Industrial hemp licensing application guide

Application requirements and process to obtain an Industrial hemp licence under the Industrial Hemp Regulations.

Table of contents

• 1.0 Purpose
• 2.0 Background
• 3.0 Scope
• 4.0 Definitions, abbreviations, and icons
• 5.0 Application considerations and requirements
• 6.0 Creating and submitting a licence application
• 7.0 After submitting a licence application
• 8.0 Contact Information
• 9.0 Feedback — Help us improve
• Appendix:
  • Declaration of Land Ownership by Applicant
  • Declaration of Landowner’s Consent
  • Consent for Health Canada to Communicate with Representative

1.0 Purpose

This document (guide) provides information on the application process and requirements to obtain an industrial hemp licence from Health Canada under the Cannabis Act and the Industrial Hemp Regulations.

2.0 Background

The Cannabis Act and its Regulations provide a legal framework for the possession, production, distribution and sale of cannabis in Canada.

Under the Cannabis Act, the Industrial Hemp Regulations set out the regulatory framework for controlling and authorizing certain activities with industrial hemp, which is defined under the Industrial Hemp Regulations as a cannabis plant – or any part of the plant – in which the concentration of THC is 0.3% (weight by weight) or less in the flowering heads and leaves.

Under this framework, a person is required to obtain a licence issued by Health Canada in order to conduct various activities with industrial hemp. In addition, licence holders are responsible for compliance with the Cannabis Act and its Regulations, and with other applicable federal, provincial and territorial legislation and municipal by-laws.

Health Canada publishes other guidance documents and information on its website that may be used in conjunction with this document to help applicants prepare their applications. To maintain consistency and transparency, this guide, as well as other guidance documents and information, will be updated, as required, to reflect changes to policies and/or operations.

3.0 Scope

This document provides guidance to anyone wishing to apply for a licence (“the applicant”) under the Cannabis Act to conduct the following activities in relation to industrial hemp:

• cultivation (including plant breeding/propagation)
• sale
• importation
• exportation
• cleaning
• preparing (conditioning)
• processing (including rendering non-viable and producing derivatives/products)

The following activities are not addressed in this guide:

• application for a licence under the Cannabis Regulations
• post-licensing applications including licence changes and renewals, notifications, and applications for import or export permits
• any other items identified as regulatory requirements outside the scope of the Industrial Hemp Regulations

For more information on requirements associated with these activities, applicants may refer to the Cannabis Act and its Regulations, additional guidance published on the Health Canada website, or contact Health Canada via the information provided in section 8 of this guide.

4.0 Definitions, abbreviations, and icons

4.1 Definitions

The Cannabis Act and its Regulations should be referred to for definitions. The definitions in this section are provided for greater clarity and ease of reference.

Alternate Responsible Person

A holder of a licence may designate one individual as the alternate responsible person who is qualified to replace the responsible person

Approved Cultivars

Any variety of industrial hemp set out in the List of Approved Cultivars published by Health Canada.

Cannabis Tracking and Licensing System

The name of the national Cannabis Tracking System as referred to in the Cannabis Act that should be used to apply to Health Canada for a cannabis or industrial hemp licence. It is also used by Health Canada to track high-level movements of cannabis and to help prevent diversion from and inversion into the regulated supply chain^{Footnote 1}.

Cleaning

An activity that removes unwanted debris or materials from an industrial hemp seed or grain lot.

Grain

Achene of industrial hemp that is not represented, sold, or used to grow a plant.

Industrial Hemp

A cannabis plant – or any part of that plant – in which the concentration of THC is 0.3% (weight by weight) or less in the flowering heads and leaves.

Phytocannabinoid

A class of compounds, such as CBD and THC, which are found naturally in the cannabis plant.

Plant Breeder

An individual who is recognized by the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association as a plant breeder, under the Canadian Regulations and Procedures for Breeder Seed Crop Production, published by the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association, as amended from time to time.

Preparing / conditioning

An activity that removes unwanted debris or materials from an industrial hemp seed lot, along with other treatments, to improve the overall quality of the seed lot.

Propagation

Obtaining of industrial hemp by propagating it for the purpose of developing a new variety.

Responsible Person

Individual with the authority to bind the applicant and overall responsibility of managing the activities to be conducted under the licence. The responsible person is responsible for the activities conducted under the licence and must have sufficient knowledge of the provisions of the Act and these Regulations that apply to the holder of the licence.

Seed

Achene of industrial hemp that is represented, sold, or used to grow a plant.

4.2 Abbreviations

Following are the key abbreviations used in this guide:

CBD

Cannabidiol (a phytocannabinoid)

CTLS

Cannabis Tracking and Licensing System

THC

Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (a phytocannabinoid)

4.3 Icons

The following icons are used in this guide to highlight specific information of interest:

5.0 Application considerations and requirements

It is important to note that not every activity that involves industrial hemp falls within the scope of the Industrial Hemp Regulations. A good example is the extraction of CBD or another phytocannabinoid from the flowering heads, leaves, and branches of the plant; this activity falls under the Cannabis Regulations and requires a cannabis processing licence. Therefore, before applying for a licence, the applicant should first determine whether an industrial hemp licence is the appropriate licence for the proposed activities. Figure 1 describes the application process for an industrial hemp licence.

Figure 1 - Text Description

• Step 1: Determine whether an industrial hemp licence is the appropriate licence
• Step 2: Determine and prepare the required information and documents for the application
• Step 3: Complete the application with the required information and documents
• Step 4: Review the information and documents and submit the application

5.1 Determine the need for an industrial hemp licence

Table 1 can be used to help the applicant determine whether an industrial hemp licence is appropriate for the proposed activities. The table provides an overview of scenarios where an industrial hemp licence is or is not required.

Table 1: Industrial hemp licence requirement scenarios

I want to…	In the form of…	Licence required
Grow industrial hemp	Approved cultivars/varieties	Industrial hemp licence
	Unapproved cultivars/varieties with less than 0.3% THC (weight/weight) in the flowering heads and leaves (for plant breeding/propagation purposes)	Industrial hemp licence
Make derivatives/products from industrial hemp	Grain (viable grain) (e.g. for hulled hemp seed, hemp protein powder, hemp seed oil)	Industrial hemp licence
	Non-viable grain (grain that have been specifically rendered non-viable or sterile)	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
	Bare mature stalks or fibre from those stalks	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
	Roots or parts of the root	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
	Flowering heads, leaves, and branches (e.g. extraction to make CBD oil)	Cannabis processing or cultivation licence
Sell industrial hemp	Seed (pedigreed seed)	Industrial hemp licence
	Grain (viable grain)	Industrial hemp licence
	Products/derivatives made from grain (e.g. hulled hemp seed, hemp seed oil, hemp protein powder) that contain 10 μg/g THC or less.	No licence required if less than 10µg/g THC after testing and compliant with paragraph 2(1)(b) of the Industrial Hemp Regulations in the case of wholesale sale
		Sale to provincial retailers: Cannabis processing or cultivation licence
		Sale to consumers: Provincial or territorial sales licence (depends on province or territory)
		Sale to registered medical users: Cannabis medical sales licence
	Flowering heads, leaves, and branches (to holders of an industrial hemp licence or licence under the Cannabis Regulations only)	Industrial hemp licence
	Non-viable grain (grain that have been specifically rendered non-viable or sterile)	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
	Bare mature stalks or fibre from those stalks	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
	Roots or parts of the root	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
Import/export industrial hemp	Seed (pedigreed seed)	Industrial hemp licence (import/export permit also required for each shipment)
	Grain (viable grain)	Industrial hemp licence (import/export permit also required for each shipment)
	Non-viable grain (grain that have been specifically rendered non-viable)	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
	Bare mature stalks or fibre from those stalks	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
	Roots or parts of the root	No licence required under the Cannabis Act
	Flowering heads, leaves, and branches	Any licence under the Cannabis Regulations – only for medical and scientific purposes (import/export permit also required for each shipment)
	Products/derivatives made from grain (e.g. hulled hemp seed, hemp seed oil, hemp protein powder) that contain 10 μg/g THC or less.	No licence required if less than 10µg/g THC after testing and compliant with paragraph 2(1)(b) of the Industrial Hemp Regulations in the case of wholesale sale.
	Products/derivatives made from flowering heads, leaves, or branches (e.g. CBD/CBD oil)	Any licence under the Cannabis Regulations – only for medical and scientific purposes (import/export permit also required for each shipment)
Sterilize (render non-viable) grain to make non-viable grain	Grain (viable grain)	Industrial hemp licence
Clean industrial hemp seed or grain	Seed (pedigreed seed) or grain (viable grain)	Industrial hemp licence
Prepare (condition) industrial hemp seed	Seed (pedigreed seed)	Industrial hemp licence
Agronomical Research (soil, plots, crop rotation)	Grain (viable grain), fibre or flowering heads, leaves and branches	Industrial hemp licence
Research (analytical testing, feminized seeds)	Seed (pedigreed seed), grain (viable grain), fibre or flowering heads, leaves and branches	Research or Analytical Testing Licence under the Cannabis Regulations

5.2 General Required Information

If the proposed activities require an industrial hemp licence, it is recommended that the applicant prepares the information and documentation required by an industrial hemp licence application prior to starting the application. Health Canada has established that the CTLS be the manner in which industrial hemp licence applications are submitted.

Tables 2 and 3 below summarize the general information that is required to apply for an industrial hemp licence, depending on the status of the applicant.

• Table 2. Applying as an individual
• Table 3. Applying as a corporation/partnership/cooperative

Table 2: Applying as an individual

Requirement	Description	Where required in the CTLS
Applicant name	Applicant’s legal surname and given name(s)	Enter under the applicant’s personal information when registering for a CTLS account
Age and identity verification	Applicant’s date of birth, and a copy of a valid government-issued photo ID displaying the name and date of birth of the applicant	Enter under the applicant’s personal information when registering for a CTLS account A copy of the photo ID must be uploaded into the CTLS in the “Licence Ownership” page of the application
Applicant contact information	Applicant’s phone number and email address	Enter under the applicant’s personal information when registering for a CTLS account
Applicant mailing address	The mailing address at which the applicant will receive mail from Health Canada	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Mailing Address” page
Responsible Person	Primary contact and binds the licence holder	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Licence Holder” page Note: If the Responsible Person is not the Licence Holder, they will also need to upload a copy of their ID
Alternate Responsible Person (if applicable)	Secondary contact	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Licence Holder” page
Industrial hemp storage site	The address of the site where industrial hemp will be stored (cannot be a post office [PO] box)	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Site Details” page
Cultivation Activity (if applicable)	Select forms (purposes) of industrial hemp cultivating	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Site Details” page
Non-Cultivation Activities (if applicable)	The address of the site where non-cultivation activities will take place with industrial hemp (cannot be a post office [PO] box)	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Site Details” page
Cultivation site ownership details	Document outlining consent to cultivate on a specific land. If not cultivating upload a blank document	Enter under “Site Owner’s Consent” section on the site details page
Record keeping site	The address of the site where records of industrial hemp-related activities will be kept (cannot be a PO box)	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Record Keeping” page
Consent to communicate	Designate a representative to provide information or receive copies of information in relation to the licence holder’s application	Complete “Licence contact” section of the application, must have their own CTLS user account ID to be added.

Table 3: Applying as a corporation, partnership or cooperative

Requirement	Description	Where required in the CTLS
Corporation, partnership, or cooperative name	Legal name of the corporation, partnership, cooperative, and if applicable, any other federally or provincially registered name(s) under which the corporation, partnership or cooperative intends to operate	Enter when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS
Incorporation number	Incorporation number on the Certificate of Incorporation Not required for partnerships	Enter when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS Not required for partnerships
Proof of corporation/ partnership/cooperative	A copy of the Certificate of Incorporation or Partnership Agreement for validation	Upload under “Certificate of Incorporation” section, when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS
Administrative Authority (if applicable)	Administrative authority for the corporation, cooperative, or partnership	Enter when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS
Corporation, partnership, or cooperative contact information	Corporation, partnership, or cooperative’s phone number and email address	Enter when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS
Business address	Address where the corporation, partnership or cooperative is located (cannot be a PO box)	Enter under “Business Address” section, when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS
Business mailing address	The mailing address at which the corporation, partnership or cooperative will receive mail from Health Canada	Enter under “Business Address” section, when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS
List of officers and directors	List of all officers and directors in the corporation or cooperative, or list of all partners in the partnership, including their full legal names, dates of birth, and positions	Enter under “Personnel” section, when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS
Age and identity verification	A copy of a government-issued photo ID displaying the name and date of birth for each officer and director	Enter under “Licence Ownership” section, when creating a corporate profile in the CTLS Corporations will not be required to upload their organization charts
Applicant mailing address	The mailing address at which the applicant will receive mail from Health Canada (may be the same as the business mailing address)	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Mailing Address” page
Responsible Person	Primary contact and binds the licence holder	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Licence Holder” page Note: If the Responsible Person is not the Licence Holder, they will also need to upload a copy of their ID
Alternate Responsible Person (if applicable)	Secondary contact	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Licence Holder” page
Cultivation Activity (if applicable)	Select forms (purposes) of industrial hemp to be cultivated	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Site Details” page
Non-Cultivation Activities (if applicable)	The address of the site where non-cultivation activities will take place with industrial hemp (cannot be a post office [PO] box)	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Site Details” page
Industrial hemp storage site	The address of the site where industrial hemp will be stored (cannot be PO box)	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Site Details” page
Record keeping site	The address of the site where records of industrial hemp-related activities will be kept (cannot be PO box)	Enter in the CTLS industrial hemp licence application, in the “Record Keeping” page
Cultivation site ownership details	Document outlining consent to cultivate on a specific land. If not cultivating upload a blank document	Enter under “Site Owner’s Consent” section on the site details page
Consent to communicate	Designate a representative to provide information or receive copies of information in relation to the licence holder’s application	Complete “Licence contact” section of the application, must have their own CTLS user account ID to be added.

5.3 Activity-dependent information

Tables 4 to 6 summarize the information that is required to apply for an industrial hemp licence, depending on the proposed activities.

• Table 4. Cultivating industrial hemp
• Table 5. Cultivation site is known at time of application
• Table 6. Conducting activities other than cultivation

Table 4: Cultivating industrial hemp

Requirement

Description

Purpose of cultivation

Identify one or more of the following purposes: Plant breeding/propagation: if developing new varieties and/or producing breeder seeds as a plant breeder (also requires the name of the variety/cultivar) Seed: if producing seed (pedigreed seed) Grain: if producing grain (viable grain) Fibre: if producing mature stalks to be sold or used for fibre Flowering heads, leaves, branches: if cultivating for the flowering heads, leaves, and branches of the plant

Table 5: Cultivation site is known at time of application

Requirement

Description

Cultivation site ownership details

If the cultivation site is owned by the applicant/proposed licence holder, a signed Declaration of Land Ownership by Applicant must be submitted in the CTLS to indicate that the licence holder is the owner of the land If the cultivation site is not owned by the applicant/proposed licence holder, a signed Declaration of Landowner’s Consent from each owner must be submitted in the CTLS to indicate that the owner(s) consent to the use of the land by the licence holder for cultivation of industrial hemp

Table 6: If conducting activities other than cultivation

Requirement	Description
1. Activity site location	The address of the site at which the activities will be conducted (cannot be a PO box)
2. Types of activities	The types of activities that will be conducted at the identified site The types of activities applicable under the Industrial Hemp Regulations include: Selling/distributing: either directly, or indirectly under a contract Importing: if bringing industrial hemp into Canada from another country (additional information will be required when applying for an import permit for each shipment) Exporting: if sending industrial hemp out of Canada to another country (additional information will be required when applying for an export permit for each shipment) Cleaning: if cleaning the seed or grain to remove debris/unwanted material Preparing: if conditioning the seed to improve quality and purity Rendering non-viable: if processing grain to produce non-viable grain Production of derivative/product: if processing grain to produce derivatives and or products (e.g. hulled hemp seed, hemp seed oil) Please provide the description of the production of derivative. For each derivative we need 1) starting material (e.g. hemp grain), 2) method of production (e.g. cold pressing), and 3) end product/derivative (e.g. hemp seed oil).
3. Industrial hemp form or plant part	With respect to each type of activity, the part of the industrial hemp plant applicable: Seed (pedigreed seed) Grain (viable grain) Flowering heads, leaves, and branches Not all plant parts apply to each activity, refer to table 1 in section 5.1 for which plant parts that apply to each activity.

6.0 Creating and submitting a licence application

Health Canada developed the CTLS to enable applicants to submit online applications for cannabis and industrial hemp licences.Industrial hemp licence applications must be created, submitted, and, if necessary, withdrawn through the CTLS. If you require assistance with your online application, please contact the Industrial Hemp licensing unit at hc.hemp-chanvre.sc@canada.ca.

7.0 After submitting a licence application

After the application is submitted in the CTLS, it is processed through the following steps:

1. Screening: every section of the application and all attached documents are assessed for completeness, legibility and suitability.
2. Review: once the application has passed screening, a detailed review is undertaken to verify that the information is accurate and satisfies all of the Industrial Hemp Regulations and Cannabis Act regulatory requirements. During the review, Health Canada may contact the applicant to request clarification and/or additional information. Section 7.1 of this guide provides more information on the review process.
3. Issuance or refusal of licence: once all information in the application has been reviewed, a decision is made to either issue or refuse to issue a licence. If the decision is to issue a licence, a secure PDF copy of the licence is e-mailed to the applicant. Section 7.2 of this guide provides more information on refusals.

7.1 Receiving and responding to a request for more information

Under subsection 62(5) of the Cannabis Act, Health Canada may request the submission of any additional information pertaining to the application.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all application requirements are met. During the screening and review process, if any information contained in the application is unclear or requires further detail to clarify how it meets the requirements, Health Canada will send the applicant a “Request for More Information” email, giving the applicant a set period of time to respond for the application to be processed further.

If the applicant is unclear about what is required to respond to the request, Health Canada may be contacted by email or by phone as per section 8.0 of this guide.

7.2 Refusals and withdrawals

Health Canada may refuse to consider an application if the applicant fails to provide any of the required information.

In addition, Health Canada may refuse to issue a licence under a number of circumstances set out in the Cannabis Act and its Regulations. For example:

• When issuing a licence is likely to create a risk to public health or public safety including the risk of diversion to an illicit market or activity
• When there are reasonable grounds to believe that false or misleading information has been submitted
• When the applicant has contravened the Cannabis Act, the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, the Food and Drugs Act or any associated Regulations or Acts in the past 10 years or, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that an order or a condition of another licence issued under any of these Acts have been contravened in the past 10 years
• When the applicant is a young person (under 18 years of age), an individual who is not ordinarily a resident in Canada or an organization that was incorporated, formed or otherwise organized outside of Canada
• When the Minister is of the opinion that a refusal is in the public interest

In the above cases, Health Canada may send an “Intent to Refuse Notice”, either to refuse to consider an application or to refuse to issue a licence. This notice will generally provide the applicant with 30 days to respond, after which a “Notice of Refusal” may be issued if the applicant fails to respond or if the response is unsatisfactory.

The “Notice of Refusal” closes the file and sets out the reasons or deficiencies that resulted in the decision to refuse to consider the application, or issue a licence. A decision to refuse an application does not preclude the filing of a new application for a licence. If the applicant wishes to submit a new application in the future, it will be processed as a new application. Information or data submitted to support the original application will not be returned to the applicant.

At any time during the processing of an application, the applicant may withdraw the application in the CTLS. Withdrawal of an application does not preclude re-filing. If the applicant wishes to resubmit an application at a future time, it will be processed as a new application. Information or data submitted to support the original application will not be returned to the applicant.

7.3 Changes to an application

After an application has been submitted, changes cannot be made to the application through the CTLS. Please do not submit another application as you will be required to withdraw the duplication. If a change is required, the applicant must contact the Industrial Hemp Unit via email at hc.hemp-chanvre.sc@canada.ca. The subject line of the email must contain the application ID, the applicant name, and the subject of correspondence.

8.0 Contact Information

Applicants who have questions about their submitted industrial hemp licence applications may contact the Industrial Hemp Unit via email at hc.hemp-chanvre.sc@canada.ca. The subject line of the email must contain the application ID, the applicant name, and the subject of correspondence.

Requests for meetings or teleconferences are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

9.0 Feedback — Help us improve

Health Canada is committed to providing all stakeholders with timely, accurate and reliable information. This includes providing applicants and licence holders with the information they need to comply with the Cannabis Act and its Regulations.

We would appreciate receiving your feedback on whether this guide was useful and welcome your suggestions for improvement. Please send us your feedback via email to hc.hemp-chanvre.sc@canada.ca and indicate in the subject line: “Feedback on Industrial Hemp Licence Application Guide”.

Your comments will help us improve this guide and better serve all applicants and licence holders.

Appendix – Declaration and consent forms

• Declaration of Land Ownership by Applicant
• Declaration of Landowner’s Consent
• Consent for Health Canada to Communicate with Representative