Do You Need a License to Grow Hemp? Eligibility, Fees, and THC Limits

Yes. If you want to grow hemp anywhere in the United States, you need a license to grow hemp before a single seed goes in the ground. You’ll apply through one of two doors: your state’s USDA-approved hemp program, or, if your state doesn’t run one, the USDA’s federal hemp producer program directly. As of early 2026, 38 states run their own approved programs and growers in the remaining 12 states go straight to the USDA.¹

Where You Apply Depends on Your State

The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and set up a two-track licensing system.² Under the first track, a state or tribal government writes its own plan for licensing growers, testing crops, inspecting sites, and disposing of non-compliant plants, then submits it to the USDA for approval.³ Under the second track, growers in states without an approved plan apply for a USDA hemp producer license and follow federal regulations directly.⁴

The practical effect: the exact forms, fees, and deadlines depend on where you’re growing. Core federal requirements are the same everywhere, but states routinely add their own layers on top. Start by checking whether your state is on the USDA’s approved-plan list. If it is, apply through the state agency. If it isn’t, apply through the USDA.

Who Can Get a License

Every applicant must submit a criminal history report dated within 60 days of the application. If you’re applying as a business, every key participant — owners, officers, and anyone with decision-making authority — needs one too.⁵

A felony drug conviction within the past ten years is disqualifying. The ten-year clock runs from the date of the conviction, and the bar applies to any key participant in the operation, not just the named licensee. This is where most rejections happen, so screen your ownership group before you spend money on the application.

What the Application Asks For

Expect two categories of information: who you are, and where you plan to grow.

For identification, individual applicants provide their full name, residential address, phone number, and email. Businesses provide the business name, principal location, employer identification number, and the names and titles of all key participants.⁵

For the land, federal law requires every approved program to maintain a legal description of each site where hemp will be produced.³ Many state programs go further and ask for GPS coordinates for each field, greenhouse, or growing area, along with total acreage or square footage under cultivation. Read your state’s application form for the exact format it expects.

Fees and How Long a License Lasts

Application fees vary widely. States set their own fee schedules, running from a couple hundred dollars for a small operation to several thousand for a larger commercial producer. Fees are typically non-refundable whether or not your application is approved.

Under the USDA federal program, a hemp producer license is valid until December 31 of the third year after the year it was issued. A license granted in 2026 would expire on December 31, 2029.⁵ State programs may set different terms, so don’t assume three years applies to you.

Licenses don’t renew automatically. You submit a renewal application before expiration, and it goes through the same review as an initial application, including a fresh criminal history report. If anything changes mid-term (a new growing location, a change in ownership, an added key participant), you file a license modification rather than waiting for renewal.⁵

The 0.3% THC Rule Your License Depends On

Federal law defines hemp as any part of the Cannabis sativa L. plant with a total tetrahydrocannabinol concentration (including THCA) of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.⁶ Anything above that line is legally marijuana and remains a Schedule I controlled substance.

Note the word “total.” Labs don’t just measure delta-9 THC already present in the plant. They use post-decarboxylation methods to account for THCA that converts into THC when heated, and the reported result is the combined total.⁷ Growers who track only delta-9 during the season and ignore THCA get caught out at harvest.

Every crop must be sampled and tested before harvest. A sampling agent collects material from your crop no more than 30 days before your anticipated harvest date.⁸ You can’t harvest until you have a compliant test result.

What Happens If a Crop Tests Hot

A crop that tests above 0.3 percent total THC is called “hot hemp.” It can’t be sold or otherwise enter the market. You have two paths: remediation or disposal.⁹

Remediation means bringing the crop back into compliance, either by stripping and destroying the non-compliant flowers, buds, and trichomes and keeping the rest of the plant, or by shredding the entire plant into a uniform biomass and retesting it. If the remediated material tests at or below 0.3 percent, it can be sold. If it still tests hot, it must be destroyed.

Disposal means destroying the crop on-site by plowing, disking, mulching, composting, burning, or deep burial. All costs for resampling, remediation, and disposal fall on the grower, and you must notify your regulator and document what you did.

Ongoing Duties After You’re Licensed

The license is the start of your compliance obligations, not the end. You must report your hemp crop acreage to the USDA’s Farm Service Agency within 30 days of planting. Federal law requires programs to keep land records for at least three calendar years.³ Most programs also require harvest reports covering quantities and disposition. Keep thorough records of seed sources, cultivation practices, test results, and sales.

Inspections come with the territory. Federal law requires every approved program to conduct annual inspections of at least a random sample of licensed producers, and inspections may be scheduled or unannounced. Inspectors review records, examine growing sites, and may collect samples. Failing to cooperate or maintain required records can lead to corrective action plans, suspension, or revocation.

Processing Is a Separate License

A cultivation license authorizes you to grow hemp, not to process it. Many states require a separate license for handling, processing, or manufacturing hemp into products like fiber, grain, or extracts. The federal USDA program focuses on production, so processing is largely a state-level question. If you’re planning post-harvest equipment purchases or a processing contract, confirm whether your state requires additional authorization on top of your grower license.

Transporting Compliant Hemp

Federal law prohibits any state or tribe from blocking the transport of compliant hemp through its territory.¹⁰ Even so, roadside stops happen. Keep three documents with the driver at all times: a certificate of analysis from an approved lab showing the THC test results for every batch, a copy of your grower’s or handler’s license, and a bill of lading describing the cargo. Some states recommend or require a transit permit or a stop at a port of entry.

A Rule Change Takes Effect November 12, 2026

A continuing resolution signed into law changes the federal definition of hemp products effective November 12, 2026. Hemp-derived products intended for human or animal ingestion, inhalation, or topical use will be measured by total THC content, including THCA and other cannabinoids with similar effects, rather than delta-9 THC alone.⁶ Final consumer products will be capped at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, and synthetic cannabinoids will be excluded from the hemp definition entirely.

The 0.3 percent threshold for the raw plant hasn’t changed. But if your buyers make CBD products or other consumer goods, the downstream restrictions will reshape what they can legally sell. Growers who have relied on high-THCA flower varieties should ask their buyers now how they plan to comply with the new product-level limits.

1
Agricultural Marketing Service. List of USDA-Approved Hemp Plans
2
Food and Drug Administration. Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 1639p – State and Tribal Plans
4
Agricultural Marketing Service. Hemp Production
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eCFR. 7 CFR 990.21 – USDA Hemp Producer License
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 7 USC 1639o – Definitions
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Agricultural Marketing Service. Laboratory Testing Guidelines U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program
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Agricultural Marketing Service. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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U.S. Department of Agriculture. Remediation and Disposal Guidelines for Hemp Growing Facilities
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Congressional Research Service. The 2018 Farm Bill’s Hemp Definition and Legal Challenges