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District of Columbia Business Permits & Licenses

Every filing this guide covers, and — the part most sites get wrong — whether District of Columbia issues it at all. Several of these are city or county permits with no state office behind them.

State capital
Washington
Population
671,803
LLC filing fee
$99
State fee, every 2 years
$300

Depending on the state this recurring amount is called an annual report fee, a franchise tax, or a business privilege fee. It is the amount an LLC pays the state to stay in good standing. In District of Columbia it is charged every two years, not annually. Both figures above apply to an LLC — other entity types and other permits are priced separately.

All permits & licenses covered

Largest cities in District of Columbia

Local permits are issued by the city, or by the county for unincorporated addresses. Each of these runs its own process, so the answer to "what does it cost" changes between them.

Washington

The four general District of Columbia offices

These four handle entity filings, tax and employment. They are not the issuer of most permits on this site — liquor, food, childcare, contractor and professional licensing each sit with a different agency, named on the individual pages above.