You need a distribution license to transport cannabis and cannabis products in California. Distributors can transport goods they cultivated or manufactured or goods for other businesses.
Distribution licenses
The type and cost of distribution license depends on factors such as whether you transport cannabis goods to retail, store cannabis goods, or transport for other businesses.
Resources for new applicants
Testing, sampling and quality assurance
Distributors make sure a licensed testing laboratory tests all batches of cannabis goods before they are sold. Distributors can only transport cannabis goods to a retailer for sale if they pass testing. Goods that fail testing are destroyed or sent to a manufacturer for remediation. Before transporting goods to a retailer, type 11 distributors also conduct a quality assurance review.
Resources for distributors
Representative sampling checklist for distributors
Licensed cannabis distributors in California must follow specific rules for regulatory compliance testing and representative sampling before products can be sold at retail. This step-by-step checklist explains distributor responsibilities, including batch possession, representative sampling, chain of custody, certificates of analysis, and what to do if a batch passes or fails compliance testing.
