Washington
District of Columbia Department of Buildings
In short
District of Columbia Department of Buildings issues 2 permits we publish for Washington, last verified 2026-09-03. Each carries the fee as the agency publishes it, with a link to the schedule it was read from.
What this agency issues
| Permit | Issuing agency | Fee | Renews | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Certificate of Occupancy | District of Columbia Department of Buildings | Banded by floor area, each band plus a $33 non-refundable filing fee and a further 10 per cent enhanced fee: $42 up to 5,000 sq ft; $42 plus $0.004 per sq ft from 5,001 to 50,000; $276 plus $0.003 per sq ft from 50,001 to 100,000; $471 plus $0.0013 per sq ft above 100,001 | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-09-03 |
| Home Occupation Permitonly if it applies to you | District of Columbia Department of Buildings | $72.60 filing and issuance, including the 10 per cent enhanced fee | not stated in the published schedule | 2026-09-03 |
Fees shown as a range or formula are set that way by the issuing agency — we do not average them into a single number.
About each permit
Certificate of Occupancy
You need one to use a building for business in the District, and you need it before the Basic Business License — which makes it the first thing on the critical path, not the last. A small unit is cheap: 5,000 square feet or less is $42 plus the $33 filing fee plus 10 per cent. A new certificate is required again on a change of ownership, a change of use, a change of occupant load or a change to the tenant floor layout, so taking over an existing restaurant does not let you inherit the previous operator's. Once issued, the authorised use must be established within six months. Single-family homes in the R-1A, R-1B, R-2 and R-3 zones are exempt, and so are individual units inside a building that already holds a certificate for the whole structure. Running the business from home means a Home Occupation Permit instead. No expiry is published, so none is claimed here.
Home Occupation Permit
$72.60 all in — a $33 filing fee and a $33 issuance fee, each carrying the District's 10 per cent enhanced fee. It replaces the Certificate of Occupancy for a business run from home, and it must be in hand BEFORE the business license. Most home office uses are auto-issued; childcare and lodging go to staff review. The conditions are strict enough to rule out many trades outright: the business must stay clearly secondary to living there, it may occupy no more than 250 square feet or a quarter of the home, no more than two non-resident employees, no more than eight vehicle trips a day and eight clients an hour, and one flush-mounted sign of no more than 144 square inches. Retail sales, animal care and boarding, vehicle repair, firearms sales, entertainment and performing arts, production and distribution, and waste services are all prohibited as home occupations. A permit cannot be transferred between people or addresses. No expiry is published, so none is claimed.
Contact
- Jurisdiction
- Washington
- Phone
- Not verified — use the website
- Website
- dob.dc.gov/
Contact details are taken from the agency’s own site or its published fee schedule. Where we have not verified a phone number we leave it blank rather than guess.
Sources
Every fee and term above was read from one of these government pages on the date shown.
- DC Department of Buildings — building permit fee schedule, special permits and reviewsDistrict of Columbia Department of Buildings · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
- DC Department of Buildings — home occupation permitDistrict of Columbia Department of Buildings · primary source · retrieved 2026-09-03
Other offices serving Washington
- District of Columbia Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, Business Licensing Division
- District of Columbia Department of Health, Food Safety and Hygiene Inspection Services Division
- District of Columbia Department of Health, Animal Facility Licensing
- District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Division of Early Learning
The full permit list for this jurisdiction
Industry permit lists that include this agency
District of Columbia jurisdictions
Commercial Compliance Hub publishes information, not legal advice. Requirements change — confirm anything you rely on with the issuing agency before you file.