§ 47–2851.10. Lapsed and reinstated licenses.

(a) The Department may, by electronic mail or other methods of communication, send notice of impending license expiration, an application for renewal, and a statement of the applicable renewal fee to each licensee within 60 days prior to the expiration date at the mailing address or electronic mail address shown on the Department’s records for the licensee. It shall be the responsibility of the licensee to update the address information maintained by the Department.

(b)(1) A license that has not been revoked, suspended, or voluntarily relinquished and that has not been renewed by its expiration date shall be deemed to be lapsed. A licensee may apply for renewal of the license at any time within 30 days after the lapsing of the license and the license shall be reinstated upon the payment of a penalty of $250, plus all other applicable fees or penalties provided by law.

(2) A license that is lapsed for more than 30 days shall be deemed to be expired. A licensee whose license is lapsed for more than 30 days, but less than 6 months, after the lapsing of the license may apply for renewal of the license and the license shall be reinstated upon the payment of a penalty of $500, plus all other applicable fees and penalties provided by law.

(c)(1) Repealed.

(2) A licensee whose license has been expired for at least 6 months shall be treated as a new applicant and not as an applicant for renewal, unless otherwise provided by applicable law. If the new applicant conducted business during the 6 months after the expiration date of the license without complying with the renewal procedures pursuant to this section, the applicant shall be deemed to have conducted business without a license and shall be liable for any and all fees and fines applicable to conducting business without a license. A new application for a license shall not be processed until all applicable fines and fees have been paid.

(d) Any person who has obtained a license or renewed a license under false pretenses, including paying fees with a bad check, stating falsely that corporate status is current, or stating falsely that all taxes owed the District have been paid, shall be notified immediately of the problem and given 30 days from the date of notice to provide proof of having cured the problem. If the problem has not been corrected 30 days from the date of notification, the license shall be revoked and may only be reinstated upon proof of correction and payment of a $500 fine in addition to any other fees and fines required by this subchapter and all other relevant District laws and regulations.

(Apr. 29, 1998, D.C. Law 12-86, § 101(b), 45 DCR 1172; Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-261, § 2002(i), 46 DCR 3142; Mar. 3, 2010, D.C. Law 18-111, § 2041(b), 57 DCR 181; Apr. 23, 2013, D.C. Law 19-277, § 2(b), 60 DCR 2117; Mar. 22, 2023, D.C. Law 24-333, § 5(c)(16), 70 DCR 1524.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 47-2851.10.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 18-111 rewrote subsecs. (a), (b) and (c).

The 2013 amendment by D.C. Law 19-277 substituted “60 days” for “30 days” in (a).

Applicability

Section 7286 of D.C. Law 25-217 amended section 9 of D.C. Law 24-333 making the amendment of this section by section 5(c)(16) of D.C. Law 24-333 applicable as of October 1, 2025.

Applicability of D.C. Law 24-333: § 9 of D.C. Law 24-333 provided that the change made to this section by § 5(c)(16) of D.C. Law 24-333 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.

Emergency Legislation

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2041(b) of Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Support Second Emergency Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-207, October 15, 2009, 56 DCR 8234).

For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2041(b) of Fiscal Year Budget Support Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2009 (D.C. Act 18-260, January 4, 2010, 57 DCR 345).

Short Title

Short title: Section 2040 of D.C. Law 18-111 provided that subtitle E of title II of the act may be cited as the “Business Licensing Processing Adjustment Act of 2009”.