DC Tour Guide License

Job opportunities in tour directing aren't much better than the general job situation. I have come to terms with the fact that my first job isn't likely to be an international tour directing position for a deluxe adult tour. But, in the unlikely chance that anyone from Tauck is reading, I would certainly jump at the chance! What I can do are student tours. What is available are local DC tours. However, as I have learned from a few conversations with student tour providers, no one is going to hire me without the DC license. My next goal: obtain a DC tour license.



That might sound easier than it is; I already knew that the application for the license was mired in red tape. In fact, I took a class in "Cutting Through the Red Tape in Getting a DC Tour License" with First Class a couple of months ago, and after downloading the application and being totally overwhelmed, I thought perhaps I could dodge it. But now I have contacts and people encouraging me and supporting me, and I am confident that by the end of April I won't get arrested (or fined) if I point in the district. We were told in ITMI course that a tour director who pointed out some things on her group's way from the hotel to dinner was actually fined $200 for tour guiding without a license. I wonder what happens if one is guiding friends and family through our nation's capital?



There are two types of tour guide licenses: A and B. I even learned that a question on one of the 7 different tour guide tests is what is the difference! The tour guide A license allows you to start a tour in DC; tour guide B requires you to start the tour outside of DC. Residents of the DC area are encouraged to get the A license, and if I am going to start with local tours, it only makes sense.



The requirements for either license include a long list of paperwork and a 100-question test: physician's statement, "clean-hands" document (not affirming your hygiene, but the fact that you don't owe DC any more than $100), 6 letters of recommendation, a business license, DC tax certificate, fingerprints, and a criminal report. After successfully submitting all of those, you can sit for the test comprised of 100 questions: multiple choice, true and false, fill-in-the-blank, and picture identification. Legend has it that the pictures have been copied so many times that it is sometimes difficult to make out the photo let alone identify, locate, and state its purpose. I thought a $110 study guide would be a good investment.



I learn better experientially. When I started to study with the Capitol, I realized that although I have lived in DC, I have never visited the Capitol. It seems that all of my visiting family and friends want to visit the same places -- the Air and Space Museum, the FDR Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial. I wonder why no one want to visit the Capitol. Perhaps its being closed to the public for an extended period had something to do with it as well. So, I decided to tour the Capitol.


I booked a 1:30 tour online and take the advice of the study guide's author to visit the Department of Commerce and Regulatory Affairs to get the insider's guide to the DC tour license process. The visit proved worthwhile; she took me step by step, even highlighting the parts that needed to be completed. I got my tax certificate stamped, the dates for future tests, and walked out confident that I can complete the application without too much more anxiety.


After a quick lunch at Union Station, I did some picture-taking in Union Station: I wanted to document some of the statues that I had studied the previous night. The most interesting fact I learned was that the Centurions, sculpted by Saint-Gudens, who adorn the main hall were not originally fronted by a shield. It seems that the manners of the time took objection with the fact that some of the statues were naked under their tunics.


The Capitol tour was interesting. Although I didn't learn much new, I now had a visual and experience to which to attach my knowledge. The challenge for me is going to remember the details -- the dates and the statistics. I won't forget the Brumidi Corridors -- the magnificently painted frescoes recently restored to their original. I won't forget that the enter of DC, where the quadrants meet, lies dead center in the Capitol, marked by a bronze star.

As I make my way through the sites of DC I will post photos and facts on my Flickr page: www.flickr.com/photos/fayebrenner. I have about a month to study; I will concentrate on the natural beauty of Costa Rica during my ten-day tour there and leave the studying for home time.