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California Marijuana Surety Bonds

January 1st, 2018 saw the establishment of the largest legal marijuana market in the US when California officially legalized the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes. However, this new law also bought with it a significant amount of new regulations to control the marijuana market in the state. Whether you’re planning a plant cultivation business, or thinking about opening a dispensary in California, you’ll need to stay on top of all of the rules your business needs to follow in order to operate legally in California. One of interesting things about California is that you may need to obtain surety bonds for both the state licensing process and to operate in certain areas. Read on to learn more about surety bonds, marijuana regulations, and how to open a marijuana dispensary in California!

What is a marijuana surety bond?

Marijuana surety bonds provide a form of financial security for the state and local governments who grant marijuana growers and dispensaries licenses to operate within their jurisdiction. Surety bonds are a contract between three parties:

• The Surety: This is the financial backer of the bond
• The Obligee: The state or local government agency that requires the bond
• The Principal: The individual business owner that is required to purchase the bond

If a marijuana business fails to follow all rules and regulations within the state the obligee will be able to make a claim against the bond to cover any resulting financial loss.

Who needs a marijuana dispensary surety bond?

If you’re opening a dispensary in California, or any other marijuana business for that matter, you’ll need to obtain a surety bond! California dispensary laws require all businesses working with marijuana to obtain a licensing bond of $5,000. This includes cultivators, manufacturers, distributors, retailers, laboratories, and micro-businesses. This bond is a mandatory part of the licensing application. California’s dispensary laws also allow individual counties and cities to have their own laws regarding the licensing of marijuana businesses operating in their jurisdiction. Existing local bond requirements range from $5,000 to $25,000. This means that if you’re researching how to open a dispensary in California you’ll also need to know the regulations within your local area.

Obtaining A Marijuana Bond In California

If we can give you one piece of advice on how to open a dispensary in California, it’s to make sure you have the right bonds in place. The repercussions of not maintaining active surety bonds could mean the end of your new business! Getting a bond is easy with Viking Bond Service. Simply fill in our online application and provide documentation showing your business financials to get started. Once we have the necessary information we’ll calculate your premium. You’ll then simply need to pay the full premium cost and your bond will be issued.

Contact Us for California Marijuana Surety Bonds

If you’re opening a dispensary in California or operating any other business that involves marijuana, our licensed agents are here to help you obtain the exact bond you need for you business. Call, email, or use our online application to get started.