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These rules are specific to NJ ONLY.
What are the local municipal requirements for commercial cannabis activity?
The CREAMM Act authorizes municipalities to enact ordinances or regulations governing the number of cannabis establishments within their borders. Each city, town, township, village, or borough is responsible for establishing its own rules for getting local approval to operate a cannabis business in the jurisdiction. Contact your municipal government for more information about what kinds of cannabis businesses are allowed and what information is required to operate such a business.
What are the types of recreational (also known as adult-use or personal-use) cannabis licenses that I can apply for?
The CREAMM Act established five (5) classes of licenses for recreational licensed businesses, described below. Applicants can apply for a temporary license, which allows a business to lawfully act as a cannabis cultivator, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or delivery service while the business works towards meeting the requirements for a full license. The CRC also developed license requirements for testing laboratories that provide testing services on cannabis or cannabis products.
| Recreational Cannabis Business Licenses | Authorized Activity |
| Class 1 Cannabis Cultivator | Grow personal-use cannabis |
| Class 2 Cannabis Manufacturer | Manufacture personal-use cannabis products |
| Class 4 Cannabis Distributor | Transport cannabis items in bulk between cannabis cultivators, manufacturers, or retailers within the state of New Jersey |
| Class 5 Cannabis Retailer | Purchase personal-use cannabis and cannabis products from licensed cultivators or manufacturers and sell those items to consumers in a retail store |
| Class 6 Cannabis Delivery | Transport a consumer’s purchases of personal-use cannabis and related supplies from the retailer to that consumer |
| Conditional cannabis business license | A provisional award that gives the conditional license-holder a limited time to convert it into an annual cannabis business license by satisfying all of the remaining requirements for full licensure. |
| Testing Laboratory license | Perform testing services on medical cannabis and usable cannabis and cannabis products |
Can I operate legally with just approval from my local municipality/county instead of obtaining a state license?
No. A legal cannabis business operator must receive a license from the CRC to conduct cannabis business in New Jersey.
What is the application process for recreational cannabis licenses?
The NJCRC will be accepting applications on December 15, 2021 for marijuana growers, processors and testing labs. Dispensary applications will be accepted starting March 15, 2022. There are no deadlines to file applications. Only cultivation licenses have a cap: 37 new licenses can be issued between Feb. 2021 and Feb. 2023.
The NJCRC released initial rules on August 19, 2021, which include basic parameters for the application process for recreational cannabis business licenses. Click here to view the recently published rules. Applications are not available at this time but will be publicized once the CRC determines when to begin soliciting applications.
What is a conditional license?
A conditional license is a provisional award that gives the conditional license-holder a limited time to convert into an annual cannabis business license by satisfying all of the remaining requirements for full licensure.
What is a “microbusiness” and what are the requirements?
A microbusiness is a licensed business with a relatively small operation. Microbusinesses can be a cannabis cultivator, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or delivery service. The business must meet all of the following requirements:
- have no more than 10 employees at one time;
- have a physical plant of no more than 2,500 square feet; and in the case of a cannabis cultivator, the canopy height cannot be more than 24 feet;
- possess no more than 1,000 mature cannabis plants each month (cannabis distributors are exempt); and
- acquire no more than 1,000 pounds of usable cannabis (or the equivalent amount in other forms) each month.
Do recreational cannabis business license applicants have limitations on the number of licenses that they can apply for?
Yes. The following recreational cannabis business restrictions are in place until February 2023:
- Only 37 Class 1 Cannabis Cultivators will be allowed, including existing alternative treatment centers (microbusinesses do not count towards this number).
- There will be a temporary ban on vertical integration (a single business being able to grow, produce, and sell cannabis), except for expanded alternative treatment centers, which may concurrently hold a cannabis cultivator license, cannabis manufacturer license, and cannabis retailer licenses.
- A license-holder and its owners and operators may concurrently hold one cannabis cultivator and one cannabis manufacturer license, and no other licenses.
- A license-holder and its owners and operators may hold one cannabis retailer license, and no other licenses. However, retailers and delivery services can enter into agreements to provide for the delivery of cannabis items to consumers.
- A license-holder and its owners and operators may hold one cannabis distributor license, and no other licenses. A license-holder and its owners and operators may hold one cannabis delivery service license, and no other licenses.
After February 2023, the CRC can choose to allow cannabis business license applicants to hold multiple licenses across different classes.
Additionally:
- A license-holder may hold up to three testing laboratory licenses but may not hold any cannabis business licenses; and
- A person or entity can serve as an owner of only one license applicant or license-holder.
How much will each license cost?
Click here for the CRC’s fee schedule.
What type of license applications are currently open?
There are no license applications currently open.
Where will I be able to find the license application(s) once released to the public?
Once details are established, the information will be posted on the CRC website. We will also have updates posted through our social media platforms: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Will a facility or property need to be acquired or leased before applying for a license?
Not necessarily. A conditional license applicant does not need to have site control over the proposed cannabis business location before submitting an application. See N.J.A.C. 17:30-7.1 – 7.8 for details.
Are license applicants required to be New Jersey residents?
No, however, pursuant to the CREAMM Act, there are some partial restrictions.
Cannabis business license applicant entities must include at least one owner who has resided in this state for at least two years – as of the date of the application. Cannabis business license applicants that include at least one owner lawfully residing in New Jersey for at least five years as of the date of the application will receive bonus points.
For microbusinesses, 100% of the ownership interest in the microbusiness license applicant must be held by current New Jersey resident(s) who have resided in the state for at least the past two consecutive years at the time of application; and at least 51% of the total number of persons included in the microbusiness license applicant or license-holder, including all owners, principals, and employees, shall be residents of either the municipality in which the microbusiness is or will be located, or of a municipality directly bordering such municipality, at the time of the application.
Cannabis business license applicant entities also must have a valid Business Registration Certificate on file with the Division of Revenue and Enterprise Services in the NJ Department of the Treasury.
Additional details on residency documentation will be included in the CRC’s Notice of Applications. Once details are established, the information will be posted on the CRC website.
Can an individual or entity with a Class 1 Cannabis Cultivator license also make extracts and concentrates or otherwise manufacture cannabis-infused products or is a second license needed?
No, pursuant to the CREAMM Act, a second license would be needed to make extracts and concentrates or otherwise manufacture cannabis products. The applicant would need to apply for a Class 2 Manufacturer license to be involved in the manufacturing of cannabis products.
What if my municipality prohibits all or certain cannabis activities or businesses?
The CREAMM Act authorizes municipalities to enact ordinances or regulations governing the number of cannabis establishments within their borders. Each city, town, township, village, or borough is responsible for establishing its own rules for getting local approval to operate a cannabis business in the jurisdiction. Contact your municipal government for more information about what kinds of cannabis businesses are allowed and what information is required to operate such a business.
How will we hear or learn of municipal updates?
Under the CREAMM Act, municipalities wishing to limit the classes of cannabis businesses permitted in their jurisdiction have until August 21, 2021, to enact an ordinance specifying restrictions prohibiting the operation of one or more classes of cannabis businesses. Any municipality that does not pass an ordinance to this effect by the deadline will have to wait 5 years before trying to pass a prohibition ordinance. Please consult with your local municipality for more information on what actions they will take.
Municipal officials should consult with their municipal counsel for legal advice on what actions are permitted under the law.
The CRC will not issue a license to an applicant that would be in violation of a local ordinance or regulation.
Do I need to be a US Citizen to be listed as an owner of a recreational cannabis business license?
The CREAMM Act does not limit ownership of recreational cannabis businesses to citizens of the United States. Under federal law, all employers are required to verify the employment authorization of their workers.
Individuals should consult with an immigration law attorney for more information about how their immigration status may affect their participation in the cannabis industry.
What are the types of medical cannabis business permits I can apply for in the future?
| Medical Cannabis Business Permit | Authorized Activity |
| Vertically Integrated Alternative Treatment Center | Grow, wholesale, manufacture, sell/dispense, and deliver medical cannabis and medical cannabis products |
| Medical cannabis cultivator | Grow and wholesale medical cannabis |
| Medical cannabis manufacturer | Manufacture medical cannabis products |
| Medical cannabis dispensary | Sell/dispense and deliver medical cannabis, medical cannabis products, and cannabis paraphernalia |
| Clinical Registrant | Grow, wholesale, manufacture, sell/dispense, and deliver medical cannabis, medical cannabis products, and cannabis paraphernalia pursuant to a contract with a qualifying academic medical center in the region for the purpose of clinical research involving medical cannabis |
| Integrated curriculum permit | Partner with an approved academic, clinical, or research program at an institution of higher education |
| Conditional Permit | Begin building out operations for the cultivation, manufacture, or dispensing of medical cannabis while working towards meeting the requirements for a medical cannabis cultivator, manufacturer, or dispensary permit |
What is the application process for medical cannabis business permits?
Under existing medical cannabis rules, if and when the Commission wants to solicit new applications of medical cannabis permits, the CRC would need to issue a Request for Applications (RFA) if and when the Commission wants to solicit new applications detailing the requirements for applying for a medical cannabis permit.
The CRC is not soliciting new medical cannabis permit applications at this time.
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