New York Cannabis License Solutions

Our experienced team at Cannabis License Experts (CLE) will assist you in obtaining your New York cannabis license quickly and with an unrivaled success record. Having to repeat your New York cannabis license application procedure can set your business back by months and substantially reduce your earning potential. Book your free consultation today and let us show you how we’ll help you on your path to a New York cannabis license and much more.
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Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensaries CAURD Opportunity

To qualify for a CAURD license applicants must provide documentation showing that 30% or more of the business is owned by an individual who meets the requirements for either qualifying business criteria and/or qualifying non-profit criteria. The Office of Cannabis Management (The OCM), will announce the open date of the application portal at least 14 days before making the portal available. This conditional licensing process for qualified applicants is designed to be fairly simple and the first step of the process for eligible applicants to become properly licensed as a cannabis dispensary for the adult-use program.

Do I qualify for a Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary License?

To qualify for a CAURD license applicants must meet either meet the requirements for the qualifying business criteria or the qualifying nonprofit criteria.
To be eligible under the qualifying business criteria, applicants must provide documentation evidencing that at least thirty percent (30%) of the applicant is owned by one individual who is/has
Additionally, 51% of the applicant’s ownership needs to be held by a qualified justice-involved owner.

To meet eligibility under the qualifying nonprofit criteria, applicants must provide documentation evidencing that at least thirty (30%) of the applicant is owned by one qualifying nonprofit organization that has: 
Additional requirements are detailed in this document released by the Canna Control Board.

New York Cannabis License - Market Potential

The Empire State has all the attention of the national cannabis industry as operators eagerly await the opening of this new recreational licensing in a state with a GDP at nearly $1.5 trillion, representing over 7 percent of the U.S. total. As one of the most populated states on the east coast, New York is expected to create one of the biggest legal cannabis markets with a projected industry size of $4.2 Billion according to estimates provided by the New York Times. In July 2014, New York enacted the Compassionate Care Act which authorized a state medical marijuana program. In March 2021, New York became the 15th state to legalize recreational marijuana under the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act. This new legal cannabis market is expected to capture $1.2 billion in sales by the end of 2023. Despite the program's slow start and numerous delays, the future of cannabis looks bright for the empire state. Proposed regulations were released in November of 2022 and preliminary licensing for Hemp cultivators, Hemp processors, and for eligible CAURD applicants has begun. Book a free consultation today to learn more about how Cannabis License Experts can assist you and your team while preparing for licensure to become available within New York.

New York Cannabis License (Requirements, Timelines, and Renewal Processes)

The Cannabis Control Board released the first set of draft regulations on Nov 21, 2022, ahead of its board meeting and can be found using this link. At this time only Hemp processors, Hemp cultivators, and eligible CAURD applicants awarded through the lottery process have started the licensing process. The draft regulations outline the license types as well as tiers in addition to licensing fees and preliminary requirements for licensure. The application process will be released in 2023. Owners or financial interest holders in a New York cannabis retail license can only hold ownership in three dispensary licenses within the state and cannot hold ownership within any other license type held in the state. Additionally, fully vertical operations are not permitted under the state's regulations which provides opportunities for more diverse ownership within the state's legal cannabis market. The only exception to the above is for the micro-business license which allows for the limited production, manufacturing, distribution, and dispensing of the license holder's own product. Note that, however, the state’s existing medical marijuana companies were initially allowed to open four medical dispensaries, and under the new law, are now able to double that number to total up to eight permitted locations for dispensary operations. The Cannabis Control Board will oversee all New York Cannabis licenses for the state. While many cities create their own cannabis departments and/or licensing team to approve new operators, other jurisdictions utilize third parties to impartially and equitably rank each potential new cannabis business.

Hear from Our Successful Clients

Some of the World’s Largest Brands have Trusted CLE to Support their Cannabis Journey.

5 Star Google Reviews

Matthew Caton Yield Cannab

Canna License Experts, and their team were retained by our company to help us along the way with a retail canna license. Brian Wolf along with Kalpna Mistry and their team of experts were there the entire way through the process. Thanks again to Brian and Kalpna for all you support from our family at YIELD Cannab Co.

Lin Yan GMLL Pharma

We have contacted a few licensing company before I decided to contact with Canna licensing Experts. So far I think I have made the right choice and I am happy with the work they have done for us. The team answer questions promptly and never leave us alone. Not to mention their charge are reasonable comparing the similar type of consulting company and quality of their job.

Joseph Dow Dow Testing Labs

Brian and Kalpna at Cannabis License Experts were very pleasant, informative, and knowledgeable regarding licensing. They helped us fill out all the forms needed and guided us through the entire process. I am sure that without their guidance our application would still be in process, or have been dismissed because of some missing information.

    New York Cannabis License Applications

    Financial Requirements for New York Cannabis License Applications

    Common for most jurisdictions as a mandatory component of the New York Cannabis License application is the requirement for a minimum amount of liquid cash on hand. This will ensure that applicants have the financial wherewithal from the licensing process through to the initial 2-5 years of operation. General requirements for New York Cannabis License applications include bank statements, CPA letters, Letter of Credit, or similar documentation. Additionally, a 2-3 year Pro Forma is also submitted as a component of the formal Business Plan. Typically, a budget of between $400,000 and $1,000,000 would be required to open a cannabis dispensary in New York, depending on facility size and operations. The application fees for different types of recreational New York cannabis licenses have yet to be determined. Applicants can get a sense of the fee scale by looking at the new rules that have been issued for the state’s Hemp Program. The fee for a hemp extraction and manufacturing license is $3,500, while the New York Cannabis License fee for a dispensary is $300 per retail location.

    New York Cannabis License Types

    New York Cannabis License Types
    All New York Cannabis license types, including consumption lounges, events licensing, and distribution, are listed below. Each of these different license types requires different sets of documents with an addition of what is also required by the state of New York's Office of Cannabis Management and Adult Use License Types.
    City of Manhattan
    City population in 2019 1,621,897
    Basic Demographic Information
    Resources include the US Census Bureau, City-Data.com, and any additional relevant resources.
    Total # of Counties57
    Total # of Cities/Towns1,530 cities, towns, and villages, and 1,185 special districts
    37
    Median Age
    $82K
    Medial Income
    +$1MM
    Median Home Price
    $/Month
    Fair Market Rent

    Business Climate

    The state has eagerly embraced the formal legalization of cannabis for both medical and recreational use with few notable exceptions. New York ranks near the bottom nationally with many barriers to entry for businesses. Despite challenges related to taxation and regulatory compliance, the state offers access to a strong consumer base that possesses significant disposable income and higher than average per capita wealth.
    apply for a New York Cannabis License
    Real Estate Zoning Licensing

    Real Estate & Zoning

    Consideration for regional and local zoning will affect New York Cannabis licensing options, particularly with regard to allowed proximity to certain business types, schools, and other prohibited areas which may apply. The end of an opt-out period for New York localities that wanted to ban either recreational marijuana sales or local consumption lounges. The state is in the process of releasing an adult-use municipality map for towns and cities that have decided to opt-in or opt-out. Applicats must be a resident of New York, including business partners of the company and must be democratically controlled under a limited liability company or partnership. State officials are leaning toward not requiring New York Cannabi License applicants to have possession at the time of application, however, a letter of intent from a landlord.

    One-Stop Business Solutions Provider

    When you partner with CLE, you are able to leverage our proven knowledge and best industry resources to provide you a complete Cannabis Business Solution.

    Frequently Asked Questions

    Final application and annual licensing fees will be determined by the CCB and will differ depending on the license type, size and the applicant’s social economic status.
    Yes, licensed production / manufacturing facilities can legally produce and distribute edibles to a licensed cannabis retailer for sale to consumers. The license types that permit the production of edibles are the Adult-use Conditional Processor and Adult-use Processor licenses. Producing edibles for sale without a license will remain illegal under New York’s adult-use cannabis regulations.
    Yes, New York will have a specific percentage of licenses allocated for eligible applicants meeting the requirements for social and economic equity. The exact requirements for eligibility are yet to be determined. The Office of Cannabis Management will create a social and economic equity program to ensure the inclusion of small businesses and communities disproportionately impacted by drug enforcement.
    Yes, New York will allow owners and interest holders of facility licenses to apply for additional licenses to a limitation. Fully vertical operations are not permitted under New York’s adult-use legislation. Retail owners can have ownership or financial interest in three total retail cannabis licenses. Other production based licenses can have ownership within the supply chain but cannot also hold ownership or financial interest in an adult-use retail cannabis license within the state.
    The OCM is currently in the process of drafting regulations that upon implementation will define the application and application timeline. It is anticipated that the OCM will develop these regulations within the first 120 days of 2022.
    Cannabis cultivation is the process of growing cannabis within a regulated environment for the consumption via a medical or adult-use cannabis program. Generally cultivation refers to the agricultural activities associated with the propagation and growing of cannabis. Cannabis processing is when you manufacture finished cannabis products, packaging of dried flowers or manufacture and package cannabis-based products (i.e. extracts, edibles, and topicals). To be able to produce cannabis and cannabis derived products commercially a specific license is required, requirements depend on the state in which you are locating this business.
    The fees for a cannabis cultivation license vary greatly depending on the state in which the facility is to be located. Also facility build out costs vary greatly depending on the type of cannabis cultivation facility (indoor, mixed-light green house, outdoor). Depending on the facility type a cultivation facility can range from 2 million to 20 million dollars.

    Don't Know Where To Begin? Get Started Now

    Looking to apply for a New York Cannabis License and unsure where to start?
    The Office of Cannabis Management is still in the process of issuing regulations to establish the New York Cannabis License application process for all license types. Before the issuance of this application process, teams who are serious about approaching this process should develop their internal structure and build out their business plans. Our team at Cannabis License Experts can assist in this early development phase all the way through final New York Cannabis License application, setting your team up for success.
    In order to get started, reach out to one of our regulatory experts today to learn more about Cannabis Business Solutions.
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