D.C. Clean Hands
D.C. Certificate of Clean Hands: when a tax balance or missing return blocks a license.
If MyTax.DC.gov returned a Notice of Noncompliance instead of a Certificate of Clean Hands, MyTax shows each reason with OTR's instructions, and each reason has to be cleared: a balance paid or, if eligible, put on a payment plan; a missing return filed; a missing registration corrected. Under D.C. Code section 47-2862(b), a debt that is in dispute and under a proper, timely appeal that is still pending is not cause to deny a license or permit. If a license or permit was denied under Clean Hands, D.C. Code section 47-2865(c) allows a request for a hearing within 10 days of the denial.
Mr. Powell represents individuals and closely held businesses in District of Columbia collection matters with OTR, including Clean Hands noncompliance. He works from 1629 K Street NW, Suite 300 in Washington, DC, and handles IRS and U.S. Tax Court matters nationwide from that office. State-law matters are limited to the District of Columbia and Maryland.
The D.C. Code sections and the OTR pages described on this page were checked on code.dccouncil.gov and otr.cfo.dc.gov on November 3, 2026. The notice in hand and OTR's current instructions control over this summary. This page is not legal advice.
Why it is denied
Why a certificate or a license is denied.
A Certificate of Clean Hands is the document from the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) that verifies a person or business is in compliance with the District's Clean Hands mandate. OTR says the Clean Hands mandate requires that individuals and businesses be denied city-issued licenses, permits, grants, and contracts if they owe more than $1,000 in fees, fines, taxes, or penalties to OTR or the Department of Employment Services, or have not submitted all required District tax returns.
Why was I denied a D.C. Certificate of Clean Hands?
For a debt, a missing return, or a missing registration. OTR's Clean Hands check looks for more than $1,000 owed to OTR or the Department of Employment Services in fees, fines, taxes, or penalties, and for required District tax returns not submitted, and OTR's FAQs treat a missing account registration as a noncompliance issue. MyTax.DC.gov lists the specific reasons when the check is run. The license statute, D.C. Code section 47-2862, bars the District government from issuing or reissuing a license or permit to an applicant who owes the District more than $1,000 in past due taxes or who has failed to file required District tax returns.
Can a business owner's own tax debt block the company's license under Clean Hands?
It can, if the owner holds a majority interest. D.C. Code section 47-2861 defines the applicant for a license or permit to include any person that owns a majority interest in the business or other entity, other than a majority interest in a publicly-traded corporation. A majority interest is more than 50% of a corporation's voting power or value, more than 50% of the capital or profits interest in a partnership or an entity treated as a partnership, or more than 50% of the beneficial interest in a trust.
Can a spouse's tax debt block my Certificate of Clean Hands?
It can, through a joint return. OTR's Clean Hands FAQs say that if spouses filed jointly in the past five years and a debt is associated with one or more of those filings, that debt will prevent a Certificate of Clean Hands until it is addressed, and that a spouse's debt from before the joint filing, or on separate returns, is not held against the other spouse. OTR's Clean Hands page gives the look back period as five years.
What is the D.C. Clean Hands threshold?
More than $1,000. OTR's Clean Hands page counts fees, fines, taxes, or penalties owed to OTR or the Department of Employment Services. OTR announced that as of October 1, 2024, the amount of delinquent taxes, including penalties and interest, that disqualifies an applicant from receiving a certificate of clean hands increased from $100 to $1,000; the change came in D.C. Law 25-217, the Fiscal Year 2025 Budget Support Act of 2024. A missing required District return is a separate ground for denial, whatever the balance.
Official source: D.C. Code section 47-2862, prohibition against issuance of license or permit
Official source: D.C. Code section 47-2861, definitions
Official source: OTR, Certificate of Clean Hands
Official source: OTR, Clean Hands FAQs
Official source: OTR, District of Columbia Tax Changes Take Effect October 1st (2024)
Official source: D.C. Law 25-217
Notice of Noncompliance
How a Notice of Noncompliance is cleared.
Run the check
OTR's instructions for a business or a D.C. resident: log in to MyTax.DC.gov and choose Request a Certificate of Clean Hands. A compliant account generates the certificate. A noncompliant one shows the denial reasons with instructions and generates a Notice of Noncompliance. For an individual who does not live in D.C., OTR's instructions call for a request through the Clean Hands box on MyTax.DC.gov, and OTR says the answer comes within 3 business days. OTR sends a person who became a D.C. resident after January 1 of the current year to the non-resident steps, and a non-resident who once lived in D.C. and had a MyTax account to the resident steps.
Read each reason
MyTax.DC.gov shows each reason with OTR's instructions and generates the Notice of Noncompliance. A balance, a missing return, and a missing account registration are separate reasons.
Fix the cause
A balance is paid or, if eligible, put on a payment plan; missing returns are filed; a missing registration is corrected online. OTR says resolving noncompliance may include entering a payment plan.
Run it again
Once the fix has posted, the certificate is requested again on MyTax.DC.gov and given to the agency that asked for it.
Official source: OTR, How to Request a Certificate of Clean Hands
Official source: OTR, Certificate of Clean Hands
Official source: OTR, Clean Hands FAQs
When I take on a Clean Hands matter.
I take on a Clean Hands matter when it involves more than a small balance: several years of missing D.C. returns, a company license application blocked by a majority owner's own D.C. balance, a balance that is wrong, or a denied license that needs a hearing request within 10 days. Each reason on the notice is fixed separately, and the order matters when a license, contract, or grant date is close.
A taxpayer can run the check on MyTax.DC.gov alone and clear a simple issue there, such as a small debt or a missing account registration.
Liens, levies, and payment agreements on a final D.C. balance are covered on D.C. OTR collections.
Questions
Common questions.
How long does it take to clear a Clean Hands noncompliance?
It depends on the reason. OTR says it can take a few business days to resolve simple issues like a small debt or missing account registration, or up to 8 weeks to process a missing return. OTR's Clean Hands FAQs say a certificate can be issued once a payment has cleared, which takes up to 7 days for a credit card and two to six weeks for a money order or cashier's check; that a missing account registration fixed online typically processes in three to five business days; and that missing returns, once filed, can take eight weeks to be reviewed and accepted.
Can I get a Certificate of Clean Hands while on a D.C. payment plan?
Generally yes, on OTR's terms. OTR's Clean Hands FAQs say a taxpayer on a payment plan can request the certificate on MyTax.DC.gov once the down payment has posted and the payments are up to date, that an account with one of OTR's outsource vendors needs a manual review, and that a taxpayer who cannot pay must still file the return on time. For the license itself, D.C. Code section 47-2862(c) bars denial of a license or permit when the applicant has agreed to a payment schedule, the District has agreed to it, the applicant is complying with it, and the schedule is otherwise permitted by law.
Does a disputed D.C. tax balance block a license under Clean Hands?
Not when three conditions are met. D.C. Code section 47-2862(b) provides that a debt is not cause to deny a license or permit when the amount is subject to dispute, the applicant has properly and timely appealed the assessment or tax, and the appeal is pending. The section adds that it does not allow the nonpayment of any tax owed. Section 47-2862(b) governs the decision on the license or permit.
What happens if a license application is denied under Clean Hands?
The applicant may request a hearing within 10 days. D.C. Code section 47-2865(c) allows a person whose application is denied under section 47-2862 to request a hearing within 10 days of the denial on the basis for that denial. Section 47-2865(b) provides that an appeal of a denial does not consider the merits or validity of the outstanding debt.
Official source: D.C. Code section 47-2862, prohibition against issuance of license or permit
Official source: D.C. Code section 47-2865, remedies
Official source: OTR, Clean Hands FAQs
Related pages
Related D.C. tax resources.
- D.C. OTR collectionsLiens, levies, and payment agreements after a D.C. balance is final.
- D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue attorneyAudits, proposed assessments, and OAH protests.
- Washington, DC tax attorneyIRS and U.S. Tax Court matters from the Washington, DC office.
- Unfiled tax returnsFederal, D.C., and Maryland years that were never filed.
- Trust fund recovery penaltyUnpaid payroll trust fund taxes and personal liability.
- Practice areasThe firm's federal, D.C., and Maryland scope.
Send the reasons MyTax listed with the Notice of Noncompliance.
Tell me which license, permit, contract, or grant is waiting, the date of any denial, and the tax types and periods. Send only a high-level summary.
Requesting a consultation does not make Mr. Powell your lawyer, provide legal advice, or protect a deadline.
Law Office of Alexander Powell, PLLC. 1629 K Street NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006.