TL;DR (generated, confidence: high)

Portland's Cannabis Reduced Fee Program provides fee benefits to qualifying businesses based on three factors: small business status under $750k income, contracts with certified minority-owned vendors, or staff/ownership with prior cannabis convictions.

Key points:

Small Business qualifier: less than $750,000 annual combined income and no more than 2 other cannabis licenses (state-wide, all entities) (Cannabis Reduced Fee Program ↗)
MWESB-Certified Ancillary Vendor qualifier: small business must contract with State of Oregon certified vendor and pay at least $30,000 during preceding 24 months (new license) or licensing period (renewal) (Cannabis Reduced Fee Program ↗)
Prior Cannabis Conviction qualifier: 25% or greater ownership or 20% or greater staff hours from individuals with federal/state cannabis convictions before July 1, 2015 (Cannabis Reduced Fee Program ↗)
Income includes combined total of applying entity plus all related entities (parent companies, affiliates, associates) with 10% or greater ownership (Cannabis Reduced Fee Program ↗)
Cannabis license count includes all recreational and medical licenses from all states, not personal medical cards (Cannabis Reduced Fee Program ↗)
MWESB vendors must be listed on Oregon's Certified Vendor Directory and marijuana business cannot share ownership with vendors (Cannabis Reduced Fee Program ↗)

Cannabis Reduced Fee Program

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Source: Cannabis Reduced Fee Program ↗ Last modified: Sun, 19 Apr 2026 20:10:57 GMT

Who Qualifies?

Qualifying businesses will receive benefits based on their number of up to three (3) qualifying factors:

1) Small Businesses (Less than $750,000 annual total income in the preceding calendar year, and no more than two other cannabis businesses)

Less than $750,000 annual total income in the preceding calendar year

Combined total income in the previous calendar year of the business entity applying, and all business entities (including any parent companies, associate companies, subsidiaries, or affiliates) with ownership interests of 10% or greater.
Combined total income must match the sum of the “Total Income” line reported on all Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax return forms for each entity (Form 1120 for corporations; Form 1120S for S corporations; Form 1120, Form 1065, or Form 1040 for LLCs; Form 1065 for partnerships; Form 1040 for other sole proprietorships).

AND

The business entity and its owners have no more than a total of two other state recreational or medical cannabis licenses pending or obtained.

Total includes ALL recreational or medical cannabis licenses from all states.
This includes the total number of licenses of the business entity seeking the license and all individuals and entities with 10% or greater ownership interest, including any parent companies, associate companies, subsidiaries, or affiliates of business entity owners.
Does NOT include individuals’ medical cards issued for personal medical purposes.

2) Small Business with MWESB-Certified Ancillary Industry Vendors - BOTH of the following must be true for this Qualifying Factor:

Meets the Small Business qualifications above

AND

Contracts with an ancillary industry vendor(s) MWESB-certified by the State of Oregon and listed on the State’s Certified Vendor Directory ↗ as an Emerging Small Business, Minority Business Enterprise, Service-Disabled Veteran Business Enterprise, or Women Business Enterprise.

If the application is for a new license, the entity seeking the license must have paid the vendor(s) a total of at least $30,000 during the 24 months immediately preceding license issuance, for expenses directly related to the marijuana business seeking the license.
If the application is for a renewal license, the entity seeking the license must have paid the vendor(s) a total of at least $30,000 during the most recent licensing period, for expenses directly related to the marijuana business seeking the license.
The marijuana business, or any owners, including any parent companies, associate companies, subsidiaries, or affiliates, must not have any shared ownership with the ancillary industry vendor(s) or its parent companies, associate companies, subsidiaries, or affiliates.

3) Owners or Staff with Prior Cannabis Conviction(s)

25% or greater of ownership or 20% or greater of staff hours are represented by individuals with a federal or state conviction for a criminal offense committed before July 1, 2015, in which possession, delivery, or manufacture of marijuana or marijuana items is an element, whether misdemeanor or felony.