The 2023 license renewal application period is now open. This is a reminder that a 2023 renewal application must be submitted AND all renewal fees must be paid on or before November 2, 2022. If you do not timely submit a 2023 renewal application and pay your renewal fees, your 2022 Temporary Approval(s) and/or License(s) will not be renewed and they will expire after 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2022. Under Los Angeles Municipal Code (LAMC) section 104.12(a), every license, including Temporary Approval(s), must be renewed annually. Licensees who allow their Temporary Approval(s) to expire must cease operations and are not allowed to engage in Commercial Cannabis Activity until a new application is submitted to DCR and a new Temporary Approval or License is issued. 

The 2023 renewal process consists of two steps: (1) submission of a 2023 renewal application via DCR’s Licensing Portal (Accela); and (2) payment of required renewal fees to the Office of Finance.

1. Renewal Application and Required Forms and Documents. Licensees must submit a 2023 renewal application between September 2 and November 2, 2022. Licensees do not have to submit updated forms or documents as they were required to do in previous years. Licensees seeking to modify their Temporary Approval information may submit a modification request, and the updated forms and documents relevant to their modification request, after the 2023 renewal application is submitted through the DCR Licensing Portal. For the first time, Licensees are required to provide DCR with a current Legal Business Entity Record number as part of the 2023 renewal process. If the Licensee does not have a Legal Business Entity Record, one must be created before a 2023 renewal application is submitted.
2. Payment of Renewal Fees. A 2023 renewal invoice will be generated by DCR once a Licensee submits their 2023 renewal application through the DCR Licensing Portal. The renewal fee is $4,233 per Commercial Cannabis Activity. Payments are due on or by November 2, 2022. Payments may be made in-person to the Office of Finance with cash, check, money order, and/or credit card, or by mail. Please note that the Office of Finance requires at least 10 days to schedule an in-person payment appointment; however, as long as a Licensee schedules and confirms a payment appointment with the Office of Finance by November 2, 2022, their payment will be considered timely notwithstanding the fact the payment appointment will occur after the deadline. (LAMC section 104.03(g).) Requests for in-person payment appointments must be made by email to finance.csd.appt@lacity.org Mailed payments are timely only if postmarked on or before November 2, 2022. Licensees who are unable to schedule and confirm a payment appointment with the Office of Finance by November 2, 2022, will be subject to Expedited Services Fee(s). (See LAMC sections 104.12(a)(1), 104.19(h).) 

Step-by-step instructions to renew your Temporary Approval(s):

1. Log into the DCR Licensing Portal.
2. Licensees with an existing Legal Business Entity Record number may skip to Step 6. All other Licensees must click on “Apply for a License,” read the general disclaimer, and accept the terms. 
3. Click on “Legal Business Entity Record,” select “Legal Business Entity Application” and click “Continue” to begin the Legal Business Entity Application process.
4. Complete the Legal Business Entity Application.
   1. If the Licensee does not have a Legal Business Entity Record, one must be created before a 2023 renewal application is submitted. You may re-submit the same forms already submitted to DCR as part of a Temporary Approval Application or Pre-Application Review. Alternatively, you may submit updated forms, subject to the payment of applicable modification fees. Forms can be accessed on the DCR’s Application Forms and Documents webpage.
   2. To learn more about the Legal Business Entity Record, please join the Special Edition: Q & A Virtual Lunch Hour with Jason Killeen taking place on Thursday, Sep 15, 2022 at 12:00 P.M. Please RSVP here. If you are unable to attend, a video of the event will be archived on the DCR website here
5. Once submitted, a Legal Business Entity Record number will be assigned. This number is required to submit a 2023 renewal application.
6. Navigate to “My Records.” 
7. A 2023 renewal application must be submitted for all records with the “Eligible for Renewal” status.
8. Click on “Renew or Modify” to begin your 2023 renewal application.
9. Complete the 2023 renewal application. 
10. Upon submission, you will receive a message that “Your renewal application has been successfully submitted.”
11. Click on the record details to access your 2023 renewal application.
12. Click on “Record Info.”
13. Click on “Attachments.”
14. Click on the document beginning with “Fees_and_Payments_Custom_Invoice.” This document is your 2023 Temporary Approval Renewal Application Invoice.
15. Pay the 2023 renewal invoice by the “Void if not Paid Date.”
16. Your renewal application will not be deemed filed until the 2023 renewal application is submitted via the DCR Licensing Portal and all required payments are made. (LAMC Section 104.03(b).)

DCR will review an Applicant’s 2023 renewal application only after the renewal fee is paid. However, payment of the renewal fee does not guarantee renewal. Additionally, Applicants must pay renewal fees regardless of whether they also have outstanding tax payment(s) due to the Office of Finance; an Applicant’s payment will not be denied or rejected by the Office of Finance due to outstanding tax payment(s). Renewal fees are non-refundable. 

Your 2022 Temporary Approval(s) will expire after 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2022. All persons who have allowed their Temporary Approval(s) to expire and who continue to engage in Commercial Cannabis Activity are subject to an enforcement action and/or criminal penalties for unlicensed Commercial Cannabis Activity. (LAMC section 104.15.)

Please email DCRLicensing@lacity.org with any questions.