14 DCMR § 14-3911
SERVICE OF NOTICE
Operative Text
3911.1 All petitions and other documents required to be served upon any person under this chapter shall be served upon that person or the representative designated by a party, as provided in § 3918, in the manner provided in this section. All petitions and applications under Chapter 42 of this title shall be served on affected parties by the Rent Administrator or Office of Administrative Hearings after they are filed, unless otherwise specified by that chapter. 3911.2 When a party has a representative of record after a proceeding has been initiated, as provided in § 3918, service shall be made upon the representative. 3911.3 Notwithstanding § 904(a) of the Act (D.C. Official Code § 42-3509.04(a)), service upon any person or representative shall be completed only: (a) By handing the document to the person, by leaving it at the person’s place of business with a responsible person in charge, or by leaving it at the person’s usual place of residence with a person of suitable age and discretion; (b) By first class mail of the United States Postal Service, properly stamped and addressed; or (c) By any other means that is in conformity with an order of the Rent Administrator in the course of the proceeding for which service is made. 3911.4 Actual receipt of service shall bar any claim of defective service, except for a claim with respect to the timeliness of service. 3911.5 Service by mail of the U.S. Postal Service shall be complete upon mailing. 3911.6 All petitions or other documents required to be served on the other party or parties shall be served prior to or at the same time as they are filed with the Rental Accommodations Division. 3911.7 Every pleading, motion, and other document filed with the Rental Accommodations Division shall include a signed statement that it was served as required, which shall be captioned as a “certificate of service” and shall show the date, name of the person(s) served, address at which service was made, and the manner of service. If service is made by a process server, proof of service shall be in an affidavit showing the date, the person served, address at which service was made, the manner of service, and the name and address of the process server.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 14 et seq. § 14-3911 establishes how legal documents must be delivered to parties involved in rent-related proceedings in the District of Columbia. Valid methods include personal hand-delivery, first-class U.S. mail, or another method authorized by the Rent Administrator for that specific proceeding. Service by mail is considered complete at the moment of mailing, and actually receiving a document eliminates any claim that service was defective—except for claims about whether service was timely.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Under D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 14 et seq. § 14-3911, property owners and managers participating in Rental Accommodations Division proceedings are generally expected to serve petitions and other required documents on opposing parties before or at the same time as filing them with the Division. Every document filed must include a signed certificate of service that identifies the date, the person served, the address used, and the method of delivery. When a process server is used, an affidavit containing that same information—plus the process server's name and address—serves as proof of service.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 14 et seq. § 14-3911 sets out the rules governing how documents must be delivered to tenants in D.C. rent proceedings, which means tenants have a right to receive petitions and filings through recognized methods such as personal delivery or first-class mail. If a tenant has designated a representative for the proceeding, service should be directed to that representative. Tenants who believe they were not properly served may raise a timeliness objection even if they ultimately received the document; tenant-rights organizations in the District can help explain how these procedural protections apply in a given type of proceeding.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated October 13, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References In
Rules and statutes that cite this regulation