LLC Name Reservation Requirements in District of Columbia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Applicant and name requirements

D.C. Code § 29-103.03(a) says a person may apply to reserve an entity name. It does not confine that right to an LLC organizer, a formed domestic LLC, or a registered foreign LLC, nor does it list a separate registered-series application route. The Mayor must find the proposed name available before reserving it.

Under § 29-103.01(a), the entity name must be distinguishable in the Mayor's records from specified domestic and registered foreign names, reservations, registrations, and assumed names. Subsections (b) and (d) provide conditional consent routes for use by another registered entity. The ordinary LLC designator requirement appears in § 29-103.02(f). Neither a consent record nor a name search is an automatic approval of this reservation application.

Application, fee, and hold

Under § 29-103.03(a), the applicant delivers an application to the Mayor for filing that states the applicant's name and address and the proposed name. General entity-filing rules in § 29-102.01(a)(1)-(5) require an authorized signature and signer name/capacity; they allow a nonpaper delivery method to the extent the Mayor permits it.

Under § 29-102.12(a), the Mayor sets entity-filing fees by rule. The current D.C. LLC fee schedule lists $50 for “Reservation or transfer of name” in its Domestic Limited Liability Company row. Applicants using a foreign or other entity classification should confirm the applicable fee with the filing office.

If the name is available, § 29-103.03(a) gives the applicant exclusive use of the entity name for a 120-day period. It gives no separate first-day calculation or renewal process, window, or repeat limit.

Transfer and end of hold

The reservation owner may transfer it by delivering to the Mayor a signed notice in a record stating the transferee's name and address (§ 29-103.03(b)). The section does not state an applicant cancellation or agency revocation method; its express end point is the 120-day period.

What trips people up

The $50 fee row specifically names domestic LLC reservations and transfers, while the reservation statute permits a person to apply for an entity name. Check the filing office's classification before assuming the same charge for a prospective foreign LLC. A state entity-record hold also does not form an LLC or decide trademark ownership, domain use, or an infringement dispute.

Common questions

Does the application need the proposed LLC’s owner list?

Section 29-103.03(a) specifies the applicant's name and address and the proposed entity name. It does not ask for a future LLC's owners as reservation fields; formation or registration is a separate filing.

Can the reservation be transferred without the owner's signature?

No. Section 29-103.03(b) expressly requires a signed transfer notice in a record.

Statutes and sources

The official D.C. Code § 29-103.01, § 29-103.02, and § 29-103.03 supply the name and reservation rules; § 29-102.01 and § 29-102.12 supply general filing and fee authority. The current D.C. LLC fee schedule supplies the published amount. All were accessed September 23, 2026; the operative passages are quoted in the source records above.