Corporations

What We Do

The Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP) Business and Professional Licensing Administration Corporations Division serves as the Office of Corporate Registrar for the District of Columbia. The Corporations Division registers all entities, domestic (DC) or foreign (organizations formed outside of DC) that conduct business in the District of Columbia. This is the first step in business regulatory compliance. This registration is separate and must be done before an entity applies for a business license, permit, tax registration, or any other registration within the District.

To operate in the District of Columbia as a nonprofit and for-profit corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, general cooperative association, limited cooperative association and statutory trust, you must register via CorpOnline with the Superintendent of Corporations in the Corporations Division of DLCP.

In addition to corporate registration, if you plan to operate in the District using a trade name (or DBA “doing business as”), the trade name must also be registered with the Superintendent of Corporations in the Corporations Division of DLCP. This trade name registration is required for all registered (LLCs, corporations, etc.) and unregistered (sole proprietorship, general partnership, unincorporated nonprofit association, etc.) organization types that use the trade name.

The Superintendent of Corporations in the Corporations Division of DLCP also acts as the Mayor’s Agent for Service of Process for businesses that are defunct, or fail to maintain an agent in the District and are operating in the District.