Washington DC business licenses, business by business

Type a business or trade name. 129,361 businesses in the District's Basic Business License file of October 1, 2026. No sole proprietors.

Hiring a contractor or opening an account? A dated license report ($19) — or a whole list checked.

What this is

To operate in the District of Columbia, a business needs a Basic Business License for each activity: restaurant, general contractor, cigarette sales, parking facility. The District publishes one row per license. This site groups them by business: one record with every active license, its end date, the ward and the business improvement district.

Who uses it

• Customers and property owners — is this contractor licensed in DC, and until when?
• Suppliers and lenders — the licensed businesses of one activity or one district.
• Business owners — your own record and its end dates.

What it is not

Not the District government, and not a license. Sole proprietors, individual licenses (salespersons) and one- or two-family and short-term rentals are left out of this site. Corporate registration (good standing) is another record, kept by the same department.

Browse

• Cities — 172
• Types — 89
• First issued since July 2026 — 560
• Adams Morgan BID — 300
• Anacostia BID — 216
• Capitol Hill BID — 598
• Downtown BID — 1,842
• Dupont Circle BID — 246
• Friendship Heights BID — 97
• Georgetown BID — 480
• Golden Triangle BID — 1,591
• Mount Vernon Triangle CID — 134
• Navy Yard BID — 635
• NoMa BID — 399
• Soul of the City BID — 304
• Southwest BID — 328