California Cannabis Bond
Every commercial cannabis license the Department of Cannabis Control issues — retail, cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, and testing — carries the same requirement: a $5,000 surety bond payable to the State of California, filed on DCC Form 8113 for each licensed premises. It is one of the flattest bond structures in the country — the amount does not scale with your license type, canopy size, or sales volume.
Hold more than one premises? DCC allows a single aggregated bond instead of one per license. Below is the license-type matrix, the exact filing steps, and — because operators keep confusing the two — how this DCC bond differs from what CDTFA can require on the tax side.
Official California Requirements
"Proof of a surety bond of at least $5,000 payable to the State of California for each licensed premises. All bonds required under this section shall be issued by a corporate surety licensed to transact surety business in the State of California. An aggregated bond may be used when multiple licenses are held by the same commercial cannabis business."California Department of Cannabis Control • California Code of Regulations, Title 4, §15002; statutory authority Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §26051.5(a)(10)
Every DCC license type, the same $5,000 bond
California consolidated cannabis licensing into one agency, but it did not consolidate the license types themselves — a cultivator, a delivery-only retailer, and a testing lab still file on different numbered license types through different portals. The bond requirement is the one constant across all of them:
California DCC license types and their bond requirement
Every commercial cannabis license type carries the identical $5,000-per-premises bond
| License Category | DCC License Type(s) | Filed Through | Bond Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail — storefront | Type 10 | CLEaR | $5,000 / premises |
| Retail — non-storefront delivery | Type 9 | CLEaR | $5,000 / premises |
| Cultivation (specialty, small, medium, large, nursery) | Types 1–5B | CLS | $5,000 / premises |
| Manufacturing — non-volatile | Type 6 | CLEaR | $5,000 / premises |
| Manufacturing — volatile solvent | Type 7 | CLEaR | $5,000 / premises |
| Manufacturing — infusion / packaging | Types N, P | CLEaR | $5,000 / premises |
| Distribution | Types 11, 13 | CLEaR | $5,000 / premises |
| Testing laboratory | Type 8 | CLEaR | $5,000 / premises |
| Microbusiness (cultivation + mfg + distro + retail, one premises) | Type 12 | CLEaR | $5,000 single bond |
Bond amount per 4 CCR §15002. Portal assignment (CLS vs. CLEaR) per DCC licensing system documentation. Confirm your specific license type at cannabis.ca.gov before filing.
Event organizer licenses and temporary cannabis event licenses also carry bonding conditions set by DCC on a per-event basis — if that is your license type, confirm the current amount with DCC directly since it is not part of the standard $5,000 premises schedule above. For the broader category this bond sits in, see our license & permit bonds guide.
Filing the bond with DCC — step by step
DCC does not accept the bond as a standalone submission — it is a supporting document inside your license application or renewal packet, in whichever portal your license type uses:
Confirm your license type and count your premises
Cultivation goes through CLS; retail, distribution, manufacturing, testing, and microbusiness go through CLEaR. If you hold or are applying for more than one premises, decide now whether you want one aggregated bond or a separate $5,000 bond per premises.
Buy the bond from a corporate surety licensed in California
4 CCR §15002 requires the bond be issued by a corporate surety authorized to transact business in California — verify your carrier is listed with the California Department of Insurance before you pay. Cannabis remains a restricted class, so not every licensed surety writes it.
Complete DCC Form 8113 with your legal entity name and license number
If you don't have a license number yet, the surety can issue against your application; you attach the number once DCC assigns it. The entity name on the bond must match your license application exactly.
Upload the signed original as a supporting document
In CLS or CLEaR, the bond attaches to your license application or annual renewal packet alongside your premises diagram, ownership disclosures, and other required exhibits — it is reviewed as part of the full file, not processed separately.
Renew annually with your license
The bond term runs with your one-year DCC license. If the surety cancels — almost always for non-payment — it must give DCC written notice, which starts a cure window before your license is at risk for lapsed bonding.
Multiple premises, or filing through CLS instead of CLEaR? Tell us your license count and we’ll quote the aggregated bond.
Quote my bondThe DCC bond and the CDTFA “tax bond” are not the same kind of instrument
Operators frequently ask their bond agency for a “California cannabis tax bond” expecting it to work like the DCC bond — buy a policy, file it, done. It doesn’t work that way, and the difference matters for your budgeting:
DCC license bond (this page)
- • Authority: Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code §26051.5(a)(10); 4 CCR §15002
- • Fixed amount: $5,000 per premises, always
- • Instrument: a purchasable corporate surety bond — an annual premium
- • Mandatory for every commercial licensee, no exceptions
- • Filed with your DCC application in CLS or CLEaR
CDTFA tax security (not a bond you buy)
- • Authority: Revenue & Taxation Code §6701 — general seller’s-permit security, not cannabis-specific
- • Variable amount: capped at roughly 2–3x your average tax liability or $50,000, whichever is less
- • Instrument: cash, government bonds, or insured deposits held in trust by CDTFA — not a corporate surety bond
- • Discretionary — CDTFA imposes it case by case, not on every retailer
- • Tied to your seller’s permit / cannabis retailer excise tax permit account, separate from DCC
In practice: budget for the $5,000 DCC bond as a certainty on day one. Don’t budget for a purchasable “tax bond” unless CDTFA has actually notified your account that security is required — and if it has, expect to post cash or a government bond, not a policy from a surety carrier. Our sales & tax bonds guide covers how tax-remittance bonding works in states where it actually is a purchasable surety product.
The bond amount is flat. The premium isn’t.
$5,000 is the face amount, not what you pay. Because cannabis remains a Schedule I substance federally, most national sureties decline the class outright, and the carriers that remain price almost entirely off owner credit rather than business size — a 22,000-square-foot medium cultivator and a 2,500-square- foot cottage grower pay the same bond amount but very different premiums based on who is signing the indemnity agreement:
California cannabis bond — annual premium by owner credit
Based on a $5,000 bond amount
- 720+ FICORate: 2% – 4%$100 – $200
- 680–719 FICORate: 3% – 6%$150 – $300
- 620–679 FICORate: 4% – 10%$200 – $500
- Under 620 FICORate: 10% – 20%$500 – $1,000+
Ranges reflect market pricing observed by cannabis-writing carriers, not a DCC-set rate. Prior license suspensions or unresolved enforcement actions can push premium above these ranges regardless of credit.
Aggregated bonds don’t multiply premium the same way the face amount multiplies — a carrier pricing a $35,000 aggregated bond across seven premises typically applies a lower blended rate than seven separate $5,000 transactions would produce, since it’s underwriting one file instead of seven. See how premises count and credit move the price in our cannabis bond cost guide (estimates only; the carrier sets the final price), or see our bad-credit surety bond guide if your file falls in the bottom tier above.
Filing mistakes that stall a DCC application
Entity name mismatch
The name on Form 8113 must match your DCC application exactly — an LLC listed as "Green Leaf LLC" on one and "Green Leaf, LLC" on the other triggers a deficiency notice.
One bond for a multi-premises operator
DCC will not accept a single $5,000 bond covering three premises unless it is explicitly written and filed as an aggregated bond for $15,000 — a plain $5,000 bond attached to a multi-premises application gets kicked back.
Carrier not CDI-licensed for California
A bond from a surety not authorized to transact business in California fails review under 4 CCR §15002 regardless of the amount being correct.
Confusing the CDTFA notice with a bond requirement
A CDTFA security-deposit notice on your excise tax account has nothing to do with your DCC license bond — paying one does not satisfy the other.
More California and cannabis bond resources
What California cannabis operators ask before filing
Do I need a separate $5,000 bond for every California cannabis license I hold?
By default, yes — 4 CCR §15002 requires proof of a $5,000 bond "for each licensed premises." But the same regulation allows an aggregated bond: one bond document covering every premises held by the same commercial cannabis business, sized at $5,000 times the number of premises. A seven-premises operator can carry one $35,000 aggregated bond instead of seven separate $5,000 bonds — same total face amount, one renewal date, one indemnity agreement instead of seven.
Does CDTFA require its own California cannabis "tax bond"?
Not as a purchasable product the way the DCC bond works. CDTFA's authority comes from Revenue and Taxation Code §6701, which lets it require "security" from any seller's-permit holder — cannabis retailers included — capped at the lesser of roughly two to three times your estimated average tax liability or $50,000. Critically, §6701 defines acceptable security as cash, government bonds, or insured bank/savings deposits held in trust by CDTFA — it does not list a corporate surety bond as an accepted form. So while agencies sometimes market a "cannabis tax bond," what CDTFA can actually demand is a cash or government-bond deposit, not a policy you buy from a surety carrier. Confirm with CDTFA directly whether your account has been asked to post security; most compliant retailers never are.
Which portal do I use to submit the bond — CLS or CLEaR?
Depends on your license category. Cultivation licenses (Types 1 through 5B, plus nursery and processor) are handled in the Cannabis Licensing System (CLS). Every other DCC license type — retail, distribution, manufacturing, testing labs, microbusiness, events — runs through CLEaR. Both systems attach the bond as a supporting document to your application or renewal packet rather than accepting it as a standalone filing, so have the signed original ready before you start the online application.
What if I do not have a DCC license number yet?
You can still buy the bond. DCC Form 8113 has a field for the license number, but carriers routinely issue the bond pre-license against your application number or entity name, then you attach it once the number is assigned. Waiting for the license number first just delays your application — order the bond as soon as you know your license type and premises count.
Does my city or county add a separate cannabis bond on top of the DCC bond?
Some do, some do not — California cannabis licensing is dual: you need local authorization from your city or county before DCC will issue a state license, and a handful of California jurisdictions layer their own bonding or security-deposit condition into that local permit. There is no statewide list because it is set locally, so check your city or county cannabis ordinance directly. The $5,000 DCC bond is a state requirement that applies regardless of what your locality asks for.
Does the $5,000 bond amount ever change based on license size or revenue?
No — this is one of the few cannabis bonds in the country with a flat amount. A Type 5 large outdoor cultivator with a full acre under canopy posts the same $5,000-per-premises bond as a Type 1C specialty cottage grower with 2,500 square feet, and a high-volume Type 10 storefront posts the same amount as a low-volume Type 9 delivery-only retailer. What varies is your premium — priced off owner credit and file strength — not the bond's face amount.
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.
General information, not legal or underwriting advice. Cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law; the bond described here relates to California’s state cannabis licensing program. Bond amounts, forms, and portal assignments can change with DCC rulemaking — confirm current requirements at cannabis.ca.gov and with your licensing analyst before filing, and request a quote for your specific license count and profile.
One premises or seven — get the DCC bond filed right the first time
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