7 items, in order: articles of organization (llc) and the biennial report, trade name registration (dba), employer identification number (ein), combined business tax registration (fr-500): sales and use tax, withholding, basic business license (bbl) and certificate of occupancy or home occupation permit, and 1 more.
How to open a business in District of Columbia
7 licenses, permits and registrations, in the order to get them, each with the agency, the fee and the official page.
What licenses do you need to open a business in District of Columbia? 7, in the order to get them
These are the steps every business in District of Columbia takes. A license specific to your kind of business comes from the agency that regulates it; if one of the twenty named businesses is close to yours, its page lists those too.
Every row checked against its agency’s page; the latest on Oct 21, 2026.
Step 1 of 4Set up the business. Now: Articles of organization (LLC) and the biennial report
0 of 7 items done. Each step opens when the one before it is complete. Progress stays on this device. Log in to save it to your account and pick it up anywhere.
Set up the business0 of 3
File online through CorpOnline. The articles name a registered agent with a District street address. A company that misses its report is administratively dissolved and pays $300 more to reinstate.
- Fee
- Premium only
- Renewal
- Premium only
- Official page
- dlcp.dc.gov
Checked Oct 21, 2026
Register for taxOpens after step 1
Approve the spaceOpens after step 2
Before the first hireOpens after step 3
Then pick the place
- The free location checkWho lives and works around an address, the businesses already there and the traffic on its road, from public records.
- The full reportWhether the rules allow a business at that address, the rent it supports, what has opened and closed nearby, and the questions to settle before signing.
Have an address in mind?
Check the address freeNo account. The business check reads public records at the address itself.
Sources and dates
DLCP Corporations Division fee schedule for limited liability companies; DLCP biennial report pages; DLCP Corporations Division fees page; D.C. Code 47-2855.02; IRS EIN page; Office of Tax and Revenue FR-500 registration instructions and sales and use tax pages; DLCP license and corporate filing fee summary; DLCP BEST Act pages (D.C. Code 47-2851); Department of Buildings certificate of occupancy pages (use change, new business and occupant load change guides); DOB home occupation permit page; DOES employer tax information and tax rate pages (2026); DOES Office of Paid Family Leave employer pages; DOES Office of Workers’ Compensation employer FAQ; D.C. Code 46-226.06. Fees are as published by each agency on the date checked; cities add their own.