ALEX PADILLA California Secretary of State

Cannabis Business Entity Information It is anticipated that state licenses for medical and adult-use cannabis-related activities will begin being issued January 1,

2018. Please be aware that while California has a licensing and regulatory framework that permits cannabis-related activities

to be conducted in accordance with California law, there still may be conficts with federal law. Lawful cannabis cultivation,

transportation, distribution, testing, dispensing, and manufacturing under California law are highly regulated and licensed

by California State and local government entities. To ensure compliance with law, if you are unclear about the local or state

requirements applicable to your business entity, prior to commencing any activities involving cannabis, you may wish to

contact the appropriate licensing agency for further information or consult a private attorney who is licensed to practice law in

California. The Secretary of State has been accepting organization documents for cannabis-related business entities. Starting

January 2018, the Secretary of State will accept flings for the newly created entity type: Cannabis Cooperative Association.

Filing organization documents with the California Secretary of State (at bizfle.sos.ca.gov under Forms, Samples and Fees)

alone does not provide an entity/organization with the necessary licenses to conduct cannabis-related activities. For infor-

mation regarding licensing requirements, please contact the California city and/or county where the physical location of

the commercial cannabis-related activities will take place and the state agency, bureau, or board with jurisdiction over the

cannabis-related activities to be conducted in California. Additional information is available through the California Can-

nabis Portal at cannabis.ca.gov.

State Cannabis Licensing Authorities

Bureau of Cannabis Control

Department of Consumer Affairs

The Bureau licenses Testing Labo-

ratories, Distributors, Retailers and

Micro-Businesses.

bcc.ca.gov

Email: bcc@dca.ca.gov

Phone: (800) 952-5210

CalCannabis Cultivation

Licensing Program

Department of Food & Agriculture

CalCannabis licenses cannabis Cul-

tivators and administers the Track-

and-Trace system.

calcannabis.cdfa.ca.gov

Email: calcannabis@cdfa.ca.gov

Phone: (916) 263-0801

Manufactured Cannabis Safety

Branch (MCSB)

Department of Public Health

MCSB licenses Manufacturers of can-

nabis products, such as edibles.

cdph.ca.gov/mcsb

Email: mcsb@cdph.ca.gov

Phone: (916) 440-7861

State Taxing Authorities

California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) administers business permits and taxes including Seller’s Permits, Sales and Use Taxes, Excise Taxes and other special taxes: http://cdtfa.ca.gov/

Employment Development Department (EDD) administers four state payroll taxes – Unemployment Insurance (UI), Employ-ment Training Tax (ETT), State Disability Insurance (SDI), and Employee Personal Income Tax (PIT). Employers must with-hold, report and pay Payroll Taxes: http://www.edd.ca.gov/Payroll_Taxes/Cannabis_Industry_Payroll_Tax_Reporting.htm

Franchise Tax Board (FTB) administers two of California’s major tax programs - California Business Franchise Tax and Cali-fornia Income Tax: ftb.ca.gov/cannabis

Board of Equalization (BOE) reviews and adjusts assessments for property taxes: boe.ca.gov

REV (11/2017) 2017 California Secretary of State bizfle.sos.ca.gov

STARTING A NEW BUSINESS CHECKLIST:

___ 1. Prepare and Plan (do market research and create an outline of your business)

___ 2. Secure Financing (if necessary)

___ 3. Choose an Entity Type (e.g. LLC, Corporation, LP, LLP, GP, or Sole Proprietorship) and Business Name

___ 4. Register Your Business with the Secretary of State (LLC, Corporation, LP, LLP or GP)

___ 5. Register a Fictitious Business Name (if necessary)

___ 6. Choose a location and check local zoning regulations

___ 7. Obtain specialty licenses and permits (if necessary)

___ 8. Employer Responsibilities (if necessary: EIN Number,workers' compensation, etc.)

___ 9. Tax Information (FTB, BOE, EDD, IRS)

___ 10. Ongoing Secretary of State Filing Requirements (Statements of Information)

bizfile.sos.ca.gov