• Personal History Disclosure for all persons of interest
• Entity Disclosure Forms for the license applicant entity and any entities of interest on the application
• Signed affidavits, releases, and waivers completed by an individual authorized to sign on behalf of the license applicant
• Social Equity Business attestation, if seeking to apply as a Social Equity Business

All application support documents must be submitted electronically via the New Jersey Adult Use Licensing Application System. Always retain document originals in case they are requested by the CRC.

It is an Entity Disclosure Form filled out on behalf of the license applicant entity.

Please download and fill out the most recent forms from our website when possible. However, if you have already filled out a version that was previously made available on the CRC website it will be accepted.  The CRC will continually update and improve our forms and application system. If there are minor technical errors they will be corrected and new forms released regularly.

All application support documents must be submitted electronically via the New Jersey Adult Use Licensing Application System. Always retain document originals in case they are requested by the CRC.

A Project Labor Agreement (PLA) is only required if an applicant wishes to qualify for bonus points.  If you do not wish to submit a PLA as part of your application upload a blank document to meet the application platform's requirement for submission.

On the license application platform, an applicant is required to enter all “Persons of Interest,” which is defined as any person substantially involved in the financing, operations, or management of a license applicant or license-holder and includes owners, principals, management services contractors, and financial sources but does not include passive investors, employees, or volunteers. The platform requires that the “Persons of Interest” ownership percentage reach a total of 100% prior to submission. Although passive investors (defined as financial sources with less than a 5% ownership interest) are not considered “Persons of Interest,” the applicant is required to account for any percentage of passive investor ownership by attributing it to an entity listed on the licensing application platform. All passive investors must be disclosed under Item 8 on the Entity Disclosure Form.

All license applicants will be required to undergo a criminal history background check as part of the application process; however, at this time they do not need to have been fingeprinted at the time of application. For Background Check Verification, please submit a letter signed by an individual legally authorized to sign on behalf of the license applicant that states all individuals on the application will comply with the necessary criminal history background check provisions.

Once the application is reviewed the licence applicant will be provided with detail and instructions to be fingerprinted.

Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 17:30-7.10, applicants for annual cannabis licenses must submit a business and financial plan as part of the license application process.  

Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 17:30-7.3, applicants for conditional cannabis licenses are required to submit a list of any proposed financial sources but are not required to provide a financial plan at the time of application.

Yes.  If you have not filed for the last year the most recent available tax return filed within the previous two years may be submitted to satisfy the application requirement.

If none of the CRC documents listed here Cannabis Businesses (nj.gov) under "Documents & Forms" will work for the required information, you should create a document to submit the information in a clearly outlined manner.

If you cannot determine where to upload a required document as you are completing an application upload it throught the application platform's "Other Documents" option.

All application support documents must be submitted electronically via the New Jersey Adult Use Licensing Application. They cannot be mailed in. Always retain document originals in case they are requested by the CRC. 

Click here for the CRC’s fee schedule.  

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. 

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.

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.

Conditional licensees have 120 days before they need to apply to convert to an annual license.

(a) The conditional license phase:1. Begins on the day that the conditional license is issued to the license applicant; and2. Expires 120 days after the day that the conditional license was issued or at the end of an extension.i. A conditional license shall not be renewed, but may be extended pursuant to this section or for good cause, as deemed necessary by the Commission.ii. A conditional license shall expire if replaced with an annual license or can be revoked at the discretion of the Commission.(b) A conditional license holder may apply for a 45-day extension of the conditional license, and the Commission may grant the extension on a case-by-case basis.

N.J. Admin. Code § 17:30-7.6

No. If an applicant has all the required criteria for an annual license, then they can apply for an annual license.

Site control (demonstrated by having a lease agreement, property ownership, or similar document) is not required for a conditional license applicant. However, applicants must provide a proposed business address. By the nature of the license, conditional license applicants are not required to have control of the site at the time of the application, but must establish control of a proposed site during the conditional license period.

Conditional license-holders can provide the Commission with proof of site control for a new proposed location when applying for a conditional conversion to an annual license. However, an Impact Zone or microbusiness conditional license holder may not provide a new proposed location that would cause it to no longer comply with the Impact Zone or microbusiness criteria, respectively. In such a situation, the conversion application would be denied and the license applicant would be required to restart the licensing process from the initial stage with the amended location and the appropriate level of priority.

Fees for changing the location of a business apply only to annual license-holders. Once a business has an annual license it must apply for a change of location. ($1,000 for microbusinesses, $10,000 for standard businesses)

For conditional license applicants, the CRC will accept a Letter of Intent in lieu of a final, executed agreement. Pursuant to N.J.A.C. 17:30-7.3(c)(4), as part of the conditional license application, the applicant shall disclose and submit a list of any proposed management services contractors, financial sources, or vendor-contractors. Final, executed agreements will be required prior to conversion to an annual license.

Conditional license applicants may add new owners during the conditional conversion process, so long as the new owners are disclosed immediately.  The ownership as a whole remains subject to the income thresholds established by N.J.A.C. 17:30-7.3(c)(7), such that 51% of ownership must remain below the income threshold through the entirety of the conditional licensing phase.

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.

Yes. A microbusiness must stick to the 2,500 square feet restrictions established by the CREAMM Act and CRC regulations.  Microbusinesses must have their entire physical plant (the spaces, equipment, and infrastructure directly utilized by a cannabis business, within the premises, for cultivation, manufacturing, wholesaling, distributing, retail sale, and delivery) occupy no more than 2,500 square feet, including any grow areas, regardless of whether the business has only one plant tier or multiple plant tiers. The facility may have other non-cannabis-related spaces that exceed the 2,500 square feet that could be used for possible expansion in the future, as long as the physical plant of the microbusiness does not exceed the 2,500 square feet while it remains a microbusiness.

Yes, if approved by the municipality and the Commission.

Microbusinesses shall employ no more than 10 employees at one time. This includes any seasonal, part-time, and remote employees, but does not include owners and principals.  Management services contractors may count as employees, while vendor-contractors will not, but still have their own restriction and requirements.  Please refer to N.J.A.C. 17:30-1.2 for the definitions of "employee," "management services contractor," and "vendor-contractor" and N.J.A.C. 17:30-6.8 and 6.9 for details on management services contractors and vendor contractors.

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 24:6I-46, the limitation to 37 cannabis cultivators for the 24-month period following the effective date of the CREAMM Act, includes all Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs) issued permits to cultivate pursuant to the prior Requests for Application if also licensed for personal use cannabis; but shall NOT include any cultivator licenses issued to microbusinesses.

No. Municipalities may prohibit the operation of any one or more classes of cannabis establishment, distributor, or delivery services within its jurisdiction through enactment of an ordinance. This includes microbusinesses.

Please see N.J.A.C. 17:30-6.6 for a complete list of criteria to qualify as a Social Equity Business. To claim SEB status, a business must have more than 50% of its ownership meet one of two criteria: (a) have lived in an Economically Disadvantaged Area for five of the last 10 years and have a household income 80% or less of the average median household income in New Jersey, or; (b) have been convicted of at least two disorderly persons offenses or at least one indictable offense related to marijuana or hashish.

Possession with intent to distribute less than 1 ounce of marijuana under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(b)(12) was an indictable offense related to marijuana or hashish, and a person would be eligible to participate in the ownership of a Social Equity Business based on that conviction.

Applicants are not required to detail their experience operating in the legacy or unregulated market. Applicants are merely required to provide plans that demonstrate how the applicant intends to operate the business and comply with the relevant laws and regulations. Under law, applications submitted are not considered public records.

The CRC does not limit or prescribe what qualifies as evidence of rehabilitation. Factors the CRC will consider when determining whether there is clear and convincing evidence that an individual has been rehabilitated include but are not limited to: (i) time since the offense, (ii) time between offenses, (iii) recommendation letters, (iv) certificates of achievement, (v) community service, (vi) employment, (vii) evidence of family support, (viii) volunteer efforts, and (ix) civic engagement. Please refer to N.J.A.C. 17:30-7.12 and N.J.S.A. 2A:168A-1 et seq. for more details.

No. A legal cannabis business operator must receive a license from the CRC to conduct cannabis business in New Jersey.

Local support must be demonstrated by a resolution from the governing body. For a municipality that does not operate with a governing body, a letter of support from the municipal executive will suffice.  See N.J.A.C. 17:30-7.8.

No. Municipalities may prohibit the operation of any one or more classes of cannabis establishment, distributor, or delivery services within its jurisdiction through enactment of an ordinance. This includes microbusinesses.

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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Whether certain non-cannabis criminal offenses would disqualify an applicant is determined on a case-by-case basis. The statute (N.J.S.A. 24:6I-36b.(2)(c)(iv)) provides that certain convictions will disqualify an individual from having a license application approved unless the Commission determines that the conviction should not disqualify the application. This review of previous convictions by the Commission will focus on whether any previous conviction is substantially related to the qualifications, functions, or duties for which the applied for license is required. Review will also examine the nature of the offense, the circumstances at the time of committing the offense, and any evidence of rehabilitation since conviction.

This is dependent on how much ownership, supervision, and control the franchisor has over the franchisee. Refer to N.J.A.C 17:30-1.2 for the definitions of "owner," "management services contractor," and "principal."  Also see N.J.A.C. 17:30-6.7, 6.9, and 6.10, as well as the CRC's October 13, 2021 webinar, for details on the requirements for management services agreements and financial source agreements, and how prospective cannabis business owners can protect themselves from unfair business agreements.

No. Cannabis retailers may choose to deliver to end consumers or use a Class 6 Cannabis Delivery Service license-holder to deliver items to consumers. Cannabis retailers engaging in delivery operations must comply with N.J.A.C. 17:30-12.8.

No. While a “cannabis retail and delivery business” may offer online order and purchase options, they must maintain a retail storefront from which orders may be placed in person and sales can take place. The ability to offer online services is an option but cannot encompass the sole business plan of a cannabis retailer.

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.

No. Under current law, medicinal or recreational cannabis cannot be planted, propagated, cultivated, grown, harvested, processed, or sold on property assessed under the New Jersey Farmland Assessment Act of 1964.  The Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act prohibits medicinal cannabis and recreational cannabis cultivators from operating or locating an operation on land that is farmland assessed.  Because eligibility for farmland assessment is a requirement for farms to enter the state’s preservation program, once a farm is preserved a landowner cannot engage in uses which would disqualify the property for farmland assessment.

As noted in the Economically Disadvantaged Areas report, $90,444 is the median household income - as established in the 2019 American Community Survey. Eighty percent of that - and the standard currently used by the CRC - is $72,355.20.

A cannabis business shall only operate under its New Jersey registered entity name. Businesses with an alternate name or trade name that existed before August 19, 2021 can apply for a cannabis license. If the business is awarded a license it can only operate under its registered name. Alternate names, trade names, DBAs can be noted in an application to help the CRC verify the applicant's identity, but the alternate name cannot be used while conducting cannabis business activities (including advertisements). Previously existing businesses are NOT required to officially change their name with the State nor with the IRS.

There is no prohibition on the word "cannabis" in the business name. However, businesses should note that advertisements and location signage must adhere to the limitations provided for at N.J.A.C. 17:30-14.1 and 14.2, as well as municipal ordinances and restrictions.

N.J.S.A. 24:6I-35 prohibits cannabis retailers from being located "in or upon any premises which operates a grocery store, delicatessen, indoor food market, or other store engaging in retail sales of food [or] licensed retail sales of alcoholic beverages." The CRC does not prohibit cannabis businesses from being located in strip malls, as long as the cannabis business premises is self-contained without any access between the cannabis business and other businesses.  The cannabis business should have its own entrance and/or access point that is not accessible by other businesses in the strip mall. The cannabis business premises must also satisfy all the security requirements of N.J.A.C. 17:30-9 and 10.

Additionally, applicants must adhere to any municipal restrictions on being located in these areas. Applicants should also note that it will need to be able to comply with other laws and regulations, including requirements to verify patrons' age and restrictions on displays, signage, and advertisements.

The CRC does prohibit cannabis businesses from being located in shopping malls where there is an open corridor or service corridor that allows access between the cannabis business and other stores, and/or retail sales of food and/or alcoholic beverages.

Transactions between cannabis cultivators and other license classes are subject to the Social Equity Excise Fee (currently $1.10 per ounce, $1.52 starting January 1, 2023). Retail sales of cannabis items are subject to New Jersey state tax of 6.625%. Additionally, municipalities may also levy a transfer tax of up to 2% on all cannabis business transactions within their jurisdiction.