July 2016
Updated: April 2017
Registered Agents –
Keeping Your Nonprofit’s Filing Up to Date
Every nonprofit corporation operating in
D.C. must have a registered agent. The
registered agent is the person or entity
designated by the nonprofit to receive
important notices addressed to the
organization. These notices include the
biennial return form and tax or other
administrative notices from the D.C.
government. The registered agent is also the
person or entity that is served with any legal
papers if your nonprofit organization is sued.
Since the mailings and notices received by a
registered agent are often time-sensitive, it is
essential that the agent passes them along to
the responsible person within your nonprofit
as soon as possible. That is why it is
important to select your registered agent
carefully.
Who May Be a Registered Agent?
Under the Nonprofit Code, a registered agent
may be either a commercial registered agent
or a non-commercial agent, as long as the
agent maintains a business office in the
District of Columbia.
A commercial registered agent is a business
that will serve as the organization’s agent for
a fee. The D.C. government maintains a list
of corporations that will serve as a
nonprofit’s
registered
agent.
These
commercial entities can serve as registered
agents provided the commercial entity
maintains an office in the District.
A nonprofit that does not employ a listed
commercial registered agent may designate
as a registered agent any other corporation or
individual with an office in D.C. The
nonprofit may also use an individual who is:
1. An officer, director or employee of
the nonprofit, provided the nonprofit
maintains an office in D.C.; or
2. An attorney licensed to practice law
in D.C. who maintains an office in the
District.
Verifying Your Registered Agent
Every nonprofit should take the opportunity
to review who is serving as its registered
agent. You can verify this information by
visiting the Department of Consumer and
Regulatory Affairs website, and checking
your
organization’s
latest
corporate
registration through the CorpOnline Web
Portal.
Once there, check to see who is listed as your
organization’s registered agent and also look
at the address listed. If it is an individual who
is no longer with your organization, or if the
address listed is not the agent’s current
business address, you should file a form with
DCRA to change the information about the
registered agent; the information can also be
July 2016
Updated: April 2017
updated through CorpOnline. There is a $40
filing fee.
It is important that you keep the information
about your registered agent current. If your
organization fails to do so, and it does not
receive notice of a filing that is due or that
your organization has been sued, your
organization may be found in default, and
may suffer significant financial penalties as a
result. Keeping your registered agent filing
up to date is an important way to avoid such
penalties.1
© 2016, 2017, D.C. Bar Pro Bono Center
This communication is provided by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono
Center and the authors as a public service solely for
informational purposes, without any representation that it is
accurate or complete. It does not constitute legal advice, and
should not be construed as such. It does not create an
attorney-client relationship between the recipient and any
other person, or an offer to create such a relationship. This
communication contains information that is current as of the
date it is written. However, laws change, and as a result the
information may no longer be timely. Consult an attorney if
you have questions regarding the contents of this
communication.