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How to Change Ownership

Please see below for required forms and procedures for a Change of Ownership (COO). Send completed forms to AGR.CannabisCOO@illinois.gov. NOTE: We no longer accept COO fee payments or forms in the mail. Applicants will be invoiced for fees via the online portal. Any mailed checks will be voided and returned.

I. Application Form

  • To be filled out by current ownership and emailed to AGR.CannabisCOO@illinois.gov along with all other relevant forms below. You will be invoiced for your fee in the portal.
  • Craft Growers, Infusers, and Transporters, use this form. Original 21 Cultivation Centers licensed by the IDOA, use this form.
  • Page 1: List all current and proposed owners by name in the appropriate column along with their ownership percentages. 

  • Percentages in each column must total 100%. If the list is extensive, you may attach a table on a separate page. 

  • We will not accept a business entity name alone in either column (e.g. "Cannabis Producer LLC"). Break all entities out into individuals' names and percentages. 

  • If the entity is a trust, include both the beneficiary and the trustee's names in the ownership list.

  • Fees are listed in Step 3. Transporters are exempt from fees until January 1, 2027. 

II. New Ownership Contact Form

III. Background Checks

  • Updated August 2025: Principal Officers1 who are being added to a licensed entity’s Ownership Structure for the first time must undergo a Background Check. This affords the Department of Agriculture and the Ownership Structure an opportunity to fully vet an incoming Principal Officer before inclusion. See Examples 1 and 2 below. 
    • Principal Officers who must submit a Background Check must take this Fingerprint Consent Form to a participating in-state vendor. 
    • A list of participating vendors is found here. 
    • Once the prints have been taken, send the completed form to AGR.CannabisCOO@illinois.gov
    • If the applicant is out-of-state, we encourage them to come to Illinois for fingerprinting if it is convenient. If being printed in Illinois is not possible, please see the fourth FAQ here for how to submit fingerprints from out of state.
  • Example 1: In 2020, a Principal Officer underwent an initial Background Check as a component of an application to affiliate with “Lucky Green Craft Grow” during a Change of Ownership action. The same Officer’s ownership percentage in “Lucky Green” is changing as part of a new Change of Ownership. This Officer does not need to undergo a new Background Check since they have already satisfied the requirement as part of the initial application to affiliate with “Lucky Green.” 
  • Example 2: The same Principal Officer is being added as an owner to “CannGrow Transportation” through a Change of Ownership. “Lucky Green Craft Grow” and “CannGrow Transportation” are not affiliated with each other and do not share an Ownership Structure. Even though the Principal Officer underwent a Background Check for “Lucky Green Craft Grow,” they are being added to “CannGrow’s” Ownership Structure for the first time. Therefore, they must undergo a new Background Check.

IV. DCR Consent to Transfer Ownership

  • Current owners must consent to transfer their ownership in writing if: 
    • They are staying with the company and their percentage decreases
    • They are leaving the business altogether
  • Current owners may use the Bureau’s Consent to Transfer Form, which is drafted for a single owner’s signature. Alternatively, the license holder may draft and sign their own consent to transfer ownership statement.  
  • If it is more convenient, you may draft a blanket consent form that includes the intention of the document and the names and numbers of the licenses being traded. Below the explanation, we require a wet or electronic signature from each owner whose ownership percentage is decreasing.
    • A Power of Attorney or Head-of-Business may not sign on the owners’ behalf.
  • Note: If a Current Owner is staying with the business but their ownership percentage stays the same or increases, they do not need to fill out this form.

V. Principal Officer Information Form

  • All Principal Officers among new ownership must fill out this form, irrespective of whether they are new to the ownership structure.

VI. Form IL-2842, Power of Attorney (optional)

  • Some licensees prefer to name a Power of Attorney (POA), either solely for the COO transaction or to act on their behalf for all business. 

[1] According to the CRTA, 705/1-10: "Principal officer" includes a cannabis business establishment applicant or licensed cannabis business establishment's board member, owner with more than 1% interest of the total cannabis business establishment or more than 5% interest of the total cannabis business establishment of a publicly traded company, president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, partner, officer, member, manager member, or person with a profit sharing, financial interest, or revenue sharing arrangement. The definition includes a person with authority to control the cannabis business establishment, a person who assumes responsibility for the debts of the cannabis business establishment and who is further defined in this Act.