Vermont Cannabis Software

Vermont Cannabis License Types

Vermont operates both an adult-use and a medical cannabis program. The state decriminalized small amounts of cannabis in 2018, and commercial adult-use sales launched in October 2022 following the passage of Act 164 in 2020. The program is governed by Title 7 of the Vermont Statutes Annotated (V.S.A.), Chapters 31, 33, and 35, and by the Cannabis Control Board's four administrative rules. Vermont's statutes have been amended multiple times since the program's creation, most recently by Act 56 in 2025.

The Vermont Cannabis Control Board (CCB) is the single regulatory authority responsible for administering both the adult-use and medical cannabis programs. The CCB issues all cannabis establishment licenses, registers cannabis employees, enforces compliance, and promulgates the rules governing cannabis operations statewide. The Board operates an online licensing and inventory tracking portal through which all applications, renewals, and biweekly inventory reports must be submitted.

Vermont does not use METRC or any third-party seed-to-sale platform. Under 7 V.S.A. § 881(a)(1)(J) and CCB Rule 2.2.6, all licensees are required to track cannabis and cannabis products from seed to sale using the CCB's own portal-based inventory tracking system. All licensees must submit inventory tracking reports through the CCB Portal every two weeks, regardless of whether inventory has changed during that period. Failure to submit reports on schedule is a compliance violation.

Vermont currently issues seven types of cannabis establishment licenses under the adult-use program: cultivator, manufacturer, retailer, wholesaler, propagator, testing laboratory, and integrated. All cannabis products sold in Vermont must be registered with the CCB, and all individuals working at a licensed establishment must hold a CCB-issued employee identification card.

Cultivation License

A cultivation license authorizes an establishment to grow cannabis plants, dry cannabis, package it, produce pre-rolls from flower or trim, and sell cannabis to other licensed cannabis establishments. Cultivators may produce clones for sale to other licensees, including licensed retail establishments. Cultivators may not conduct any extraction including mechanical extraction from their own or others' cannabis.

Cultivation licenses are tiered based on the setting outdoor, indoor, or mixed and by the total plant canopy area authorized. Outdoor tiers range from Tier 1 (up to 1,000 square feet of canopy or 125 plants) through Tier 6 (up to 37,500 square feet or 4,687 plants). Indoor tiers range from Tier 1 (up to 1,000 square feet) through Tier 6 (up to 25,000 square feet). Indoor cultivation applicants must use square footage plant counts are not permitted for indoor tier calculations. Mixed cultivation licenses authorize up to 1,000 square feet of indoor canopy combined with varying outdoor plant counts depending on tier, up to 2,500 outdoor plants at the highest mixed tier. Cultivators may transfer their own cannabis to licensed manufacturers for processing and may take custody of finished products made from their own cannabis after processing, pending registration and transfer to a retailer or wholesaler.

Annual cultivation license fees are tiered accordingly. Outdoor fees range from $750 (Tier 1) to $34,000 (Tier 6). Indoor fees range from $1,500 (Tier 1) to $75,000 (Tier 6). Mixed cultivation fees range from $2,250 (Tier 1) to $19,500 (Tier 5), per 7 V.S.A. § 910.

As of the current application cycle, cultivation license applications are closed to new applicants. The CCB has paused new cultivation applications; existing cultivation licensees may renew. Prospective cultivators should monitor the CCB website for updates on when new applications will reopen.

Cultivation licensees are subject to specific energy standards published by the CCB and must comply with all applicable pesticide regulations. Only active ingredients approved by the CCB may be used. Outdoor cultivators must meet the CCB's outdoor security best management practices for fencing and perimeter security, and larger cultivators using municipal water supplies are required to obtain a notice from the applicable water authority confirming adequate capacity.

Manufacturing License

A manufacturing license authorizes an establishment to create cannabis products from cannabis plants and processing intermediates, including edibles, oils, tinctures, concentrates, and other preparations. Manufacturers may package their products and sell them to other licensed cannabis establishments. They may not sell directly to the general public. Manufacturing licenses are tiered by allowable extraction method and, at the entry tier, by annual gross revenue.

A Tier 1 manufacturing license ($750 annual fee) permits production using water-based, food-based, and heat/pressure-based extraction methods. Tier 1 licensees are subject to strict limitations: the business must operate as a home-occupancy business, employ no more than one person, and generate no more than $50,000 in gross revenue per year. Home kitchen use is subject to additional restrictions under CCB Rule 2.6.1. Tier 1 is designed for small-scale, home-based artisan producers and is not a viable structure for commercial-scale manufacturing operations.

A Tier 2 manufacturing license ($2,500 annual fee) authorizes the same extraction methods as Tier 1 mechanical, water-based, food-based, and heat/pressure-based with no cap on annual gross revenue. Tier 2 manufacturers are not required to operate as home-occupancy businesses.

A Tier 3 manufacturing license ($15,000 annual fee) authorizes all lawful extraction methods, including solvent-based extraction and supercritical CO2 extraction, in addition to all Tier 2 methods. Importantly, butane and hexane extraction are explicitly prohibited in Vermont, even for Tier 3 licensees. Tier 3 is the appropriate license for operators producing concentrated cannabis products, distillates, and other solvent-extracted preparations at commercial scale.

Manufacturing license applications are currently open for all tiers.

Retail License

A retail license ($10,000 annual fee) authorizes an establishment to purchase cannabis and cannabis products from other licensees and sell them to the general public. Only licensed retailers and the retail portion of integrated licensees may sell cannabis directly to consumers. Adults 21 and older may purchase up to one ounce of cannabis or its equivalent in cannabis products in a single transaction, upon verification of a valid government-issued photo identification.

Retail establishments are subject to Vermont's municipal opt-in requirement. A retail cannabis establishment may only operate in a municipality that has voted to opt in to allowing retail cannabis sales. No other license type cultivators, manufacturers, wholesalers, testing labs, or propagators is subject to this requirement. If a municipality has created a Local Control Commission (LCC), the LCC must formally review and approve a retail application before the CCB will fully issue the license. In municipalities without an LCC, no local license approval is required beyond standard zoning compliance.

As of the current application cycle, retail license applications are closed to new applicants. The CCB has paused new retail applications; existing retail licensees may renew. Prospective retailers should monitor the CCB website for updates on when new applications will reopen.

Medical-Use Endorsement: Effective July 1, 2025, under Act 56, qualified retail licensees may apply for a medical-use endorsement ($250 additional annual fee). The endorsement authorizes a retailer to sell cannabis products to registered medical patients and caregivers on a tax-free basis, to sell products otherwise restricted from adult-use sale when determined appropriate for patients by the Board, to sell in quantities exceeding the standard single-transaction limit up to the per-patient possession limit, and to deliver cannabis to registered patients and caregivers. Medical-use endorsement holders may also allow registered patients to purchase without leaving their vehicles. The endorsement is available only to licensed retailers in good standing; medical-only dispensary applications have been paused by the CCB as of July 2025 given the availability of the endorsement pathway.

Wholesale License

A wholesale license ($4,000 annual fee) authorizes an establishment to purchase cannabis and cannabis products from other licensed cannabis establishments and resell them to other licensees. Wholesalers may also package cannabis and cannabis products and create pre-rolls from flower or trim. Wholesalers may not sell to the general public.

The wholesale license fills a specific supply chain function in Vermont's market: it enables the brokering and redistribution of cannabis between licensees. Cultivators, for example, may not broker sales of others' cannabis or take custody of cannabis grown by others those activities require a wholesale license. Wholesale license applications are currently open.

Propagation License

A propagation license ($500 annual fee) authorizes an establishment to grow vegetative cannabis canopy for the purposes of producing cannabis seeds and clones. Propagators may cultivate no more than 3,500 square feet of cannabis clones, immature plants, or mature plants. They may sell cannabis seeds to the general public, but may only sell clones to other licensed cannabis establishments. A propagation license does not authorize the production of cannabis flower the canopy allotment is explicitly restricted to vegetative propagation purposes and cannot be repurposed for flowering cannabis production. Propagation license applications are currently open.

Testing Laboratory License

A testing laboratory license ($1,500 annual fee) authorizes an establishment to test cannabis and cannabis products obtained from licensed cannabis establishments, dispensaries, or members of the public. All cannabis and cannabis products sold in Vermont must be tested in accordance with CCB rules. Testing laboratories assess product potency and purity across a range of required parameters, with testing action limits published by the CCB in its testing guidance. Testing laboratories may not sell cannabis to the general public or to other licensees. Testing laboratory license applications are currently open.

Integrated License

An integrated license ($100,000 annual fee) authorizes an establishment to engage in all activities covered by each other license type: cultivation, manufacturing, wholesale, testing, and retail. Integrated licenses are the most comprehensive and most expensive credential available in Vermont's cannabis program.

Integrated licenses are not available to new applicants. Under 7 V.S.A. § 909, an integrated license is only available to an applicant and its affiliates that held a medical cannabis program dispensary registration on April 1, 2022 the date adult-use cannabis sales launched. This license type was created specifically to transition the state's legacy vertically integrated medical dispensaries into the adult-use regulatory framework. No new integrated licenses will be issued.

An integrated licensee may voluntarily transition to conventional licensure by exchanging its integrated license for the individual adult-use license subtypes that match its existing operations. This transition reduces the annual fee burden to the sum of individual license fees. A request to transition must be submitted at least three months before the integrated license's renewal date. Once retired or expired, an integrated license cannot be sold, transferred, or revived.

Application Process and Fees

All cannabis establishment license applications initial and renewal are submitted through the CCB Portal. Initial applicants pay a one-time, non-refundable $1,000 application fee at the time of submission, per 7 V.S.A. § 910(11). This fee is separate from and in addition to the annual license fee. If the Board approves the application, the annual license fee and the $100 local licensing fee are due before the license is issued. Renewal applicants pay the annual license and local fees at the time of renewal submission.

All fees are non-refundable and non-transferable with limited exceptions for documented electronic error, unintentional submission, or redundant payment and only if a written refund request is submitted within two business days. Social equity applicants as defined under CCB Rule 1.13.4 receive the application fee waived and the first year's license fee waived, with a phased fee schedule in subsequent years. The CCB cannot waive the $100 local fee, the $50 per-product registration fee, or the $50 per-employee ID card fee even for social equity applicants.

Background record checks are required for all principals, owners, and employees. The CCB provides separate guidance documents for obtaining and submitting background checks for principals versus employees. All individuals performing work at a licensed cannabis establishment must hold a CCB-issued employee identification card ($50 per card, annual). Employing or accepting work from a person without a valid ID card is classified as a serious violation under CCB rules. Owners and principals receive their ID cards through the application and licensing process; all other employees must apply separately.

Every distinct cannabis product sold by a licensee must be registered with the CCB at $50 per product type per year. Product registration is mandatory and must be current before any product may be sold. The $50 fee is non-refundable regardless of whether the product is sold during the registration period.

Compliance Requirements

Seed-to-Sale Tracking: Vermont does not use METRC or a third-party track-and-trace system. Under 7 V.S.A. § 881(a)(1)(J) and CCB Rule 2.2.6, all cannabis establishments are required to track cannabis and cannabis products from seed to sale using the CCB's portal-based inventory system. Inventory tracking reports must be submitted through the CCB Portal every two weeks this schedule applies even in periods when no inventory activity has occurred. Lapses in reporting are a compliance violation subject to enforcement action.

Governing Documents: All cannabis establishments are required to maintain a defined set of governing documents and standard operating procedures as specified by the CCB. The CCB publishes guidance outlining the minimum required content for each document type. Retail establishments seeking a medical-use endorsement must additionally demonstrate that their SOPs meet the minimum criteria specified in the CCB's medical-use endorsement guidance.

Municipal Requirements for Retail: Retail licensees and integrated licensees operating a retail component must be located in a municipality that has opted in to allow retail cannabis sales. In municipalities with a Local Control Commission, a written approval from the LCC is required before the CCB will fully issue a retail license. All cannabis establishments regardless of type must comply with generally applicable local zoning ordinances and obtain all required local permits. Municipalities may not impose cannabis-specific zoning rules beyond their authority to adopt general zoning bylaws.

Taxation: Adult-use cannabis sales in Vermont are subject to a 14% state cannabis excise tax, the standard state sales tax of 6%, and a local option tax of up to 1%. Medical cannabis sold by a retail establishment with a medical-use endorsement is exempt from both the cannabis excise tax and the sales tax, which represents a meaningful price advantage for patients purchasing through endorsed retailers. Cannabis establishments must report cannabis and cannabis product sales separately from other taxable items on their annual sales tax returns due to statutory earmarks on cannabis revenue for education and substance misuse prevention.

Energy Standards: Cultivation licensees are subject to energy efficiency standards established by the CCB. These standards apply to lighting and HVAC systems used in cannabis cultivation facilities and represent a compliance obligation unique to Vermont's regulatory framework. The CCB publishes specific energy standards guidance applicable to all cultivation license holders.