The New York Cannabis Control Board has approved the application form and opening date for the State’s first adult-use cannabis nursery license application window. The portal is scheduled to open on November 5, 2026, and will close once the Office of Cannabis Management (“OCM”) receives 50 submissions. Applications submitted after the first 50 will not be treated as filed, and the application fee will be returned.
What the License Authorizes
A nursery license authorizes the acquisition and propagation of cannabis plants, clones, seeds and immature plants for sale to New York licensees authorized to cultivate, including cultivators, microbusinesses and registered organizations with cultivation authority. It does not authorize direct sales to consumers. Nursery products may ultimately reach home cultivators only through a licensee separately authorized to make retail sales.
License Types and Fees
- Outdoor: up to 100,000 square feet; $750 license fee.
- Mixed-light: up to 10,000 square feet; $1,000 license fee.
- Indoor: up to 10,000 square feet; $2,000 license fee.
The application fee is $1,000 for each license type.
Key Eligibility and Application Considerations
- Applicants must obtain a Nursery Grower Certificate of Registration from the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.
- A nursery license is a supply-tier license. A nursery licensee may not hold a prohibited direct or indirect interest in a standalone retail dispensary or other restricted retail-tier business.
- The application requires ownership and true-party-of-interest disclosures, a capitalization table, background information, and disclosure of certain investors, lenders, landlords and service providers.
- Applicants may identify a proposed location, but should be prepared to document control through an executed deed or lease, or an option to purchase or lease, and provide cultivation-area and operational information.
- A labor peace agreement must be provided before OCM will issue the license.
Practical Takeaways
Because the initial window is capped by submissions rather than by a fixed closing date, prospective applicants should complete entity, ownership, disclosure, location-control and supporting documentation before the portal opens. OCM has stated that the 50-application threshold is intended to manage review capacity — not to cap the total number of nursery licenses — and that it anticipates recommending additional application windows after processing the initial cohort. That statement does not guarantee the timing or size of any later round.
Prospective applicants should evaluate demand across both available sales channels. Nursery licensees may sell seeds, clones and other permitted nursery products to licensees authorized to cultivate, and may also sell permitted products to retail dispensaries and microbusinesses with retail authorization for resale to consumers for home cultivation. Applicants should assess the likely mix and concentration of wholesale customers in each channel.
Harris Beach Murtha’s Cannabis Industry Team advises licensees, applicants, investors, landlords, lenders and ancillary businesses on regulatory compliance, municipal approvals, transactions, financing, tax issues, litigation strategy and enforcement matters. The firm has been deeply involved in New York’s adult-use cannabis market and regularly counsels clients on the intersection of state cannabis regulation, local zoning and preemption.
If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out to Jason W. Klimek at (585) 419-8646 and jklimek@harrisbeachmurtha.com, or the Harris Beach Murtha attorney with whom you most frequently work.
This alert is not a substitute for advice of counsel on specific legal issues.
Harris Beach Murtha’s lawyers and consultants practice from offices throughout Connecticut in Bantam, Hartford, New Haven and Stamford; New York State in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Saratoga Springs, Syracuse, Long Island and White Plains; as well as in Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and Newark, New Jersey.