2019 District of Columbia Code
Title 26 - Banks and Other Financial Institutions.
Chapter 9 - Money Lenders; Licenses.
§ 26–910. Exemption of certain persons and businesses; service of process thereupon.

(a) Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to apply to the legitimate business of national banks, licensed bankers, licensed mortgage brokers, licensed mortgage lenders, any person exempt from licensure under § 26-1102 if the activity involves making or brokering a mortgage, trust companies, savings banks, building and loan associations, small business investment companies licensed and operating under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, or to life insurance companies. As used in this section the term “life insurance companies” means and includes any life insurance company authorized to do business in the District of Columbia pursuant to Chapters 42 to 47 of Title 31 and any other life insurance company which has a valid, current license to do business as such in any state of the United States.

(b) Any person or any legal entity exempted from the provisions of this chapter by such subsection (a) of this section making loans secured on real or personal property in the District of Columbia who or which does not maintain an office for doing business in the District of Columbia or a residence in said District where such person or legal entity may be served with process in any suit arising out of any such transaction or in connection with such property shall appoint and maintain at all times in the District of Columbia a resident agent upon whom process may be served in any such suit, and shall register with the Mayor of the District of Columbia or with his designee the name and address of such resident agent. Any such person or legal entity which fails to appoint and maintain at all times in the District of Columbia such resident agent shall not, while such failure continues, be entitled to the exemption provided in this section. Whenever any such person or entity does not have in the District of Columbia an agent for service of process or such agent cannot with reasonable diligence be found at his registered address, then the said Mayor or his designee shall be the agent for the service of process for such person or entity. Service of process on the Mayor or his designee shall be made by delivering to, and leaving with him, or with any person having charge of his office, or with his designee, duplicate copies of the process accompanied by a fee in the amount of $2 and such service shall be sufficient service upon such person or entity. In the event of such service, the Mayor, or his designee, shall immediately cause one of such copies to be forwarded by registered or certified mail, addressed to such person or entity at his or its address, as such address appears on the records of the Mayor or his designee. Any such service shall be returnable in not less than 30 days unless the rules of the court issuing such process prescribe another period, in which case such prescribed period shall govern. Nothing contained in this section shall limit or affect the right to serve any process, notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served on any such person or entity in any other manner now or hereafter permitted by law.

(c) For the purposes of this section, the term:

(1) “Community Development Corporation” or “CDC” means any community development corporation recognized by, and under contract with, the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development (or any successor agency) that is engaged in business and economic development activities in the form of making microloans through the use of funds loaned to them by nationally or locally chartered banks or financial institutions for the specific purpose of microlending, and which organization is organized under Chapter 4 of Title 29, and whose articles of incorporation and bylaws are consistent with rules and regulations issued by the Mayor of the District of Columbia pursuant to subchapter IV [repealed] of Chapter 12 of Title 2.

(2) “Microloans” or “microlending” means a CDC engaging in the practice of making or issuing any loans up to, and including, $25,000 to any person engaged in business within the District of Columbia.

(3) “Person” means any natural person, partnership, limited partnership, or corporation, including corporations taxed under Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code.

(d) No money lender license tax contained in this chapter shall be held to apply to a CDC engaged in microlending where the funds used for the microlending program were loaned to the CDC by a nationally or locally chartered bank or financial institution for the specific purpose of microlending, provided that the CDC operates and makes loans only in the geographical service area defined in their agreements with the District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development.

(Feb. 4, 1913, 37 Stat. 660, ch. 26, § 10; June 11, 1960, 74 Stat. 196, Pub. L. 86-502, § 7; Dec. 5, 1963, 77 Stat. 344, Pub. L. 88-191, § 1; Feb. 24, 1987, D.C. Law 6-188, § 2(d), 33 DCR 7687; Sept. 9, 1996, D.C. Law 11-155, § 23(a), 43 DCR 4213; Apr. 9, 1997, D.C. Law 11-171, § 2(b), 43 DCR 4484; June 6, 1998, D.C. Law 12-116, § 4, 45 DCR 1959; July 2, 2011, D.C. Law 18-378, § 3(h), 58 DCR 1720.)

1981 Ed., § 26-710.

1973 Ed., § 26-610.

This section is referenced in § 26-903.

D.C. Law 18-378, in subsec. (c)(1), substituted “Chapter 4 of Title 29 ” for “subchapter I of Chapter 3 of Title 29”.

For temporary amendment of section, see § 2 of the Community Development Corporations Money Lender License Exemption Emergency Amendment Act of 1995 (D.C. Act 11-145, October 23, 1995, 42 DCR 6046) and § 2 of the Community Development Corporations Money Lender Licensing Fee and Bonding Exemption Legislative Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1996 (D.C. Act 11-184, January 23, 1996, 43 DCR 378).

For temporary amendment of section, see § 2(b) of the Community Development Corporations Money Lender License Tax Exemption Congressional Recess Emergency Amendment Act of 1996 (D.C. Act 11-399, October 9, 1996, 43 DCR 5695), § 2(b) of the Community Development Corporations Money Lender License Tax Exemption Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1996 (D.C. Act 11-473, December 30, 1996, 44 DCR 195), and § 2(b) of the Community Development Corporations Money Lender License Tax Exemption Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1997 (D.C. Act 12-54, March 31, 1997, 44 DCR 2216).

For temporary amendment of section, see § 4 of the Mortgage Lender and Broker Act of 1996 Emergency Amendment Act of 1997 (D.C. Act 12-23, March 3, 1997, 44 DCR 1773), § 4 of the Mortgage Lender and Broker Act of 1996 Emergency Amendment Act of 1997 (D.C. Act 12-245, January 13, 1998, 45 DCR 656), and § 4 of the Mortgage Lender and Broker Act of 1996 Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 1998 (D.C. Act 12-308, March 20, 1998, 45 DCR 1920).

Section 4 of D.C. Law 12-3 inserted “any person exempt from licensure under § 26-1002 1981 Ed. if the activity involves making or brokering a mortgage” in the first sentence in (a).

Section 6(b) of D.C. Law 12-3 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.

Section 4 of D.C. Law 12-101 inserted “any person exempt from licensure under § 26-1002 1981 Ed. if the activity involves making or brokering a mortgage” in the first sentence in (a).

Section 6(b) of D.C. Law 12-101 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.

The Small Business Investment Act of 1958, referred to in the first sentence of subsection (a) of this section, is the Act of August 21, 1958, 72 Stat. 689, Pub. L. 85-699 and is codified in various sections of Titles 12, 15, and 18 of the United States Code.

This section originated at a time when local government powers were delegated to a Board of Commissioners of the District of Columbia (see Acts Relating to the Establishment of the District of Columbia and its Various Forms of Governmental Organization in Volume 1). Section 401 of Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1967 (see Reorganization Plans in Volume 1) transferred all of the functions of the Board of Commissioners under this section to a single Commissioner. The District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act, 87 Stat. 818, § 711 ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.11), abolished the District of Columbia Council and the Office of Commissioner of the District of Columbia. These branches of government were replaced by the Council of the District of Columbia and the Office of Mayor of the District of Columbia, respectively. Accordingly, and also pursuant to § 714(a) of such Act ( D.C. Code, § 1-207.14(a)), appropriate changes in terminology were made in this section.