Section 31-501. INITIAL AND RENEWAL CERTIFICATES AND LICENSES; FILING REQUIREMENTS.

 

501.1No person shall operate a taxicab company, association, or fleet in the District without first obtaining a Certificate of Operating Authority issued by the Commission.

 

501.2Each application for a new or renewal certificate of operating authority shall be made on a form prescribed by the Office of Taxicabs (Office), which shall contain a sworn and notarized statement that the information contained in the application is true under penalty of perjury, and that the applicant is in compliance with the clean hands requirements of D.C. Official Code § 47-2862 (2005 Repl. & 2011 Supp.).

  

501.3An applicant for a new or renewal certificate of operating authority license shall provide the following information with its application:

 

(a)The name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and fax number of the applicant;

 

(b)Certification of tax compliance from the Internal Revenue Service for the prior tax year;

 

(c)A copy of the certificate of occupancy for the applicant’s administrative office, which must meet the requirements of § 502 of this chapter;

(d)A copy of the current by-laws and other rules and regulations relating to the applicant’s organization and operations; 

 

(e)Certificate-of-identity information on a form provided by the Office indicating the trade name of the applicant, the persons authorized to sign for the applicant, and other identifying information required by the  Office;

 

(f)The following information, if the applicant is a partnership:

 

(1) A certified copy of the partnership certificate; and

 

(2) A list of the partners, including the name, residential address, and telephone number of each partner;

 

(g)The following information, if the applicant is a corporation:

 

(1) A certified copy of its certificate of incorporation with a filing receipt issued by the Mayor, or his or her designee, if the applicant has been incorporated for less than one (1) year from the date of the license application, or a certificate of good standing if the applicant has been incorporated more than one (1) year from the date of the license application, or if not a District of Columbia corporation, a copy of the certificate of incorporation from its jurisdiction of incorporation with a certificate of good standing and certificate of authority to do business within the District of Columbia as a foreign corporation;

 

(2) A copy of its articles of incorporation; and

 

(3)A list of its officers, including the name, residential address, and telephone number of each officer;

 

(h)The name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address for the applicant’s District of Columbia resident agent for service of process;

 

(i)An identification of the types of taxicab services to be provided, including dispatch service, wheelchair-accessible service, and other specially-equipped taxicab service;

 

(j)A statement by the applicant that the company, association, or fleet will not discriminate against employees or customers and will provide taxicab services throughout the District of Columbia;

 

(k)A listing of membership, insurance, dispatch, and rental fees, where applicable;

 

(l)       Identification of the number of hybrid taxicabs, wheelchair-accessible        taxicabs, and other specially-equipped taxicab vehicles; and

 

(m)Clean Hands certification that the applicant has complied with the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue registration and filing requirements, including but not limited to filing the FR-500 Combined Business Tax Registration Application Form and the FR-500T, Taxicab and Limousine Supplemental Information Form.

 

(n)Certification that it is in compliance with the operating requirements of § 510.

 

(o)Proof of insurance including workers compensation.

 

 

501.4Each applicant for a new or renewal certificate of operating authority shall also provide the following information as to the vehicles to be affiliated or associated with its company, association, or fleet or owned by the applicant:

(a)The name and residential address of the owner of each vehicle to be affiliated or associated with the applicant;  

(b)The vehicle body type, the vehicle make and model, the vehicle’s model year, and the vehicle identification number;

(c)Verification that the applicant has applied for and is pre-approved for insurance that complies with District of Columbia insurance requirements and the requirements of chapter 9 of this title;

 

(d)The trade name and any design, insignia, logo, term, symbol, lettering, or other exterior object, pursuant to § 503 of this chapter; and

 

(e)The specially-equipped taxicab vehicle information, where applicable, required to be submitted by § 604 of this title.

 

501.5 The Office shall verify all the information provided in response to §§ 501.3 and 501.4 of this section and provide a preliminary approval of the name, logo, or insignia before each application is presented to the Office for approval.

 

501.6Annually on or before December 15 and at other times as may be required by the Commission, each taxicab company, association, or fleet shall renew its certificate of operating authority by filing an application with the Office.  The application shall include the following information:

 

(a)The name and residential address of the owner of each taxicab affiliated or associated with the taxicab company, association, or fleet;  

(b)Identification of the vehicle body type, the vehicle make and model, the model year, the vehicle identification number, the fleet number, the taxicab permit number (referred to as the DCTC), the tag number, and the mileage for all taxicabs  affiliated or associated with the taxicab company, association, or fleet or owned by the taxicab company, association, or fleet;

(c)Verification that the fleet numbers assigned to the taxicab vehicles comply with § 503.5 of this chapter;

(d)Verification that the company, association, or fleet is in compliance with District of Columbia insurance requirements and the insurance requirements in chapter 9 of this title;

 

(e)A current District of Columbia Department of Motor Vehicles, Bureau of Traffic Adjudication, ticket report for each taxicab vehicle;

 

(f) Three (3) three inch by five inch (3″ x 5″) pictures of the Office-approved name, logo, and insignia information displayed on the front, right side, and rear of the taxicab; and

 

(g)Identification of the number of hybrid taxicabs, wheelchair-accessible taxicabs, and other specially-equipped taxicab vehicles.

 

501.7During the certificate of operating authority period, any change in the information required by this section shall be reported by each licensee to the Office within five (5) business days after the change, except for items that generally will increase or fluctuate such as vehicle mileage, number of associated drivers, or number of associated vehicles (above the minimum required). 

 

501.8Each applicant seeking to do business in the District and each licensed taxicab company, association, or fleet authorized to do business in the District shall pay an annual certificate of operating authority license fee prescribed by the Commission.

 

501.9A taxicab company, association, or fleet that fails to timely file its renewal or other information as required in this section shall be subject to a late fee of two hundred and fifty dollars ($250).

 

501.10Each taxicab company shall dedicate a portion of each taxi fleet with which it is associated or affiliated as follows:

 

(a)  At least six percent (6%) of each taxicab fleet shall be wheelchair-accessible by December 31, 2014.

 

(b)  At least twelve percent (12%) of each taxicab fleet shall be wheelchair-accessible by December 31, 2016.

 

(c)  At least twenty percent (20%) of each taxicab fleet shall be wheelchair-accessible by December 31, 2018.

 

501.11Beginning in 2015, a vehicle shall not be counted for purposes of compliance with § 501.10 where for fifty percent (50%) or more of the vehicle’s aggregated operating time in any three (3) months during the calendar year it is:

 

(a)Under contract(s) to provide transportation for a service that is not a public vehicle-for-hire service; or

 

(b)Used to provide transportation for a service that is not a public vehicle-for-hire service.

 

501.12The Office shall deny an initial or renewal certificate of operating authority to a taxicab company which is not in compliance with § 501.10.

 

501.13If the Office denies a renewal certificate of operating authority pursuant to § 501.12, it shall at such time grant a temporary certificate of operating authority to the taxicab company, which shall expire not later than one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of issuance, provided that:

 

(a) The taxicab company files by the renewal date a compliance plan with the Office; and

 

(b) The compliance plan demonstrates that the taxicab company shall achieve full compliance with the requirements of § 501.10 not later than one hundred eighty (180) days of the renewal date, and is supported by such information and documentation as the Office may require.   

 

501.14A taxicab company granted a temporary certificate of operating authority pursuant to § 501.13 shall submit evidence that it has complied with the compliance plan, filed with the Office pursuant to § 501.13, prior to the expiration date of the temporary certificate of operating authority.  The Office shall review the taxicab company’s evidence of compliance, during which time the temporary certificate of operating authority shall continue in force and effect. 

 

501.15If the evidence of compliance with the compliance plan submitted pursuant to § 501.13 is satisfactory to the Office, the Office shall renew the company’s certificate of operating authority.  If the evidence of compliance is not satisfactory to the Office, the Office shall provide notice of its decision to the company, and the company’s operating authority shall not be renewed, provided however, that the temporary operating authority shall continue in force and effect during the period of any appeal. 

 

 

authority

Sections 8(c)(2), (3), (5), (7), (12), (15), and (19), 14, and 20 of the District of Columbia Taxicab Commission Establishment Act of 1985 (“Establishment Act”), effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. Law 6-97; D.C. Official Code §§ 50-307(c)(2) (3), (5), (7), (12), (15), and (19), 50-313, and 50-319 (2012 Repl. & 2015 Supp.)), and D.C. Official Code § 47-2829 (b), (d), (e), (e-1), and (i) (2012 Repl. & 2015 Supp.).

source

Final Rulemaking published at 37 DCR 3595, 3596 (June 1, 1990); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 41 DCR 1855 (April 8, 1994); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 52 DCR 6675 (July 15, 2005); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 53 DCR 7980 (October 6, 2006); as amended by Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Support Act of 2009, effective March 3, 2010 (D.C. Law 18-111; 57 DCR 181, 294 (January 8, 2010)); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 59 DCR 8549, 8550 (July 20, 2012); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 60 DCR 12387 (August 30, 2013); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 62 DCR 3415 (March 20, 2015); as amended by Final Rulemaking published at 63 DCR 067 (January 1, 2016).