California cannabis testing requirements

Required tests

• Potency
• Pesticides
• Residual solvents
• Heavy metals
• Microbials
• Mycotoxins
• Water activity
• Moisture
• Foreign matter

ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation

Required within a set period. Each licensed lab premises must hold ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation (4 CCR §15701; B&P §26100(i)). A new lab may start on a 12-month interim license. After one renewal, DCC can keep renewing it in 12-month steps while the lab's accreditation application is pending (§15703), so there is no hard deadline.

Notes

• Rules: Cal. Code Regs., tit. 4, div. 19, ch. 6 (§§15700-15738), in DCC's compilation in effect July 1, 2026. Statute: Bus. & Prof. Code §§26100-26104.
• Potency: cannabinoid profile (THC, THCA, CBD, CBDA, CBG, CBN), checked against the THC limits in §17304 (§15724). DCC's standardized cannabinoid method has been mandatory for dried flower and non-infused pre-rolls since January 1, 2024 (§15712.1).
• Microbes: Shiga toxin-producing E. coli and Salmonella not detected in 1 g for all products; Aspergillus fumigatus, flavus, niger and terreus not detected in 1 g for inhaled products (§15720). There is no total yeast and mold limit.
• Mycotoxins: total aflatoxins B1, B2, G1 and G2 at most 20 µg/kg; ochratoxin A at most 20 µg/kg (§15721).
• Heavy metals: cadmium, lead, arsenic and mercury. Inhaled limits 0.2/0.5/0.2/0.1 µg/g; other products 0.5/0.5/1.5/3.0 µg/g (§15723).
• Pesticides: 66 pesticides. Through September 30, 2026, 21 Category I pesticides must be non-detect and 45 Category II pesticides have action levels (§15719). From October 1, 2026 (rulemaking DCC-2025-03-R), all 66 get numeric action levels; from April 1, 2028 the list grows to 80.
• Residual solvents apply to cannabis products and pre-rolls, not dried flower (§15718). Water activity: at most 0.65 Aw for dried flower and pre-rolls, 0.85 Aw for solid edibles; flower moisture is reported with no limit (§15717).
• Foreign material: the whole sample is inspected before homogenizing. It fails if sand, soil, mold or embedded material covers more than a quarter of the sample area, or if there is more than 1 insect fragment, hair or mammalian excreta per 3.0 g (§15722).
• Terpenes are tested only on request (§§15714(b)(9), 15725), so they are not listed as required. There is no lab homogeneity test; multi-serving edibles must be homogenized during manufacture. No vitamin E acetate test is required.
• Workflow: a lab employee samples the batch at the distributor, which holds it until it passes. The certificate of analysis goes to track-and-trace and DCC within one business day (§§15304-15306, 15726).
• Pending: DCC-2026-01-R (multipack testing and labeling) and DCC-2026-02-R (safeguards against lab shopping). AB 8 (2025) brings hemp entering the licensed market under testing; DCC is still writing those rules.