What’s an ANC?

Washington DC is divided into 40 districts called Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, or ANCs. ANCs are made up of 2-12 elected Commissioners who make decisions about a broad range of issues in your community, such as liquor licenses, parking, and sanitation. This is your most local form of government.

Each commissioner on an ANC represents a division of Washington DC called a Single Member District, or SMD. Commissioners each represent about 2,000 DC residents who live in the SMD. You elect your ANC commissioner every two years in non-partisan elections.

ANCs advise the DC government about issues that affect their community, such as parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, restaurants, the police, sanitation, and the District's annual budget.

Your ANC commissioners also control grant money of several thousand dollars (or more) for the general purpose of improving their area and hiring staff for the ANC.