---
source: https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/
site: Cannabis Surety Bonds, a Surety One, Inc. platform
author: C. Constantin Poindexter, MA, JD, CPCU, AFSB, ASLI, ARe, AINS, AIS, CPLP, CICS
last_reviewed: 2026-09-21
---

# Hemp and CBD surety bonds

The 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act removed hemp from Schedule I and handed regulation to state agriculture departments. Several of them now bond cultivators, processors and the dealers who buy from farmers.

## Why hemp is bonded differently from marijuana

In December 2018 hemp production for all uses became lawful under federal law. The USDA Office of General Counsel followed with a [legal opinion](https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/HempExecSumandLegalOpinion.pdf) confirming the end of the hemp prohibition, and extracts of industrial hemp, including cannabidiol (CBD), left Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act. Hemp is an agricultural commodity, so its bonds look like agricultural bonds. They protect growers who deliver a crop and wait to be paid, and they secure permit conditions set by county agricultural commissioners.

**Hemp bonds by state, reviewed September 2026**

| State | Bond | Penal sum | Authority |
| [Georgia](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/georgia/) | Georgia Hemp Processor Bond | 2% of prior year purchases from Georgia growers, minimum $20,000, maximum $1,000,000 | O.C.G.A. § 2-23-6.1 |
| [Ohio](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/ohio/) | Ohio Hemp Processor Bond | $10,000 or $20,000 by prior year volume | Ohio Adm. Code 901:14-2-07 |
| [Colorado](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/colorado/) | Colorado Commodity Handler or Farm Products Dealer Bond | 2% of annual purchases, $10,000 minimum, $1,000,000 maximum | C.R.S. Title 35, Articles 36 and 37 |
| [California](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/california/) | California County Industrial Hemp Permit Bond | Set by county ordinance, usually by acreage | Cal. Food & Agric. Code div. 24; county ordinances |

Each state has its own page with the statute or ordinance, the bond form, the claim process and what we need to underwrite it: [Georgia](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/georgia/), [Ohio](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/ohio/), [Colorado](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/colorado/) and [California](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/california/).

## Processor and handler bonds

A processor or commodity handler bond guarantees payment to the producers who sell to the licensee. The amount is usually tied to purchase volume: two percent of prior year purchases in [Georgia](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/georgia/) and [Colorado](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/colorado/), and a two step schedule of $10,000 or $20,000 in [Ohio](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/ohio/). A growing processor should expect the requirement to grow with it. Underwriting looks at working capital and payables, because the claim scenario is a processor that cannot pay its farmers.

## County permit bonds

California counties such as Lake, Stanislaus and Tehama condition an industrial hemp permit on a bond that secures the county's cost of abatement if a crop tests hot or a site is abandoned. Amounts are set by acreage, from $2,500 in Stanislaus County to $2,500 per acre in Tehama County. See [California county hemp bonds](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/hemp-bonds/california/).

## State programs

- [California Industrial Hemp Program](https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/industrialhemp/)

- [Colorado Industrial Hemp Program](https://ag.colorado.gov/plants/industrial-hemp)

- [Georgia Department of Agriculture](https://agr.georgia.gov/)

- [Ohio Department of Agriculture](https://agri.ohio.gov/)

The hemp bonding landscape is still expanding as states bring permitting regimes online and as Congress revisits the definition of hemp. If your state has asked for a bond that is not listed here, send us the form.

**Written and reviewed by [C. Constantin Poindexter](https://www.linkedin.com/in/constantinpoindexter/), MA, JD, CPCU, AFSB, ASLI, ARe, AINS, AIS, CPLP, CICS.** Founder of Surety One, Inc., Cannabis Insurance Coverage Specialist, attorney and surety underwriter for more than thirty years. Author of [The Contractor's Guide to Surety Bonds](https://constantinpoindexterauthor.com/). [View his cannabis insurance credentials.](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/about/) Last reviewed September 21, 2026.

## Get your cannabis bond quoted today

Application review and quoting are free, and there is no obligation to buy. Bonds of $25,000 or less are usually issued the same business day.

[Apply for a bond](https://cannabissuretybonds.com/apply/)[Talk to an underwriter: (919) 859-5294](tel:+19198595294)[Toll free (800) 373-2804](tel:+18003732804)