October 2022
Dear Team,
Welcome to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection (DLCP). Last Friday, September 30, 2022, Mayor Muriel Bowser appointed me as the Interim Director, and I am truly honored to fill this role and lead this new agency.
As an agency, our mission is to protect the economic interests of residents, businesses, and visitors in the District of Columbia by licensing and regulating businesses and investing and enforcing the Consumer Protection Procedures Act.
Immediately, there are five areas of focus for our agency:
- To further ensure a seamless transition with no service interruption for our customers while we continue with our transition efforts.
- To boost recruitment and fill vacancies so that our agency has the staffing and leadership to meet customer’s demand – and our own – expectations.
- Further increase customer satisfaction rate with more staffing, training, and innovative solutions.
- To solidify the agency strategic performance plan now that the agency is operational.
- And, to begin the formulation of the Fiscal Year 2024 budget to ensure the agency will have sufficient resources to perform well and thrive.
Over the past year, we have worked diligently to prepare for this day, and I want to thank everyone for the hard work, patience, and dedication that that have been necessary to ready DLCP to serve our customers.
Over the next few weeks, there are still steps ahead of us in our transformation, both as an agency and with how we provide our digital services. We will need to continue being innovative and collaborative to assist our customers in learning about the agency and our role in serving them. In addition, we will continue to collaborate closely with the Department of Buildings (DOB) and other sister agencies to ensure our customers are served properly.
To keep you informed, we will have our first All-Staff Town Hall meeting this Thursday, October 06, 2022 at 8:30 am. Further details will be emailed to you.
I am confident in our ability to work together, be flexible and adaptable so that we can continue being successful together. I look forward to working with you to navigate this process and making our agency even stronger.
On behalf of the over 700,000 residents, businesses, and visitors of the District of Columbia, I thank you both again and in advance for all that you do every day.
Have a great first day of operation.
Stay Safe.
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 Shirley Kwan-Hui
Interim Director
 This past Friday, we ended our work day as the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) and today, we proudly begin operation as the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection.
As an agency that provides access to our services through digital platforms, we are proud to launch a new website as an informative entry point for our customers to learn more about the agency and how to obtain our services.
In building dlcp.dc.gov, our intention was to improve efficiency, make frequently used services and applications prominent, and ease the path for reporting safety concerns for our customers. We also increased the prominence of our live chat feature to encourage customers to take advantage and get answers to their questions faster, and provided a stronger overview of our applications and platforms so that customers understand how each is used.
If you have not had the opportunity to do so, we encourage you to take a look. We hope you like it.
 In the impact of the law establishing the agency, changes to our divisions and program areas and reporting structure are included. We encourage staff to review the agency organizational chart, as well as the listing of divisions and program areas so that we are informed, and consistent, when interacting with one another and customers and stakeholders.
Office of Director
The Office of the Director includes the following functions: administrative services including human resources, support services, procurement and contract administration, risk management, agency financial operations and records management; agency performance and data management; customer service and account management; legislative affairs; legal; communications; and information technology.
Business and Professional Licensing Administration
Business Service Center - responsible for assisting customers using digital online services, and providing training and counseling services to existing and aspiring business owners who seek to start, register, and license a business in the District of Columbia. This Center also includes the Small Business Resource Center which offers tailored consulting services to existing and aspiring small businesses;
Corporation Division - responsible for registering all entities, domestic (District) or foreign (non-District) including trade name registration of corporations, limited liability companies, and partnerships conducting affairs within the District of Columbia.
Business Licensing and Registration and Renewal - responsible for processing new and renewal license applications for businesses. This includes licensing for short-term rental and special events (e.g., street festivals, health fairs, circuses, and live performances) and vending from public space (e.g., food trucks, hot dog carts, sidewalk merchandise vendors, and ice-cream trucks) to ensure regulatory compliance;
Occupational and Professional Licensing - supports the District's non-health related occupational and professional boards, commissions, and programs. This activity enforces regulations and offers licenses in more than 125 occupational and professional categories. The boards, commissions, and programs are responsible for reviewing applications, administering examinations, responding to certification requests by other jurisdictions, and regulating the practices of individual professions; and
Weights and Measures - responsible for inspecting commercially used weighing and measuring devices in the District of Columbia.
The Office of Enforcement
The Office of Enforcement is responsible for the investigation and enforcement of non-compliant business activities, including licensing, vending and special events, and weights and measures. This division also investigates consumer protection complaints through its Consumer Protection Unit. The division contains the following three activities:
Enforcement Unit - processes all civil infractions with the Office of Administrative Hearings, collects fines, and takes other appropriate actions;
Consumer Protection - pursues businesses that try to exploit District residents financially. Residents and visitors of the District are able to get consumer protection information, research businesses, file a complaint, obtain mediation services, seek investigation of claims of illegal and unfair business practices, and find links to other helpful offices and resources. This office also includes Regulatory Investigation, which conducts investigations of unlicensed business activity, responds to complaints, and proactively reviews business license applications to ensure businesses are operating in compliance with applicable licensing, zoning, and corporation statutes and regulations; and
Special Events and Vending Enforcement - ensures regulatory compliance for special events and vending from public spaces such as goods and services sold from street vendors. The enforcement is conducted in cooperation with numerous federal and local government agencies to ensure public safety.
With the upcoming transition into DLCP, we want to provide information on how to change your email signatures in Outlook and Kustomer so that we are presenting ourselves professionally and aiding our customers in clearly understanding the new agency with which they are interacting.
Please ensure that you have updated your signature.
How to Set a New Signature In Microsoft Outlook
From Outlook, select:
- File/Options/Mail/Signatures/New
- Copy from the templates sent via email near noon on Thursday, September 29, 2022 AFTER you have customized with your own information and paste into the window within Outlook
- Select Ok
Use the templates below:
- Please enter your email address and hit return so that it populates with the email address embedded. Email addresses should reflect no capitalized letters in the displayed text.
- Please ensure that that fonts and sizes shown below are maintained so that the entire agency has a consistent and established presence.
- Note: links for the agency, and its social media platforms are already embedded in the template.
- Phone numbers should use periods between numbers to establish a contemporary feel.
- The display name of your email address should use all lower-case letters. To edit when using the templates below, right click, select “edit link” and edit as necessary.
 How To Set Up Your Signature In Kustomer
 Note: Kustomer does not allow icons or images so the logos and social media icons may be omitted.
How to Set Up Signatures on Cell Phones
- Open Outlook
- Select your profile picture
- Select the gear icon
- Select signature
- Copy and Paste the information, excluding logos and icons (it is easy if you email yourself after doing the above steps and copy from the email)
When using Kustomer, note that you must select the correct "from" email address when sending an email so that you reflect the correct agency.
Many of our staff are currently in a remote posture as our new workspaces are being prepared. In the meantime, we would to share a bit of a glimpse of what the second floor will look like when we return.
We remind you that while our office is currently under construction, all of our services are available online via our website at dlcp.dc.gov.
Our Floors
DLCP will occupy the 3rd floor exclusively while we will share the 2nd floor with the Department of Buildings. As of this writing, it is expected that the 2nd floor will be ready to serve customers seeking to use our Digital Service Assistance Centers on October 24, 2022.
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 Our Return to the Office
While staff providing in-person service to customers have been onsite through the reconfiguration, the reconfiguration of the 3rd floor is anticipated to be completed so as to allow all staff to return to the office on Monday, December 5, 2022.
If there are any changes that affect these tentative dates, staff will notified as soon as possible.
Administrative Impact in PeopleSoft
We recognize that the transition has created many administrative shifts for staff. Here is what staff can expect going forward in PeopleSoft. Employees:
- Should be able to see their pay stubs and leave balances in PeopleSoft,
- Can submit training requests for approval,
- Will not be able to see and access their performance documents until Sunday, October 09, 2022, and
- Managers will not be able to see their direct reports until Sunday, October 09, 2022, the beginning of the first pay period following the transition.
Note: This will not affect time and attendance reporting.
Issuance of New Badges and Shields
Inspectors and investigators can pick up their new badges and shields at Support Services located on the 5th floor beginning today. If you need additional support once you are in the building, Support Services may be reached at (202) 442-4300.
Other DLCP staff will receive their new badges once we return to the office later this fall.
As part of DLCP's commitment to providing access to information and ensuring a strong cyber security, we want to ensure that all of our systems are up-to-date with the latest security updates. Most of these updates are applied automatically to your computer, but require a reboot of your system in order to take effect.
We encourage everyone to restart their DC-issued computer on a daily basis. Since this may not always be possible, please restart your computer at least once a week. In addition to ensuring that security is up-to-date, a restart will also improve how your computer performs.
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