D.C. Taxicab Commission Chairman Ron Linton, right, citing an out-of-state sedan driver in January.

D.C. is going to get super-crowded in January when hundreds of thousands of tourists swarm in hopes of witnessing President Obama being sworn in to his second term. (Perhaps they’ll freeze their butts off on the National Mall, or get waylaid in a subterranean onramp to Interstate 395?)

Anticipating an overwhelming demand on the livery sector, the D.C. Taxicab Commission announced today that it will be issuing temporary licenses to out-of-market drivers who want to work the period around Inauguration. For $150, cars from outside the District can apply for a special permit that will make it legal for them to give rides originating and ending in the city.

The commission, in recent memory, hasn’t always taken well to livery sedans registered in other jurisdictions that pick up passengers in D.C. When the chairman, Ron Linton, carried out a “sting” operation against Uber in January, he slapped a Virginia-based diver with steep fines.

The permits will last from Friday, January 18 to Tuesday, January 22. Cab drivers from any non-D.C. jurisdiction can sign up, provided they show proof that their vehicles are registered as sedans or limousines.

Once registered, the temporarily new-to-town drivers will be free to enter the frenzy that is the presidential inauguration. As for taxicabs, they might be collecting a $1 per rider surcharge that Linton has floated implementing during the five-day period.

Correction: An earlier version of this post reported that the special permit applies to all vehicles for hire; it is open only to sedans and limousines, not taxis.