DC Barring Notice: Service, Duration, and How to Challenge

A DC barring notice is a written document, issued by a property owner, manager, or the DC Housing Authority, that prohibits a specific person from entering a named property; returning after being served is unlawful entry under DC Code § 22-3302, a misdemeanor carrying up to a $1,000 fine and up to 180 days in jail on private property, or up to six months on public property.1D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code 22-3302 – Unlawful Entry on Property

Who Issues a Barring Notice

Any lawful occupant or person in charge of a property in the District can bar someone from it. For private homes, apartment buildings, and commercial spaces, that means the owner, the manager, or an authorized agent. The Metropolitan Police Department does not issue barring notices. Officers may stand by to keep the peace, witness the service, or hand the property owner a blank form, but the person doing the barring is always the property side.2District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department. Metropolitan Police Academy 7.1 Property Offenses

The DC Housing Authority runs its own formal barring system under 14 DCMR § 9600, covering every DCHA-managed property. Under that rule, only certain people are allowed on DCHA property to begin with: residents and their household members, approved guests, DCHA employees and contractors, licensed organizations using the property, and people on legal business such as attorneys and process servers. Anyone outside that list can be barred without a separate reason.3District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. 14 DCMR 9600 – Barring Policy

DCHA sorts conduct into two tiers. Minor infractions include entering without presenting ID, being somewhere not listed on a guest pass, staying as an unauthorized occupant, or loud and disruptive behavior. Serious conduct covers drugs, violence, weapons, theft, assault, and significant property damage. Anyone evicted from DCHA housing for criminal activity falls into the serious tier automatically.3District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. 14 DCMR 9600 – Barring Policy

What the Notice Must Contain

A barring notice needs enough detail to support a criminal charge if the person comes back. The standard form, approved by the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the DC Attorney General, calls for the barred person’s full name, the specific property address, the reason for the bar, and the date. If the same owner or manager controls more than one property, the form can list additional addresses where the ban applies.4District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department. Barring Notice

DCHA notices carry two extras: the basis for the barring, and the exact time period the person is banned. When the barred guest named which resident they were visiting, DCHA must also give that resident a copy.3District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. 14 DCMR 9600 – Barring Policy

The barred person is asked to sign, but refusing to sign does not void the notice. The form has a checkbox for the agent to note the refusal. The form also allows an oral barring notice, with its own checkbox, though a written notice makes enforcement much cleaner.4District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department. Barring Notice

How the Notice Is Served

DCHA bar notices must be delivered in person, or by attempted personal delivery, in writing. The notice has to show the date, method, and manner of delivery. Service does not have to happen on DCHA property; an officer or agent can serve the notice wherever the person is found.3District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. 14 DCMR 9600 – Barring Policy

For private property, the controlling principle is simpler: the person must know they have been barred before a later return can become a crime. Owners usually hand the notice directly to the individual. When police are present, they may explain the consequences and sign as a witness, but a witness signature is not required for the notice to be enforceable.2District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department. Metropolitan Police Academy 7.1 Property Offenses

Filing a copy of the notice with the police is not legally required, but it matters in practice. When an officer later arrests someone for unlawful entry based on a prior bar notice, a copy of the notice must go into the arrest package. Property managers who leave a copy with building security and with the police district covering the property avoid a common cause of cases falling apart.2District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department. Metropolitan Police Academy 7.1 Property Offenses

How Long the Bar Lasts

On private property, the owner picks the length. Many notices stay in effect indefinitely until the owner rescinds them.

DCHA uses a structured tier system, and no DCHA bar notice can exceed five years:3District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. 14 DCMR 9600 – Barring Policy

  • First minor infraction, Temporary Bar Notice: 60 days. Covers entering without ID, being in an unauthorized location, residing as an unauthorized occupant, or disruptive behavior.
  • Second minor infraction: six months.
  • Third minor infraction: one year.
  • Extended Bar Notice: five years. Triggered by dangerous conduct involving drugs, violence, weapons, theft, assault, or serious property damage. Also applies to anyone with more than four prior temporary bar notices, and anyone evicted from DCHA for criminal activity.

The bar runs for its full stated term. It does not expire early because the person has stayed away.

Penalties if You Return

Coming back after being served a valid barring notice is unlawful entry under DC Code § 22-3302. The penalties split by property type:

On DCHA property, the regulation lets officers arrest a barred person on the spot if they fail to leave after being served, or if they return at any time while the notice is in force. When police respond to a trespass call at a property with a bar notice already on file, they verify the notice and make the arrest without needing the owner to swear a fresh complaint.3District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. 14 DCMR 9600 – Barring Policy A sentencing judge may also impose probation or a separate stay-away order, and repeat violations draw harsher sentences within the statutory range.

Challenging a Barring Notice

Options for contesting a bar notice are narrower than most people expect, and they depend on who issued it.

DCHA: Resident Grievances

If a resident’s guest is barred, the resident, not the barred guest, can file a grievance under DCHA’s grievance procedures in Chapter 89 of the DC Municipal Regulations. This path only works when the barred person identified the unit number and resident name, because that is when DCHA gives the resident a copy of the notice. The grievance belongs to the resident, which catches many barred guests off guard.3District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. 14 DCMR 9600 – Barring Policy

DCHA: Temporary Lift Requests

A barred person can submit a written request to the Chief of the DCHA Office of Public Safety asking for a temporary lift of a temporary or extended bar notice. The request has to state the specific location, time period, and reason for needing access, with documentation of any reasonable accommodation request. If granted, a lift lasts no more than eight hours in a single calendar day, and a person can receive only two lifts per year. Committing another infraction during a lift forfeits the right to request further lifts for the rest of the bar term. The Chief must respond in writing within ten days.3District of Columbia Municipal Regulations. 14 DCMR 9600 – Barring Policy

Private Property

Private barring notices have no formal challenge process in the statute. Your options are to ask the owner or manager directly to rescind the notice, or to consult an attorney about whether the notice was issued in a discriminatory or retaliatory way.

What a Conviction Means Later

An unlawful entry conviction goes on your criminal record and shows up on background checks. In DC, the Fair Criminal Record Screening Act bars employers from asking about criminal history until after a conditional job offer, and even then an employer can only withdraw the offer for a legitimate business reason after weighing factors like the nature of the offense, how long ago it happened, and the duties of the job.6D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code – Fair Criminal Record Screening

Sealing is possible but slow. A misdemeanor conviction becomes eligible for automatic sealing ten years after the sentence is completed. You can also move to seal after five years by showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that sealing is in the interests of justice. Once sealed, the record stops appearing on standard background checks, and you can lawfully state you have no conviction.7D.C. Law Library. District of Columbia Code Chapter 8 – Criminal Record Sealing and Expungement Five to ten years is a long time to carry a misdemeanor over walking back onto a property, which is reason enough to treat any barring notice as the serious document it is.