DC registered agent
District of Columbia registered agent service, $5 a year
District of Columbia requires every corporation and LLC on its books to keep a registered agent at a real address in the state. Here is what District of Columbia law says about who that agent has to be and where it has to be.
What District of Columbia requires of a registered agent
The requirement
DC Code Title 29 ch. 1 (hub for all entity types) 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).
“Noncommercial registered agent” means a person that is not a commercial registered agent and is: (A) An individual or domestic or foreign entity that serves in the District as the registered agent of an entity; (B) An individual who holds the office or other position in an entity who is designated as the registered agent pursuant to § 29-104.04(a)(2)(B); or (C) A member in good standing of the District of Columbia Bar who maintains an office in the District of Columbia.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-101.02(28); sec. 29-104.02; sec. 29-104.03
How we comply
We don't.
What District of Columbia does to your company when we don't
Here is what the state does to an entity that has no agent, or whose agent is us.
Administrative dissolution
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.
The Mayor may commence a proceeding under § 29-106.02 to dissolve a domestic filing entity administratively if the entity does not: ... (3) Have a registered agent in the District for 60 days.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-106.01(3); sec. 29-106.02(b)
Revocation (foreign entities)
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.
The Mayor may terminate the registration of a registered foreign entity in the manner provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section if the entity does not: ... (3) Have a registered agent as required by § 29-104.02; or (4) Deliver to the Mayor for filing a statement of change under § 29-104.07 not later than 30 days after a change occurs in the name or address of the entity’s registered agent.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-105.11(a)(3)-(4)
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.
The Mayor, pursuant to rules adopted in accordance with subchapter I of Chapter 5 of Title 2, may impose civil fines and penalties pursuant to Chapter 18 of Title 2, on any person who: ... (5) Fails to designate and maintain a registered agent as required by this title.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-101.06(a)(5)
No access to the courts
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.
A foreign filing entity or foreign limited liability partnership doing business in the District may not maintain an action or proceeding in the District unless it is registered to do business in the District.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-105.02(b)
The bill to come back
Reinstatement 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).
To be reinstated, an entity shall pay all fees and penalties that were due to the Mayor at the time of its administrative dissolution and all fees and penalties that would have been due to the Mayor while the entity was dissolved administratively.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-106.03(b)
What happens to the lawsuit you never saw
Substituted service
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.
If an entity fails to designate or maintain a registered agent in the District as required by law, or if an entity’s registered agent in the District cannot with reasonable diligence be found, and if the person seeking service submits a declaration under penalty of making false statements showing that a registered agent for the entity cannot be found, the Mayor shall be an agent of the entity upon whom any process against the entity may be served ... the Mayor shall immediately cause one of the copies to be forwarded by registered or certified mail to the entity at its principal office or at its last known address.
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-104.12(b), (d)
Statutory text as captured by incFACTS (retrieved 2026-08-01, verified word-for-word against the state code 2026-08-10). Laws change. The statute governs; this page does not.