Columbia does not require newspaper publication to form an LLC.

Order a Certificate of Good Standing (status certificate) from the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) for $50. Banks, lenders and other states often ask for one as proof your LLC is current with the state.

An LLC formed in another state registers to do business in the District of Columbia by filing the Foreign Registration Statement (Form FN-1) with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP). The fee is $220, and the LLC needs a District of Columbia registered agent. Every LLC doing business in DC, foreign or domestic, also needs a Basic Business License for each location, separate from LLC registration.

File the Certificate of Amendment for Domestic Limited Liability Company (Form DLC-2) with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) for $220. Amend when you change your LLC's name or other information in the formation document.

File the Statement of Dissolution for Domestic Limited Liability Company (Form DLC-8) with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) for $220. Before you file, wind up the business: pay debts, close tax accounts and distribute what is left to the members.

Register a Trade Name (Form TN-1) with DLCP through BOSS for $55. Renew it by April 1 of the second year after registration and every two years after that, or pay a $55 late fee. A DBA lets your LLC trade under another name without forming a new company.

Yes. An eligible LLC can elect S corporation tax status by filing IRS Form 2553. The election can reduce self-employment tax once profits are high enough to pay yourself a reasonable salary. DC taxes LLC business income at the entity level rather than passing it straight through: an LLC not taxed as a corporation files the 8.25% unincorporated business franchise tax (Form D-30), and an LLC that elects corporate treatment files the 8.25% corporation franchise tax (Form D-20).

An LLC separates your personal assets from business debts and lawsuits, keeps pass-through taxation, and needs less paperwork than a corporation. In the District of Columbia it costs $99 to form and the Two-Year Biennial Report for Domestic and Foreign Filing Entities (Form BRA-25) is $300 every two years.

A sole proprietorship costs nothing to start, but you are personally liable for the business's debts. A District of Columbia LLC costs $99 to form and protects your personal assets, with the same pass-through taxes by default.

Usually not if your business operates in the District of Columbia. An out-of-state LLC doing business here must also register as a foreign LLC in the District of Columbia for $220 and keep a District of Columbia registered agent, so you pay two states' fees.

No. Formation is included in the $99-a-year District of Columbia registered agent service. The state still charges its $99 filing fee, which we pass through at cost.

For $99 a year plus the $99 state fee: District of Columbia LLC formation in year one, a District of Columbia registered agent, an operating agreement, and filing of your Two-Year Biennial Report for Domestic and Foreign Filing Entities (Form BRA-25) every year. Renewal is $99 a year. State fees are passed through at cost.

No. FinCEN has exempted companies created in the United States from beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting. Only foreign companies registered to do business in a U.S. state still have to report.

The DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Corporations Division (Superintendent of Corporations), handles LLC formations, amendments and annual filings. Its office is at 1100 4th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20024 (mail filings: DLCP Corporations Division, PO Box 92300, Washington, DC 20090).

Yes, you should. Mixing business and personal money can weaken the liability protection your LLC gives you. Banks usually ask for your filed Articles of Organization, your EIN and your operating agreement.