Cottage license

Cottage license is a state-specific term for very small-scale cannabis cultivation permits, invoking "cottage industry." California's Type 1C Specialty Cottage is the canonical example, created under AB 2516 (2016) and administered by the DCC. It authorizes the smallest tier in the state's six-tier cultivation ladder: up to 25 outdoor plants or 2,500 sq ft outdoor canopy; 500 sq ft indoor; or 2,500 sq ft mixed-light. License fees range from $1,205 to $5,200 annually depending on variant. Specialty Cottage licenses are strongly associated with legacy Emerald Triangle growers (Humboldt, Mendocino, Trinity counties) transitioning to the legal market. Vermont's Outdoor Cultivator Tier 1 is functionally equivalent — up to 1,000 sq ft or 125 plants for $750 annually — though Vermont does not use "cottage" terminology. Massachusetts offers a Craft Marijuana Cooperative license that blends cottage and cooperative attributes, capped at 100,000 sq ft across multiple sites and requiring adherence to the Seven Cooperative Principles. Cottage operators frequently struggle with compliance costs relative to canopy and municipal bans. → See also: Craft cannabis, Microbusiness, Cultivator