How to Start a Medical Cannabis Dispensary in Mississippi: DOR License, Local Opt-Out and Siting

A Mississippi cannabis dispensary license is not a standard business license you pick up at the county courthouse. The Department of Revenue (DOR) licenses medical cannabis dispensaries through its Alcoholic Beverage Control division under Miss. Code 41-137, and the state application is only one of several gates. You also need a location that passes the state spacing rules, a city or county that has not opted out, and a local license where the city requires one. This guide walks through that process in order. It covers the retail dispensary license only. The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) handles the other license types, and those are outside this article.

Informational content only. This article is not legal or tax advice. Cannabis remains subject to federal law, and a state license does not change that. Before you sign a lease, pay a fee or form an entity, talk with a Mississippi attorney who handles cannabis licensing and a CPA who understands your ownership structure.

What You Need Before You Start

Gather these items before you contact DOR. Most delays come from missing paperwork, not from the state's review.

• A Mississippi LLC or other registered entity, with a Certificate of Formation (Form F0100) filed with the Secretary of State.
• A registered agent with a physical Mississippi address.
• A sales tax permit ID, obtained through the DOR's online Taxpayer Access Point (TAP) before you file with the agency.
• A physical Mississippi address for the dispensary, supported by a signed lease or a deed.
• A complete owner list.
• A written operations plan and a written security plan.
• Cash for the $15,000 non-refundable application fee and the $25,000 annual license fee.
• A budget line for any local privilege license, build out, and the first year of operations.

How Mississippi Business Registration Works

Mississippi has no state general business license. Registering an LLC with the Secretary of State is a registration, not a license. A sales tax permit from the DOR is a tax registration. The license that matters for the dispensary itself is the DOR medical cannabis license, and the local layer is set by your city or county.

Local licensing works differently. Every city, town and village issues its own privilege license under Miss. Code 27-17. Counties license only businesses located outside municipalities. If your dispensary sits inside city limits, you deal with the city clerk, not the county.

Step-by-Step: Starting a Mississippi Dispensary

Step 1: Form the entity and check the name

Most operators use a limited liability company. The LLC name must include the words limited liability company, L.L.C. or LLC (Miss. Code 79-29-109). It may include the name of a member or manager, and it must be distinguishable on Secretary of State records from every registered entity and reserved name in the state. Search the name on the Secretary of State business search before you file. If you need time, you can reserve the name for $25, and the reservation lasts 180 days.

Filing the Certificate of Formation (Form F0100) costs $50 through the Secretary of State online filing portal. Most documents paid for online are approved and filed immediately, and filings that need staff review are normally returned within 24 hours. Your registered agent must have a physical Mississippi address and meet Miss. Code 79-29-113. A commercial registered agent files a listing statement with the Secretary of State for $100.

Tax classification matters here. An LLC taxed as a partnership pays no franchise tax, and its income passes through to the members' Mississippi returns. An LLC taxed as a corporation pays Mississippi corporate income tax plus the franchise tax. For tax year 2026 the franchise tax is $0.50 per $1,000 of capital above $100,000, with a $25 minimum, and it is repealed effective January 1, 2028. Ask your CPA which classification fits before you file.

The LLC annual report (Form F0108) has no fee, but it is required. File it online by April 15 each year, starting on or after January 1. Failure to file can lead to administrative dissolution, and a dissolved entity cannot hold a license in good standing.

If the dispensary will operate under a name other than the LLC name, file a fictitious (assumed) business name registration (Form F0070) with the Secretary of State for $25. Do not file it with the county.

Step 2: Get your sales tax permit ID in TAP

Register for a sales and use tax permit through the DOR's online system. The permit itself carries no fee, although the DOR may require a bond from an applicant with no permanent Mississippi location. You need the permit ID before you file the cannabis application, so start this step early. The registration instructions are on the DOR sales and use tax registration page.

Step 3: Choose a site that passes the spacing rules

The siting rules are the most common reason a good plan fails. Check each one against the exact site you are considering.

Rule	What it requires
Zoning	The site must be in a commercially zoned area. Confirm this with the city or county zoning office, and get the answer in writing.
School, church and childcare buffer	The main entrance must be at least 1,000 feet from any school, church or childcare facility, unless a waiver form is filed.
Dispensary spacing	The main entrance must be at least 1,500 feet from another dispensary.

Measure from the main entrance of the proposed site, and ask DOR how distance is measured before you rely on an online map tool. Do this before you sign a lease. A site that fails by 50 feet is a site you cannot use, and a lease on a dead site is still a monthly bill.

Step 4: Confirm the city or county has not opted out

Cities and counties can opt out of medical cannabis businesses. The DOR opt-out map dated April 1, 2024 lists 80 cities and 17 counties in that position, including Brandon, Clinton, Madison and Southaven. A site in an opted-out jurisdiction is not a viable site, no matter how strong the application is. Because the map is dated, confirm the current status of the exact jurisdiction with DOR and the city or county clerk before you buy or lease. Get the answer in writing if you can.

Step 5: Check the local license and zoning

Even where the city allows dispensaries, it may add its own license on top of the state license. Oxford, for example, set a $1,500 one-time fee and a $1,000 annual fee in 2022. Those were the figures at that time, so ask the city clerk for the current schedule. Expect the city's general privilege license under Miss. Code 27-17 as well.

Ask the zoning office about setbacks, parking, signage and any other local standards. Local rules can be stricter than the state's, and the city enforces them. A verbal answer from a clerk is not a record, so follow up with an email or a letter that you can keep in your file.

Step 6: Build the DOR application file

The DOR file must include a physical address, a lease or deed for that address, an owner list, an operations plan and a security plan. Build it as one binder or one PDF with a table of contents, so a reviewer can find each item quickly.

Your operations plan should describe how product arrives and leaves the building, how inventory is tracked, how sales are recorded, and how staff are trained. Your security plan should describe the building, access controls, camera coverage, alarm monitoring, cash handling, and who has access to what. An experienced cannabis compliance consultant can help, but the plan must describe your business as it will actually run. Generic template language will not hold up to a detailed reading, and your own staff will need to follow it.

Step 7: Pay the application fee and file

Submit the application with the $15,000 non-refundable application fee. DOR says it issues a decision within 30 days of a complete application. An incomplete file does not start that clock, so a missing lease page can cost you weeks. Keep a copy of everything you submit, along with the date and method of submission.

Step 8: Budget for the annual license and renewal

The first-year cost is $40,000: the $15,000 application fee plus the $25,000 annual license. Renewal is $25,000 each year. Your budget should cover those amounts, plus build out, inventory, insurance, staffing, local fees, and enough working capital to carry the business through its first months.

Step 9: Set up sales tax and staffing

The 7% state sales tax is collected at the register. Mississippi has no county add-on, and city levies apply only in Jackson and Tupelo. Configure your point of sale to collect tax from the first day of operation, and file on the schedule your DOR permit assigns.

Mississippi has no state minimum wage law, so the federal minimum wage governs your hourly staff. Confirm wage and hour questions with your CPA or an employment attorney before you hire.

Costs at a Glance

Item	Amount	Agency
LLC Certificate of Formation (F0100)	$50	Secretary of State
Name reservation (lasts 180 days)	$25	Secretary of State
Fictitious business name (F0070)	$25	Secretary of State
Commercial registered agent listing	$100	Secretary of State
LLC annual report (F0108)	$0, due April 15	Secretary of State
Sales tax permit	No fee	Department of Revenue
DOR application (non-refundable)	$15,000	Department of Revenue
DOR annual license	$25,000	Department of Revenue
First-year total (application plus license)	$40,000	Department of Revenue
Annual renewal	$25,000 each year	Department of Revenue
Local privilege or dispensary license	Varies by city (Oxford: $1,500 one-time and $1,000 annual, set in 2022)	City or county clerk

The city and county amounts change, so treat them as a starting point and confirm the current schedule before you budget.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Signing a lease before you check the opt-out status, zoning, and the 1,000 foot and 1,500 foot rules. Any one of them can end the site.
• Relying on the April 1, 2024 opt-out map without confirming current status.
• Assuming a county license covers a site inside city limits. Counties license only businesses outside municipalities.
• Budgeting for the $15,000 application fee alone. The first year costs $40,000.
• Forgetting the sales tax permit ID, which the DOR file needs.
• Filing the LLC under a name that conflicts with an existing record, or operating under a trade name without the $25 fictitious name filing.
• Missing the April 15 annual report. The fee is zero, but a missed filing can lead to administrative dissolution.
• Treating the franchise tax as a cost for every LLC. It applies to corporations and to LLCs taxed as corporations, not to an LLC taxed as a partnership.
• Submitting generic operations or security plans. Reviewers read for specifics, and your staff must be able to follow the plans on day one.

Tips for a Cleaner Application

• Get answers from the city clerk and zoning office in writing. A phone call leaves no record.
• If a site sits close to a buffer line, pay a licensed surveyor to measure it rather than trusting a map tool.
• Keep one master file with the entity documents, permit ID, lease, owner list, plans and receipts. You will pull from it for DOR, the city and your bank.
• Have a Mississippi attorney review the lease. It should make the lease contingent on the DOR license and the local approvals, so you are not stuck paying rent if either falls through.

Expected Results

A DOR license is permission to operate under state and local rules. It is not a guarantee of revenue, of an opening date, or of protection from enforcement. Outcomes depend on the site, the local market, your operations, and the rules in force when you open. Plan for a timeline that may run longer than the DOR's 30-day decision window, because the local steps run on their own schedules.

On the product side, the FDA has not approved smoked or whole-plant cannabis as a medicine. Keep your signage, website and staff scripts free of claims that your products treat, cure or prevent any disease, and describe products in plain factual terms. Health questions belong with licensed clinicians. Have a compliance attorney review all advertising, since state and federal rules can both apply.

Next Steps

1. Call the city or county clerk and the zoning office about your target site, and get the opt-out status and the local license schedule in writing.
2. Form the LLC, reserve the name if you need time, and appoint a registered agent with a Mississippi address.
3. Get your sales tax permit ID through TAP.
4. Measure the site against the 1,000 foot and 1,500 foot rules, and confirm the zoning.
5. Contact the DOR Alcoholic Beverage Control division with your site and file questions before you sign a lease.

Official Resources

• Mississippi Department of Revenue
• DOR sales and use tax registration
• Mississippi Secretary of State, Business Services Division
• Secretary of State business search
• Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network

Disclaimer: This article is informational content, not legal or tax advice. Fees, rules, and opt-out status change, so confirm every figure with the named agency before you act. Consult a qualified Mississippi attorney and CPA for your situation.