Private Vehicle-for-Hire Operator Clarification Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026

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Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau 2
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A PROPOSED RESOLUTION 6
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IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10
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To declare the existence of an emergency with respect to the need to amend the Department of 14
For-Hire Vehicles Establishment Act of 1985 to clarify the definition of a private vehicle-15
for-hire operator. 16
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RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 18
resolution may be cited as the “Private Vehicle-for-Hire Operator Clarification Emergency 19
Declaration Resolution of 2026”. 20
Sec. 2. (a) The District’s for-hire vehicle laws are designed to authorize only properly 21
licensed, insured, and identifiable vehicles and operators to transport passengers for 22
compensation. Specifically, private vehicle-for-hire operators are required to be registered with a 23
private vehicle-for-hire company that is registered to operate in the District and must provide 24
service only through the registered digital dispatch of such a company. These legal requirements 25
are carefully tailored to safeguard public safety, accountability, and passenger trust. 26
(b) For several years, the Department of For-Hire Vehicles (“DFHV”) and the 27
Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) have identified an increase in illegal vehicle-for-hire 28
services wherein certain operators are not registered with a private vehicle-for-hire company that 29
is legally authorized to operate in the District. In these instances, vehicle-for-hire service is being 30

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provided without confirmation that the operator holds required commercial insurance, without 31
internal processes to screen out dangerous or predatory drivers, and without proper trade dress as 32
required by District law. 33
(c) Failure of such vehicle-for-hire services to comply with insurance and registration 34
requirements poses an immediate and irreparable risk of harm to passengers, operators, and the 35
public. In the event of a crash, unregistered or uninsured operators cannot provide coverage or 36
recourse for injuries or damages. 37
(d) Further, for illegal operations, there is no guarantee of processes to appropriately 38
identify and screen out dangerous operators, both in terms of operators who have demonstrated a 39
record of unsafe driving or those who pose a meaningful risk of harm to passengers. Illegal 40
operations may also lack a process for passengers to file complaints or otherwise seek reasonable 41
redress following an incident involving operator misconduct. 42
(e) Where vehicles used to provide illegal service lack proper trade dress, passengers are 43
prevented from verifying the vehicles as legitimate. This practice impedes enforcement officers’ 44
efforts to determine whether a particular operator is providing service legally. 45
(f) This illegal activity has a harmful effect on the broader for-hire vehicle industry, 46
eroding public confidence in legitimate for-hire services and undermining safety, fair 47
competition, and the District’s consumer protection framework. 48
(g) Proceedings in Superior Court have challenged DFHV’s authority to enforce illegal 49
for-hire-vehicle operations, as described in subsections (a) through (f) of this section, with an 50
unregistered private vehicle-for-hire company attempting to take advantage of ambiguity in the 51

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Department of For-Hire Vehicles Establishment Act of 1985, effective March 25, 1986 (D.C. 52
Law 6-97; D.C. Official Code § 50-301.01 et seq.). 53
(h) Recent emergency and temporary legislation has clarified that DFHV has had and 54
continues to be empowered with the authority to continue enforcing registration, insurance, and 55
trade dress requirements. 56
(i) The Private Vehicle-for-Hire Operator Clarification Temporary Amendment Act of 57
2025, effective February 12, 2026 (D.C. Law 26-94; 73 DCR 2683), will expire on September 58
25, 2026. Emergency legislation is needed to address the range of threats to passenger and driver 59
safety caused by illegal for-hire vehicle operators and companies. 60
Sec. 3. The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances 61
enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances, making it necessary that the Private 62
Vehicle-for-Hire Operator Clarification Emergency Amendment Act of 2026 be adopted after a 63
single reading. 64
Sec. 4. This resolution shall take effect immediately. 65