New Oregon Hemp Vendor License Requirements

Starting on July 1, 2024, hemp companies selling products into and out of the State of Oregon will have some new requirements to navigate. Businesses should be reviewing the changes in Oregon now in preparation for this transition.

The Oregon Department of Agriculture (“ODA”) recently issued new regulations that require certain companies to obtain a Hemp Vendor Site License. At first glance, this may only sound applicable if you have a “site” in Oregon, but the opposite is actually true. According to recently-issued ODA FAQs  (June 2024), both in-state and out-of-state wholesalers and retailers, including online vendors that sell products into or out of Oregon, are required to obtain a Hemp Vendor Site License.

A vendor must have a license with the ODA for each vendor site prior to storing, transferring, or selling industrial hemp or hemp items, except:

• “If the person only facilitates the sale or transfer by connecting buyers and sellers and the person does not store the industrial hemp or hemp items at any time.
• A licensed grower, handler, or agricultural hemp seed producer is not required to be licensed with the Department as a vendor site to store, transfer, or sell industrial hemp or hemp items the licensee produced or processed if the licensee first notifies the Department of the location where the industrial hemp or hemp items are stored, transferred, or sold on the license application or on another form provided by the Department.
• A license is not required for a vendor site licensed by Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (“OLCC”) under various cannabis regulations.
• A vendor license is not required for a person who only transports industrial hemp or hemp items and does not store the industrial hemp or hemp items at any time other than as necessary for transportation or delivery.”

Hemp companies must obtain a Hemp Vendor Site License from the ODA by July 1, 2024, or prior to engaging in storing, transferring, or selling industrial hemp or hemp items in a manner which requires this license. Hemp companies must obtain a Hemp Vendor Site License for each site at which they conduct one of these activities.

The ODA’s Hemp Vendor Site License Application is fairly concise at two pages and straightforward in the information it requires (business name and location/contact information, primary contact information, and fee payment info for the $100 licensure fee). Importantly, the applicant must include their Oregon Secretary of State License Number.

This information is detailed on the ODA’s website and was sent via email update to those who have signed up for ODA email alerts. In the email sent to those who opted in, the ODA states three reasons for the new vendor license, which include:

• “Regulatory Compliance: Ensures that businesses storing, transferring, or selling hemp products comply with state regulations. The license requires vendors to maintain specific records regarding the sale and distribution of hemp items.
• Product Tracking and Traceability: Compliance with House Bill 3000, the license enables regulatory agencies to track hemp products throughout the supply chain. Traceability is essential for monitoring the movement of hemp items from cultivation to retail, allowing authorities to identify any discrepancies or non-compliance.
• Consumer Protection: Ensures consumers can trust they are purchasing hemp products from reputable sources.”

Licensees (now including Hemp Vendors) must assign unique identifiers to each lot of industrial hemp for human consumption and hemp items received from outside of Oregon.

For recordkeeping, licensees must create and maintain records for the receipt or transfer of each process lot, or portion thereof, of industrial hemp for human consumption and hemp items that include all required information as detailed in OAR 603-048-0500. Importantly though, the rules also state that those requirements do not apply to sale or transfers from a licensee to a consumer.

Licensees must create and maintain disposal records as well. The records must include the process lot identifier, the date of disposal, the reason for disposal, and the amount disposed. Pre-testing recordkeeping also applies (See OAR 603-048-2380). All licenses must maintain all required records for no less than three years after the total disposition of each harvest, seed, immature plant, or process lot, as identified by unique identifier.

For those businesses required to obtain Hemp Vendor Site Licenses, the ODA anticipates a phased approach to enforcement, primarily prioritizing outreach and education, and not issuing enforcement actions upon first instance of a potential violation. That said, “if a company is documented to be aware of the requirement and subsequently fails to obtain the license, ODA does have enforcement authority and may exercise it, ensuring a fair and transparent process.”

Contact Kight Law today to submit an ODA Hemp Vendor Site License Application and for any questions about these changes that you may have.

June 24, 2024

This article was written by Kight Law attorney Amber Lengacher. Kight Law represents hemp businesses in the US and throughout the world.