Michigan license types
Michigan cannabis license types, fees and the real estate each one needs
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What do Michigan cannabis licenses cost?
Michigan adult-use annual license fees run from $1,000 for a designated consumption establishment to $24,000 for a Class C grower, excess grower or processor. Plant limits are 100 for Class A, 500 for Class B, 2,000 for Class C, 150 for a microbusiness and 300 for a Class A microbusiness. A nonrefundable $3,000 prequalification fee applies, and municipalities may charge up to $5,000 annually per establishment.
Adult-use — MRTMA
Every adult-use license type
| Typical real estate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Designated Consumption Establishment | $1,000 | — | Retail-adjacent, ventilation |
| Class A Grower | $1,200 | 100 | Small flex / warehouse bay |
| Class B Grower | $6,000 | 500 | 10–25k SF industrial |
| Microbusiness | $8,300 | 150 | Single vertically-integrated building |
| Retailer (adult-use) | $15,000 | — | Green-zoned retail, 1,500–4,000 SF |
| Secure Transporter | $15,000 | — | Secured yard + vault |
| Safety Compliance Facility | $15,000 | — | Lab-classified space |
| Class A Microbusiness | $18,600 | 300 | Single building, expanded |
| Class C Grower | $24,000 | 2,000 | 25–100k SF industrial, heavy power |
| Excess Grower | $24,000 | Stacks Class C | Campus / multi-building |
| Processor | $24,000 | — | C1D1/C1D2 classified space |
11 adult-use license types, and the real estate implications diverge far more than the fees do. A $24,000 processor fee buys a license that requires code-classified space; a $24,000 Class C grower fee buys one that requires a utility upgrade. Same fee, entirely different building search.
The fees that are not on the table
Prequalification and municipal fees
$3,000
Nonrefundable prequalification fee
Paid before any license-specific application, and it does not come back if prequalification fails.
Source: Michigan CRA ·Up to $5,000
Municipal fee, per establishment, per year
Municipalities may charge an annual fee of up to $5,000 per establishment. On a multi-license single building, that is per establishment — not per building.
Source: Michigan CRA ·Terminology
Provisioning center or retailer? Both, depending on the statute
| Medical — MMFLA | Adult-use — MRTMA | |
|---|---|---|
| Storefront license | Provisioning center — sells to registered patients and caregivers. | Retailer — sells to adults 21 and over. |
| Grower plant tiers | Class A 500 · Class B 1,000 · Class C 1,500 | Class A 100 · Class B 500 · Class C 2,000 · Excess stacks Class C |
| Municipal authorization | Municipality must opt IN by ordinance. | Permitted unless the municipality opts OUT by prohibition ordinance. |
| State distance buffer | None at the state level — local zoning only. | 1,000 feet from a pre-existing school, parcel line to parcel line, reducible by ordinance. |
| How searchers refer to it | "provisioning center for sale", "medical dispensary building" | "cannabis retailer", "adult-use dispensary for lease" |
MMFLA medical grower plant tiers
Source: Michigan CRA ·| Tier | Plant limit |
|---|---|
| Class A grower (MMFLA) | 500 |
| Class B grower (MMFLA) | 1,000 |
| Class C grower (MMFLA) | 1,500 |
Why this matters for a building search
The medical Class C tier caps at 1,500 plants while adult-use Class C reaches 2,000, so a cultivation building sized off the wrong statute is either underbuilt on power and dehumidification or overbuilt on rent. Establish the statute and the class before you establish the square footage.
Questions
License and fee questions
- What is the difference between a provisioning center and a retailer in Michigan?
- They are the same storefront concept under two different statutes. A provisioning center is the medical license type under the Medical Marihuana Facilities Licensing Act (MMFLA). A retailer is the adult-use license type under the Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marihuana Act (MRTMA). Many buildings hold both, and searchers use both terms interchangeably.
- How much does a Michigan cannabis license cost per year?
- Annual adult-use state fees range from $1,000 for a designated consumption establishment to $24,000 for Class C growers, excess growers and processors. A retailer is $15,000, a microbusiness $8,300 and a Class A microbusiness $18,600. Add a nonrefundable $3,000 prequalification fee and up to $5,000 per year in municipal fees per establishment.
- How many plants does each Michigan grower class allow?
- Adult-use: Class A 100 plants, Class B 500, Class C 2,000, and an excess grower license stacks additional Class C capacity. Medical MMFLA tiers differ — Class A 500, Class B 1,000 and Class C 1,500 — which is a frequent source of confusion when sizing a cultivation building.
- Which license type needs the most specialized building?
- The processor. C1D1/C1D2 hazardous classification requires classified ventilation, gas detection and emergency power-off, and solvent storage above threshold quantities triggers secondary containment. Class C growers need the most raw capacity — 25,000 to 100,000 square feet with heavy electrical service — but a processor needs code-classified space.
Keep reading
The rest of the cannabis desk
Next step
Match a license type to a building
Tell us the license class and the canopy or sales plan. We will size the real estate, the electrical service and the mechanical scope against it.
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