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
In the words of the District of Columbia code:
“Noncommercial registered agent” means a person that is not a ...
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
The Mayor may commence a proceeding under § 29-106.02 to dissolve a domestic filing entity administratively if the entity does not: ...
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 the registration of a registered foreign entity in the manner provided in subsections (b) and (c) of this section if the entity does not: ...
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-105.11(a)(3)-(4)
Civil penalty
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: ...
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-101.06(a)(5)
No access to the courts
A foreign filing entity or foreign limited liability partnership ...
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-105.02(b)
The bill to come back
Reinstatement fee
To be reinstated, an entity shall pay all fees and penalties ...
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-106.03(b)
What happens to the lawsuit you never saw
Substituted service
If an entity fails to designate or maintain a registered agent ...
Source: state statute, via incFACTS: D.C. Code sec. 29-104.12(b), (d)
One more thing to skip: the District of Columbia annual report
Our other ways to save money apply here too. District of Columbia charges the following to keep your company on its books each year. Skipping it saves the whole amount, right up until it does not.
Annual report fee, LLC
$300 a year.
Biennial report $300.00
Source: official state fee schedule, via incFACTS: DLCP 'Corporations Division Fees - Limited Liability Company'
Annual report fee, corporation
$300 a year.
Biennial report $300.00
Source: official state fee schedule, via incFACTS: DLCP 'Corporations Division Fees - Business Corporation'
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.