Last verified against Florida Statutes: August 2026
Florida dispensary security requirements are not guidance, and they are not best practice. They are written into Section 381.986 of the Florida Statutes as specific, checkable obligations, down to how many days of video you keep and how many people sit in a delivery vehicle.
If you are opening a new dispensing location, expanding a cultivation site, or taking over facility operations at an existing one, this is the list your inspector works from.
First, a correction most guides skip
You cannot simply open a dispensary in Florida the way you might open a restaurant.
Florida does not license standalone dispensaries. It licenses Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers (MMTCs), and an MMTC license is vertically integrated, the same licensee cultivates, processes, transports and dispenses. New MMTC licenses are released by the Department of Health in limited rounds tied to patient registry growth.
In practice, that means most people asking this question fall into one of three groups:
- An existing MMTC opening an additional dispensing location
- A facility, compliance or operations manager taking responsibility for security at a site already running
- An investor or applicant preparing for a licensing round
One more thing worth stating plainly: Florida remains medical-only. Amendment 3 fell short in November 2024, and the follow-up adult-use initiative failed to qualify for the 2026 ballot. Planning your security around an adult-use market that has not arrived is a costly mistake.
The 11 security requirements, straight from the statute
Section 381.986(8)(f) sets these out to prevent diversion, theft and loss. Every one of them is inspectable.
1. A full alarm system
Your alarm must secure all entry points and perimeter windows, and must be equipped with motion detectors, pressure switches, and duress, panic and hold-up alarms.
The duress and hold-up alarms are the ones operators most often under-specify. A standard commercial burglar alarm does not meet this bar.
2. Continuous video surveillance
Video must record continuously, 24 hours a day. The statute is specific about coverage:
- Cameras fixed so they allow clear identification of persons and activities in controlled areas, grow rooms, processing rooms, storage rooms, disposal rooms or areas, and point-of-sale rooms
- Cameras at entrances and exits, recording from both indoor and outdoor vantage points
- Recorded images must clearly and accurately display time and date
“Clear identification” is a higher standard than “coverage.” A camera that shows a figure moving through a grow room but cannot identify who it is does not satisfy this.
3. Forty-five days of retained footage
Recordings must be retained for at least 45 days, and longer if a law enforcement agency requests it.
This is the single most common compliance failure we see raised. Systems get installed with 30-day retention because that is the industry default, and nobody checks it against the statute until an inspector asks.
4. Outdoor lighting from dusk to dawn
The outdoor premises must have sufficient lighting from dusk until dawn. Not motion-activated, not partial, sufficient, and continuous through darkness.
5. Waiting area and private consultation area
Indoor premises where dispensing occurs must include a waiting area with enough space and seating for patients and caregivers, plus at least one private consultation area that is isolated from both the waiting area and the dispensing area.
Products may not be displayed and marijuana may not be dispensed in the waiting area. This shapes your floor plan, and by extension your camera placement and access control design.
6. No dispensing between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
An MMTC may not dispense from its premises between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
It may, however, perform all other operations and deliver to qualified patients 24 hours a day, which is exactly why overnight security coverage is not optional at most sites.
7. Secured, locked storage
Marijuana must be stored in a secured, locked room or a vault.
8. The two-person rule, and where contracted security fits
At least two people must be on the premises at all times where cultivation, processing or storing of marijuana occurs.
Here is the provision worth knowing: the statute permits this to be satisfied by two of your own employees or by two employees of a security agency with whom the MMTC contracts.
Florida law names contracted security agencies as a compliance route. For operators running multi-shift coverage at cultivation and storage facilities, that is a meaningful staffing option, provided the agency is properly licensed and the officers are documented.
9. Photo identification badges
Every employee and every contractor must wear a photo ID badge at all times while on the premises. That includes contracted security officers.
10. Visitor passes
Every visitor must wear a visitor pass at all times while on the premises. This requires an actual visitor management process, not a sign-in clipboard.
11. Alcohol and drug-free workplace policy
The MMTC must implement one. It must be adopted and enforced, not merely drafted.
And the reporting rule that sits alongside all eleven: any actual or attempted theft, diversion or loss of marijuana must be reported to local law enforcement and notified to the department by email within 24 hours of the MMTC becoming aware of it.
Twenty-four hours is not long. Your incident reporting chain, officer to supervisor to compliance lead to department, needs to be defined before you need it, not during.
Transport is a separate rulebook
Section 381.986(8)(g) governs moving product, and operators consistently underestimate it.
The manifest. Every vehicle transporting marijuana must carry a transportation manifest generated from the seed-to-sale tracking system, containing: departure date and approximate departure time; the name, address and license number of the originating MMTC; the recipient’s name and address; the quantity and form being transported; arrival date and estimated arrival time; the vehicle make, model and license plate; and the names and signatures of the employees making the delivery.
A copy goes to every recipient, who must sign acknowledging receipt. Manifests must be retained for at least three years.
Presenting it matters. Anyone transporting product must present the manifest and their employee ID card to a law enforcement officer on request. Failing or refusing to do so is a second-degree misdemeanor under § 381.986(12)(h), a criminal exposure for your driver, not just a compliance ding for the company.
The vehicle. Only vehicles in good working order may be used, and product must be locked in a separate compartment or container inside the vehicle.
Two people, always. At least two persons must be in any vehicle transporting marijuana, and at least one must remain in the vehicle while the delivery is being made. The vehicle is never left unattended with product inside.
Training. Employees who transport or deliver must receive specific safety and security training. Not general onboarding, specific to transport.
This is where a licensed cannabis transport security partner earns its cost. The two-person requirement, the never-unattended-vehicle rule, and documented transport-specific training are all things a security agency is already structured to deliver.
Three problems we see repeatedly
Problem 1: A camera system that covers, but does not identify
Installers quote coverage in square feet and camera count. The statute asks for clear identification of persons and activities in controlled areas.
Fix: before sign-off, walk each controlled area and pull footage. If you cannot name the person on screen from the recording, the placement or resolution fails, regardless of how many cameras are on the plan. Do this at your worst lighting conditions, not at midday.
Problem 2: Retention set to the industry default
Thirty days is the common commercial default. Florida requires 45, and more on law enforcement request.
Fix: verify actual retention on the recorder, not the spec sheet. Storage fills faster than projected once continuous 24-hour recording across every controlled area is running. Build headroom, and check it quarterly.
Problem 3: Treating the two-person rule as a headcount problem
Operators often meet the two-person requirement by rostering any two available staff. That satisfies the number but wastes trained production staff on a security function, and it leaves nobody accountable for the security-specific duties, access control, badge and visitor compliance, incident documentation, and the 24-hour reporting chain.
Fix: where the statute allows contracted security officers to fill the requirement, use them for the overnight and storage-area coverage and keep your production staff on production. Whichever route you choose, decide in advance who owns incident documentation, that is the record an inspector will ask for.
What inspectors actually evaluate
The department conducts announced and unannounced inspections, and must conduct at least a biennial inspection of every MMTC evaluating records, personnel, equipment, processes, security measures, sanitation and quality assurance.
Violations carry fines of up to $10,000 each, and the department may suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a license.
Two location rules also apply: a cultivating or processing facility may not sit within 500 feet of a public or private elementary, middle or secondary school, and a dispensing facility faces the same 500-foot restriction unless the county or municipality approves the location through a formal public proceeding.
One more that operators forget: state preemption of cannabis regulation does not stop local jurisdictions from enforcing the Florida Building Code or the Florida Fire Prevention Code. Your grow rooms, processing areas and storage vaults sit under local fire authority like any other commercial building, which means impairments, hot work during a build-out, and fire watch obligations apply to you exactly as they would to any other property. Our guide to fire watch requirements in Miami-Dade covers what that involves.
Do you need armed officers?
Florida’s statute does not require armed security at an MMTC. It requires alarms, cameras, storage, two-person coverage and documentation.
That said, cannabis facilities carry a risk profile, high-value, cash-intensive, and a known target for planned rather than opportunistic crime, that puts them in the narrow category where armed coverage is often genuinely justified, particularly for storage areas and transport. Our guide to armed vs unarmed security guards in Florida sets out how to make that call, and what to verify before you sign.
What the statute does require is that every employee, including contracted security officers, is 21 or older and has passed a level 2 background screening. When you contract an agency, confirm they are screening to that standard, not to their own internal one.
Working with Almond Tree Security
Almond Tree Security Services is a Homestead-based, Florida-licensed security agency, Security Agency License B 3500420, serving Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties.
We provide contracted officers for cannabis facility coverage and transport support, structured around what Section 381.986 actually requires: documented two-person coverage, badge and visitor compliance, incident documentation built for a 24-hour reporting window, and officers licensed under Florida Chapter 493 with Class G where the post calls for it.
We respond to every request within 2 hours and can deploy within 4, 24 hours a day.
Office: (786) 368-9905 Emergency: (305) 216-1818
See our cannabis security services or request a site assessment.
Frequently asked questions
What security does a Florida dispensary need?
Section 381.986(8)(f) requires a full alarm system with motion detectors, pressure switches and duress, panic and hold-up alarms; continuous 24-hour video covering controlled areas and entrances with clear identification of persons; dusk-to-dawn outdoor lighting; a secured locked room or vault for storage; two people on premises wherever cultivation, processing or storing occurs; photo ID badges; visitor passes; a private consultation area; and an alcohol and drug-free workplace policy.
How long must a Florida dispensary keep video footage?
At least 45 days, and longer if a law enforcement agency requests it. Recordings must clearly and accurately display the time and date.
Do Florida dispensaries need security guards?
The statute does not use the phrase “security guard,” but it does require at least two people on the premises at all times where cultivation, processing or storing occurs, and it expressly allows that requirement to be met by two employees of a security agency the MMTC contracts with. Many operators use contracted licensed officers for overnight and storage coverage.
What are the transport rules for medical marijuana in Florida?
Each vehicle must carry a manifest generated from the seed-to-sale system with seven specified data fields; the recipient must sign a copy; manifests are kept at least three years; product must be locked in a separate compartment; at least two people must be in the vehicle with one remaining inside during delivery; and transport staff must receive specific safety and security training.
Can a Florida dispensary be open 24 hours?
No. An MMTC may not dispense from its premises between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m. It may carry out other operations and deliver to qualified patients around the clock.
How far must a Florida dispensary be from a school?
A cultivating or processing facility may not be within 500 feet of a public or private elementary, middle or secondary school. A dispensing facility is subject to the same 500-foot rule unless the county or municipality approves the location through a formal proceeding open to the public.
What happens if product is stolen from a Florida dispensary?
Any actual or attempted theft, diversion or loss must be reported to local law enforcement and notified to the department by email within 24 hours of the MMTC becoming aware of it.
This is general information about Florida licensing requirements, not legal advice. Operators should verify current requirements with the Florida Department of Health.
