CalCannabis Newsfeed
Email Alert: New Labeling System for All State Cannabis Cultivation Licenses
October 2019
On October 24, 2019, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) installed an online cannabis cultivation licensing system enhancement that altered the labeling structure of all annual and provisional cultivation license numbers.
What Is Changing?
Currently, annual and provisional cannabis cultivation licenses are issued with one of the following prefixes:
- CAL (Cannabis Adult-Use License)
- CML (Cannabis Medicinal License)
- PAL (Provisional Adult-Use License)
- PML (Provisional Medicinal License)
The system enhancement changes the prefix of all annual and provisional licenses to
CCL (Cannabis Cultivation License), and this prefix will be used for newly issued licenses going forward.
How Should Licensees Prepare for This Change?
On October 24, 2019, all active annual and provisional licensees received an email with a new license number from CDFA’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing Division. The email also contained a copy of a new license certificate. Licensees must print this new certificate and prominently display it on the licensed premises, where it can be viewed by state and local agencies. The new license number will retain the effective date and expiration date of the old license number.
The new license number will be provided to the California Cannabis Track-and-Trace (CCTT)–Metrc System. Licensees’ existing unique identifiers (UIDs) may still be used and should carry over to the new license number. Manifests generated prior to the license number change will reflect the old license number; these manifests are considered valid for the movement of cannabis product. For questions regarding the CCTT–Metrc System, please contact the Metrc support desk by calling 1-877-566-6506 or sending an email to support@metrc.com.
Why Did License Numbers Change?
As a result of Assembly Bill 97, a trailer bill passed by the California State Legislature and signed into law on July 1, 2019, the issuance of provisional licenses was extended to January 1, 2022, and authorized the renewal of provisional licenses, provided that the licensee is actively and diligently pursuing annual cannabis license requirements. As CDFA prepares for the transition from provisional licenses to annual licenses, the structure of the license numbers was updated to accommodate this transition.
In accordance with California Code of Regulations title 3, section 8203(e)(6), a licensee has the option to request a change in designation from Adult-Use or Medicinal at the time of license renewal. This update in license structure will allow the online licensing system to accept this type of change.
Questions regarding this notice should be directed to CDFA’s CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing staff by calling 1-833-CALGROW (1-833-225-4769) or sending an email to calcannabislicensing@cdfa.ca.gov. Please do not send confidential information to this email account.
CalCannabis Cultivation Licensing is a division of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. For more information on the state’s commercial cannabis cultivation licensing process, please visit
CalCannabis.cdfa.ca.gov, call toll-free 1-833-CALGROW (1-833-225-4769), or send an email to calcannabis@cdfa.ca.gov.
