{"id":"5e1e85f7-c848-443f-8add-797be4db7f02","slug":"washington-dc-av-law","kind":"other","headline":"Washington DC autonomous vehicle law (D.C. Code 50-2351 et seq.)","summary":"Washington DC's codified autonomous-vehicle statute: the Autonomous Vehicle Act of 2012 (effective Apr 23, 2013), codified at D.C. Code 50-2351 et seq. (Chapter 23A), amended by the Autonomous Vehicles Testing Program Amendment Act of 2020 (D.C. Law 23-156) and a 2024 testing-permit-requirement amendment. Unlike New York's annually-renewed testing rider, DC has a permanent codified chapter with SAE J3016 definitions. However it is testing-only and currently dormant: DDOT has not opened the driverless-permit application pathway, and as of late 2025 testing requires a human physically present. No commercial robotaxi service operates in DC. CAP-AND-FLAG: thin source coverage reflects the statute's low activity, not a sourcing gap.","locationId":"5f944510-452b-40b6-9271-d94995276474","effectiveAt":"2013-04-23T12:00:00.000Z","expiresAt":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","formFactors":["av"],"aliases":["Washington DC AV law","D.C. Code 50-2351","Autonomous Vehicle Act of 2012","D.C. Law 23-156"],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:28.252Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:28.252Z","location":{"id":"5f944510-452b-40b6-9271-d94995276474","name":"Washington, D.C.","slug":"washington-dc","kind":"city","parentLocationId":null,"lat":null,"lng":null,"reviewStatus":"reviewed","aliases":["District of Columbia","D.C."],"collisionRisk":"none","reviewNote":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-25T22:46:01.258Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-25T22:46:18.145Z"},"derived":{"status":"in_effect"},"sources":[{"id":"1ba101a3-5e06-4848-be9c-b8977a595722","regulationId":"5e1e85f7-c848-443f-8add-797be4db7f02","url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/50-2351","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"D.C. Code 50-2351 - autonomous vehicles (codified)","sourceName":"DC Council (official)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:28.784Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:28.784Z"},{"id":"1b205682-6f93-4775-89a4-938b9690f718","regulationId":"5e1e85f7-c848-443f-8add-797be4db7f02","url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/titles/50/chapters/23A","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"D.C. Code Title 50 Chapter 23A - autonomous vehicles","sourceName":"DC Council (official)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:28.862Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:28.862Z"},{"id":"eea018b3-51b3-4ec4-a34d-d7971a62437c","regulationId":"5e1e85f7-c848-443f-8add-797be4db7f02","url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/23-156","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"D.C. Law 23-156 - Autonomous Vehicles Testing Program Amendment Act of 2020","sourceName":"DC Council (official)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:28.941Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:28.941Z"},{"id":"bc0cae15-83d2-47d0-b37c-7477a90f971d","regulationId":"5e1e85f7-c848-443f-8add-797be4db7f02","url":"https://www.ncsl.org/transportation/autonomous-vehicles-legislation-database","label":null,"publishedAt":null,"notes":null,"title":"Autonomous Vehicles Legislation Database (50-state tracker)","sourceName":"NCSL (National Conference of State Legislatures)","mediaType":"article","videoId":null,"channel":null,"durationSec":null,"timestampSec":null,"createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:29.018Z","updatedAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:29.018Z"}],"statusEvents":[{"id":"3472fd07-53e1-4ab3-a89d-be1a4ced2f15","regulationId":"5e1e85f7-c848-443f-8add-797be4db7f02","status":"in_effect","reason":"DC Autonomous Vehicle Act of 2012 in effect (Apr 23, 2013); amended 2020 (D.C. Law 23-156) and 2024. Testing-only; driverless-permit pathway not opened; no commercial robotaxi service in DC as of 2025.","source":"editor:DEPLOY content-agent (Sprint 5b-2 robotaxi-state laws)","effectiveAt":"2013-04-23T12:00:00.000Z","createdAt":"2026-05-31T12:49:29.096Z"}]}