Important clarification on local retail registrations

Good afternoon to local government partners,  

As we continue our license application review period, we wanted to reach out to ensure that you, as a local government representative, have all the necessary information to navigate conversations with potential cannabis businesses in your municipality.   

On April 14, the rules governing Minnesota’s adult-use cannabis market (Minnesota Rules, part 9810) were officially adopted and came into effect. Following this, OCM has been conducting a review period of all submitted cannabis business applications. Furthermore, now that final adult-use rules are adopted, qualified applicants in uncapped license categories will start to receive preliminary approval and begin the site registration process.  

As of May 1, there are 213 applicants who have received preliminary approval status, including 207 microbusiness applicants (Summary Application Data / Office of Cannabis Management). This means an applicant may soon be seeking zoning compliance certification and, if applicable for cannabis microbusinesses, local retail registration.  

Review Latest Guidance

OCM's latest guidance for local government partners can be found on the office’s webpage specific to local governments and in the Guide for Local Governments on Adult-Use Cannabis and Lower Potency Hemp Edible Licenses. Additionally, in the guide's appendix, we link to our Local Retail Registration Form and Checklist to assist local governments in completing the local retail registration needed for the five eligible license types: Cannabis Retailers, Microbusinesses, Mezzobusinesses, Medical Cannabis Combination Businesses, and Lower-potency Hemp Edible Retailers.  

Please also make sure to review the Qualified Applicant Guide in addition to these resources. This will help support conversations between applicants and local governments. Specifically, pages 15 and 16 detail engagement with applicants and local governments and include guidance for navigating this next phase.  

Important Note on Order of Operations: Zoning Compliance Certification and Local Retail Registration 

OCM has been encouraging all applicants to engage in conversations with their local governments early on in their process to understand what considerations they may need to take in order to operate within each jurisdiction and receive zoning certification and, if applicable, retail registration. For more information on the process, please reference our Pathway to Licensure Chart. 

We’d also like to make sure that you are all aware of a pending legislative change to address an identified issue in Minnesota Statutes, section 342.22. 

Per statute, an applicant with preliminary approval is able to work with a local government to obtain zoning compliance and approval. However, current statute requires local retail registration to be issued only after licensure. Per section 342.22, a local unit of government shall issue a retail registration to a business that has a valid license or license preapproval issued by the office. However, license preapproval has ended.  

To address the tension that exists here, with the only available option being to issue after full licensure, OCM proposed a change in the law to section 342.22, subdivision 3, that would allow a local government to issue local retail registrations to applicants with preliminary license approval. This change would provide a local unit of government to have the option to certify zoning and issue local retail registration prior to full licensure, easing the tension of current law.  

This proposed change is still going through the legislative process (HF1615 1st Engrossment, Article 2, Section 8/SF2370 2nd Engrossment, Section 42), but we hope that in the interim, it can serve as an aid when working with potential new businesses interested in operating in your municipality. OCM will provide updates as soon as there is any progress regarding this proposed legislative change. 

Again, under current law, the zoning compliance certification stage does not require the issuance of a local retail registration. So, a local unit of government may proceed with zoning compliance certification with an applicant that has a preliminary approval notice from the office. However, we understand there may be tension in this process if the local government is limiting retail registration and connects zoning compliance to the retail authorization as well. This is what we hope to address with the proposed legislative change to allow local governments this option to issue retail registration prior to full licensure. 

Preparing for the Licensing Process  

If you have not done so already, please be sure to fill out our contact and delegation form. Additionally, local governments that will retain zoning authority or have been delegated authority must also sign up for an account in Accela (OCM’s licensing system) as this is needed to complete zoning compliance verification checks. For more information on how to register for Accela, please reference our Local Government Accela Registration Guide. If you have already completed these two steps and want more information on how to complete a zoning compliance certification, please visit our guidance document: Local Governments - Reviewing Zoning Compliance Certification on Accela.

Additional Questions 

Please know that OCM is here to support you as we prepare for this first round of cannabis businesses. Please do not hesitate to reach out to cannabis.info@state.mn.us with any questions or concerns.  

Thank you. 

Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management