District of Columbia Articles of Incorporation of Domestic For-Profit Corporation | Form DBU – 1

The District of Columbia Articles of Incorporation of Domestic For-Profit Corporation | Form DBU – 1 must be filled out completely then filed with the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. This template form will Name the basic articles that must be reported to the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Every corporation seeking to operate in this state must submit this information and have its paperwork approved in order to be granted corporate status in this state. It is important to note this form does not fulfill requirements set out by other governing bodies. Incorporators who are both familiar and unfamiliar with the process of forming a corporation in the District of Columbia are strongly urged to seek counsel with an appropriate professional in this state such as an attorney or accountant.

You may submit the District of Columbia Articles of Incorporation of Domestic For-Profit Corporation | Form DBU – 1 by mail or you may file online. If you intend to mail this information, you must include a check payable to “DC Treasurer” for the full Filing Fee. You may pay by credit card if you submit online. The Filing Fee will need to be determined based Total Authorized Capital of the corporation. You may mail this filing to Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Corporations Division, PO Box 92300, Washington D.C. 20090. If you wish to file online, you must obtain an account then file with the Washington DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs here: https://corp.dcra.dc.gov/Home.aspx.

How To File

Download Form

Step 1 – The “Download Form” link above will allow you to save this form onto your computer as a PDF form. You may either print this form then fill it in with a typewriter or, if you have an appropriate PDF editing program, fill it out onscreen then print it.

Step 2 – Locate Article 1. In the blank space provided report the Full Name the corporation being formed by these articles will adopt and operate under. Note: This Name must contain a word of incorporation such as “Corporation,” “Incorporated,” or an acceptable abbreviation of such.

Step 3 – In Article 2, report the Total Number of Shares this corporation will be authorized to issue in the space provided.

Step 4 – Next, in Article 3, you will need to report the Identity and Complete Address of the Registered Agent that has agreed to accept Service of Process on behalf of this corporation should it ever be called into a court of law. You must report a Complete Physical Address in this section that includes a Building Number, Street, City, State, and Zip Code. A PO Box Address may not be entered here.

Step 5 – If there are any other Provisions not necessarily required by the articles that need to be included for the proper formation of this entity, they may be documented in the space provided in Article 4. If there is not enough room, you may attach a clearly labeled document with such provisions.

Step 6 – Article 5 and 6 are reserved for Incorporator Information. Each Incorporator should be provide a Name and Address in the first box then Print his/her Name and report his or her Address in the second box of their respective lines. If there is not enough room, you may attach a document bearing this so long as it is clearly labeled.

Step 7 – Next you will need to calculate the Filing Fee that must accompany these articles. This is easily done provided you know the Dollar Amount of the Total Authorized Capital of the forming corporation. For entities with a TAC (Total Authorized Capital) of $100,000 and under, the Filing Fee is $220.00. For entities with a TAC between $100,000.00 and $500,000, the Filing Fee will be $550.00. For entities with a TAC between $500,001 and $1,000,000, the Filing Fee will be $1,100.00. If the corporation has a TAC of at least $1,000,000, the Filing Fee will be $1,650.00.

Step 8 – Gather all your documents and a check payable to “DC Treasurer” for the proper Filing Fee amount (see Step 7) and package these items with the District of Columbia Articles of Incorporation of Domestic For-Profit Corporation | Form DBU – 1.

Mail To:

Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
Corporations Division
PO Box 92300
Washington D.C. 20090

 

How To File Online

Step 1 – Go to https://corp.dcra.dc.gov/Account.aspx/LogOn?ReturnUrl=%2fHome.aspx to log in or create an account, then log in.

Step 2 – From your account’s home page, locate the link labeled “DBU-1 Articles of Incorporation Web” under the heading “For-Profit Corporation”

Step 3 – Read all the information on this page, then if you are ready select the button labeled “Next.”

Step 4 – If you have reserved a Name for your corporation, enter the File Number you received in the text box labeled “File Number” then select “Check Reserved Name.” If you have not reserved a Name, then leave this field blank and select the button labeled “Next.”

Step 5 – In the first field report the Full Name you wish to register the forming corporation as. Then in the field labeled “Business Suffix,” select Corporation, Incorporated or one of the applicable abbreviations.

Step 6 – The next field, “Effective Date,” autopopulates the field with the current Date, however you may choose another Date.

Step 7 – Next, you will need to give some information for the Stock this corporation may issue. Identify the Class using the Stock Type drop down list (you may choose, Common, Preferred or Other). For our purposes, select “Common.” In the field labeled “Quantity” enter the Total Number of Shares in the Class being reported. Then, in the field labeled “Share Value” enter the Par Value for the Shares in that Class. Once you have entered this information, select the button labeled “Add Stock.” This will display the information you entered in a table above. Just above this table is a button labeled “Calculate Price” This will use the calculated Total Authorized Capital information to deliver the Filing Fee for these articles.

Step 8 – Next you will need to report the Registered Agent for this corporation. Indicate if this is a noncommercial Registered Agent or a commerical Registered Agent by selecting the the first button for a noncommercial Registered Agent and a second button for a commercial Registered Agent. If you choose “No,” you will be provided with a drop down list with the Registered Agent listings available on the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Merely use the drop down list to select the appropriate one. For our purposes, select the first button, then enter the Full Name and Email Address of the Registered Agent in the first two fields. Next, select the radio button labeled “US” or the radio button labeled “International” to indicate the type of Address being reported here. Choose “U.S.” then enter the Full Address of the District of Columbia Registered Agent being reported here.

Step 9 – The next field is a somewhat large field labeled “Description.” Here, you may enter any Provisions that need to be included when filing these articles. This is optional.

Step 10 – If there are any documents that need to be attached to these articles, you may upload them in the section labeled “Upload Documents.” Here, use the “Browse” button to locate the file on your machine. You may add a description of the file in the text box below this button. When you are ready, select the button labeled “Upload Document.” Each document you upload will appear in the table titled “Current Attached Documents.”

Step 11 – Next you will need to input information regarding the Incorporator (at least one must be reported). Locate the section labeled “Incorporators” then select either the radio button labeled “Individual” or “Organization.” For our purposes select “Individual.”

Step 12 – Utilize the fields labeled “Last Name,” “Suffix,” “First Name,” and “Middle Name” to enter an Incorporator’s Full Name. Then, enter the Street Address, City, State, and Zip Code of the Incorporator being listed and indicate if he/she is an Executing Officer by marking the check box at the bottom of the page. When you have entered this, select the button labeled “Add Incorporator.” This will display the Incorporator Information in the table directly above this section. Once you have entered information regarding the Incorporators select the button labeled “Next.”

Step 13 – Use the drop down menu to indicate the level of service you prefer. If you wish for regular processing select “None.” If you wish to expedite the review process, select either “1 Day Expedite Service ($100.00)” or “3 Day Expedite Service ($50.00). Once you are done select “Next.”

 

Step 14 – This next page will give you the opportunity to view all the information you entered in one place. All the information submitted must be correct, if you need to navigate to a section, use the “Back” button at the bottom of the page. Do not use the back button on your browser. Once you are ready, select the button labeled “Next.”

Step 15 – Next, under the heading “Payment” select “credit card” then enter the payment information for the credit card paying for this filing. The Filing Fee will be calculated for you based on the Stock information you entered earlier. The standard fee, for corporations with a Total Authorized Capital under $100,000.00 will be $220.00. When you are ready, select “Next.”