The Shadow
Retail locations that sell a hemp product intended for smoking or an edible hemp product must obtain a Hemp Product Retail Facility Registration before Dec. 31, 2024. The application for a retail facility registration will be available starting Nov. 15, 2024, through the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) Office of Hemp Enforcement.
This registration requirement comes into effect following changes that the General Assembly made to Virginia’s Industrial Hemp Law in 2023. VDACS Office of Hemp Enforcement is publicizing this change to ensure all establishments that sell edible or smokable hemp products comply with the law.
Requirements include but are not limited to:
- A regulated Hemp Product Retail Facility Registration shall be required for each location that offers retail sales of these regulated hemp products.
- As required by law, a nonrefundable annual registration fee of $1,000 shall be required with each application for a regulated hemp product retail facility registration.
- Each registration issued shall be valid for a period of one year from the date of issuance and may be renewed in successive years. Each annual renewal shall require the payment of the nonrefundable annual registration fee.
In order to offer for sale a regulated hemp product in Virginia, an establishment must submit the Regulated Hemp Product Retail Facility Registration Application to VDACS and pay the $1,000 annual fee. Applications may be submitted to the Office of Hemp Enforcement by mail or electronically. Mailed applications must include a check or money order, while online application payments can be made electronically.
Registrations will be issued in the order in which the application was received, and applicants will receive confirmation once an application and fee has been properly verified by VDACS Office of Hemp Enforcement. A hemp product retailer found to be offering for sale regulated hemp products without submitting a Hemp Product Retail Facility Registration Application after December 31, 2024, may face a civil penalty of $2,000 initially. Retailers found to be in repeat violation of the facility registration requirement may be assessed additional, increased civil penalties.
More information can be found on the Office of Hemp Enforcement webpage.
