The Council of the District of Columbia created the Office of Administrative Hearings as an independent agency which formally began operations in 2004. The operations of the Office of Administrative Hearings are governed both by its statutes and by rules it has promulgated.

OAH Rules

The first portion of the rules (1 DCMR 2800) governs general procedures in all cases.  For some particular cases, there are additional rules (1 DCMR 2900) providing special procedures.  Those cases are: public benefits cases, rental housing cases, unemployment insurance cases and cases referred from the District of Columbia Public Schools.

The rules govern various steps in the process of a case from filing at the Office of Administrative Hearings through hearings to the completion of the case. These rules and updates can also be accessed through the District of Columbia Office of Documents.

• OAH Consolidated Rules, February 2016
• OAH Emergency Public Sector Workers Compensation Rules

Former Rules

• OAH Consolidated Rules, November 2014
• Former Rules of Practice and Procedure (June 2012)
• Former Rules of Practice and Procedure - Trial (May 2007)
• Former Rules Applicable in Specific Classes of Cases

Rules that apply to the selection of Administrative Law Judges

• Rules of the Commission on Selection and Tenure govern the selection of Administrative Law Judges by the Commission on Selection and Tenure (6 DCMR B3700).

Code of Ethics for OAH Administrative Law Judges

• Code of Ethics for OAH Administrative Law Judges [PDF] applies to all Administrative Law Judges of the Office of Administrative Hearings.

OAH Laws

There are two laws that are important for the Office of Administrative Hearings.

The Council of the District of Columbia created the Office of Administrative Hearings as an independent agency which formally began operations in 2004, after a multi-year pilot project. The Act creating the agency [PDF] is included in the District of Columbia Official Code at  D.C. Official Code § 2-1831.01 et seq.

Other laws also affect the agency’s operations. Chief among them is the District of Columbia Administrative Procedure Act which establishes procedures to use in “contested cases”  D.C. Official Code § 2-509.