What Are the AMS Hemp Producer Licensing Rules?

A person who wants to grow hemp must be licensed or authorized under a USDA-approved State or Tribal plan or under a USDA hemp producer license, and must meet the felony, background and violation rules in 7 CFR Part 990, which AMS administers (7 CFR 990.3 and 990.21).

Felony bar. A person with a State or Federal felony conviction relating to a controlled substance may not take part in a plan or produce hemp for 10 years from the date of conviction. An exception applies to a person lawfully growing hemp under the 2014 Farm Bill pilot program before December 20, 2018, whose conviction also occurred before that date (7 CFR 990.6(e)).

Criminal history reports. Applicants for a USDA hemp producer license must submit a criminal history report for each key participant, dated within 60 days of the application (7 CFR 990.21).

Negligent violations. Negligent violations include failing to provide a legal description of the land where hemp is produced, producing without a license or required authorization, and producing cannabis above the acceptable hemp THC level (7 CFR 990.6(b)). A producer does not commit a negligent violation for an over-limit crop if it made reasonable efforts to grow hemp and the plants did not exceed 1.0 percent total delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis. A producer may receive no more than one negligent violation per growing season.

Three strikes. A producer that negligently violates a plan three times in a five-year period is ineligible to produce hemp for five years from the date of the third violation (7 CFR 990.6(c)(4)). A negligent violation does not lead to criminal enforcement.

Background checks at work. The felony bar is a licensing rule, not a general hiring rule. Hemp employers that run drug-free workplace policies follow separate rules, covered in the FAQ on employer rights and restrictions in drug testing and the FAQ on what recreational marijuana is.

Data collection. USDA also collects production data from hemp growers, as described in the news post on USDA NASS hemp production data collection.