Did Your Nonprofit Miss the April 1 Biennial Report Deadline with DLCP?

 

April 1 was the deadline for nonprofits on an even-year filing schedule to file their Biennial Report, Form BRA-25, with the DC Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP). The report is filed every two years to maintain an organization’s legal status in DC. If your nonprofit missed the deadline, there will be a $50 late fee charged as well as the usual $80 fee for filing Form BRA-25.

In addition, if your nonprofit does not file Form BRA-25 within five months of the April 1 due date, its corporate status will be automatically revoked. If that happens, the nonprofit's ability to do business in DC will be suspended and the validity of its existing contracts, such as its lease or grant agreements, could be questioned.

The good news is a nonprofit with revoked corporate status may file for reinstatement. In order to be reinstated, an organization must file all past due Biennial Reports with the accompanying filing and late fees, as well as a separate Form GN-5, asking for reinstatement. There is an additional $80 fee to file Form GN-5. Start by filing all past-due Biennial Reports and then file Form GN-5.

Even or Odd Filing Year

Every nonprofit is required to file Form BRA-25 by the April 1 immediately following the year the organization was incorporated or registered as a foreign entity, and then every two years thereafter. Depending on the year in which your nonprofit was formed or registered as a foreign entity, you may have to file on even-numbered or odd-numbered years.

If you do not know what year your organization should file in, you can go to DLCP's CorpOnline website and check your organization's filing history using the "Find Your Organization" feature on the main page. If you don’t already have one, you must create a free user profile in order to use CorpOnline. Once you pull up your organization’s file using the search tool, click the “Reports” tab to see what two-year cycle your organization is on and when you filed your last report. You should also check to see if your organization's status is listed as "Active" on your account’s main page. “Active” indicates all your organization's prior reports have been filed and your organization is currently in good standing with DLCP.

If you struggle to find your organization using CorpOnline’s search functions, try clicking on the “Search Options” tab near the search bar and adjusting the “Search Depth” to not require an exact match when searching.

Filling Out Form BRA-25

The BRA-25 form itself is simple, asking you to provide the organization’s name, address, home jurisdiction, and a brief statement summarizing the business activities you conduct in DC. You will also be asked to provide a list of names and addresses for every officer, director, and/or other individual, such as key non-officer employees, who exercise financial or operational control over the organization.

Finally, you will be asked to list the name and address of your registered agent and may update that information if it has changed. Note that if your registered agent changes outside of a BRA-25 filing cycle, you should update your DLCP profile by filing a separate form, Form RA-3. Having an up-to-date registered agent is critical for receiving official notices from government agencies, courts, and other entities.

Using CorpOnline

DLCP encourages nonprofits to file all forms on CorpOnline. Form BRA-25 can be filed where a link to “File a Current Year Biennial Report” is found on the CorpOnline main page. All reinstatement filings, as well as the Form GN-5 and Form RA-3, can be found by clicking “Other Online Services” on the CorpOnline main page, finding your organization using the search tool, and clicking through the online forms that appear.

A listing of all fees charged for these forms by the Corporations Division of DLCP is available online. For more information, including how to file online, go to the DLCP’s information page for nonprofit corporation filings.