From 7 May 2022, growing industrial hemp no longer requires the consent of the wójt (commune head) and is not subject to voivodeship limits. The condition is entry in the register of industrial hemp, kept by the director of the regional branch of the National Support Centre for Agriculture (KOWR). Legal basis: the Act on Counteracting Drug Addiction after the amendment of 24 March 2022 (Dz.U. 2022 item 763). The latest change, the Act of 3 July 2026 (Dz.U. 2026 item 1004), applies from 27 August 2026, and this guide takes it into account.
Step 1 — buy certified seed before you apply. With the application you attach an invoice (not a receipt) for the purchase of seed material in the elite or certified category, issued to the applicant, and a copy of the label from the packaging. The variety must be in the National Register kept by COBORU or in the Common Catalogue of Varieties, and have THC up to 0.3%. The requirement for certified seed does not apply only to seed production and scientific research. Which varieties and at what price: see the guide on industrial hemp varieties.
Step 2 — submit the application to the competent KOWR branch BEFORE sowing. The competent branch is determined by your place of residence or registered office, not by the location of the field. You submit the application in person, by post, via ePUAP or via eRolnik. From 30 January 2023 a new form applies; the old 2022 form is not accepted. In the application you give: your details and NIP/REGON/PESEL, the variety, the planned area, the cadastral plot numbers, the place of storage, the purpose of cultivation and, if you are not growing for your own needs, the details of the purchasing entity from the register. You also make declarations: that you have not been convicted for illegal cultivation of poppy, cannabis or coca, about the area for your own needs (up to 1 ha per year), and about the truthfulness of the data.
Step 3 — pay the stamp duty of PLN 30 (purchasing entity — PLN 125; power of attorney — PLN 17) and attach the confirmation. The director of the KOWR regional branch has 14 days from a complete application to make the entry. The entry is open-ended: you do not renew it each year and do not pay again.
Step 4 — keep up with your obligations after the entry. You report every change in data (area, plots, variety, use model, buyer) within 30 days; up to 27 August 2026 the deadline was 14 days. You also report cessation or suspension of cultivation within 30 days. You sell the harvest only to a purchasing entity from the KOWR register, or process it yourself. The 2026 Act, for the first time, distinguishes between “cultivation for own needs” (products for your own farm, without resale) and “processing on one’s own account” (products made from your own harvest may be sold). Previously producers confused these modes and gave KOWR incorrect data.
Step 5 — prepare for an inspection. Each year KOWR checks at least 10% of producers and 10% of purchasing entities (the same purchasing entity no more than once every three years). The inspector will compare the area with the application: a difference above 5% (and, for cultivation for own needs, an understatement of 10% or more) is an offence. A new rule from 2026: there is no offence if the actual area is smaller because adverse weather conditions destroyed part of the plantation.
What the mistakes cost. Cultivation or purchase contrary to the Act (including sowing without an entry) is an offence punishable by a fine. Failure to update data on time, failure to report cessation, failure to submit the purchasing entity’s report: a financial penalty of PLN 1,000. Obstructing an inspection: PLN 10,000 (from 27.08.2026 also for purchasing entities). Cultivating a variety that exceeds 0.3% THC during an ARiMR inspection means suspension of payments and proceedings; cultivating cannabis other than industrial hemp (above 0.3%) is a crime.
Subsidies are a separate track. Entry in the KOWR register is a condition for payments for industrial hemp, but you apply for the payment at ARiMR (eWniosekPlus), and you submit the cultivation declaration and seed labels to ARiMR no later than 1 September. In practice, missing labels led to the payment being withdrawn despite a correct field.
Purchasing entities have their own obligations: entry (PLN 125), contracts with producers and a report to KOWR by the end of July, based on the status as of 15 July. In July 2026 the register counted 76 purchasing entities for 1,681 producers, so it is worth having a buyer before you apply, not after the harvest. Who buys and on what terms: see the guide on purchase and contracting. Printable checklists and the full route for farmers: in the hemp centre.