There is no Michigan marijuana bond to buy
Michigan does not require — and no surety carrier sells — a “Michigan marijuana bond.” What the Cannabis Regulatory Agency actually requires is $100,000 in proof of financial responsibility for bodily injury from adulterated marihuana, for each license (MCL 333.27408 and Mich. Admin. Code R 420.10). Since Public Act 160 of 2021, that proof is a liability insurance policy — not a bond.
If someone is quoting you a “cannabis surety bond” for a Michigan license, they’re describing the wrong instrument. Below is exactly what the statute requires, what changed in 2022, and the two situations where a Michigan cannabis operator does need a real bond.
Official Michigan Requirements
"Before the department grants or renews a license, the applicant or licensee shall file proof of financial responsibility for liability for bodily injury to lawful users resulting from the manufacture, distribution, transportation, or sale of adulterated marihuana or adulterated marihuana-infused product in an amount not less than $100,000.00 for each license. The proof of financial responsibility must be a liability insurance policy issued by a licensed insurance company or licensed captive insurance company in this state."Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency — MCL 333.27408 • MCL 333.27408 (as amended by PA 160 of 2021); Mich. Admin. Code R 420.10
What the $100,000 is really guaranteeing
This is the detail that trips up operators who assume “bond” means a licensing-compliance guarantee. Michigan’s $100,000 requirement is not about following the rules — it is about paying for harm. It backs liability for bodily injury to lawful users caused by adulterated marihuana: product containing an unintended substance or contaminant that triggers an adverse reaction after consumption.
Covered
Injury from a contaminated or mislabeled product a lawful buyer consumed — mold, pesticide residue, an unintended chemical. This is product-liability territory, which is why insurance, not a bond, is the fit.
Expressly excluded
The expected, intended, or long-term effects of simply using marihuana. The statute carves those out of “bodily injury,” so ordinary intoxication is not a claim against the $100,000.
A surety bond guarantees an obligation the principal controls — pay your taxes, hold your license, finish the job. A promise to pay for random product-injury claims cannot be underwritten to near-zero loss, so it prices and behaves like an insurance policy. That economic reality is the whole reason Michigan lands on insurance. For the general distinction, see surety bond vs. insurance.
Why the “bond” option quietly disappeared in 2022
The confusion is a fossil of the old statute. Until 2022, MCL 333.27408 offered four ways to post the $100,000 — one of them a constant value surety bond. Public Act 160 of 2021 narrowed that to a single path: a compliant liability insurance policy.
Michigan cannabis proof of financial responsibility — what satisfies it
Bond Requirement Decrease
Previous Requirement
4 options (incl. surety bond)
New Requirement
Liability insurance policy
Here is how each of the old forms stands today — useful if you are reading older guidance, a stale agency page, or a quote for a “bond” that the law moved past:
The four historical forms of proof — and where each stands now
$100,000 per license, MCL 333.27408
| Historical form of proof | Status today | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Liability insurance policy | Yes — the required path | Policy from a Michigan-licensed insurer or captive covering the specified claims |
| Cash deposit | Removed by PA 160 of 2021 | Ties up $100,000 of working capital for the life of the license |
| Unencumbered securities | Removed by PA 160 of 2021 | Pledged securities held against the obligation |
| Constant value surety bond | No longer the practical path | Not written as a purchasable product — a bodily-injury guarantee prices like insurance |
Pre-amendment forms per the prior text of MCL 333.27408; current requirement per MCL 333.27408 as amended by PA 160 of 2021 and Mich. Admin. Code R 420.10. Confirm current requirements with the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency before filing.
Told you need a “Michigan cannabis bond”? Send us your license category — we’ll tell you the real filing, no product pushed on you.
Sort out my requirementWhat to actually put in place — a Michigan compliance checklist
Instead of hunting for a bond that does not exist, work this short list. Two coverages are state requirements; the third only applies in certain cities:
$100,000 adulterated-product financial responsibility
A liability insurance policy from a Michigan-licensed insurer or licensed captive, covering the claims MCL 333.27408 specifies, for each license you hold. This is the requirement people mistake for a bond.
$100,000 commercial general liability (MMFLA premises)
Mich. Admin. Code R 420.10 requires MMFLA licensees to also carry premises-liability CGL of at least $100,000, with proof filed to the CRA within 60 days of license issuance or renewal. Separate coverage from item 1.
Any city cannabis bond your municipality imposes
Some Michigan cities condition local cannabis authorization on a bond or other security naming the city as obligee. That is a genuine surety bond on the city’s form — the one place a Michigan cannabis operator may truly need bonding.
Not sure your operation qualifies for a given carrier or whether your city bonds separately? Our cannabis bond qualification guide walks through underwriting, and the national cannabis bond hub maps which states and cities bond versus insure.
The two places a Michigan cannabis business really does get bonded
“No state cannabis bond” is not the same as “never a bond.” Two genuine surety needs come up — and these we place:
Municipal cannabis ordinance bond
A city that requires a bond as a condition of local cannabis authorization. It names the city as obligee, sits on the city’s form, and is entirely separate from the CRA’s $100,000 insurance proof. Check your local ordinance — amounts and whether one is required are set city by city.
Unrelated Michigan business bonds
A cannabis company is still a Michigan business. Sales-tax bonds, contractor license bonds for a build-out, or other licensing bonds can apply to the same entity — nothing to do with the plant, and fully bondable. Browse Michigan surety bonds for the state’s bond lines.
Michigan is the exception, not the rule
Plenty of legal states do impose a true cannabis surety bond. California requires a $5,000 DCC bond from every commercial licensee, and neighboring Ohio bonds its cannabis program differently again. If you operate across state lines, do not assume Michigan’s insurance-only answer travels — each program is its own instrument. The cannabis bond hub lays them out side by side.
Michigan cannabis operators ask us these
Is there a Michigan marijuana surety bond I can buy?
No. Michigan does not have a cannabis licensing bond the way California (a $5,000 DCC bond) or Oklahoma (a $50,000 grower bond) do, and no surety carrier writes a purchasable "Michigan marijuana bond." What the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) requires is $100,000 of proof of financial responsibility for bodily injury caused by adulterated marihuana — a coverage requirement, not a compliance bond. Any agency listing a "Michigan cannabis surety bond" for sale as a product is describing something the statute now satisfies with insurance.
What exactly is the $100,000 proof of financial responsibility for?
It backs "liability for bodily injury to lawful users resulting from the manufacture, distribution, transportation, or sale of adulterated marihuana or adulterated marihuana-infused product," in an amount not less than $100,000 for each license (MCL 333.27408; Mich. Admin. Code R 420.10). "Adulterated" means product containing an unintended substance that causes an adverse reaction — it is a product-liability style requirement, not a guarantee that you will follow the licensing rules. The expected effects of consuming marihuana itself are expressly excluded from "bodily injury."
Didn’t Michigan law used to allow a surety "constant value bond" for this?
Yes — and that history is why the "bond" label persists. The earlier version of MCL 333.27408 let a licensee post the $100,000 as cash, unencumbered securities, a liability insurance policy, or a constant value bond executed by a surety company authorized to do business in Michigan. Public Act 160 of 2021, effective March 30, 2022, rewrote the section to require a liability insurance policy issued by a licensed Michigan insurer or captive that covers the specified claims. The constant-value-bond option is no longer the practical path, which is precisely why there is no surety product to buy.
Do I also need commercial general liability insurance on top of that?
For licensees under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act, yes. Mich. Admin. Code R 420.10 also requires commercial general liability insurance covering premises liability of not less than $100,000, with proof filed with the CRA no later than 60 days after a state operating license is issued or renewed. That is a second, separate coverage — it protects against ordinary premises claims, distinct from the adulterated-product financial-responsibility proof.
So when would a Michigan cannabis operator ever need a real surety bond?
When a municipality requires one. Michigan cannabis licensing is dual — you need local authorization before the CRA issues a state license — and some cities condition that local permit on a bond naming the city as obligee, or on other security. That is a genuine surety bond, filed on the city’s form, separate from anything the state requires. A Michigan cannabis business may also need unrelated surety bonds any regulated business can face (for example a sales-tax bond or a license bond in another line). Those we do write — the state cannabis "bond" is the one that does not exist as a product.
Rule R 420.10 still mentions "if the proof is a bond." Doesn’t that mean I can bond it?
The administrative rule retains a line that "if the proof required in this subrule is a bond, the bond must be in a format acceptable to the agency." In theory that leaves a door open. In practice, the surety market does not write a stand-alone bond that guarantees bodily-injury liability from adulterated product — an instrument that pays out on injury claims and cannot be underwritten to near-zero loss is economically insurance, not a bond, so carriers place it as a liability policy. That gap between what the rule references and what the market sells is why we route Michigan operators to the insurance filing instead of quoting a bond that isn’t real.
Keep going — cannabis and Michigan bond resources
All content is researched from official state and federal sources (.gov). BuySuretyBonds.com works with Treasury-listed surety carriers.
General information, not legal, insurance, or underwriting advice. Cannabis remains a Schedule I controlled substance under federal law; the requirements described here relate to Michigan’s state cannabis program under the Cannabis Regulatory Agency. Statute text, amounts, and accepted forms can change with legislation or CRA rulemaking — confirm current requirements at michigan.gov/cra and with your licensing counsel before filing. We do not sell a Michigan cannabis surety bond because none exists; we help operators place the required coverage and any genuine municipal or business bond that applies.
Skip the bond that doesn’t exist — get the filing that does
Tell us your CRA license category and city. We’ll point you to the $100,000 coverage, the MMFLA premises requirement, and any municipal bond your locality adds — the honest map, not a product pitch.
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