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Washington is adult-use and medical and new retail licenses are closed, so the way in is acquiring an existing license
Washington Cannabis Retail
Entering Washington
ClosedAdult-use and medical. The Liquor and Cannabis Board licenses and regulates all cannabis businesses; licensed retailers sell to adults 21 and older, and stores with a medical endorsement also serve registered patients. Collective gardens and most stand-alone medical dispensaries have been barred since 1 July 2016.1, 2
- License types and caps
- Producer, processor, retailer (with an optional medical endorsement), transporter and research licenses. Cap: the Board sets a maximum number of retail outlets for each county. On top of that, the social equity program may reissue forfeited, revoked or cancelled licenses and issue up to 52 more retail licenses until 1 July 2032. No one (individual or married couple) may hold an interest in more than five retail licenses, or in both a retail license and a producer or processor license.1, 4, 5, 6
- Application window
- Closed. The Board is not accepting new retailer, producer or processor applications except through the Social Equity Program, and the social equity window is currently closed. Existing licenses can change hands through an assumption application or a change in governing persons, so buying an existing license is the way in.1, 3
- Local opt-out
- Yes. State law refers to local jurisdictions with a ban or moratorium on cannabis retail, and social equity licenses may only locate where the city, town or county allows the activity. A locality can also cap outlet density by ordinance and can object to a license at a specific location. The Board may not license premises within 1,000 feet of a school, playground, recreation center, child care center, public park, transit center, library or under-21 game arcade; a locality may reduce that to 100 feet by ordinance, except for schools and playgrounds.5, 4, 7, 6
Ownership and social equity, taxes, delivery and testing, upcoming changes and the numbered sources are in the Washington rules panels on this page.
CannDev is evaluating the Washington market to find the best locations for adult-use dispensaries. The Board is not accepting new retailer applications outside the social equity program, and that window is closed, so the way in is working with an existing license holder. 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 Washington.
Latest Washington News
Latest regulatory update
Washington cannabis medical certificate clears the LCB, Pasco lifts retail cap to five stores, and a residency case heads to the Supreme Court.
Regulatory Detail
Residency: every applicant must have lived in Washington for at least six months before applying, and must submit a criminal history form and fingerprints. Social equity applicants must be at least 51 percent owned and controlled by people who meet at least two tests, such as five years in a disproportionately impacted area between 1980 and 2010, a cannabis arrest or conviction in the family, or below-median household income; social equity licenses pay no annual fee until 1 July 2032.6, 3, 5
A 37 percent excise tax on the selling price of every retail sale, on top of state and local sales and use tax, shown in the shelf price. Until 30 June 2029, registered medical patients buying compliant products from a medically endorsed store do not pay the excise tax.8
- Testing: licensees must use Board-certified laboratories, and every finished product a processor sells to a retailer needs the required quality assurance tests.
- Packaging: concentrates and other products must be in child-resistant packaging (or, for concentrates, heat-sealed plastic at least two mil thick), and packaging or labels may not be especially appealing to people under 21.
- Proposed: Proposed rules filed under ESSB 5403 on financial interest agreements for cannabis retailers, which changes the rules on management and other agreements.11
- In effect: New cannabis retail advertising rules under ESB 5206 took effect.11
- In effect: Higher producer, processor and retailer license fees under House Bill 2681 of 2026 took effect.12
- Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Cannabis License Types (regulator, seen 11 November 2026)
- Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Medical Cannabis (regulator, seen 11 November 2026)
- Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Cannabis Social Equity (regulator, seen 11 November 2026)
- RCW 69.50.345: Board rules, maximum number of retail outlets per county (statute, seen 11 November 2026)
- RCW 69.50.335: cannabis social equity program licenses (statute, seen 11 November 2026)
- Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Cannabis Restrictions and Requirements (regulator, seen 11 November 2026)
- RCW 69.50.331: license applications, buffers and local objections (statute, seen 11 November 2026)
- RCW 69.50.535: cannabis excise tax (statute, seen 11 November 2026)
- WAC 314-55-102: quality assurance and quality control testing (regulator, seen 11 November 2026)
- WAC 314-55-105: cannabis product packaging and labeling (regulator, seen 11 November 2026)
- Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Current Rulemaking Activity (regulator, seen 11 November 2026)
- Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, Apply for a Cannabis License (regulator, seen 11 November 2026)
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