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If you were negatively affected by the criminalization of cannabis, you can apply to have your license fee waived.
Read the eligibility criteria below, or download a guidance document.
Business eligibility
There are two basic requirements for getting your license fee waived. If your business meets them both, you’re eligible for a waiver.
1. Gross revenue
Your cannabis business must have gross revenue of no more than $1.5 million per year.
If you’re starting a new business, you must expect no more than $1.5 million in gross revenue in your first year.
2. Equity ownership:
At least 50% of your business must be owned by people who meet one of the following equity criteria:
- Cannabis conviction or arrest
- Income level
- Neighborhood affected by criminalization of cannabis
Equity owner criteria
Business owners can show they were impacted by cannabis criminalization in a number of ways. You only need to meet one of the criteria to qualify.
Cannabis conviction or arrest
You were convicted or arrested for one of these cannabis crimes before November 8, 2016:
- Sale
- Possession
- Use
- Manufacture
- Cultivation
Neighborhood
You lived in a place for at least 5 years between 1980 and 2016 that was in:
- The top 25% nationally for:
- Unemployment and poverty
- 1-parent or nonfamily households
- The bottom 25% nationally for high school graduation rates
- A California Opportunity Zone
- A California county with drug arrest rates that were higher than the state average drug arrest rates
Use our map tool to see if you lived in a qualifying area.
Income
Your household income is no more than 60% of the area’s median income, or you’re eligible to get financial aid through a program like:
- CalFresh
- MediCal
- CalWORKS
- Supplemental security income
- Social Security disability
Area median income
Use the charts below to look up the income limit for your household. Find the county you currently live in. Then look at the column that lists the number of people living in your household.
A-F
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7+ | |
| Alameda | $30,233 | $68,528 | $82,841 | $98,852 | $81,696 | $78,945 | $100,082 |
| Alpine | $27,062 | $54,750 | $19,500 | $73,125 | N/A | $34,875 | N/A |
| Amador | $16,306 | $42,605 | $50,880 | $52,088 | $59,719 | $48,880 | $118,875 |
| Butte | $15,843 | $39,722 | $40,537 | $57,843 | $64,393 | $50,534 | $73,941 |
| Calaveras | $19,837 | $42,820 | $54,061 | $52,282 | $48,688 | $40,484 | N/A |
| Colusa | $14,059 | $40,425 | $39,201 | $42,938 | $37,903 | $51,081 | $74,190 |
| Contra Costa | $34,071 | $68,858 | $78,706 | $89,540 | $72,746 | $81,166 | $95,250 |
| Del Norte | $15,959 | $34,775 | $33,664 | $35,291 | $33,513 | $47,279 | $36,454 |
| El Dorado | $21,578 | $58,460 | $67,637 | $75,355 | $72,268 | $96,520 | $65,840 |
| Fresno | $17,486 | $39,961 | $38,357 | $46,278 | $40,513 | $40,655 | $48,224 |
G-L
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7+ | |
| Glenn | $11,953 | $33,119 | $27,652 | $38,705 | $42,500 | $41,775 | $43,710 |
| Humboldt | $15,427 | $33,134 | $43,053 | $63,155 | $73,734 | $81,526 | $56,371 |
| Imperial | $10,157 | $29,217 | $42,061 | $35,308 | $35,022 | $51,896 | $47,237 |
| Inyo | $21,878 | $41,653 | $46,239 | $45,831 | $38,956 | $45,867 | N/A |
| Kern | $15,539 | $34,958 | $37,207 | $39,301 | $45,184 | $32,017 | $39,703 |
| Kings | $19,037 | $37,293 | $35,548 | $37,460 | $30,276 | $41,135 | $41,897 |
| Lake | $18,700 | $34,342 | $43,669 | $36,738 | $45,060 | $28,216 | $21,449 |
| Lassen | $19,981 | $39,056 | $37,436 | $38,481 | $46,286 | $44,426 | $47,406 |
| Los Angeles | $23,917 | $47,473 | $52,395 | $56,054 | $52,975 | $52,214 | $64,115 |
M
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7+ | |
| Madera | $15,075 | $39,479 | $36,379 | $42,298 | $45,316 | $46,352 | $63,652 |
| Marin | $30,302 | $81,734 | $107,447 | $99,402 | $116,603 | $31,244 | $75,243 |
| Mariposa | $13,565 | $35,077 | $35,580 | $48,853 | $36,536 | $51,844 | N/A |
| Mendocino | $15,913 | $43,747 | $48,253 | $39,196 | $54,787 | $29,227 | $36,911 |
| Merced | $18,908 | $32,633 | $41,579 | $43,351 | $36,923 | $46,174 | $61,798 |
| Modoc | $15,188 | $33,930 | $34,208 | $29,792 | $37,583 | $35,475 | N/A |
| Mono | $27,592 | $44,375 | $58,927 | $40,339 | $49,610 | N/A | N/A |
| Monterey | $28,481 | $57,396 | $46,213 | $51,948 | $48,572 | $49,175 | $63,235 |
Apply for a fee waiver
Learn how to request a fee waiver and show you meet the equity criteria.