The final version of the VA bill to create a licensing framework for cannabis businesses has a list of qualifications for what they call “impact licenses” which is Virginia’s equivalent to social equity licensing. The first 100 microbusiness licenses issued this fall 2026 will be vertically integrated licenses that are available to three types of applicants– 1. Impact applicants 2. Hemp licensees who were licensed before January 2021 and 3. USDA farmers. These licenses allow you to process, cultivate and sell your own cannabis and cannabis products as a retailer. As microbusiness licenses, they will have size limits of 5000 sqft of indoor canopy and 2500 sqft of retail floor space.  

The final version of the law has a fairly complex list of social equity (impact applicant) qualifications: 

• An impact applicant must have at least 51% ownership of the business
• To qualify for impact applicant status, the applicant must “have resided between the years 1999 and 2025 in a jurisdiction that, after utilizing census tract data made available by the United States Census Bureau, is determined to have been disproportionately policed for marijuana crimes OR (b) for at least three of the past five years in a historically economically disadvantaged community AND (ii) meet one or more of the following six criteria:” 
  • Have been convicted of a marijuana-related crime;
  • Are the parent, child, sibling or spouse of someone who was convicted of a marijuana-related crime;
  • Have attended for at least 5 years a public elementary or secondary school located in a historically economically disadvantaged community (doesn’t specify that it must be in Virginia);
  • Have received a Federal Pell Grant or attended for at least two years a college or university at which at least 30 percent of the students, on average, are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant;
  • Have Veteran status from the US Armed Forces; or
  • Have qualified for financial assistance or relief from the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a distressed farmer in the last five years.

Yes! Impact license requirements do NOT exclude out of state residents. However, the requirements as it relates to where you have resided are different. While living in an historically underutilized business zone (or economically disadvantaged community) is based on national data, the CCA is NOT compiling out-of-state data related to areas “disproportionately policed for marijuana crimes”. No state has done that because they would need access to arrest data for every jurisdiction in the country, which is almost impossible to obtain. 

That means that, if you have not lived in an over-policed area in Virginia, you won’t qualify for impact licensing UNLESS you have lived for 3 out of the past 5 years in a HUBZone, as defined by the SBA. You can search that database here: https://maps.certify.sba.gov/hubzone/map. Select the Census Tract (dark blue) data in the search results. Contact us if you need help! 

For those of you who aren’t qualified as hemp farmers, USDA farmers or social equity impact applicants, there’s still a chance to get a microbusiness license. The CCA is mandate to issue a “minimum” of 100 microbusiness licenses, but they could choose to issue more. They may wait to do it, or not.

Every time they issue more licenses, they are mandated to issue at least as many for impact licenses as for general license applicants.  

Read more about the VA cannabis microbusiness license here

Before the lottery qualification application window opens in February, the VCCA will create a portal where social equity applicants can submit their paperwork to qualify for impact license status. This will involve showing residential records, school records, criminal records, and residential records, among other things. You will then get approved or denied and, if approved, you will be issued an impact license applicant number that you will use when you submit your lottery qualification paperwork. 

After you qualify as an impact applicant and you then win one of the lottery spots, the big challenge for Impact Licensees becomes funding. Opening a retail outlet can be done for as little as $200,000, but if you want to do cultivation or processing (manufacturing), you need much more. Indoor cultivation is very expensive due to the cost of buildout and climate controls. Expect to spend $1,000,000 for about 1500-2000 square feet of indoor canopy. 

We have seen the social equity licensing process play out in other states, and many of the license winners never become operational due to financing hurdles. If you don’t have friends or family who will invest, it’s very difficult to meet people willing to risk large sums of money to get you started. 

To even start a conversation with an investor, you need a cannabis business plan, pitch deck, budget, financial projections and a good story about your vision. We can help with all of these items. Check our our cannabis business plan services here, and our budgeting services here.