Washington, DC Economic Partnership’s Doing Business in DC program on Business Registration and Licensing featuring officials from the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA)

1. Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs
NICHOLAS A. MAJETT, DIRECTOR
Business and Professional Licensing Administration (BPLA)
PATRICIA GRAYS, ACTING ADMINISTRATOR
Doing Business 2.0
November 10, 2011

2. BPLA is the licensing and business compliance body of the
Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). There
are six (6) divisions and/or programs within the administration:
Business Licensing Division (BLD)
Corporations Division (CORPD)
Occupational and Professional Licensing Division (OPLD)
Regulatory Investigations Section (RID)
Special Events and Vending (SE&V)
Weights and Measures Division (WMD)
In addition BPLA began offering services to our customers
via our Small Business Resource Center (SBRC)
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3. BUSINESS LICENSING
OVERVIEW
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4. BUSINESS LICENSING DIVISON
MISSION
The Business Licensing Division (BLD) is responsible for the
process, issuance and renewal of business licenses for citizens
and entities seeking to conduct business in the District of
Columbia.
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5. BUSINESS LICENSING OVERVIEW
NUMBER OF LICENSE CATEGORIES
 Issue licenses in 165 categories
 Top licensing categories
 One Family Rental
 Home Improvement Contractors
 Home Improvement Salesman
 Restaurants
 General Business
 General Contractors
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6. BUSINESS LICENSING OVERVIEW
BASIC LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
 Before an application for a business license can be received,
there are some basic requirements:
Step 1: Corporate Registration (if operating as a Corporate entity i.e. corps., LLCs or
Partnerships)
Step 2: Registration with the DC Office of Tax and Revenue (FR 500 Notice of Business Tax
Registration or the FR 164 for Non-profit Organizations)
Step 3: Certificate of Occupancy (if operating out of an office location in the District) or
Home Occupation Permit (if conducting business out of the home)
Step 4: Clean hands certification
Step 5: BBL application
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7. BUSINESS LICENSING OVERVIEW
ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SPECIFIC
LICENSING CATEGORIES
 Certain licensing categories require additional information to
include:
 Bond
 Insurance
 Criminal History Check
 Other District Agency Signatory Approval (i.e. Department of Health)
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8. BUSINESS LICENSING DIVISION
STATISTICS
 Number of Active Business Licenses:
- Approximately 43,000 registered
 Number of Phone Calls:
- Approximately 150 per day
 Walk-In Customers:
- Approximately 150 per day
 Online Renewals/Revenue
-Approximately 1,312 transactions (FY2011)
-Approximately $ 440,642
 Total Revenue:
- Approximately $7 million in FY 2010
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9. BUSINESS LICENSING DIVISION
UPDATES
 Business License Division News:
– Online submission (OSUB) of new applications for 10 business license
categories is scheduled to launch by 12/9/2011
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10. CORPORATIONS
OVERVIEW
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11. CORPORATIONS DIVISION
OVERVIEW
The Corporations Division is responsible for the examination,
custody and maintenance of the legal documents filed by
corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies,
cooperative associations, business trusts and trade names.
The Superintendent of Corporations also serves as the Mayor’s
Agent for service of Process for businesses that are defunct, or
fail to maintain an agent in the District or are operating in the
District without proper registration.
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12. CORPORATIONS DIVISION
PRIMARY PROGRAM OPERATIONS
 The Corporations Division registers and provides file
maintenance services for the following:
 CORPORATIONS:
- Business & Professional Corporations
- Non- Profit Corporations
 PARTNERSHIPS:
- General Partnerships
- Limited Partnerships
- Limited Liability Partnerships
 LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANIES
 BUSINESS TRUSTS (effective January 2012)
 COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATIONS
 TRADE NAMES
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13. CORPORATIONS DIVISION
STATISTICS
 Number of Entities of Record:
- Approximately 270,000 registered
 Number of Phone Calls:
- Approximately 125 per day
 Walk-In Customers:
- Approximately 90 per day
 Online Filings Transactions/Revenue- Since 6/13/2011
-Approximately 8907 transactions
-Approximately $1.4 million
 Total Corporate Transactions:
- Approximately 62,000 in FY 2011
 Total Revenue:
- Approximately $11 million in FY 2011
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14. CORPORATIONS DIVISION
UPDATES
 Corporations Division News:
– Implement new corporate law by 1/1/2012;
– Launch expanded online services site by 1/1/2012;
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15. SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE
CENTER OVERVIEW
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16. SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER
OVERVIEW
The Small Business Resource Center (SBRC) provides workshops
and one-on-one technical assistance to customers seeking
assistance with navigating the District’s regulatory
environment.
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17. SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER
PROVIDING ONE-ON-ONE
INFORMATIONAL SESSIONS
 External Service Providers
 DC Chamber of Commerce Foundation (DCCCF)
 DC Bar’s Pro Bono Program
 DC Women’s Business Center (DCWBC)
 Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
 Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC)
 Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF)
 Internal Services Providers
 Business Licensing Division
 Corporations Division
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18. SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER
ONE-ON-ONE SESSIONS
 One-On-One Sessions Often Involve:
 Individual tutorials and explanations of the business
license application process
 Individual reviews of application packages to ensure that customers
are applying for the correct business license category, corporate
and/or trade name registration
 Provide guidance to customers through each step of the business
license and corporation application process
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19. SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER
STATISTICS
 Number of Individual SBRC Customers:
- As of 10/31/2011 approximately 106 customers have attended 150
one-on-one sessions
 Percentage of customers that obtained a business license:
- Approximately 13% as of 10/31/2011
 Percentage of customers that registered with corporations:
- Approximately 11% as of 10/31/2011
 Percentage of customers that obtained a business license or registered
with corporations:
- Approximately 25% as of 10/31/2011

20. SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER
HOW TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT
 How to Register for a one-on-one Session in the SBRC
 Services are available by appointment only
 Online registration
 SBRC website is http://dcra.ecenterdirect.com
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21. SMALL BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER
UPDATES
 Ongoing and Future Objectives:
 Increase the number of service provides
 Increase “Train-the-Trainer” sessions provided to services providers
 Implement group workshops sessions for customers
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