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How to Dissolve a Corporation in District of Columbia (Articles of Dissolution of Domestic For-Profit Corporation (Form DBU-7), $220)

Updated September 4, 2026. Quick answer: a District of Columbia for-profit corporation dissolves by filing Articles of Dissolution of Domestic For-Profit Corporation (Form DBU-7) under D.C. Code §§ 29-312.01 to 29-312.09 (Title 29, Chapter 3, Subchapter XII, Part A, Voluntary Dissolution) for $220, and District of Columbia does not gate the filing on a tax clearance certificate.

The filing, and what District of Columbia calls it

After dissolution is authorized by the board and shareholders under § 29-312.02, a DC business corporation dissolves by delivering Articles of Dissolution (Form DBU-7) to DLCP’s Corporations Division setting forth the corporation’s name, the date dissolution was authorized, and, if shareholder-approved, a statement that the proposal was duly approved as required by § 29-312.03 and the articles of incorporation. Per § 29-312.03(b), a corporation is dissolved upon the effective date of its articles of dissolution. Known claims may be disposed of under § 29-312.06 by written notice to known claimants.

The tax clearance question

District of Columbia does not gate the Articles of Dissolution of Domestic For-Profit Corporation (Form DBU-7) on a tax clearance certificate. DLCP’s own Articles of Dissolution form (DBU-7) states that the dissolution has no effect on the entity’s licensing and/or tax obligations, and it is the organization’s own responsibility to ensure compliance in those areas; no tax-clearance certificate is required to file or accept the Articles of Dissolution. OTR’s separate ‘Certificate of Clean Hands’ mandate (denial of city-issued licenses, permits, grants, and contracts to those owing more than $1,000 or missing returns) applies to licenses/permits/contracts/grants; it is not listed as a requirement for filing Articles of Dissolution with DLCP. (Form DBU-7 (DLCP Corporations Division); OTR ‘Certificate of Clean Hands’ page) That does not erase the corporation’s final tax filings; it just means the Secretary of State’s office is not the one checking for them before accepting the paperwork.

Creditors and the claims window

District of Columbia makes available, but does not require, a formal notice-to-known-and-unknown-creditors procedure, with a 120-day claims-bar window. Known-claims notice under § 29-312.06 is elective: a dissolved corporation may dispose of the known claims against it by notifying its known claimants in writing of the dissolution. If given, the notice must state a deadline of not fewer than 120 days from the effective date of the written notice; a claim is barred if not delivered by that deadline, or if a claimant whose claim was rejected does not sue within 90 days of the rejection notice. (D.C. Code § 29-312.06)

What the filing costs

The Articles of Dissolution of Domestic For-Profit Corporation (Form DBU-7) carries a $220 filing fee. $220.00 filing fee for Articles of Dissolution of a Domestic Business Corporation, per DLCP’s Corporations Division fee schedule (dissolution by incorporators/initial directors and revocation of dissolution are also $220.00 each; a judicial decree of dissolution carries no fee).

What this page does not answer

Dissolving the entity at the state level and closing it out with the IRS are two separate processes. A final federal return, IRS Form 966 in some circumstances, and canceling the EIN are governed by federal law, not by District of Columbia’s corporation statute, and this cluster does not source them. We have the state-filing answer at primary and the federal-closeout answer not at all.

This page sells nothing and links to no filing service. Dissolving a corporation is a filing-desk task with a statutory answer, and the answer is either in the state’s code and the Secretary of State’s own instructions or it is not.

This page covers a for-profit business corporation. If you are closing an LLC in District of Columbia instead, the filing, fee and statute are different: see dissolving an LLC in District of Columbia.

Sources

Every citation on this page is statutory or the Secretary of State’s own official filing instructions. No formation service, no registered-agent marketing page and no aggregator is cited anywhere in this cluster; those are the only publishers of the competing versions.

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