In a little over one week, the application window for Lower-Potency Hemp Edible (“LPHE”) Licenses from the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”) will close. The current application window – running from October 1, 2025 until October 31, 2025 – is the only opportunity for currently operating hemp businesses in Minnesota to apply for and obtain licenses from OCM that will authorize continued operations in compliance with Minnesota laws and regulations applicable to LPHE products. Indeed, guidance from OCM has made clear that“[a]ll registered businesses who wish to continue selling LPHEs must apply for and obtain a license under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 342.”

This month-long application window is the second phase of OCM’s systematic approach to regulating LPHE products and licensing entities within the LPHE supply chain – including manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers. The first phase of the OCM process was a registration window – open from June 2, 2025 to August 31, 2025 – during which hemp businesses were required to register with OCM in order to continue to manufacture, distribute or sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products with the option to convert to full licensure during the current license application window. Critically, OCM has confirmed that:

“At the close of the initial LPHE license application period [on October 31st], OCM will begin enforcement actions against unlicensed sellers of hemp-derived cannabinoid products who have not submitted an LPHE license application, are not in the application process for a cannabis business license or have not successfully obtained a cannabis business license. After the LPHE license application window closes, hemp businesses who do not have a pending LPHE application will no longer be permitted to sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products under Minnesota Statutes, section 151.72.”

All applications (which must be submitted through OCM’s Accela portal) will be reviewed on a rolling basis as they are received and LPHE licenses will be issued without a cap on the maximum number of licenses available. Applications are currently available for three license types, each of which permit the applicant to apply for specific endorsements. The three license types are:

• Lower-potency hemp edible manufacturer licenses: which permit the license holder to purchase hemp concentrate, hemp plant parts, and hemp propagules; manufacture lower-potency hemp edibles, hemp concentrate, and artificially derived cannabinoids; and sell lower-potency hemp edibles, hemp concentrate, and artificially derived cannabinoids to licensed businesses consistent with the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, chapter 342 and Minnesota Rules, chapter 9810. Endorsements for this license type include: transport, lower-potency hemp extraction and concentration, lower-potency hemp product exporter, and edible cannabinoid product handler.
• Lower-potency hemp edible retailer licenses: which permit the license holder to sell lower-potency hemp edibles to consumers who are 21 years of age or older and transport and deliver lower-potency hemp edibles consistent with the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, chapter 342 and Minnesota Rules, chapter 9810. Endorsements for this license type include: transport, on-site consumption, and delivery.
• Lower-potency hemp edible wholesaler licenses: which permit the license holder to purchase lower-potency hemp edibles from licensed businesses and sell them to other licensed businesses; import and export lower-potency hemp edibles; transport lower-potency hemp edibles; and export products containing cannabinoids that do not qualify as lower-potency hemp edibles consistent with the requirements of Minnesota Statutes, chapter 342 and Minnesota Rules, chapter 9810. Endorsements for this license type include: transporter, lower-potency hemp product exporter, and lower-potency hemp edible importer.

Although the applications differ across license types, they share many common elements including proof of trade name registration and a robust Site, Security, and Operations Final Plan of Record addressing topics such as procedures for product storage, managing inventory and handling customer complaints. Each application also requires applicants to identify and register each physical site at which regulated activities occur. For retail entities, this may include dozens of locations across the State where LPHEs, including hemp beverages, are currently being sold.

Notably, OCM has discretion to deny an LPHE application if it:

• Is incomplete or deemed unqualified by standards of the review.
• Contains a materially false statement about the applicant or omits information required under Minnesota Statutes, section 342.44, subdivision 1.
• Does not meet the qualifications under Minnesota Statutes, section 342.43 and 342.44.
• Does not meet the minimum requirements under Minnesota Statutes, section 342.44, subdivision 2.
• Is not accompanied by the applicable application fee to the OCM.
• Is not submitted to by the application deadline (10/31/25).
• Indicates that the applicant is prohibited from holding a license under Minnesota Statutes, section 342.43, subdivision 2 or for any other reason.

To be clear, OCM guidance and FAQs confirm that only businesses with physical business operations in Minnesota and registrations with the Minnesota Secretary of State are eligible to apply for and receive an LPHE license. Our Hemp and THC Products team is intimately familiar with the LPHE license application requirements and OCM hemp regulations and can mobilize rapidly to assist and advise entities that have not yet submitted their LPHE license applications. Please contact us for more information.