Household Staffing Agency
in Washington, DC
Last updated:
Morgan & Mallet, a luxury household staffing agency serving Washington, DC, places experienced, fully vetted household staff with families from Georgetown and Kalorama to Potomac, McLean and Great Falls.
We place nannies, housekeepers, house managers, estate managers, butlers, chauffeurs and other domestic staff in Washington DC for households that need discretion, experience and excellence from their staff.
Tell us about your home and the role, and we’ll find you the right person.
Placement success rate for our nannies and butlers
Average experience per professional
Vetted candidates in our network
US cities and towns we’ve recruited in
Source: the Morgan & Mallet Household Staff Industry Report 2026, our 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report and our candidate database, October 2026. How we count
Why Use a Domestic Staffing Agency in Washington, DC?
An agency does the searching and checking for you, so you can find staff in Washington who are discreet, who know about formal service and can fit into your existing team.
In Washington, a home isn’t just for family life, it can be a place of work too. Working dinners, receptions and house guests are often a normal part of the week.
About half the homes we’ve recruited for here already had a team in place, like a chef, housekeepers or a chauffeur, and the family needed someone to join or lead it.
We’ve recruited roles like a house manager in Northwest DC, a butler for formal dinners in Kalorama, or a nanny who travels with the family.
“American clients often have five or 10 people in the house. When they employ someone, they want to make sure that person will be part of the team straight away,” says Morgan Richez, our co-founder.
Our domestic staffing service in Washington, DC covers live-in and live-out roles, full-time and part-time.
Founded by former staff
Founders from private service
Our founders worked in private service themselves: Morgan as a chauffeur and driver butler in London, and Laurine as a nanny for ultra-high-net-worth families in London. Read their story.
High vetting standards
How do we vet household staff?
Every candidate we put forward has had references checked directly with at least three former employers, they have five to seven years of work history verified and a criminal background check through Accurate.com.
We don’t shortlist anyone for you who talks about past employers, and discretion agreements are standard.
“I speak with at least three or four of their previous employers to make sure that, yes, they were there: the dates, job responsibilities, and reason for leaving,” says Jonathan de Vanderbilt, our senior household staff recruiter in New York.
Where We Place Household Staff in Washington, DC
We place staff across the District and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs, the area a lot of families call the DMV. This is what households in each area usually ask us for.
Georgetown, Kalorama and Cleveland Park. Butlers, house managers and housekeepers for historic rowhouses and large townhouses, these staff can work on receptions and private dinners. Our Kalorama butler search asked for formal table service and at least 10 years’ experience.
Spring Valley and Foxhall. House managers, private chefs and nannies for family homes in Northwest DC.
Chevy Chase, Bethesda and Potomac. Nannies and family assistants for young families, and estate managers for big homes and grounds. Chevy Chase is on both sides of the DC line, we place staff in both locations.
McLean, Great Falls, Arlington and Alexandria. House managers, housekeepers and live-in staff for estates in McLean and Great Falls, and nannies for families in Arlington and Alexandria.
Source: Morgan & Mallet job briefs, our searches for families in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, 2022 to 2026. How we count
Across DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia
- Georgetown
- Kalorama
- Spring Valley
- Foxhall
- Cleveland Park
- Chevy Chase
- Bethesda
- Potomac
- McLean
- Great Falls
- Arlington
- Alexandria
Household Staff Roles We Place in Washington, DC
These are the most common household roles we place in Washington, DC and its suburbs. We also place domestic couples, private chauffeurs, governesses, laundresses, night nurses and newborn care specialists in the DC area, and caregivers for families in the District and Northern Virginia.
Nannies in Washington, DC
Nannies are the household role Washington families search for most, in the District and in Bethesda, Arlington and Alexandria. We place live-out and live-in nannies all over Washington, DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia.
Duties: school runs, after-school activities, travel with the family and, for some families, another nanny on rotation with them.
One of our 2025 rotational nanny searches for a family in DC had 117 applicants, nearly three times the average for our nanny searches in the US.
Early years | Driving | Travel
House and Estate Managers in Washington, DC
House managers work in busy homes in Northwest DC, leading the housekeepers, chef and chauffeur and keeping the house to a high standard for guests. Estate managers here look after large properties in Potomac, McLean and Great Falls, managing grounds, contractors and budgets.
Duties: staff schedules, vendors and repairs, household budgets, inventories and packing for the principal's travel.
One of our McLean house manager searches had 213 applicants, the most of any of our 26 US house manager searches since 2022.
“We're getting a lot more house manager types, house assistant types. Instead of hiring three people, they want to hire one, maybe at a little higher salary,” says our recruiter Jonathan de Vanderbilt.
Staff leadership | Budgets | Entertaining
Private Chefs in Washington, DC
Entertaining at home is common for a lot of our families in Washington, so a normal brief is a personal chef who cooks for the family during the week and makes a formal dinner when there are guests.
Duties: family meals every day, menus based on the season and special diets like low-sodium or gluten-free, monthly dinners and events, and travel to the family's other homes.
Fine dining | Special diets | Events
Butlers in Washington, DC
A butler can take care of receptions, private dinners, lead other staff and look after house guests.
Duties: table service, the wine cellar and bar, household accounts, packing for travel and working with the staff at the family's other homes.
Our Kalorama butler role in 2025 asked for at least 10 years' experience and was advertised from $190,000 a year, above the top of the US butler range in our Annual Report.
As our co-founder Laurine Mallet puts it: “In [a] household for individuals you need to adapt yourself to your boss, to his mood, his mindset.”
Formal service | Wine and cellar | Discretion
Housekeepers in Washington, DC
A private housekeeper is employed by your household and only works for you.
Duties: general caring for the home, laundry and wardrobe, and careful cleaning of antiques, fine fabrics and original floors that homes in Georgetown and Kalorama need to have.
Bigger homes in Northern Virginia have asked us for a live-in housekeeper who also helps outside, or a housekeeper who also cooks.
Fine materials care | Laundry and wardrobe | Live-in or live-out
Personal Assistants in Washington, DC
Personal assistants in Washington work with principals and families on their calendars, travel, events and the household, very often in more than one home.
US personal assistants earn $80,000 to $250,000 a year and executive assistants $120,000 to $250,000, according to our 2025/26 Annual Report.
Calendars | Travel | Events
Source: Morgan & Mallet job ads and applicants, our searches for families in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, 2022 to 2026, and our 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report. How we count
What Washington, DC Families Ask Us For
Since 2022 we have recruited household staff for families in Washington, DC, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. These are some of the roles we have been asked to fill, and how many candidates applied for each job.
| Search | Year | Applicants |
|---|---|---|
| House manager, McLean | 2022 | 213 |
| Rotational nanny, Washington DC | 2025 | 117 |
| House manager, Northwest DC | 2025 | 60 |
| Live-in houseman and housekeeper, Vienna | 2025 | 54 |
| Live-in nanny and family assistant, Prince George’s County | 2025 | 51 |
| Live-in domestic couple, Northern Virginia | 2026 | 39 |
| Butler, Kalorama | 2025 | 26 |
| Live-out housekeeper, McLean | 2022 | 21 |
| Live-out housekeeper and cook, Vienna | 2025 | 19 |
| Nanny, Bethesda | 2024 | 17 |
| Private chef, Spring Valley | 2025 | 8 |
Nanny and housekeeping roles are the most popular request, with three searches each, then house managers (two), and one each for a butler, a private chef and a live-in domestic couple. 6 of the 11 roles were live-out.
We also had some more unusual requests. One family in DC needed childcare around the clock, they asked for two nannies working two weeks on and two weeks off.
Others asked us for a nanny who also helps manage the family’s whole day, we also had a request for a live-in couple for a farm estate in Northern Virginia.
Most of the briefs had a minimum level of experience needed, from three years for a nanny and family assistant to 10 years for a butler.
Most families wanted candidates who already have the right to work in the US, and about half wanted someone who drives.
“Most of our clients want to hire local candidates, because they usually want to hire someone quickly. If someone needs to relocate, that’s a much longer process than a candidate who’s local and can already commute,” says Eric Rios, one of our household staff recruiters.
Our Northern Virginia domestic couple role had 39 applicants, which is above the average of about 24 for our US domestic couple searches.
Source: Morgan & Mallet job ads and applicants, our searches for families in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, 2022 to 2026, and all our US job ads in every role, May 2022 to June 2026. How we count
How much do household staff
cost in Washington, DC?
Nanny · per year
In our recent job briefs for the Washington, DC area the pay was from $70,000 a year for a live-in nanny and family assistant to $190,000 for a butler.
Below are some of the salaries families in DC offered in our own job ads. For the national ranges in the private households we recruit for, see our 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report; live-in roles, formal service and travel make pay go toward the top of the range.
| Role we recruited for | Advertised pay |
|---|---|
| Butler, Kalorama (2025) | From $190,000 a year |
| Private chef, Spring Valley (2025) | $100,000 to $120,000 a year, plus health insurance and paid vacation |
| Live-in houseman and housekeeper, Vienna (2025) | $90,000 to $100,000 a year |
| Live-out housekeeper and cook, Vienna (2025) | $85,000 a year, plus a medical stipend |
| Live-in nanny and family assistant, Prince George’s County (2025) | $70,000 a year |
| Live-out housekeeper, McLean (2022) | $25 to $30 an hour |
Source: our 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report, and the pay in our job ads for families in the DC area, 2022 to 2025. How we count
How it works: You tell us about your home and the role you are looking to hire for. We search our network, interview and check each candidate, then send you a shortlist and arrange the interviews. You choose, and you employ the person directly yourself.
“American families are looking for a short list: four or five candidates maximum, because they are very busy,” says Morgan Richez, our co-founder.
Structured interview
Applicants accepted
Employment history checked
Replacement guarantee
Source: our candidate database, October 2026. How we count
Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia Household Employment Rules in 2026
DC gives domestic workers specific rights, and the rules change when your home is in Maryland or Virginia. The ones that are most important in 2026 are these.
Do I need a nanny contract in DC?
Yes. Since January 29, 2024, DC families have to sign a written services contract with a person who works in their home for 5 or more hours a month, and it must be in place by the first day they start work.
It includes pay and the overtime rate, the weekly schedule, duties, leave and breaks and, for live-in staff, the lodging, sleeping period and personal time.
The DC Department of Employment Services has a free template in seven languages. DC law doesn’t require meal or rest breaks for adults or a day off each week, so make sure to agree them in the contract before your nanny starts.
In Montgomery County, a contract or a signed disclosure statement is needed for anyone working 20 or more hours a week for 30 days or more.
What is the minimum wage for a nanny in DC, Maryland and Virginia in 2026?
Washington DC’s minimum wage is $18.40 an hour from July 1, 2026. It applies to families as employers and covers nannies and all other household staff, including every hour a live-in nanny works.
In Montgomery County the rate for a household is $15.95 an hour, and elsewhere in Maryland it’s the state rate of $15.00. Virginia’s minimum wage is $12.77, going up to $13.75 on January 1, 2027.
Do I have to pay my nanny overtime, and what about live-in nannies?
In DC, live-out nannies get time and a half after 40 hours a week. Live-in nannies are exempt from overtime under DC’s wage rules, as under federal law, but must be paid at least $18.40 for every hour they work.
Maryland requires overtime for staff who are live-in too, and Virginia follows federal law. Housekeepers, chefs and other household staff go by the same rules.
Most of the roles we recruit for the DC area are live-out, so the overtime rule is important for most families we work with.
The live-in searches we have run here were all outside the District, a nanny and family assistant in Prince George’s County, Maryland, where live-in staff are owed overtime, and a houseman and housekeeper in Vienna and a domestic couple in Northern Virginia, where they are not.
Source: Morgan & Mallet job briefs, our searches for families in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, 2022 to 2026. How we count
How do DC Paid Family Leave and paid sick leave work for a nanny?
DC Paid Family Leave is funded by a 0.75% payroll tax that the family pays, and nothing comes out of your nanny’s pay. For claims made from October 1, 2026, it pays up to 12 weeks of parental leave, 10 weeks of medical leave, 6 weeks of family leave and 2 weeks of prenatal leave, up to $1,100 a week.
For paid sick leave, a DC household with fewer than 25 employees has to give 1 hour for every 87 hours worked, up to 3 days a year. In Montgomery County, households must give 1 hour for every 30 hours worked.
Do I need workers' comp for my nanny in DC, Maryland or Virginia?
In DC, yes, once your household staff work 240 hours or more in a calendar quarter, about 18 hours a week. In Maryland, once you pay a worker $1,000 or more in cash in a quarter. Virginia doesn’t need it for household staff, but you can buy it voluntarily.
How we help: We write draft contracts, can advise on salary and tell you which DC, Maryland or Virginia rules apply to your home. Families also pay payroll taxes on staff wages, which is often called the nanny tax (see the FAQ below).
“There’s a law for everything here in the US. You have to be careful what you ask and how you come across, because anything can turn into a lawsuit,” says our recruiter Jonathan de Vanderbilt.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the latest rules with the DC Department of Employment Services, DC Paid Family Leave, Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection, the Virginia Department of Labor and Industry and IRS Publication 926.
Six Key Insights for Staffing Luxury Homes in Washington, DC
What sets domestic staffing in Washington DC apart from other areas is formal entertaining, three sets of employment rules and the fact that families can be in the public eye. These are the six things we do on every DC search.
Three Jurisdictions, Three Sets of Rules
A home that is located in Georgetown, one in Bethesda and one in McLean each will have to follow different rules on minimum wage, written contracts and paid leave.
The minimum wage in DC is $18.40 an hour, Montgomery County’s is $15.95 for a household and Virginia’s is $12.77, and in Maryland you must pay overtime for live-in staff, but DC and Virginia don’t. We will tell you which rules you need to follow before you make an offer.
Entertaining at Home
Working dinners and receptions are a normal part of life for many of our client families in Washington.
45% of the candidate searches for families we have run included events or entertaining, from a butler for formal dinners to a house manager who keeps the house ready for guests.
Historic Townhouses and Large Estates
Georgetown and Kalorama townhouses are over a few floors, with antiques and original details that need careful looking after. Homes and estates in Potomac, Great Falls and McLean have grounds, pools and guest houses.
One Northern Virginia family asked us to find a live-in houseman and housekeeper who also looked after the grounds and the pool.
International Families
In Washington there are many diplomats and families who move from country to country, and they often want staff who have worked abroad or speak another language.
The nannies in our network speak more than 40 languages, for example, one Bethesda family asked us for a native Italian-speaking nanny.
“Our clients organize dinners with guests from everywhere in the world, so they prefer international household staff: someone who knows how to deal with these guests,” says Morgan Richez.
Privacy and Discretion
It’s common that a Washington principal is in the public eye, so discretion is very important for all the staff we hire. Non-disclosure agreements are normal, and privacy agreements add 15 to 20% to base pay.
Travel and Other Homes
Many families in DC we recruit for have other homes, and their staff also travel with them too. This could mean a rotational nanny who travels in the US and abroad, a chef who cooks at the family’s other houses and a butler who arranges and packs for trips that the principal goes on.
Source: Morgan & Mallet job briefs, our searches for families in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, 2022 to 2026; our candidate database, June 2026; and our 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report. How we count
“Privacy is a huge factor. In a restaurant, people can listen to your conversation. At home, you have total discretion. We have many clients who conduct their business and networking at home during dinner or drinks.”
Laurine Mallet
Co-founder, Morgan & Mallet
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260 Madison Ave, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a nanny cost in Washington, DC?
A live-in nanny and family assistant role we recruited for recently in Prince George’s County, Maryland, offered $70,000 a year. DC’s minimum wage is $18.40 an hour from July 1, 2026, and live-out nannies get time and a half after 40 hours a week.
Across the whole of the US, full-time nannies in the private households we recruit for earn $60,000 to $120,000 a year, roughly $29 to $58 an hour for a 40-hour week (2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report). As well as salary, think about employer payroll taxes, DC Paid Family Leave (0.75% of wages, paid by you), paid sick leave and any benefits you want to offer.
How do I find a nanny in Washington, DC?
Start by being very clear about what your family needs, then use a nanny agency in Washington, DC to find and check candidates for you. The nanny searches we do in the area have ranged from a full-time nanny in Bethesda to two nannies covering one DC family around the clock, two weeks on and two weeks off.
Working with a nanny agency in Washington, DC means someone else finds and checks the candidates before you meet them. Our nanny searches here get between 17 and 117 applicants each. We interview the strongest, check references with past employers and do background checks, only then do we send you a shortlist.
When you have chosen someone, DC law requires you to sign a written services contract with your nanny before they start work.
Should I hire a live-in or live-out nanny in Washington, DC?
Most DC families we work with hire live-out staff, actually 6 of the 11 roles we have recruited for in the DC area were live-out. A live-in nanny makes sense for families with long or irregular hours, a lot of travel, or a separate room or suite for them to live in.
In DC, live-in nannies don’t have to be paid overtime, as under federal law, but you must pay at least $18.40 for every hour they work, and the contract has to make the lodging clear, as well as the sleeping period and personal time. In Maryland, live-in staff are owed overtime after 40 hours. Whatever your situation is, make the hours clear, together with the duties, pay and time off in the written contract.
How much does a private chef cost in Washington, DC?
A recent Spring Valley private chef role we recruited for offered $100,000 to $120,000 a year with health insurance and paid vacation. Nationally, full-time private chefs in the households we recruit for earn $100,000 to $300,000 a year (2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report).
That is the salary for a chef employed full-time by one family. A chef hired for a single dinner party is usually paid per guest.
Do I have to pay the nanny tax in Washington, DC?
Yes, for most families. Once you pay a household employee $3,000 or more in 2026, you withhold their share of Social Security and Medicare and pay a matching share yourself. Federal unemployment tax applies once you pay $1,000 or more in a calendar quarter, and DC unemployment insurance once you pay $500 or more in a quarter, on the first $9,000 of each worker’s wages. You also pay the 0.75% DC Paid Family Leave tax. The unemployment and paid leave taxes have to be paid by you and should never come out of the nanny’s wages.
If your nanny lives in DC, you need to register with DC’s Office of Tax and Revenue and withhold DC income tax from their wages. DC can’t tax the wages of people who live outside the District, so a nanny who lives in Maryland or Virginia pays income tax in their home state. Federal income tax withholding is optional, if you and your nanny agree to it.
Do you place household staff in Maryland and Northern Virginia?
Yes. As well as the District, we place staff with families in Bethesda, Chevy Chase and Potomac in Maryland, and in McLean, Great Falls, Arlington and Alexandria in Northern Virginia.
The rules are different as you cross the border. In Montgomery County, the minimum wage for a household is $15.95 an hour and in Maryland you must pay overtime for live-in staff, while Virginia’s minimum wage is $12.77 and its overtime rules go by federal law. We check which rules you need to follow, before you make an offer.
How long does it take to hire household staff in Washington, DC?
It can take 4 to 6 months, although it is sometimes quicker to hire staff, depending on the role. Skilled staff are in demand, and the 2 to 3 months that used to be enough no longer is.
Specialist roles can take longer because they get fewer candidates. Our Kalorama butler search, which asked for at least 10 years’ experience, had 26, and our Spring Valley private chef search got 8 applicants. This is compared to averages of about 41 for our US butler searches and about 79 for our US private chef searches.
What does a domestic staffing agency in Washington, DC do?
A domestic staffing agency in Washington DC finds, checks and introduces household staff to families.
In the DC area that includes knowing which rules apply, because the District, Maryland and Virginia each set their own minimum wage, overtime and contract rules, so it’s important to know. We find and check the candidates and help with the contract, you just need to employ the person you choose from our shortlist.
Do candidates pay a fee to work with Morgan & Mallet?
No. Families pay our fee. Candidates never pay to register with us or to be placed.
Do you place caregivers in Washington, DC?
Yes, for families in the District and Northern Virginia who employ them directly. We recruit caregivers and companions with all the same interview, reference and background checks we do for our other roles, and we have recruited caregivers for families in New York, New Jersey, California and the Carolinas.
Source: our 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report; Morgan & Mallet job ads and applicants, our searches for families in DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia, 2022 to 2026; and all our US job ads in every role, May 2022 to June 2026. How we count
If you are a household professional looking for work in Washington, DC, you can browse our current open positions here.
Hire Household Staff in Washington, DC
Every inquiry goes through one of our co-founders. Speak to our recruitment team on