The law
District of Columbia's college NIL law is D.C. Code §§ 38-1631.01 to 38-1631.11 (Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act) (status: in force). Everything on this page is taken from the enacted text on the legislature's own site, linked under Sources, read on October 21, 2026.
What it says
| Question | What the statute says | Section or source |
|---|---|---|
| Who is covered | A "college athlete" is anyone who attends or is eligible to attend an institution and engages in or is eligible for an intercollegiate sport; K-12, youth, preparatory, recreation and permanently ineligible athletes are excluded. "Institution" means any public or private college in the District, including community and junior colleges. Club, intramural and recreational sports are not intercollegiate sports | 38-1631.01(2), (6), (7); 38-1631.02(a) |
| Disclosure to the school | The athlete gives the office the school designates a copy of any NIL agreement worth more than $300 (or the amount, if there is no written agreement), the total and copies once NIL pay from all sources passes $2,000 in a calendar year, the payment arrangement, amount, third party, required activity and any NIL agent, and every agreement with an NIL agent. Timing is before the earlier of receiving the pay or doing the activity, with an update after any change no later than 10 days after the earlier of the change or the next scheduled athletic event the athlete may take part in. Each NIL agreement must state that it is the sole, complete and final agreement | 38-1631.06(a) to (c), (e) |
| Banned categories | An athlete may not enter an NIL agreement or take NIL pay contingent on illegal activity or on endorsing alcohol; tobacco or electronic smoking devices; controlled substances or marijuana; anabolic steroids; performance enhancing substances the athletic association prohibits; sports betting; gambling; firearms; or adult entertainment. A school may also adopt a policy against NIL activity it finds harms its reputation, if it holds its own sponsorships to the same policy and posts the policy and its reasons on its website | 38-1631.04(d), (g) |
| Conflicts with team contracts | Not addressed as a conflict rule. A school may set conduct rules that apply during official team activities (competition, practice, supervised workouts, directed community service), and a school, conference or association may require the athlete to waive or transfer NIL rights tied to promotion, display or broadcast of an intercollegiate sport. Athletes may not use school, conference or association marks, uniform designs or game footage unless intellectual property law permits, or imply endorsement without consent | 38-1631.04(a), (c), (e), (f) |
| School and coach involvement | A school, conference or association may help an athlete judge whether NIL activity is allowed, with disclosures, by evaluating an NIL agent or third party in good faith, with selecting, arranging for or paying an NIL agent, and with selecting, arranging for or collecting payment from a third party (the last two added by D.C. Law 26-86). A school may let athletes use its facilities for NIL on the same terms as other students. Coaches are not named | 38-1631.05(a), (b) |
| Direct pay from the school | Neither allowed nor barred in words. The act's bar on an institution or conference providing NIL compensation (former 38-1631.05(e)(1)) was repealed by D.C. Law 26-86 effective 2026-02-03. NIL pay may not be an inducement to attend, stay or transfer, or pay for athletic performance, except to the extent the athletic association's rules permit | 38-1631.05; 38-1631.04(b) |
| Agents and attorneys | Schools, conferences and associations may not stop an athlete from hiring an NIL agent. An NIL agent (anyone who recruits an athlete into an agency contract or NIL agreement, or negotiates NIL pay) registers in the District as an athlete agent under D.C. Code 47-2887.01 et seq. before acting; the fee must be "consistent with the customary practice of the agent's industry". Registration lasts two years; fees are set by rule, and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection's athlete agent page lists $400 to register or renew plus a $100 application fee. No percentage cap or attorney exemption is written into the NIL part | 38-1631.01(10); 38-1631.03(b)(1)(A)(iv); 47-2889.02; 47-2887.05(f); 47-2887.08 |
| High school and minors | The act does not cover K-12 athletes. For a minor college athlete, the parent or guardian is the party solicited and signs the "sole, complete, and final agreement" statement | 38-1631.01(2)(A), (10); 38-1631.06(e)(1) |
| Financial literacy | Each institution, conference or association "shall" offer financial literacy and life skills programming covering student loans and debt, time management, budgeting, banking, income tax (including as an independent contractor) and payday and predatory lending. No individualized tax or legal advice is required | 38-1631.05(c), (d) |
| Scholarship protection | Receiving NIL pay "may not affect" an athlete's eligibility or "the duration, amount, or renewal of an athletic scholarship" | 38-1631.03(b)(3) |
| Confidentiality of contracts | Not addressed. No NIL exemption was found in the District's FOIA exemptions (D.C. Code 2-534) | Not addressed |
| NCAA and conference penalties | An athletic association may not stop a school or athlete from competing because the athlete receives NIL pay, enters an NIL agreement, does NIL activity or hires an NIL agent. Schools, conferences and associations may not restrict those things, or interfere with a collective representative for group licenses. There is no bar on association action against a school for paying athletes | 38-1631.03(b)(1), (2) |
| Remedies and enforcement | A school or athlete harmed (sanctioned, suspended, made ineligible, or financially damaged) by an NIL agent's or third party's violation may sue for actual damages, attorney's fees and costs; an athlete must have been a student at the time. A violation by an agent or third party is also enforceable under the consumer protection law (Chapter 39 of Title 28). The Attorney General may seek a civil penalty up to $50,000. The Mayor may make rules | 38-1631.07; 38-1631.08; 38-1631.09; 47-2889.03 to .05 |
| Employee status | The act "does not create an employment relationship" between an athlete and the school for participation in a sport and "may not be used as a factor" in deciding whether one exists | 38-1631.02(b) |
A uniform act, adopted with the agent law
The District enacted the Uniform Law Commission's model NIL act, introduced in the Council at the Commission's request (Bill 24-455) as Title II of the Omnibus Uniform Athlete Agent and College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Amendment Act of 2022. The same law rewrote the District's athlete agent act into the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act and added a separate part for NIL agents and third parties (D.C. Code 47-2889.01 to .08). Section 38-1631.10 asks courts to construe it with uniformity among jurisdictions that enact it in mind.
The District's colleges are all private except the University of the District of Columbia. The act covers both, along with community and junior colleges.
How the 2025 and 2026 amendments came about
The 2025 proposed emergency declaration resolution for Bill 26-175 said the District's Uniform Law Commissioners proposed the change to "align District law with the current NCAA framework" before the 2025-26 school year, citing the NCAA's April 2024 bylaw changes and the pending House settlement. The Council passed the change three ways: an emergency act (D.C. Act 26-69, approved 2025-05-19), a congressional review emergency act (D.C. Act 26-120, approved 2025-07-21), and a temporary law (D.C. Law 26-26, effective 2025-08-21). The permanent version, D.C. Law 26-86 (Bill 26-175), passed on first reading on 2025-10-21 and second reading on 2025-11-04, was approved by the Mayor as D.C. Act 26-203 on 2025-11-24, and took effect on 2026-02-03 after congressional review.
The change did two things. It added two kinds of help a school, conference or association may give (selecting, arranging for or paying an NIL agent, and selecting, arranging for or collecting from a third party). And it repealed § 38-1631.05(e), which had said an institution or conference and its employees, agents and contractors "may not" provide NIL compensation to a college athlete or give either kind of help. The District did not add an affirmative right to school pay, a revenue-sharing rule, or a bar on NCAA or conference penalties against schools.
NIL agents in the District
An NIL agent registers as an athlete agent under D.C. Code 47-2887.01 et seq. before acting (§ 47-2889.02). Under that act a registration lasts two years (§ 47-2887.05(f)), with fees set by rule (§ 47-2887.08). An agency contract is in a signed record stating the fee, services and duration, carries a boldface warning, and comes with a separately signed acknowledgment about eligibility (§ 47-2887.09). The agent and the athlete each notify the athletic director within 72 hours or before the next athletic event, whichever is first, and the agent notifies the athletic director before contacting an enrolled athlete (§ 47-2887.10). The athlete may cancel within 14 days, and that right cannot be waived (§ 47-2887.11). A third party may not make materially false promises to get an athlete into an NIL deal, or predate or postdate an NIL agreement (§ 47-2889.03).
The District and the NCAA recruiting case
The District was one of five plaintiffs, with Tennessee, Virginia, Florida and New York, in the federal antitrust suit against the NCAA's rules barring NIL talks with recruits (State of Tennessee v. NCAA, No. 3:24-cv-33, E.D. Tenn.). The court entered a preliminary injunction on 2024-02-23, and on 2025-03-21 it entered a consent judgment and permanent injunction barring the NCAA from enforcing its "NIL Recruiting Ban" against prospective athletes, athletes in the transfer portal, third parties or schools. The District's own statute already said an athletic association may not bar an athlete from competing over NIL pay (§ 38-1631.03(b)(2)).
How it changed
| Act | What it did | Effective |
|---|---|---|
| D.C. Law 24-245 (Bill 24-455), Title II | adopted the Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act of 2022 (D.C. Code 38-1631.01 to .11), with disclosure over $300, banned categories, school limits, financial literacy programming and civil remedies; a bar on institutions and conferences paying athletes for NIL (former 38-1631.05(e)); added the NIL agent and third-party rules in D.C. Code 47-2889.01 to .08; Title I revised the athlete agent act (47-2887.01 et seq.) | 2023-02-23 |
| D.C. Act 26-69 (Bill 26-239, emergency, 90 days) | let institutions, conferences and athletic associations help athletes select and pay NIL agents and arrange or collect payment from third parties, and repealed the bar on school and conference NIL pay | 2025-05-19 (approved by the Mayor) |
| D.C. Act 26-120 (Bill 26-306, congressional review emergency, 90 days) | the same changes, to bridge to the temporary law | 2025-07-21 (approved by the Mayor) |
| D.C. Law 26-26 (Bill 26-240, D.C. Act 26-93, temporary, 225 days) | the same changes, plus an unrelated provision delaying 3 DCMR § 5710 (expanded financial disclosure for certain boards and commissions) until 2026-01-01 | 2025-08-21 |
| D.C. Law 26-86 (Bill 26-175) | made the changes permanent: added 38-1631.05(a)(4) and (5) and repealed 38-1631.05(e), the bar on institutions and conferences paying athletes for NIL | 2026-02-03 |
Federal law
As of 2026-10-21, S. 4668 (Protect College Sports Act) passed the Senate 77-22 on 2026-09-28 and has been held at the House desk since 2026-10-05, with no later action in the bill status record; it is not law. Section 121 applies to any "State or political subdivision of a State". Title I's definitions (§ 100) do not define "State"; the only definition in the bill, § 306(9), applies to Title III and borrows the Higher Education Act's, which includes the District (20 U.S.C. 1003(21)). Whether § 121 reaches the District is a question for a lawyer. If it reaches the District: § 121(a)(2) covers laws that govern, regulate or invalidate association, conference or school rules on NIL pay, transfers or eligibility, which describes D.C. Code 38-1631.03(b) (limits on schools, conferences and associations and the eligibility rule) and 38-1631.04(b) (pay tied to the association's rules). § 121(b) keeps Uniform Athlete Agent Acts, contract, consumer protection, privacy, trademark and copyright law unless they conflict with § 121(a); the District's athlete agent act (47-2887.01 et seq.) is the Revised Uniform Athlete Agents Act, and its NIL agent and third-party rules (47-2889.01 to .08) and consumer law enforcement sit close to those categories. The $300 disclosure rule (38-1631.06) would run alongside a federal report to the school and the athletic association (or an entity it designates) within 5 days of signing an NIL agreement worth more than $600, for athletes at Division I schools only (§ 101(b)(1), (5)); S. 4668 § 102 would add a 5% cap on agent fees for endorsement contracts and bar agency contracts that run past eligibility, where the District now requires only a "customary" fee. § 122 is neutral on employee status (38-1631.02(b)).
What sits on top of it
- Division I reporting. Third-party deals of $600 or more go to NIL Go within five business days, whatever the state's own rule (NIL Go, reporting a deal, level by level).
- Your school. A school can set a stricter policy than the statute, and most set the disclosure process.
- Agents. District of Columbia's athlete-agent rules are on the state-by-state registration table.
- High school. High school NIL in District Of Columbia is set by the state's athletic association, not this statute.
- Taxes. NIL taxes in plain words.
How Leave fits
In Leave, every deal thread carries a rules summary for the athlete's state and level, and keeps the contract, its dates and the disclosure deadline that applies. It is a summary, not a ruling; the school and the statute decide. Leave is software, not an agent, and takes 0% of any deal. You decide, you send.
Questions about college NIL law in District of Columbia
What is the NIL law in Washington, D.C. in 2026?
The Uniform College Athlete Name, Image, or Likeness Act of 2022, D.C. Code §§ 38-1631.01 to 38-1631.11, in force since 2023-02-23 (D.C. Law 24-245). It was amended once permanently: D.C. Law 26-86, effective 2026-02-03, removed the bar on schools and conferences paying athletes for NIL and lets schools help athletes select and pay NIL agents. NIL agents are regulated in D.C. Code 47-2889.01 to .08.
Can D.C. colleges like Georgetown or Howard pay athletes directly?
D.C. law no longer forbids it. The original act said an institution or conference "may not" provide NIL compensation to a college athlete (former § 38-1631.05(e)(1)); D.C. Law 26-86 repealed that subsection effective 2026-02-03, after temporary and emergency versions from 2025-05-19. The act does not grant a right to school pay either. The act still says NIL pay may not be an inducement to enroll or transfer, or pay for athletic performance, except as the athletic association's rules permit (§ 38-1631.04(b)).
Do I have to tell my school about an NIL deal in D.C.?
Under D.C. Code § 38-1631.06, a college athlete gives the school's designated office a copy of any NIL agreement worth more than $300, with the amount, the third party, the work required and any agent, before being paid or doing the work, whichever is first. Once NIL pay passes $2,000 in a calendar year the total is disclosed too. A change is reported no later than 10 days after the earlier of the change or the athlete's next scheduled athletic event. Division I deals of $600 or more also go to NIL Go under NCAA rules, which is separate from D.C. law.
Does D.C. require an NIL agent to be licensed?
Yes, as registration. D.C. Code § 47-2889.02(a) says a name, image, or likeness agent "shall register in the District as an athlete agent" before acting. Registration is with the Mayor's delegate (the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection), lasts two years (§ 47-2887.05(f)), and fees are set by rule (§ 47-2887.08); the department's athlete agent page lists $400 to register or renew plus a $100 application fee. The athlete may cancel an agency contract within 14 days (§ 47-2887.11), and the agent's fee must be consistent with industry custom (§ 47-2889.02(b)).
What NIL deals are banned in D.C.?
D.C. Code § 38-1631.04(g) bars an athlete from NIL agreements or pay contingent on illegal activity or on endorsing alcohol, tobacco or vaping devices, controlled substances or marijuana, anabolic steroids, performance enhancing substances the association bans, sports betting, gambling, firearms or adult entertainment. A school may add its own reputational limits only if it applies them to its own sponsorships and posts them online (§ 38-1631.04(d)).
Be your own agent. Leave.
