California has the biggest cannabis market in the country, and some of the loudest complaints about stores that don't pay. Brands backed a fix in Sacramento twice. Both times it died. So in California, as of October 2026, the answer to "is there a rule?" is no.
What the law says today
We found no California statute or DCC regulation that sets payment deadlines, credit limits or a delinquent list for sales between cannabis licensees. Your contract and invoice terms govern, and your remedies are the ordinary ones: stop shipping on credit, negotiate, or go to court.
The two bills that tried
AB 766 (2023): Cannabis: invoices: payment
As described in the bill's digest, AB 766 would have:
Set a deadline
Required a licensee to pay for goods and services worth $5,000 or more from another licensee within 15 days after the invoice's final payment date. The final date could be no more than 30 calendar days after the sale.
Required a report
A seller still unpaid 15 days after that date would report the invoice to the DCC.
Added consequences
If the buyer still hadn't paid 30 days after the DCC's notice, the DCC would issue a warning or, at its discretion, a citation or disciplinary action.
Cut off credit
A licensee with an outstanding invoice couldn't buy from another licensee on credit until it paid in full.
AB 766 was heard in the Assembly Business and Professions Committee in April 2023 and never passed. On 02/01/2024 it was filed with the Chief Clerk under Joint Rule 56, which ended it.
AB 2888 (2024): Cannabis: invoices: payment
AB 2888 took the same approach: pay within 15 days after the invoice due date, report an unpaid invoice to the DCC, a warning or discipline if it stayed unpaid 30 days after notice, and no credit purchases until the debt was paid. On 05/16/2024 it was held under submission in committee. It also failed.
$5,000
the invoice size AB 766 would have covered
15 days
after the invoice's final date: the deadline both bills proposed
0
of the two bills that became law
Opponents, including some cannabis attorneys, argued the reporting process gave a buyer too little chance to contest a report. We didn't find a 2025–2026 bill on the same subject as of our check, but check the legislature's site for anything new.
What brands do instead
With no state process, brands have built their own. Some California brands and distributors share lists of slow-paying retailers through industry credit groups. Those are private arrangements, not state law. Most of the work still falls on the brand itself:
How invoices go bad
Terms agreed loosely, follow-up left to a busy sales rep, and nothing written down when a buyer says it will pay next week.
How brands get paid
A due date on every invoice, a pay link in every message, reminders on a schedule, every promise logged and checked, and a final notice before it goes to a lawyer.
- Write the terms down. Due date and amount on every invoice.
- Start early. Ask the day an invoice comes due, not the day it hits 90.
- Stop shipping on credit to stores that don't pay. It's the lever you control.
- Use a final notice before court. One dated letter with a pay-by date settles a lot of accounts that four reminders didn't.
Where ShelfSpace fits
California never gave brands a state process, so the follow-up is yours. ShelfSpace runs it in your brand's name, from the first reminder to a final notice on your letterhead.
A pay link on every invoice
Each store gets a standing Pay Now link that needs no login. It rides on the invoice and on every reminder, so paying you is always one click away.
Reminders on a schedule, in your name
Reminders go out on the schedule you pick and firm up as the invoice ages. Your sales rep can be copied on every one.
Promises written down
When a store says it will pay Friday, log it. Reminders on those invoices pause, ShelfSpace checks QuickBooks on the date, and the promise is marked Kept, Kept late, Partly paid, or Missed.
A final notice on your letterhead
Once an invoice passes your mark (60 days late unless you pick another number), send one page with a pay-by date and only the consequences you will really carry out. Reporting the balance to the state regulator is one of the five choices, and all five start unchecked.
All of it shows up in AR Aging, your list of who owes you sorted by how late they are. So when a rule or a court asks what happened, you have the dates: when the invoice went out, what the store promised, whether it kept that promise, and the letter you sent. See the full system on Collections, Promise to Pay and Final Notice.
See how other states compare in our guide to cannabis wholesale payment rules by state, and for the full collections playbook, read how to get paid by dispensaries.
This page explains public rules in plain English. It isn't legal advice. Before you report a store, sue, or change your credit terms, check with your own attorney.
Sources
- California AB 766 (2023–2024), Cannabis: invoices: payment, bill digest and history (status: failed)
- California AB 2888 (2023–2024), Cannabis: invoices: payment, bill digest and history (status: failed)
- California Legislative Information, AB 766 status
- California Legislative Information, AB 2888 status
- Harris Sliwoski, Will California Soon Police Cannabis Contracts? (commentary on AB 766)
- MJBizDaily, California cannabis companies hire credit group to monitor retailers over unpaid invoices (news report)
Sources last checked 10/27/2026. Rules change: confirm the current text with the regulator before you rely on it.