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Delaware retail license applications are closed, so the way in is acquiring an existing license
CannDev in Delaware
Entering Delaware
ClosedAdult-use and medical. Adult-use sales began on 1 August 2025, first through existing medical compassion centers that converted their licenses. The Office of the Marijuana Commissioner regulates the market, and dispensaries serve both registered medical patients and adult-use customers.1, 9
- License types and caps
- Retail, cultivation, product manufacturing and testing licenses, issued as open, social equity or microbusiness licenses. Caps: 30 retail licenses (15 reserved for social equity applicants), 60 cultivation, 30 manufacturing and 5 testing. Licensees are assigned to a specific county, with limited room to ask for reassignment.3, 7, 10
- Application window
- Closed. The Office is no longer accepting applications. More than 1,200 applications came in during the 2024 round, and 125 licenses were awarded by public lottery in December 2024; those winners are being licensed on a rolling basis.2, 1
- Local opt-out
- Partly. The law recognises that a local jurisdiction can prohibit open licenses. Senate Bill 75, enacted on 1 July 2026 over a veto, now sets statewide standards for county restrictions on marijuana businesses, minimum shop hours and limits on local restrictions on retail and cultivation sites. Cities of 50,000 or more people may cut Sunday sales to four hours by ordinance.11, 6, 5
Ownership and social equity, taxes, delivery and testing, upcoming changes and the numbered sources are in the Delaware rules panels on this page.
CannDev is working hard to evaluate this market and locate the best jurisdictions for retailers to operate in. We will soon be securing compliant retail real estate locations and will be sharing them with groups looking to acquire an existing license in this market.
Please sign up for our Off Market Deals to be included in our alerts where you can get first look at new real estate opportunities in Delaware.
Regulatory Detail
Half of the 30 retail licenses are reserved for social equity applicants. A social equity applicant is a Delaware resident business at least 51 percent owned and controlled by people who lived for at least 5 of the last 15 years in a disproportionately impacted area. Social equity applicants get reduced fees and technical help. Licenses can be revoked if ownership rules are broken.3, 7
A 15 percent tax on the retail sales price of adult-use marijuana products. Medical marijuana sales are not taxed. The state tax replaces county and city license fees and taxes on the business of selling, growing and making marijuana, though general taxes applied to everyone still apply. Seven percent of the revenue goes to a Justice Reinvestment Fund.4, 3
- Testing: all marijuana grown in Delaware goes through testing for mold, bacteria, yeast, pesticides, solvents and heavy metals.
- Packaging and products: state rules must ban products that look like candy or cartoon characters, and a retail store may sell only marijuana, marijuana products, accessories and related items such as childproof containers.
- Hours: no sales or deliveries on Thanksgiving, Easter or Christmas, between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m. Monday to Saturday, or before noon or after 8 p.m. on Sunday.
- In effect: Amendments to the Marijuana Control Act took effect, including a new consumer protection subchapter.8
- In effect: Senate Bill 75 enacted: statewide standards for county restrictions, minimum retail hours and limits on local restrictions on retail and cultivation sites.6
- Adopted: House Bill 373 sets up a regulatory framework for THC-infused beverages, with a 50 cent per container tax.6
- Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner news release, 1 August 2025: adult-use sales begin (regulator, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, Licensing process (regulator, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, Social equity overview (regulator, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Code title 4 chapter 13, subchapter VIII (Marijuana Regulation Fund; taxes) (statute, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Code title 4 chapter 13, subchapter I (general provisions) (statute, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner news release, 16 July 2026: legislative updates (regulator, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, Frequently asked questions (regulator, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Code title 4 chapter 13 (Delaware Marijuana Control Act), contents (statute, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner, Dispensaries (regulator, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Office of the Marijuana Commissioner news release, 22 September 2025: county-based license assignments (regulator, seen 26 October 2026)
- Delaware Code title 4 chapter 13, subchapter III (regulation and licensure) (statute, seen 26 October 2026)
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