Portland cannabis license bonds.
Quote on review.
The City of Portland will not issue a final marijuana business license until a performance guarantee is in place under City Code § 35-16. It is sized to the cost of winding your business down, so there is no fixed figure. A surety specialist underwrites it, and a quote comes back, usually within one business day.
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How much does a Portland cannabis license bond cost?
It is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
Timed to your final license.
The guarantee is due before final issuance, not with the application, so the best time to start is once the City’s review is under way. Here is the whole process:
Send us the file
Apply online with your business details, license type and the bond amount — the wind-down cost figure you have agreed with Portland’s Marijuana Division. The form includes the soft-pull credit consent.
A surety specialist underwrites it
A specialist reviews the amount, the license type, what the operation holds in product, chemicals and equipment, and the business’s finances, then returns a quote. The City’s rule fixes the sizing — underwriting decides approval and any collateral.
Execute & supply to the City
Once you bind, we issue the executed bond with the power of attorney attached, ready to supply to the City of Portland so the final license can issue.
What it is and who needs it.
A decommissioning guarantee, not a tax bond
Portland licenses marijuana businesses under Chapter 35 of the City Code, and § 35-12(b) bars anyone from operating a marijuana business in the City without a City license. Section 35-16 adds a condition most operators meet late in the process: a performance guarantee that must be supplied before the final license issues. It was adopted by Ord. No. 166-19/20 on May 18, 2020 and is unchanged in the Chapter 35 compilation the City posts as revised May 19, 2025.
The guarantee exists so the City is never left holding a shuttered grow or lab. It is sized to the cost of winding the business down: properly disposing of all marijuana, marijuana plants and marijuana product; disposing of chemicals and solvents; disposing of specialized equipment; and resolving any outstanding compliance issues. A Tier 3 cultivation canopy or a high-hazard extraction lab will carry a larger figure than a small manual manufacturer, which is why the code sets no single number.
A surety bond is one of four ways to satisfy it. The City also accepts a letter of credit, an escrow account, or evidence acceptable to the City of the applicant’s financial and technical ability to wind down in full compliance. A bond keeps that cash in the business. Under § 35-16(d), the City Manager or a designee may release the obligation after three years of successful and responsible operation, at the City’s sole discretion.
It is a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety, and the City of Portland (the obligee). If the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft credit pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score. No hard inquiry ever runs on this bond.
You need this bond if you’re
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
Term and renewal are set in the underwriter's quote.
Keep the bond in force for as long as the obligation behind it runs.
How to file it
Send us the file. Apply online with your business details, license type and the bond amount — the wind-down cost figure you have agreed with Portland’s Marijuana Division. The form includes the soft-pull credit consent.
What sets the price
This bond is underwritten: the premium is quoted from the bond amount and your financial picture, so there is no flat price to show.
One application, one underwriting review.
These are the actual issuing fields — your business details, the bond amount the City accepts, the effective date, and a soft-pull credit consent. Submit once and a surety specialist returns a quote, typically within one business day. Free until your bond is issued.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Maine bonds.
Requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Clear the last item before your final license.
Send us the wind-down figure the City accepts, and a surety specialist sizes, underwrites, and quotes the bond — typically within one business day. Free until issued.