Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Regulations

Pennsylvania authorized hemp cultivation in 2016 (Industrial Hemp Research Act of Jul. 20, 2016, P.L. 822, No. 92) and the first registrant began to farm in 2017.

On January 22, 2019, the PA Department of Agriculture (PDA) submitted a plan to USDA for approval to allow industrial hemp to be grown in the commonwealth. The USDA approved the state’s hemp plan on February 28, 2020. Pennsylvania’s USDA-approved Hemp Program now issues permits under the PA Hemp General Permit authorized by Act 46 relating to Controlled Plants and Noxious Weeds.

If the laboratory results for an officially sampled hemp lot are below the 0.3% total THC compliance level, permittees can move the hemp crop upon receipt of the compliant Certificate of Analysis without need of a separate letter of clearance from the PDA.

In May 2025, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that when a treating physician recommends a CBD product as part of a treatment plan for a work-related injury, that products qualifies as a reimbursable medical expense under Section 306(f.1)(1)(i) of the Pennsylvania Workers’ Compensation Act. This ruling is also important for the state’s hemp CBD industry due to the Court stating that “hemp is legal if it has a Delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis” which clearly establishes the legality of hemp-derived CBD products.

Hemp Licenses and Registrations Available in Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Hemp General Permit issued by the PDA is required in order to produce, process or research hemp in the state. If a grower permittee will be processing hemp brought onto their property from a different permitted location, then a separate processing permit is required and an additional fee will be charged. If the hemp grown on the grower permittee’s property is also processed on the property and no other hemp is moved into the property, then no separate processing permit is required. No permit is required for secondary or tertiary processors that do not receive any potentially viable hemp material (e.g. adding CBD extract to lotions).

There is not a state level permit/license requirement in Pennsylvania specifically for wholesaling, retailing or brokering hemp and hemp products. There are however some licensing requirements for specific products which may apply to hemp sellers: producers of hemp food products would need to be registered as a Food Establishment with PDA’s Bureau of Food Safety, sellers of hemp seed would need a PA seed dealer license and sellers of hemp plants for planting would need a PA plant merchant license.

The following rules apply:

• For outdoor planting, at least 50 plants must be planted during the growing season.
• For indoor planting, at least 1,000 square feet and 50 plants must be planted during the growing season.
• Hemp must not be grown, cultivated or planted within 200 feet of any residential structure or within 1,000 feet of a school property or public recreational area.
• Leaf or floral material from hemp must not be handled, processed or stored in a facility within 200 feet of any residential structure.
• Hemp must be physically separated from other crops.

The only exceptions to these rules are if the PDA issues a written approval to plant less.

Licensing process:

1. Submit the application for the required license along with the required information and application fee online through the Department of Agriculture PA Plants website or send in paper form.
2. The Department will review the application. If the applicant is approved, a license will be issued to them.

New license application fee: $150

Required information to be submitted with the application is not limited to:

• If the applicant is an individual: legal name, address, day and evening telephone numbers, and email address (if applicable). If the applicant is a business entity: full name of the business, address of the principal business location, full name and title of the key participants, email address (if available), and an EIN number of the business entity.
• FBI criminal background check for the applicant. If the applicant is a business entity, the background check is needed for all Key Participants, as defined in the state’s licensing permit instructions. The background check for new license permits and new key participants must have been done no more than 60 days before the application date and will be effective for 3 years. A receipt from IdentoGO must be attached to the application for each new Key Participant named on the application as evidence that the background check has been completed or scheduled.
• Option to submit at time of application or before hemp is moved into storage: complete information for storage locations if hemp seeds or harvested hemp will be stored at a location different from the locations where hemp will be grown or processed.
• Physical location, including a detailed plot map and description of the site to be planted or the site where hemp will be propagated, cultivated, stored or processed. A separate “Permit Location Information” page is required for each physical address. The location information must include:
  • Country and municipality.
  • Legal description of the land, plot map and geospatial location of the overall site and each separate field, greenhouse, building or other site where hemp will be produced, warehoused or processed.
• Hemp variety information including:
  • A list of all types and amount of seed, clones, propagules or cuttings that will be acquired.
  • Hemp varieties that applicant intends to plant, propagate and cultivate.
  • Anticipated acreage or indoor square footage for each type or variety of hemp.
  • Type of products to be produced or processed.
• If applicant plans for nursery stock sales or growing for seed, they must list the relevant PDA licenses.

Additional requirements for outdoor growing:

• List the total plantable acreage of the property.
• Estimate the size of proposed hemp planting.

Additional requirements for indoor growing:

• List the total square footage of the facility.
• Estimate the square footage of the proposed hemp planting.
• Select type of building used for indoor growing.
• Select type of planting which will be done in the facility.

Licenses must be renewed every year and they are valid until December 31 of each calendar year. The approval process for renewal applications is the same as for the applications for new permits.

License renewal application fee: $50.

Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Statistics

According to a search of the PA Department of Agriculture database, 33 permit holders planted and grew approximately 580 acres of industrial hemp during the 2018 season – 16 times higher than the 36 acres planted in 2017. In 2019, PA Department of Agriculture issued 319 permits to grow industrial hemp, more than 8 times the number from 2018.

In 2020, the Department issued 510 growing permits and, for the first time ever, issued 65 processing permits. In 2021, the amount of registered outdoor acreage and indoor square feet significantly declined as a result of oversupply and market correction across the industry; about 725 acres were licensed and the National Hemp Report shows 350 acres were planted. This fell even further in 2022 when only 150 acres and 110 acres of hemp were planted and harvested, respectively, in Pennsylvania. Floral hemp accounted for nearly 73% of the harvested acreage.

However, from 2022, the hemp industry began to grow again with the acres of hemp planted in Pennsylvania doubling to 300 in 2023. Of the 250 acres of hemp harvested, only around 29% was floral hemp.

For 2024, the Department of Agriculture issued 183 hemp growing permits including 16 research permits and 38 hemp processing permits including 1 research permit. According to the National Hemp Report, 355 acres of hemp were planted in 2024 with 245 acres of hemp harvested. Around 43% of the harvest was floral hemp, demonstrating a gradual return of Pennsylvania’s farmers to growing hemp for its flower. The state’s utilized floral hemp production was valued at nearly $2 million.

Pennsylvania’s hemp-derived CBD industry has the potential value of up to $1.4 billion, according to estimates from an Oregon-based hemp and cannabis research group Whitney Economics.

Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Infographics

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Hemp CBD Products Retail / Online Store Business Plan Template Sample, Pennsylvania

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Pennsylvania Cannabis Market