California’s Department of Cannabis Control has proposed new rules that would eliminate the state’s requirement that each cannabis plant be individually tagged, replacing it with a system allowing plants to be tagged in groups.
The proposed regulations, noticed June 12, are intended to simplify compliance for licensed cultivators by reducing labor-intensive tagging and recordkeeping requirements. The department says the change would lower compliance costs, reduce administrative burdens and decrease environmental waste caused by single-use plant tags.
Under current regulations, cannabis licensees are required to assign unique identifiers through plant and package tags entered into the state’s track-and-trace system. Existing rules have required plant tags to be attached to individual plants, including mature plants in canopy areas.
The proposed rules would allow cannabis plants, whether immature or mature, to be tagged individually or as part of an established group. To use a single plant tag for a group of plants, the group would need to meet several requirements, including being uniform in strain or cultivar when identified in the track-and-trace system, uniform in the application of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals, planted within three calendar days of the first plant, contiguous to one another, and clearly delineated or separated from other plants or plant groups.
The proposal would also require licensees to record the number of plants in each established group and the date planting was initiated. Each distinct canopy and immature plant area would need to be assigned a unique location name that corresponds with the licensee’s premises diagram.
According to the department, the change is not expected to reduce regulatory oversight. DCC says inspectors would still be able to confirm that the number of plants onsite matches the number recorded by licensees in the track-and-trace system.
The department estimates the proposal would save licensed cultivators an average of about $2,000 annually because of reduced labor costs, while creating minor annual costs of about $70 for tagging and demarcation materials. DCC also says the regulations would reduce plastic and mixed-material waste by decreasing the number of single-use tags and fasteners that must be discarded.
The rulemaking follows statutory changes approved in recent years. Senate Bill 622, enacted in 2023, removed the requirement that a tag be physically attached to the base of each plant, while Assembly Bill 8, enacted in 2025, removed the requirement that each plant have its own unique identifier.
DCC will accept written comments on the proposed regulations through Monday, July 27. Comments may be submitted by email to publiccomment@cannabis.ca.gov or by mail to the Department of Cannabis Control’s Legal Affairs Division at 2920 Kilgore Road, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670. The department is asking commenters to include “DCC-2026-03-R: Group Tagging” in the subject line or mailed letter.
A virtual public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 28, beginning at 10 a.m.
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