The Los Angeles Social Equity Program focuses on the inclusion and support of individuals in the City’s legal cannabis marketplace who may have been negatively or disproportionately impacted by prior cannabis criminalization.
As part of that effort, cannabis business licenses for retail, delivery, and cultivation are exclusively available to verified Social Equity Individual Applicants until January 1, 2025.
The Department of Cannabis Regulation is Now Accepting Social Equity Individual Applicant Eligibility Verification Requests
The City of Los Angeles Department of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) will accept Social Equity Individual Applicant (SEIA) Eligibility Verification requests through July 25, 2022, at 4:00 P.M. Pacific Time (PT).
To be eligible for SEIA verification:
- Requesters must have an ACA Reference ID to proceed through the online SEIA Eligibility Verification Request Form. ACA Reference ID numbers are assigned when an account is registered on the DCR Licensing Portaland can be found under theAccount Management tab.
A video tutorial on How to Look Up your Accela Citizen Access Reference ID Number is also available.
An individual must be verified as a Social Equity Individual Applicant before they may apply for certain commercial cannabis activity types. Only verified Social Equity Individual Applicants may submit a Social Equity Application for a cannabis business license to conduct retail, non-retail delivery, and cultivation activity.
How to Submit a SEIA Eligibility Request Form
An individual requesting to be verified as a Social Equity Individual Applicant must submit the required information and supporting documentation via the online SEIA Eligibility Verification Request Form.
Unless an accommodation is requested, the online SEIA Eligibility Verification Request Form is the only way individuals can request to be verified. The City of Los Angeles will provide reasonable accommodation(s) to ensure equal access to its programs, services, and facilities for people with disabilities.
To make a request for reasonable accommodations, contact the City directly at least ten business days before the submission deadline via email or by calling (213) 978-0738.
Additional SEIA Eligibility Verification Resources
The DCR Social Equity Program Individual Applicant Eligibility Verification webpage has additional resources to assist in this process.
They include recordings of past webinars that provide a general overview of the eligibility verification request process and a webinar about the online SEIA Eligibility Verification Request Form, which explains how to upload the required documents.
Contact Our Trusted Cannabis Attorneys in California at Manzuri Law for Help Today
If you have questions about your or your partner’s SEIA eligibility, contact one of our California cannabis law firm specialists at Manzuri Law today by phone at (310) 912-2960 or online.