District of Columbia: LLC Registered-Agent and Registered-Office Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and terminology

The common registered-agent rules are in subchapter IV of the District's
Business Organizations Act, D.C. Code §§ 29-104.01 to 29-104.13. The LLC's
formation filing is governed by the Uniform LLC Act at § 29-802.01.

The statutes use commercial registered agent, noncommercial registered
agent, and Mayor. DLCP's Superintendent of Corporations performs the
Mayor's fallback-service function.

Continuous designation duty

D.C. Code § 29-104.02 requires every domestic filing entity, including a
domestic LLC, to designate and maintain a registered agent in the District.
The organizer-signed certificate of organization supplies the initial agent
information required by § 29-104.04.

The obligation continues after formation. Sixty days without an agent becomes
an administrative-dissolution ground under § 29-106.01.

Eligible individual

D.C. Code § 29-101.02 defines the noncommercial routes to include an individual,
an individual holding a named office or employee position inside an entity, and
a D.C. Bar member in good
standing who maintains an office in the District. The statute does not state a
minimum age, citizenship requirement, or fixed availability schedule.

Every route still needs the District street address required by § 29-104.03.

Eligible entity and self-service

A domestic or foreign entity may serve as a noncommercial agent. A person in
the business of commercial representation instead files the listing required by
D.C. Code § 29-104.05.

For an entity asking whether it can name itself, current DLCP guidance directs
domestic and foreign filing entities to appoint an individual within the
organization. The statute separately supports that internal route by allowing
the filing to designate an officer or employee position and its business-office
address.

Registered office, address, and hours

D.C. Code § 29-104.03 requires a District street address and a different
District mailing address, if any. DLCP's current FAQ is more explicit about the
street field: it cannot be a P.O. box, third-party mailbox, or address outside
the District.

The registered-agent address may differ from the LLC's principal office. Title
29 states no numbered daily staffing hours.

Consent and initial filing

The organizer signs the certificate, which states the principal-office
addresses and the registered-agent information. A named commercial or
noncommercial appointment is the LLC's affirmation that the agent consented.

The internal office-or-employee-position route is written separately from that
named-agent affirmation. The statute requires the title and business-office
address, not a separate agent signature on the certificate.

Change, resignation, and replacement

Under D.C. Code § 29-102.03, an entity filing normally takes effect when the
Mayor files it. The LLC may change its agent without separate interest-holder or
governor approval; naming the replacement again affirms consent.

Noncommercial and commercial agents promptly notify represented entities about
their own filed changes. A resignation takes effect on the earlier of a
replacement or day 31 after filing. Ending an entire commercial listing is
fixed at 12:01 a.m. on day 31.

Agent duties and service

D.C. Code § 29-104.13 limits the statutory duties to forwarding served process,
notices, and demands to the latest supplied address; giving Title 29 notices;
and keeping the applicable filing or listing current. It sets no numbered
forwarding deadline.

Written service is standard. A commercial agent may list another accepted form
and its requirements.

Lapse consequences and fallback service

If the agent is absent or unservable, § 29-104.12 allows tracked mail or similar
delivery to the principal office, hand service on an officer or authorized
agent, or Mayor service. Mayor service requires a penalty-backed declaration
that the agent cannot be found and duplicate copies; the Mayor forwards one by
registered or certified mail.

Under D.C. Code § 29-101.06, failure to maintain the agent can also support
civil fines. After 60 days with no agent, the Mayor may begin dissolution. The
LLC then has 60 days after
service of the determination to cure or disprove the ground before the Mayor
dissolves it administratively.

What trips people up

An internal route names a person or position, not simply the LLC itself.
DLCP tells filing entities to appoint an individual within the organization,
and § 29-104.04 expressly allows an officer or employee position.

A mail-receiving address is not enough. The registered-agent field needs a
physical District street address; a P.O. box or private mailbox fails DLCP's
current rule.

The two 60-day periods do different work. The first creates the dissolution
ground. The second begins after the Mayor serves the determination and is the
LLC's cure-or-contest window.

Mayor service is not the only fallback. The statute also permits tracked
mail to the principal office and hand service on specified company personnel.

Common questions

When is tracked-mail fallback service effective? On the earliest of actual
receipt, the signed return-receipt date, or day five after correct deposit with
sufficient postage or payment.

Can a commercial agent accept something other than written service? Yes, if
its § 29-104.05 listing states the other form and the requirements it will
accept.

Does administrative dissolution end the agent's authority? No. D.C. Code §
29-106.02(d) expressly says it does not, even though the dissolved entity is
limited to winding up, liquidation, or seeking reinstatement.

Statutes and sources

• D.C. Code §§ 29-101.02 and 29-104.02 to -.05 — agent types,
  eligibility, continuous duty, address, appointment, consent, and commercial
  listing. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/29-104.04
  (accessed 2026-07-27)
• D.C. Code §§ 29-102.03 and 29-104.06 to -.10 — filing effect,
  commercial termination, company and agent changes, notice, and resignation.
  https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/29-104.10
  (accessed 2026-07-27)
• D.C. Code §§ 29-104.12 to -.13 — direct and fallback service,
  alternate commercial service forms, forwarding, notices, and record currency.
  https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/29-104.12
  (accessed 2026-07-27)
• D.C. Code §§ 29-101.06 and 29-106.01 to -.02 — civil fines,
  no-agent ground, notice-and-cure procedure, and dissolution effect.
  https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/29-106.02
  (accessed 2026-07-27)
• D.C. Code § 29-802.01 and Form DLC-1 — certificate contents and
  organizer execution. https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/29-802.01
  and https://dlcp.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/DLCP/publication/attachments/DLC-1%20Articles%20of%20Organization%20for%20Domestic%20Limited%20Liability%20Company.pdf
  (accessed 2026-07-27)
• DLCP Business Registration FAQs — physical-address and internal-agent
  filing guidance. https://dlcp.dc.gov/page/corporations-division-business-registration-faqs
  (accessed 2026-07-27)