How much does an LLC cost in Washington DC?
$99 to file, then $150 a year to keep. Below: the exact deadlines, what happens if you miss them, and the costs Washington DC charges that the comparison tables leave out.
DC Washington DC state filing fees — US only
Fees compiled August 27, 2026 · state detail verified August 26, 2026
To form
$99
one-off
To keep
$150
per year
First year
$249
36 of 51 cheapest
Compare Washington DC against any other state →
What you pay, and when
| You file with | DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Corporations Division |
|---|---|
| The document | Articles of Organization (Form DLC-1) |
| Filing fee | $99 |
| Processing | Online filings through CorpOnline are typically processed within a few business days. |
| Recurring filing | Biennial Report |
| Recurring fee | $300 · Every 2 years |
| Deadline | April 1 of the year after you form, then every two years on April 1. The fee is $300. |
| If you are late | A $100 late fee, bringing the total to $400. You can still file late up to around September; past that the entity is revoked. |
| Registered agent | DC requires a registered agent with a physical DC address. Notably, DC also requires the agent to be registered with DLCP, which rules out some general mail-forwarding services. |
| State income tax | DC taxes personal income on a graduated schedule. It also levies an unincorporated business franchise tax (Form D-30) on businesses with DC gross receipts above $12,000, which can apply to a single-member LLC — a genuinely unusual rule. |
The cost over time
The filing fee is the number everyone compares. It is almost never the number that matters — you pay it once, and then you pay the recurring fee for as long as the company exists.
| If you keep it for | Washington DC | Cheapest state (Arizona) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 year | $249 | $50 | +$199 |
| 3 years | $549 | $50 | +$499 |
| 5 years | $849 | $50 | +$799 |
| 10 years | $1,599 | $50 | +$1,549 |
State fees only. Excludes registered agent, formation services, publication where required, and local licences.
Where Washington DC sits nationally
Washington DC ranks 36 of 51 on first-year cost and 41 of 51 on ongoing cost, against a national median first year of $175. The cheapest state is Arizona at $50; the most expensive is Massachusetts at $1,000.
| State | Filing | Per year | Year 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas | $160 | $50 | $210 |
| Illinois | $150 | $75 | $225 |
| Washington DC you are here | $99 | $150 | $249 |
| Alabama | $200 | $50 | $250 |
| Maine | $175 | $85 | $260 |
Should you form in Washington DC?
DC looks cheap to enter at $99 and is not cheap to hold: $300 every two years, a Clean Hands requirement that ties your filings to your tax account, and a possible unincorporated business franchise tax that most states have no equivalent of. Form here if you operate here; there is no reason to choose DC otherwise.
What the comparison tables miss
Clean Hands ties your filing to every other debt you owe the District
DC will not process business filings if you owe the District more than $100 in taxes, fines, fees or penalties — including things unrelated to the business, such as unpaid parking tickets. DLCP checks this automatically against Office of Tax and Revenue records. People discover it when a routine filing is refused for a reason that has nothing to do with the company.
The unincorporated business franchise tax has no equivalent in most states
DC imposes a franchise tax on unincorporated businesses with DC gross receipts over $12,000, at a rate around 8.25% with a minimum tax of $250. There is a salary allowance for owner labour that exempts many genuine one-person consultancies, but the rule is real, it is not widely known outside DC, and it is far larger than any filing fee on this page. Check whether it applies to you before assuming DC is a $150-a-year state.
You probably also need a Basic Business License
Separately from the LLC registration, many businesses operating in DC need a Basic Business License from DLCP, with its own fee and its own renewal cycle. Forming the LLC does not satisfy it, and the two are handled by the same agency, which makes it easy to assume one covered the other.
The first biennial report is due sooner than the two-year rhythm suggests
Your first Biennial Report is due April 1 of the year following formation — so an LLC formed in November has a deadline about five months later, not two years later. After that it settles into the every-other-year cycle.
Costs this page does not include
- Registered agent — typically $50–$300 a year if you do not act as your own.
- Formation services — $0–$300 one-off. You can file directly with the state yourself.
- Local business licences — many cities and counties require their own, separately from the state.
- An EIN — free from the IRS. Anyone charging for one is charging for a ten-minute form.
- Foreign registration in every other state where you actually do business.
An LLC does not reduce your federal tax
Worth restating on every one of these pages, because so much of the marketing implies otherwise. A single-member LLC is a disregarded entity federally: the same Schedule C, the same self-employment tax, an identical return to being a sole proprietor. What it buys is liability protection, which may well be worth the fees — but that is a different thing from a tax saving.
The election that actually reduces tax is S-corp status, which is separate from being an LLC and generally only pays off above roughly $80,000 of profit. You can model that with the S-corp vs sole proprietor calculator, and see what Washington DC leaves you with using the take-home pay calculator.
Sources
- DC DLCP — Corporations Division
- DC Office of Tax and Revenue — Certificate of Clean Hands
- DC Office of Tax and Revenue — business franchise tax rates
Fees change, sometimes mid-year. Everything here was verified August 26, 2026, but confirm the current figure with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP), Corporations Division before you file. This is a comparison tool, not a quote, and it is not legal or tax advice.