Rule 40-32-4-.01. Hemp Product Manufacturers

Rule 40-32-4-.01. Hemp Product Manufacturers

1. (1) Manufacturer License. Any person desiring to manufacture hemp products in Georgia must first obtain a manufacturer license issued by the Department.

   1. (a) Any person manufacturing hemp products must have a valid manufacturer license prior to manufacturing hemp products. A valid license means the license has been issued and is unexpired, unsuspended, and unrevoked.
   2. (b) A manufacturer license will not entitle the holder to process hemp. Only permittees may process hemp into hemp products.

2. (2) Manufacturer License Application. As part of the manufacturer license application, each applicant must submit to the Department the following:

   1. (a) An annual manufacturer license fee of $5,000.00; provided, however, that any applicant that holds a hemp processor permit issued by the Department under this Chapter shall not be required to pay the annual licensing fee for a manufacturer license.

   2. (b) Information regarding the applicant's business, including, but not limited to:

      1. 1. Legal individual or entity name;
      2. 2. Principal office address;
      3. 3. Telephone number and email address;
      4. 4. The location (street address) where the applicant will manufacture hemp products in Georgia and whether the location is owned or leased by the applicant;

      5. 5. If the applicant is an entity, a current Certificate of Existence obtained through the Georgia Secretary of State's Office;

         1. (i) If the applicant is an entity formed in a foreign jurisdiction, including a different state, it must submit an equivalent certificate of existence from its home jurisdiction, as well as a Georgia Certificate of Authority to conduct business.
      6. 6. If the applicant is an entity, the names of the owners, partners, members, or shareholders of the entity;

      7. 7. An attestation that the applicant owns or has legal permission to manufacture hemp products on property listed on the application;

         1. (i) For purposes of satisfying this requirement, sufficient ownership of property or legal permission to manufacture hemp products on property includes property specifically deeded or leased to the respective applicant, whether an individual or entity, use of which will not be in violation of local zoning or other ordinances.
      8. 8. GPS coordinates provided in decimal degrees and taken at the approximate entrance of each facility;
      9. 9. The approximate dimension or square feet of each facility;
      10. 10. An aerial map or photograph of the manufacturing facilities showing clear boundaries of each facility;
      11. 11. A description of all hemp products to be manufactured as well as an estimate of the volume of each such product projected to be manufactured in the license year;
      12. 12. A statement of the intended end use or disposal plan for all parts of hemp products received for manufacturing and not becoming part of a hemp product;
      13. 13. Written consent, allowing representatives of the Department, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and other affected state and local law enforcement agencies to enter all premises where hemp products are being manufactured for the purpose of conducting physical inspections and ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act and this Chapter; and
      14. 14. An acknowledgment of the manufacturer license terms and conditions.

   3. (c) Manufacturer licenses will be issued on January 1 of each year, or otherwise when approved by the Department.

      1. 1. Notwithstanding the above, manufacturer licenses issued by the Department between July 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, shall expire on December 31, 2025.
   4. (d) At the conclusion of any calendar year during which a licensee holds a manufacturer license, a licensee may renew its manufacturer license upon timely submission of the $5,000.00 licensee fee, so long as no administrative action has been taken by the Department against the licensee and provided the information in the license application is unchanged.

   5. (e) Renewal fees shall be submitted by December 1 of each year. Manufacturer licenses will expire on December 31 of each year if renewal fees are not timely submitted as required hereunder.

      1. 1. A licensee that begins, but does not finalize, the renewal of its manufacturer license within 60 days after January 1 of a given year, must subsequently complete a full application as if applying for the first time.

   6. (f) A licensee may request select changes to the information associated with a manufacturer license. To request a change, the licensee must, at least ten (10) calendar days prior to making the change, provide written notice of the proposed change to the Department via e-mail to hemp@agr.georgia.gov, or submit the proposed changes on the Department's website used to administer manufacturer licenses. Changes in accordance with such written notice and updated information will be valid only upon the Department's approval. No such change will exempt a licensee from compliance with all requirements of a manufacturer license.

      Licensees may request changes to the following:

      1. 1. The information originally submitted in a licensee's hemp manufacturer license application in satisfaction of GA. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 40-32-4-.01(2)(b)(1)-(6) and (8)-(12).

         1. (i) Licensees will be limited to a maximum of ten (10) changes per permit year made in accordance with this rule.
   7. (g) Any person who materially falsifies any information contained in an application for a manufacturer license will be ineligible to receive a manufacturer license or otherwise participate in the Georgia Hemp Program.

3. (3) Manufacturer License Terms and Conditions. Each manufacturer licensee must acknowledge and comply with the terms and conditions governing the manufacturer license, including the following:

   1. (a) Except as explicitly provided for in this Subject or corrections of typographical errors approved by the Department, no alterations will be allowed to the information associated with any manufacturer license once approved.
   2. (b) Licensees must prevent unsupervised public access to manufacturing sites.
   3. (c) Licensees must not manufacture hemp products on property owned by, leased from, or previously submitted in a license application by any person who is ineligible for, was terminated from, or was denied participation in the Georgia Hemp program due to failure to obtain an acceptable criminal background check or for violations of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act or this Chapter.
   4. (d) The licensee must notify the Department, via e-mail to hemp@agr.georgia.gov, of any theft or loss of hemp products within forty-eight (48) hours of discovery of such theft or loss.

   5. (e) The licensee must notify the Department in writing within ten (10) calendar days of the following:

      1. 1. A disciplinary proceeding or enforcement action by another government entity that may affect the licensee's business; and
      2. 2. Temporary closures of more than thirty (30) days or permanent closure of any manufacturing facility.
   6. (f) Manufacturer licenses cannot be sold, assigned, transferred, pledged, or otherwise disposed of, alienated, or encumbered to or by another person, business, individual, or entity.
   7. (g) Licensees must only manufacture hemp products at facilities identified in the manufacturer license application or a change request and must have the legal authority to grant the Department access to any and all such facilities for inspection and sampling.
   8. (h) Licensees must allow and fully cooperate with all required inspections and sampling.
   9. (i) Licensees must maintain all records and information and make all reports within the applicable time frames as required in this Chapter.

   10. (j) Licensees must not handle, manufacture, store, sell, transfer, ship, transport, deliver, distribute, or otherwise provide any hemp product that exceeds the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit. The licensee must ensure that hemp products exceeding the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit do not enter the stream of commerce.

       1. 1. In the event that a tested official sample exceeds the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit, the Department will require all hemp products in the product lot to be disposed by a reverse distributor without compensation to the manufacturer.

   11. (k) Licensees must not manufacture, store, sell, transfer, ship, transport, deliver, distribute, or otherwise provide any consumable hemp product that fails to comply with the requirements in Subject 40-32-5 of this Chapter.

       1. 1. In the event that a consumable hemp product fails to comply with any requirement of Subject 40-32-5, the Department will require all hemp products in the product lot to be disposed of in accordance with this Chapter.
   12. (l) Manufacturers of consumable hemp products providing full panel certificates of analysis via a QR code on consumable hemp product labelling must host and notify the Department of a landing webpage for consumer retrieval of relevant full panel certificates of analysis.

4. (4) Sampling and Testing.

   1. (a) Required Sampling and Testing for Hemp Products. Licensees shall cause each product lot of industrial or consumable hemp products to be sampled and tested by a registered laboratory prior to the transport or distribution of the hemp product lot from the manufacturing facility. Testing by a registered laboratory must confirm no hemp products exceed the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit, and that no consumable hemp products exceed the analyte levels set forth in Subject 40-32-5.

      1. 1. Licensees shall assign each product lot a unique number.
      2. 2. Licensees will solely bear responsibility for the cost of sampling and testing hemp products; the Department will not fund any required sampling or testing costs.

   2. (b) Sampling Procedure. Hemp products submitted for testing by a registered laboratory must be representative of the product lot.

      1. 1. Licensees must submit consumable hemp product samples being tested to produce a full panel certificate of analysis in final packaged form.

         1. (i) Consumable hemp product samples must consist of at least the following minimum number of sample consumable hemp products based on product production:

            (I).	Eight (8) sample products for a product with up to 500 product units produced in a twelve-month period;

            (II).

            Twelve (12) sample products for a product with between 501-1,000 product units produced in a twelve-month period;

            (III).

            Sixteen (16) sample products for a product with between 1,001-5,000 product units produced in a twelve-month period; and

            (IV).

            Twenty (20) sample products for a product with more than 5,000 products produced in a twelve-month period.

      2. 2. Manufacturers of industrial hemp products must document the procedures utilized to ensure selection of representative samples of the industrial hemp product lot.

5. (5) Disposal of Non-Compliant Hemp Products.

   1. (a) Disposal of Non-Compliant Hemp Products Exceeding the Total Delta-9-THC Concentration Legal Limit.

      1. 1. Non-compliant hemp products exceeding the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit constitute marijuana, a controlled substance under Georgia and Federal law.
      2. 2. Non-compliant hemp products exceeding the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit must be disposed of in accordance with the CSA and DEA regulations found at 21 CFR 1317.15 by a reverse distributor.
      3. 3. The licensee must immediately notify the Department via email to hemp@agr.georgia.gov any time analytical testing determines that non-compliant hemp products exceed the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit.
      4. 4. Upon notice and confirmation that a non-compliant hemp product has exceeded the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit, the Department will issue an Order of Disposal requiring all non-compliant hemp products in the same product lot to be disposed within a reasonable time to be determined by the Department.
      5. 5. The licensee will be responsible for arranging disposal.
      6. 6. The licensee will be responsible for all costs and fees associated with the disposal of non-compliant hemp products exceeding the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit. No compensation will be owed by the Department to the licensee for any such disposal.
      7. 7. Non-compliant hemp products subject to disposal must not be removed from the licensed facility or from any other area where hemp products are being manufactured, handled, or stored, other than for transport to a reverse distributor or during another acceptable disposal method.

      8. 8. Within 14 days of the date of completion of disposal, the licensee must submit a "Disposal Report" form to the Department, which must contain the following information:

         1. (i) Name and address of the licensee;
         2. (ii) License number;
         3. (iii) Information on the reverse distributor agent handling the disposal, or other method of disposal;
         4. (iv) Date of completion of disposal;
         5. (v) Signature of the licensee; and
         6. (vi) Reverse distributor or other disposal agent certification of completion of the disposal.
   2. (b) Disposal of Non-Compliant Hemp Products Not Exceeding the Total Delta-9-THC Concentration Legal Limit. Consumable hemp products that fail to comply with the requirements in Subject 40-32-5, other than the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit, shall be disposed of in any manner provided in this Chapter.

6. (6) Recordkeeping. Licensees must keep and maintain the following records:

   1. (a) Hemp product intake records, which include:

      1. 1. Name, location, and license or permit number, if applicable, for each person from whom the permittee accepts hemp products for manufacturing;
      2. 2. The date(s) on which hemp products are received;
      3. 3. Copies of analytical testing results confirming that each lot of hemp products received for manufacturing does not exceed the total delta-9-THC concentration legal limit; and
      4. 4. The amount of each hemp product received.

   2. (b) Disposal records for all unusable or non-compliant hemp products, which include:

      1. 1. Date of disposal;
      2. 2. Amount of each hemp product disposed;
      3. 3. Method of disposal;
      4. 4. Location of disposal; and
      5. 5. Name, signature, and title of employee responsible for disposal.

   3. (c) Manufacturing records, which include:

      1. 1. List and number of hemp products produced in a final packaged form; and

      2. 2. List of buyers or recipients of hemp products including:

         1. (i) Name, address, and phone number of each buyer or recipient;
         2. (ii) Description of each product purchased or otherwise distributed;
         3. (iii) Quantity of each product purchased or otherwise distributed; and
         4. (iv) Date of distribution.
   4. (d) Licensees must keep and maintain copies of all records, documents, and information required by this Rule for at least two years in a manner that can be provided to the Department upon request.

7. (7) Violations and Enforcement.

   1. (a) A manufacturer violates the Georgia Hemp Farming Act when failing to comply with any provision of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act or the applicable requirements set forth in this Chapter.
   2. (b) A violation of the Georgia Hemp Farming Act or this Chapter by a manufacturer will be subject to enforcement in accordance with the Georgia Hemp Farming Act and O.C.G.A. § 2-2-1 et seq., including, but not limited to, the imposition of monetary penalties, license revocation, or the disposal of non-compliant consumable hemp products.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 2-2-9; 2-5-1et seq.; 2-23-1 et seq.

History. Original Rule entitled "Hemp Product Manufacturers" adopted. F. Sept. 11, 2024; eff. Oct. 1, 2024.