Starting a business in District of Columbia
The free official name check, the office that actually handles District of Columbia filings, and the order to work through setup in — so you aren't left stitching it together from blogs written for someone else's situation.
Where District of Columbia keeps its records
Find the right office before you spend anything
Half the difficulty of a District of Columbia search result is that the useful page is buried under five pages of marketing. This is the office that holds the entity records — and the search is free.
DC Department of Licensing & Consumer Protection (CorpOnline)
Step one, and it's free
A name is clear only if it's clear in all three places
A free search in District of Columbia proves the name is available in District of Columbia. It says nothing about the rest of the country, and nothing about the web address. This is the first step of the roadmap — and it's the one you can finish today without paying anything.
The District of Columbia registry
Confirms another business isn't already using the name in District of Columbia. Free, and fast. Open the search
The federal trademark record
A name free in District of Columbia can still belong to someone else nationally. Search the USPTO before you spend on signage. Search trademarks
The web address
The name is only usable if you can actually be found. Check the domain is free before you commit. Look it up
What the state charges, in plain numbers
Filing fee
$99
The state fee to file an LLC in District of Columbia. Nothing else — no service charge on top of it.
After you're open
$300
District of Columbia asks for a biennial report to stay in good standing.
What happens next
The name is the easy part. The other fifteen are where people stall.
Every founder hits the same wall: the advice out there is written for everyone, so it never answers the question in front of you. S.A.M. walks the sixteen steps with you, in order, and answers for District of Columbia — with the questions you didn't know to ask, and as many follow-ups as you want.
- Every step written down, in the order it actually happens
- Answered for your state and your kind of business
- The things to be aware of, said before you hit them
- A human mentor wrote the map and checks what's in it
The plain version
Step one free. All sixteen for $47, once.
Make an account and step one opens in full — every sub-step, the state-specific links, and things to be aware of — so you can judge the depth before you pay anything.
Start free with the first stepHow pricing works