District of Columbia Resources

This State Guide provides an in-depth look at sources of law within the District of Columbia.

Regulations

In 1978, D.C. Law 2-153 mandated the publication and compilation of the District of Columbia Rules and Regulations, to be called D.C. Municipal Regulations (DCMR). Before they are compiled in the DCMR, regulations appear in the weekly D.C. Register (DCR). The DCMR is organized by subject and is the official code of current D.C. regulations.

There are three types of rules:

  • Mayor's rules - administrative rules issued by the mayor to carry out the duties of the mayor;
  • Agency rules - rules adopted by agencies exercising authority delegated to the agency by the Council; and
  • Emergency rules - rules adopted without public notice or pre-publication in the DCMR that are allowed in narrow instances. These rules are valid for 120 days.

All rules are published in the DCR first and then compiled into the DCMR. The DCR is similar to the Federal Register (FR) in that it publishes rules and regulations in chronological order. DCMR is similar to Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).

Subject Compilations

District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR) (D.C. Mun. Regs.)

The subject compilation of current D.C. regulations and rules. This is the official version of the current regulations. 

Databases

Website

  • DCMR Online (official). Searchable by Rule Number, Agency, Chapter Number, and full text. Note: The official, online version was recently revised and contains the most accurate, official, up-to-date information. Other versions of D.C. municipal regulations may contain errors.

Print Regulations

Code of D.C. Municipal Regulations (Weil's Code) (D.C. Code Mun. Regs.)

An unofficial compilation of the DC administrative code.

Database

Print Regulations

Updated every month, well-indexed. Use the D.C. Register to update the information in Weil's Code. The D.C. Register contains "List of Sections Amended of D.C. Municipal Regulations" in the first issue of each month. If the List of Sections Amended is not published for the month, check the Final Rulemaking section of the Table of Contents of each weekly edition of the DCR published since the last update of the DCMR.

Register

The District of Columbia Register (DCR) 

The D.C. Register gives brief information of actions of the Council of the District of Columbia (such as resolutions and notices of council hearings), and Actions of the Executive Branch and Independent Agencies (such as proposed rulemaking and emergency rulemaking). It also publishes all resolutions and enacted Acts.

Databases

Websites

  • DC Register Online (official) (October 2009 - present): Searchable by Rule Number, Notice ID, Agency or Council, and full text; contains Word documents of individual sections.
  • DC Register issues (October 2009 - present. Index only 2003 - 2009): Browsable, in PDF.

Print Register

Comes out every week during Council Period (mid-September to mid-July). It has an annual index. Use the D.C. Register to update the information in the DCMR. The DCR contains "List of Sections Amended of D.C. Municipal Regulations" in the first issue of each month. If the List of Sections Amended is not published for the month, check the Final Rulemaking section of the Table of Contents of each weekly edition of the DCR published since the last update of the DCMR. Sometimes the final version of a law is not included.

More on Regulations

Mayor's Orders (previously Commissioner's Orders)

Mayor's Memoranda