§ 47–2851.11. Denial of master [basic]

(a) The Center shall not issue or renew a basic business license to any person or business entity if:

(1) The person or business does not have a valid tax registration or Certificate of Occupancy, if required;

(2) The person or business is delinquent in taxes, periodic report fees, or penalties owing to the District, is delinquent in service fees owed to the Water and Sewer Authority, or is not validly registered in accordance with District law. The Office of Tax and Revenue and the Water and Sewer Authority shall cooperate with the business license center to determine if taxes, fees, penalties or service fees are owing.

(3) The person or business has been denied any of the necessary endorsements for the type of business for which licensing is sought; or

(4) The person or business has not submitted the sum of all fees and deposits required for the requested individual license endorsements, any outstanding basic business license delinquency fee, or other fees and penalties to be collected through the system.

(b) Nothing in this section shall prevent registration by the District of an employer for the purpose of paying an employee workers’ compensation insurance or unemployment insurance benefits.

(Apr. 29, 1998, D.C. Law 12-86, § 101(b), 45 DCR 1172; Apr. 20, 1999, D.C. Law 12-261, § 2002(b), 46 DCR 3142; Oct. 21, 2000, D.C. Law 13-183, § 2(a), 47 DCR 7062; Oct. 28, 2003, D.C. Law 15-38, § 2(l), 50 DCR 6913; Mar. 22, 2023, D.C. Law 24-333, § 5(c)(17), 70 DCR 1524.)

Prior Codifications

1981 Ed., § 47-2851.11.

Effect of Amendments

D.C. Law 13-183 rewrote subsec. (a)(2) which formerly provided: “The person or business is delinquent in taxes, periodic reports, or penalties owing to the District, or is not validly registered in accordance with District law; the Department of Finance and Revenue shall cooperate with the business license center to determine if such taxes, fees, or penalties are owing.”

D.C. Law 15-38, in subsec. (a), substituted “basic” for “master” in the introductory paragraph and in par. (4).

Applicability

Section 7286 of D.C. Law 25-217 amended section 9 of D.C. Law 24-333 making the repeal of this section by section 5(c)(17) 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 repeal of this section by § 5(c)(17) 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 § 2(l) of Streamlining Regulation Emergency Act of 2003 (D.C. Act 15-145, August 11, 2003, 50 DCR 6896).