Minnesota cannabis licensing and record relief

HF100 became Minnesota’s 2023 Chapter 63, establishing the Office of Cannabis Management and a framework for adult-use cannabis businesses. The law is enacted, while licensing remains an administrative process with multiple stages. OCM’s application guidance, updated with August 2026 resources, says applicants should plan for up to 90 days between submitting a site registration with final location information and plans and receiving a license. Local government review occupies up to 30 days within that window. Minnesota Statutes §342.22 separately requires retail businesses to obtain local registration before selling to customers or patients. [1][2][3]

Record relief follows more than one route. Minnesota’s official record-relief site reports approximately 57,000 cannabis-related records expunged by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. It explains that certain misdemeanor convictions and qualifying cases without convictions were eligible for automatic sealing. Felony convictions, along with some misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases, require review by the Cannabis Expungement Board. That review began in December 2024 and continues until the records are reviewed. Some misdemeanor convictions are ineligible. The state provides a court-record lookup, so people should check their own status rather than assume legalization erased every cannabis case. [4]

With the required endorsements, a microbusiness can grow and manufacture cannabis and operate one retail location. OCM describes cultivation limits of 5,000 square feet indoors or one-half acre of mature flowering plants outdoors. As checked November 14, 2026, its license-types page says microbusiness applications are not being accepted. The general application window ran February 18 to March 16, 2025; OCM has not announced another opportunity for that category. A business model permitted by statute therefore does not mean a new applicant can enter the licensing queue immediately. [5][2]