SACRAMENTO – The California Office of Administrative Law, or OAL, recently approved Section 4900 in Title 3 of the California Code of Regulations pertaining to industrial hemp registration.

The OAL has approved the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s request for the regulation to take effect immediately.

The regulation will enable CDFA to open registration with county agricultural commissioners for industrial hemp cultivation.

In accordance with Division 24 of the California Food and Agricultural Code, cultivation of industrial hemp in California requires registration with the local county agricultural commissioner.

Registration applications are now available on the CDFA Industrial Hemp webpage.

“This is an important new crop that has generated interest all over the state,” said CDFA Secretary Karen Ross. “With OAL endorsing this regulation, CDFA and its county partners will continue to cooperatively move forward with industrial hemp production in California.”

CDFA plans to propose additional regulations for industrial hemp cultivation later this year, including sampling and testing procedures, and the establishment of an agricultural pilot program.

More information on the Industrial Hemp Program, including registration applications, can be found at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/industrialhemp/ .