Department of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs: BBL General Contractor

NAICS DESCRIPTION: General Contractor - means any person who, for a fee, is contracted to do construction on real property owned, controlled, or leased by another person of commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental, residential or accessory use buildings or structures. This also includes the remodeling, repair, improvement or demolition of these buildings or structures. General Contractor also includes those involved in heavy construction, land development and the construction of new buildings.
Construction Manager – means any person who, for a fee, is contracted to supervise and coordinate the work of a design professionals and multiple general contractors, while allowing the design professionals and general contractors to control individual operations and the manner of design and construction.

Answers to Frequently Asked Questions About New General Contractor License

Endorsement Class: General Services and Repair

Legal Authority: 47-2851, DC Municipal Regulations, Title 17, Chapter 39

License Duration:   Two (2) Years                Category License Fee:   $500.00

License Available Online:   No Application Fee:    $70.00

Online Processing Fee:   N/A Endorsement Fee:   $25.00

General Contractor/Construction Manager Licenses are available in five (5) classes:

Class A – The holder of a Class A license is subject to no limitation as to the value of any single contract project.
Class B – The holder of a Class B license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of ten million dollars ($10,000,000).
Class C – The holder of a Class C license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of five million dollars ($5,000,000).
Class D – The holder of a Class D license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of two million dollars ($2,000,000).
Class E - The holder of a Class E license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000).

Note: Please see insurance requirements for each class below.

Payment Method

If applying in person, you can pay for your Basic Business License (BBL) by cash, check, money order, or credit card at the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Business License Center, 941 North Capitol Street, NE, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20002.

If applying by mail you can pay for your Basic Business License (BBL) by check or money order payable to "DC Treasurer" and submitted to:

Bank of America Lockbox Services
Attention: DC Government Wholesale Lockbox #91360
11333 McCormick Road
Hunt Valley, MD 21031

Application Requirements

All applicants for a Basic Business License must comply with the following DC Code requirements:

Basic Business License Application
To make sure you get your BBL as quickly as possible, you must submit a properly completed BBL EZ Form. All of your responses should be printed clearly in English.

Fillable Downloadable BBL EZ FORM*
Barrill nuevo BBL EZ Form en Español*

Note on PDF Forms: To download and fill out BBL EZ form you should open the form and save to your desktop. We recommend you also rename the form as you save to your desktop. For most users, you should be able to save your work. If you cannot, you should print the form before closing.

Certificate of Occupancy / Compliance for Zoning Regulations
Before applying for your BBL, you'll need a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for the location where your business is conducted to demonstrate that your business does not conflict with building and zoning codes. (If your business is located in an office building, you may operate under the umbrella of the C of O issued to the owner of the building, as long as the C of O was issued for the entire building; check with your building owner or management company for the C of O holder name, number, and issue date.) If you have any questions about Certificates of Occupancy, please call the Building & Land Regulation Administration at (202) 442-4589 or visit dcra.dc.gov.

Clean Hands Certification
You'll also need to certify that you don't owe more than $100 to the District of Columbia government as a result of fees, penalties, interest, or taxes through completion of a Clean Hands form provided in your BBL application package.

DCRA Clean Hands Form*

Office of Tax & Revenue (OTR) Registration
Before applying for your BBL, you'll also need to register your business with OTR and submit a copy of your tax registration certificate with your application. If you're not already registered, simply complete and file a Combined Business Tax Registration Application (Form FR500). You get all the necessary forms and submit your application online at the Business this can also be done online at the Business Tax Service Center. For more information, please call the Tax Customer Center at (202) 727-4829.

Insurance Requirements
Public Liability and Property Damage Insurance Certificate Required Each applicant shall furnish a certificate of insurance for the license period pursuant to DC Code and DC Municipal Regulations. Each applicant must secure commercial general liability insurance as follows:

Applicant applying for Class A license limits of at least two and a half million dollars ($2,500,000) per occurrence (primary or umbrella) for bodily injury and property damage arising in any way from the issuance of the license
Applicant applying for Class B license limits of at least one and a half million dollars ($1,500,000) per occurrence (primary or umbrella) for bodily injury and property damage arising in any way from the issuance of the license;
Applicant applying for Class C license limits of at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per occurrence, one million dollars ($1,000,000) in the aggregate combined single limit for bodily injury or property damage arising in any way from the issuance of the license;
Applicant applying for Class D license limits of at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per occurrence, one million dollars ($1,000,000) in the aggregate combined single limit for bodily injury or property damage arising in any way from the issuance of the license;
Applicant applying for Class E license limits of at least five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) per occurrence for bodily injury or property damage arising in any way from the issuance of the license.

On the Certificate of Liability, the holder of the policy should read as follows:

Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
941 North Capitol Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002

Contract/Receipts Samples
You must submit two preprinted Contracts and Receipts in at least triplicate, on a form which shall comply with existing regulations pursuant to DC Code and DC Municipal Regulations.
Investigation/Approval This type of business requires a thirty (30) day background investigation prior to issuance of a license. This investigation will be conducted after submitting the application and all required documents.

Investigation/Approval
This type of business requires a thirty (30) day background investigation prior to issuance of a license. This investigation will be conducted after submitting the application and all required documents.

Special Instructions
All subcontractors (i.e. plumbers, gasfitters, electricians, refrigeration and air condition technicians) hired by the General Contractor/Construction Manager must be properly licensed and registered as required by District of Columbia law.

Special Instructions

If your business falls into one of the following categories, there are additional requirements for your BBL application, as described below.

Corporation Division Requirements
If you are a corporation, partnership or limited liability company you must be registered in the District and in good standing. For instructions on how to register, please go to DCRA Corporate Registration Information Center. For more information, please call the Corporation Division at (202) 442-4432.

Non-Resident of the District of Columbia (including Foreign Corporations)
If you are not a resident of the District of Columbia, you'll need to appoint a Resident Agent or an Attorney-in-Fact who lives or works in an office in the District, who will be the official recipient of any financial, process, or legal notices that we need to send to you. If you are not a DC resident, please complete the Certified Resident Agent Appointment Form.

Corporate Registered Agents
Every corporation needs to have a registered agent office in the District of Columbia. This office can but does not need to be the same as your place of business. Foreign corporations doing business in DC need to certify that their named registered agent is duly authorized to represent that corporation.

Trade Name Operative (Use of Fictitious Business Name)
If your business uses a Trade Name, you'll need to register the name with DCRA and indicate both the trade name and the official business name (including its corporation, LLC, or partnership classification) if applicable.

Other District or Federal Agencies Involved for this Basic Business License

Additional Business Activities (BBL Endorsements)

If you conduct more than one business activity (endorsement type), you'll need to indicate those activities on your BBL application. You might have any number of additional business activities connected to this particular license endorsement.

Special Notes: If your business includes any of the above endorsement activities, you can get additional fact sheets and application forms by contacting DCRA's License Center at (202) 442-4311, or by email at bbl.infocenter@dc.gov.