Tier 1 · Licensed
Get Started • First-time applicants

Your first California cannabis license.
Start here.

A structured path for operators applying for their first California cannabis license — annual adult-use, provisional conversion, or medicinal. We map the DCC license classification, the city or county pathway, and the 12–24 month calendar end-to-end, so what’s ahead of you is knowable rather than improvised. One engagement, one named principal, one timeline you can build a business plan against. Pre-access training pathways (Tier 2) snap on as a per-seat add-on once your team is ready to badge in.

Launch my first application or call (800) 555-0199
The shape of it
12–24 months

From first call to licensed operation.

First-time California cannabis licensure is a two-track effort: a local authorization at the city or county level, and a state annual license issued by the Department of Cannabis Control under BPC Division 10. Each track has its own submittals, its own discretionary hearings, and its own deficiency windows. The 12–24 month range reflects jurisdiction complexity — ministerial approvals close fastest; CUP and competitive merit-based processes sit at the longer end.

We’ve walked first-time applicants through 41 of 58 California counties. The pattern that works is simple: screen the parcel before the lease, sequence local ahead of state, and treat DCC submission as the last step — never the first. The calendar below is what that discipline looks like in practice.

The journey

What happens.
In order.

Step 1 · Strategy

License type & jurisdiction fit

Weeks 1–3. We confirm the right DCC license classification for your business model — retail, cultivation tier, manufacturing Type 6/7, distribution, microbusiness, or delivery — and pressure-test it against the economics you’ve modeled. We then shortlist two to four California jurisdictions whose ordinances, moratoria status, and sensitive-use setbacks actually accommodate the premises you have in mind. The output is a written jurisdiction memo: recommended license type, shortlisted cities or counties, projected year-one and steady-state economics, and a realistic timeline per option. You leave Week 3 with a decision you can commit capital behind.

Step 2 · Local

Local authorization pathway

Weeks 4–18. Local cannabis authorization is where most first-time applicants stall — DCC will not issue a state license without evidence of local permission under BPC 26055(a). We run the full local pathway: parcel zoning verification, CUP or ministerial application drafting, planning-staff coordination, and Planning Commission or Council hearing preparation where required. We attend hearings with you, anticipate staff-report findings, and manage the conditions-of-approval tracker through clearance. Ministerial approvals close in 30–60 days when zoning is pre-compliant; CUPs and competitive merit processes run 6–18 months. Either way, local issues before the state portal ever opens.

Step 3 · Package

Full DCC application package

Weeks 8–20, overlapping local. We assemble the complete DCC annual-license package: owner and financial-interest-holder disclosures under CCR 15002, premises diagram to scale, security plan with surveillance coverage maps, inventory-control SOP, waste-management SOP, transportation protocols, quality-assurance procedures, and the labor-peace agreement required at 10 or more employees (threshold lowered from 20 effective July 1, 2024). Every SOP is drafted to your specific operation — not a template. Insurance binders, bond, and operating-agreement exhibits are compiled in parallel. By the time local authorization issues, the state package is camera-ready.

Step 4 · Submit

Portal submission & tracking

Weeks 18–20, timed to local issuance. The DCC online portal filing is a compound event, not a click. We run a final pre-submission quality pass against the DCC checklist — every attachment, every field, every cross-reference. Filing happens in the Tuesday–Thursday midday window when intake staffing is highest. Confirmation number captured, application opened on our tracking dashboard, and the weekly monitoring cadence begins. The first deficiency-notice window typically lands 15–45 days after submission; we stage a response team for it and close deficiencies within the statutory reply period under CCR 15011.

Step 5 · Open

Day-one compliance calendar

Weeks 20–26, on issuance. The license in hand is the start, not the finish. We run METRC onboarding (credentials, tag ordering, facility mapping, employee accounts), CDTFA cannabis tax registration, CDTFA seller’s permit, and any required local business-tax registration. You receive a 60-day compliance calendar naming every recurring deadline — METRC daily reconciliation, monthly CDTFA returns, quarterly track-and-trace reports — with owners and reminders built in. First inspection readiness is confirmed in a mock walkthrough before your doors open. You open licensed, documented, and audit-ready.

Ready?

One 15-minute call
starts everything.

Launch my first application