Yes, you need a license to sell CBD products in California. You must obtain IHEO (Industrial Hemp Enrollment and Oversight) authorization from the CDPH (California Department of Public Health). However, California does not license you to buy CBD products in stores and online.
Do You Need a License to Sell CBD in California?
California Regulations on CBD For Sale
Is Licensing Required for Selling CBD in California?
You may say, “It is mandatory in California to acquire a state license to sell CBD in California?” The answer is yes, and there are many CBD licenses and CBD authorizations you have to obtain depending on the type of CBD products you are selling and if you are a CBD product manufacturer or a CBD oil distributor selling CBD. Similar to Texas where you have to register with the Department of State Health Services when selling CBD in Texas.
Someone may have told you CBD retailers do not need any special licensing to sell CBD products according to the 2018 Farm Bill passed federally. Yes, this is true, but the State of California requires a license to sell CBD, regardless if it contains 0.3% THC or more than 0.3% THC.
Which License is Required for Selling Industrial Hemp Products in California?
What is the Processed Food Registration, and Who Is It For?
The CBD food registration is a basic CBD food license issued to those who offer hemp derived CBD for sale, permitting them to manufacture, package, label, or warehouse hemp derived CBD food in California. Contrary to the FDA’s guidelines which do not allow hemp derived CBD in food. California has gone against the grain and created this registration which allows hemp derived CBD in food.
However, the FDA still does regulate hemp derived CBD in food outside of California, so you can only offer hemp derived CBD for sale in food within California. The PFR (Processed Food Registration) is visually displayed to your hemp customers and hemp regulatory agencies, demonstrating that you are licensed and inspected to sell food containing CBD.
- Fill out an application online.
- Email FDBinfo@CDPH.CA.GOV for an application
- Ask to speak to the Processed Food Registration desk when you call the Food and Drug Branch at (916) 650-6500.
The registration fee varies on the type of hemp derived business based on three factors –
- the size of your hemp derived CBD products facility
- The number of CBD employees that work for your hemp derived CBD business.
- The CBD activities your hemp derived CBD products business is involved in include manufacturing or warehousing. All proceeds are received by the Food and Drug Branch and deposited into a special account that funds the Food Safety Inspection Program.
For more information about Processed Food Registration, visit the Food and Drug Branch’s Processed Food Registration Program Frequently Asked Questions page.
What is the Cannery License, and Who Is It For?
What is the Pet Food Registration, and Who Is It For?
Even more, if your CBD pet food product has an “organic” label or contains any ingredients that are identified as “organic” on the CBD label, then you must also obtain an up-to-date Organic Processed Product Registration (OPPR) for your business.
California Department of Public Health Food and Drug Branch Attn: Cashier P.O. Box 997435, MS 7602 Sacramento, CA 95899-7435
What is the Cosmetic Manufacturing Registration, and Who Is It For?
This may help ensure that CBD cosmetic products are not seized within other countries by customs. However, suppose you are processing or selling CBD cosmetic products sold as “organic” certified CBD to consumers on the label. In that case, you are required to obtain a CBD Organic Processed Product Registration (OPPR) from CDPH. Any use of the term “organic,” “organically grown,” or similar terms on any aspect of the product packaging, advertising, or labeling is considered to use the term “sold as organic.”
What Other Licenses are Needed for Selling CBD Products Like Inhalable Industrial Hemp?
Frequently Asked Questions About California CBD Laws
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and CBD nationwide, and the AB 45 Industrial Hemp Products Bill in California legalized CBD to be sold as a CBD dietary supplement, CBD food, CBD beverage, and CBD cosmetic. However, you are required to register, apply for, obtain, and maintain multiple different CBD licenses and CBD registrations as regulated by the California Department of Public Health.
So if you are wondering, “do you need a license to sell CBD?” The answer is yes in the State of California following the passing of AB 45 and establishing the regulatory framework under the CDPH. However, California does not require a license to buy CBD. Now that you are licensed to sell CBD in California you may want to look into the CBD advertising regulations because they are strict. Some of the biggest platforms ban or restrict advertising of CBD like Google but we have the secret to advertising on Google without restrictions.
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