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CSQ Certification: Cannabis and Hemp Safety & Quality Audits

CSQ (Cannabis Safety & Quality) is a voluntary, third-party safety and quality certification for cannabis and hemp operations, with standards for cultivation, extraction, manufacturing, retail and warehousing & distribution. An auditor checks your documented system, and how your team actually runs it, against the CSQ standard for your activity. Kiwa ASI is CSQ’s licensed certification body: we audit and certify to all five CSQ standards.

  • CSQ Version 2.0
  • 5 Standards, Levels 1–3
  • Cannabis & Hemp
  • CSQ’s Licensed Certification Body

Last updated October 22, 2026

Get a CSQ Audit Quote

Tell us your license type and state, what you grow, make, sell or store, and how many sites. We’ll recommend a CSQ standard and level, quote your audit and tell you the earliest dates we can offer.

What Is CSQ Certification?

CSQ stands for Cannabis Safety & Quality. It is a process certification: an auditor checks your documented safety and quality system, and how your team actually runs it, against the CSQ standard for your activity. Every CSQ standard applies to cannabis and hemp alike, “regardless of regulatory classification”, so licensed marijuana operators and hemp processors are audited to the same requirements. CSQ 2.0 (Version 2.0) was published in October 2025 and took effect in January 2026.

CSQ is built on ASTM’s cannabis standards, ISO standards, current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP), Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (cGACP) for growers, Good Handling Practices (cGHP) for retail, Good Distribution Practices (cGDP) for warehousing, HACCP and AHPA botanical guidance. CSQ also lists U.S. FDA rules, including 21 CFR Parts 111 and 117, among the regulations its standards were developed from.

What CSQ is not

CSQ isn’t a product test or a product approval, and the CSQ logo can’t go on product packaging. It isn’t a state license, a regulator’s approval, an FDA or DEA authorization, or an EU GMP certificate. CSQ is a standard, so it isn’t itself accredited, and it isn’t GFSI-benchmarked. Kiwa ASI audits and certifies; we don’t provide laboratory testing.

  • Program

    Who Runs It

    CSQ is owned by ASI Global Standards, LLC. CSQ says its program conforms to ISO/IEC 17067, the international standard for certification schemes, and a Technical Advisory Committee of cannabis, hemp, certification and accreditation experts reviews it at least once a year and makes recommendations.

  • Certification body

    Who Certifies

    CSQ certificates are issued by ASI Food Safety, LLC (Kiwa ASI), CSQ’s licensed certification body. ASI Food Safety holds ANAB accreditation to ISO/IEC 17065. CSQ may observe an audit, or visit afterward, to check our work.

  • Registry

    Who Holds It

    CSQ’s public registry lists 115 certificates held by 111 licensed operations in 16 U.S. states (October 22, 2026). Each listing shows the site’s scope, dates, certificate number, status and audit score.

Why Cannabis and Hemp Operators Get CSQ Certified

CSQ certification is voluntary: no state rule we’ve found requires it. Operators certify because a state rule asks for a quality system or a third-party audit, because a brand or buyer asks for proof, or because they want a system that holds up when something goes wrong.

  • State rule

    Missouri Names CSQ

    Missouri requires every licensee to implement a quality management system built on a published standard within one year of approval to operate, and its rule names Cannabis Safety and Quality (CSQ) among its examples (19 CSR 100-1.100(4)(D), as of October 2026). Missouri requires the system, not a certificate, and the standard you choose has to fit your facility type: if you choose CSQ, a cultivator would usually use CSQ Cultivation, a manufacturer CSQ Extraction or Manufacturing, and a dispensary CSQ Retail or Deli-Style Retail.

  • State rule

    New York Requires a GMP Audit

    New York requires adult-use processors, and medical registered organizations that extract or manufacture, to submit proof of a qualified third-party GMP audit within one year of commencing licensed operations (9 NYCRR 123.6(a)(2), 113.12(d)(2)). Cannabinoid hemp extractors and manufacturers must file a qualified third-party GMP certification before their license issues (9 NYCRR 114.4(f)). Kiwa ASI is on the Office of Cannabis Management’s approved adult-use and cannabinoid hemp GMP auditor lists. New York doesn’t name or approve any private standard.

  • State rules

    Florida and Maryland Require Third-Party GMP Checks

    Florida requires medical marijuana treatment centers’ processing facilities to pass a Food Safety GMP inspection by a nationally accredited certifying body within 12 months of licensure (§ 381.986(8)(e)9, Fla. Stat.). Maryland requires a third-party cGMP certification (21 CFR Part 111 or 210), from a certifier accredited to certify to those rules, for high-potency edibles, which are sold to medical patients only (COMAR 14.17.13.05(G)). Neither state names a scheme, so whether a CSQ certificate meets either rule is the regulator’s decision. See our Florida and Maryland guides.

  • Supply chain

    Brands and Co-Packers

    Every CSQ standard requires certified operations to make sure their contract manufacturers meet the applicable CSQ requirements through a second- or third-party audit (2A.11, or 2B.10 in standard Retail and Warehousing & Distribution). A co-packer’s own CSQ certificate can be one way to show that, and each audit covers only the licensed site being certified, so a brand’s certificate doesn’t cover its co-packer’s facility.

  • Transparency

    Proof Anyone Can Check

    Buyers, partners, investors and regulators can look up any CSQ-certified site, including its audit score, on CSQ’s public registry.

  • Day to day

    A System That Holds Up

    CSQ requires an annual internal audit, an annual mock recall completed in under two hours, supplier approval, corrective and preventive action, and, in most standards, annual ISO/IEC 17025 testing of air and water.

Michigan and Ohio set GMP rules without requiring a certificate, and we haven’t found another state rule that names CSQ. Whether a particular certificate meets a state’s requirement is the regulator’s decision; we’ll confirm scope with you before you book. See the cannabis GMP rules by state for every state guide.

Which CSQ Standard Fits Your Operation?

CSQ 2.0 has five standards. Match each activity at your licensed site to its standard: vertically integrated sites often certify more than one, such as Extraction and Manufacturing, on one certificate. Two addenda extend the standards for supplement-type and medicinal products.

  • Version 2.0

    CSQ Cultivation

    For cannabis and hemp growers, from seeds, clones and tissue culture through growing, harvest, drying, curing and packing flower. Pre-harvest work follows Good Agricultural and Collection Practices (cGACP), as does outdoor harvest until the crop leaves the field; other harvest and post-harvest work follows cGMP.

    • Level 1 = cGACP + cGMP
    • Growing, harvest, drying, curing, packing flower
  • Version 2.0

    CSQ Extraction

    For cannabis and hemp extractors: trichome separation, solvent-based and solventless extraction, refinement, purification and conversion of cannabinoids, and packing concentrates, extracts and isolates.

    • Level 1 = cGMP
    • Making finished products too? Add CSQ Manufacturing
  • Version 2.0

    CSQ Manufacturing

    For cannabis and hemp manufacturers and packers: flower packing and grinding, pre-rolls and infused pre-rolls, vapes and other inhalables, edibles and beverages, and topicals.

    • Level 1 = cGMP
    • Inhalable, ingestible and topical products
  • Version 1.0 · New in CSQ 2.0

    CSQ Retail & Deli-Style Retail

    For licensed cannabis dispensaries and hemp retailers. CSQ Retail covers handling, storing and selling products under current Good Handling Practices (cGHP). Deli-Style Retail is for stores that also pack or label flower at the counter, roll pre-rolls in store, or display open flower customers can see or smell; those activities also follow cGMP.

    • Retail Level 1 = cGHP; Deli-Style adds cGMP
    • Retail uses a basic HACCP module at Level 2
  • Version 1.0 · New in CSQ 2.0

    CSQ Warehousing & Distribution

    For cannabis and hemp warehouses and distributors that handle, store and ship materials and products, under current Good Distribution Practices (cGDP).

    • Level 1 = cGDP
    • Storage, handling and shipping
  • Addendum · Version 2.0

    Dietary Supplement Addendum

    For cannabis or hemp products marketed and sold as dietary supplements or supplement ingredients. CSQ Cultivation, Extraction and Manufacturing require it for those products, and it needs a Level 2 or Level 3 certification. It’s built on 21 CFR Part 111 and covers reserve and voucher samples, master production and batch records, and botanical identity.

    • At least 4 hours, pass/fail, own report within 72 hours
    • Audited alongside your CSQ audit or later, never before you’re CSQ certified
    • Retail or distribution scope? Ask us; CSQ’s addendum names Cultivation, Extraction and Manufacturing
  • Addendum · Version 1.0, October 2026

    Pharma-GMP Addendum

    CSQ has also published a Pharma-GMP Addendum for Level 3 sites that grow, process, make, store, distribute or sell cannabis materials or products as medicinal cannabinoid products. It’s built on 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211 and EU GMP (EudraLex Volume 4), with at least two days onsite and pass/fail scoring.

    • Level 3 only
    • A private third-party assessment, as CSQ states: not an EU GMP certificate, an FDA or DEA authorization or registration, or a drug approval
    • Ask us about availability

The CSQ supplement addendum assesses supplement-specific controls; it doesn’t decide whether a product can legally be sold as a dietary supplement. For Australian medicinal cannabis, CSQ doesn’t replace TGA or ODC licensing or GMP evidence; see how CSQ fits in Australia.

Which CSQ Level Do You Need?

Every CSQ standard has three levels, and each adds a module. CSQ doesn’t assign a level by license type, and the levels are built so you can move up over time. Most certified sites hold Level 1 today (53 of 59 CSQ 2.0 listings, October 2026). Level 2 or 3 is required for the Dietary Supplement Addendum, and Level 3 for the Pharma-GMP Addendum. Tell us what you make and we’ll walk through the options.

  • Modules 1–3

    Level 1

    The core practices for your activity: GACP plus GMP for cultivation, GMP for extraction and manufacturing, Good Handling Practices for retail (plus GMP for deli-style) and Good Distribution Practices for warehousing.

    • Management system: documents, internal audits, CAPA, complaints, recalls, product defense, fraud and crisis management
    • Good manufacturing, handling or distribution practices for your facility
    • Requirements for your cannabinoid products and processes
    • At least 1 day onsite; usually scheduled with you, with an unannounced audit at least every three years
  • Modules 1–4

    Level 2

    Level 1 plus HACCP.

    • Full HACCP, or the basic HACCP module for standard retail
    • Full HACCP: one person plus a back-up certified in a HACCP course approved by the International HACCP Alliance
    • At least 1.5 days onsite; usually scheduled with you, with an unannounced audit at least every three years
    • Needed for the Dietary Supplement Addendum
  • Modules 1–5

    Level 3

    Level 2 plus an advanced safety and quality management system.

    • Advanced management system requirements, safety and quality culture, customer satisfaction and product realization
    • At least 2 days onsite
    • Every Level 3 audit is unannounced, including the first
    • Needed for the Pharma-GMP Addendum

What Happens in a CSQ Audit?

First audits start with a one-day offsite review of your documents, no more than six months before the site visit. It isn’t scored, but anything you leave unfixed counts against your onsite score. Onsite, the auditor walks your whole facility, inside and out, and checks that your documents match what your team actually does. During the audit, your team runs a traceability exercise, one step forward and one step back; it doesn’t replace your own annual mock recall. Certification and recertification audits always happen at your licensed site, timed to your main operating season.

CSQ Audit Modules

ModuleWhat the auditor checks
1 Management system (all levels)Documented CSQ system with SOPs and a copy of your local regulations, management commitment, regulatory compliance, documents and records, internal audits, CAPA, complaints, recalls and withdrawals, product defense, fraud prevention and crisis management
2A Good manufacturing practicesCultivation, Extraction, Manufacturing and Deli-Style Retail: facility, equipment and calibration, cleaning and sanitation, waste, pest management, air and water safety, environmental monitoring, storage, inventory and traceability, supplier approval, production and process controls, personnel
2B Good handling or distribution practicesRetail and Warehousing & Distribution: the same topics without environmental monitoring, with product handling or warehousing and distribution controls
3A–3E Cannabinoid products and processesRequirements specific to cultivation (3A), extraction (3B), manufacturing (3C), deli-style retail (3D) or cannabinoid materials and products in retail and distribution (3E)
4A / 4B HACCP (Level 2 and up)Full HACCP with one person and a back-up certified in an IHA-approved course, hazard analysis, critical control points, validation and verification; basic HACCP for standard retail
5 Advanced quality management (Level 3)Advanced management system requirements, safety and quality culture, customer satisfaction and product realization

How CSQ Audits Are Scored

Every audit starts at 100, and every nonconformance deducts points. You need 70 or more for a certificate:

ResultScoreWhat happens next
Certified80–100Certificate; next certification audit in a year
Certified with surveillance70–79Certificate plus a surveillance audit about six months later; aim for 80 or more there, or the certificate can be suspended
Not certified0–69No certificate; wait six months to reapply

Your certificate lists your scope, products, CSQ level and audit score, and CSQ’s public registry shows your score too. Audit details stay confidential.

Nonconformance Categories

  • Critical−100

    A requirement that has not been implemented and is a significant risk to product safety and quality. A critical finding is an automatic failure.

  • Major−10

    A deficiency in meeting a CSQ requirement that, if not addressed, will likely lead to a risk to product safety and quality.

  • Minor−1

    A deficiency in meeting a CSQ requirement that, if not addressed, may lead to a risk to product safety or quality.

After the audit: you’ll hear the findings at the closing meeting and get the reviewed audit evidence record within 7 days. Corrective actions for every minor and major finding must be approved and closed within 30 days of the closing meeting, so submit early. Expect a certification decision within 45 days of your audit and your electronic certificate within 5 days of that decision.

CSQ Audit Time and Cost

There’s no single price. Audit time drives the fee, and Kiwa ASI sets your audit time from your site’s size, staff, products and processes, never below CSQ’s minimums:

  • 1 day onsite

    Level 1

    Plus a half day of report time. First audits add a 1-day offsite document review.

  • 1.5 days onsite

    Level 2

    Plus a day of report time. Adds HACCP.

  • 2 days onsite

    Level 3

    Plus a day of report time. Unannounced.

  • 4 hours minimum

    Dietary Supplement Addendum

    Pass/fail, with its own report within 72 hours.

  • 60+ days

    Records Before Your Audit

    CSQ recommends at least 60 days of records before your first audit.

  • 1 year + 45 days

    Certificate

    Recertify every year before expiry. A score of 70–79 adds a surveillance audit.

Other cost drivers: each extra standard in scope, the number of sites, travel, and any scope extension audit for new processes mid-cycle. Your own costs include CSQ’s Certification Program Overview course for your program manager; from Level 2, an IHA-approved HACCP course for one person and a back-up (standard Retail uses a basic HACCP module without this); and, for Cultivation, Extraction, Manufacturing and Deli-Style Retail, annual air and water tests by an ISO/IEC 17025 lab. Request a quote for your scope.

How to Get CSQ Certified

How long it takes depends on where your system stands today. Start with CSQ’s Certification Program Requirements (PDF, 43 MB), which set out the rules for certification. The CSQ standards themselves aren’t posted for public download, so ask how to get the current version for your scope when you request a quote.

  1. Step 1: Request a Quote

    Tell us your license, activities, products and sites. We’ll recommend the CSQ standard and level that fit and quote your audit. You’ll need a current license for your cannabis or hemp operation.

  2. Step 2: Name a Program Manager

    Name a CSQ Certification Program Manager. That person must complete CSQ’s online Certification Program Overview course, and we confirm their qualification at the document review.

  3. Step 3: Build and Run Your System

    Document your procedures and run them. CSQ recommends at least 60 days of records before your audit. Every CSQ standard also requires an annual internal audit, and CSQ strongly recommends a practice audit, which your own team can run, so you can close gaps first. New operation? If your license requires an audit before you can start operating and you don’t have records yet, CSQ allows a 6-month provisional certificate, followed by a full audit around the six-month mark; ask us whether your regulator accepts it.

  4. Step 4: Sign the Agreement and Book

    Sign a certification agreement with Kiwa ASI (ASI Food Safety, LLC), CSQ’s licensed certification body, and book the document review and site visit. At Level 3, even the first onsite audit is unannounced, 30 to 60 days after the document review.

  5. Step 5: Document Review and Onsite Audit

    Fix what the document review finds before your site visit. It isn’t scored, but anything left open counts against your audit score. Onsite, the auditor walks your whole facility, checks records against practice, and your team runs a traceability exercise.

  6. Step 6: Close Corrective Actions

    Corrective actions for every minor and major finding must be approved and closed within 30 days of the closing meeting.

  7. Step 7: Certification and Listing

    Expect a certification decision within 45 days of your audit and your certificate within 5 days of it. Your site is then listed on CSQ’s public registry, and you recertify every year.

Staying CSQ Certified

Certification is a yearly cycle. These rules keep your certificate current:

  • Annual

    Recertify Every Year

    Certificates expire one year and 45 days after your last audit day, so you recertify every year before expiry. Recertification skips the document review. In extreme circumstances such as fire, severe weather or a pandemic, we can extend a certificate after a risk assessment.

  • Unannounced

    Expect Unannounced Audits

    At least one audit every three years is unannounced, at every level, and every Level 3 audit is unannounced. Give us your blackout dates (days you won’t be operating) at least 60 days before your unannounced audit window. Refusing an unannounced audit suspends the certificate.

  • Notice

    Report Within 72 Hours

    Tell us within 72 hours of any recall, voluntary withdrawal or regulatory warning. A missed notice suspends your certificate.

  • Changes

    Tell Us About Changes

    Tell us early about new products, processes, owners, addresses or a new program manager. Adding a product line mid-cycle? A scope extension audit (at least one day onsite) adds it without changing your expiry date.

  • Logo

    Use the Logo the Right Way

    Once certified, you can use the CSQ logo and your level insignia on your website, marketing, displays and press releases, but not on product packaging.

  • Escalation

    Suspension, Complaints and Appeals

    A suspended site must send a corrective action plan within 72 hours and have it approved within 7 days, and suspensions show on CSQ’s public registry. Complaints and appeals come to us first (complaint form, appeals), and we respond within 72 hours.

Moving From CSQ 1.x to CSQ 2.0

Already CSQ certified? Your current certificate runs to its expiry date, one year and 45 days after your last audit day, and your next certification audit is to CSQ 2.0. As of October 2026, the CSQ 1.x certificates on CSQ’s registry all expire by February 2027, so if you hold one, book your audit now. Nothing changes over automatically: the CSQ 2.0 changes are verified at that audit. When we quote it, we’ll confirm your level, your scope and whether your first CSQ 2.0 audit includes a document review. Former 21 CFR 111 Addendum holders: the Dietary Supplement Addendum now needs Level 2 or 3.

CSQ’s level mapping from CSQ 1.x to CSQ 2.0
Previous CSQ certificationCSQ 2.0 equivalent
CSQ GMP or CSQ GAPLevel 1
CSQ GMP+ or CSQ GAP+Level 2
CSQ 1.2Level 3
CSQ 1.2 + 21 CFR 111 AddendumLevel 3 + Dietary Supplement Addendum
CSQ’s standard mapping from CSQ 1.x to CSQ 2.0
Previous CSQ standardCSQ 2.0 standard
Cultivation and Growing of Cannabis PlantsCSQ Cultivation
Manufacturing and Extraction of CannabisCSQ Extraction
Manufacturing of Cannabis Infused Food & BeveragesCSQ Manufacturing
Manufacturing of Cannabis Infused Dietary SupplementsGeneral requirements merged into the CSQ standards; supplement-specific requirements moved into the Dietary Supplement Addendum
Manufacturing of Cannabis Infused Dietary Supplements + 21 CFR 111 AddendumCSQ Manufacturing + Dietary Supplement Addendum
21 CFR 111 AddendumDietary Supplement Addendum
(none)CSQ Retail & Deli-Style Retail (new)
(none)CSQ Warehousing & Distribution (new)

Source: CSQ’s CSQ to CSQ 2.0 transition guide.

Prepare Your Team with Kiwa ASI Training

Live online courses, taught by experienced food safety trainers, on topics the CSQ standards cover. From Level 2, CSQ requires a HACCP course approved by the International HACCP Alliance; the other courses are optional. CSQ’s own Certification Program Overview course for your program manager is taken online through CSQ.

HACCP

HACCP Certification Training

IHA-accredited HACCP certification. From Level 2, CSQ needs one person and a back-up certified in an IHA-approved HACCP course (4A.2) for every standard except standard Retail, which uses a basic HACCP module.

16 contact hours · 4 half-days · Live via Zoom · 8:30 AM–12:30 PM CT

Upcoming dates$695 per seat
Internal Audit

Principles of Internal Auditing

Plan, run and report the annual internal audit every CSQ standard requires (1.5), and follow up with corrective action (1.6).

Full day · Live online · 8:30 AM–4:30 PM CT

Upcoming dates$499 per seat
Part 117

PCQI Certification Training

The FSPCA Preventive Controls for Human Food course, for edible makers in states that point to FDA’s 21 CFR Part 117.

22 contact hours · 5 half-days · Live via Zoom · 8:30 AM–12:30 PM CT

Upcoming dates$899 per seat

Need to train 6+ people? Request private training. Training is delivered by ASI Training and Consulting, LLC, separately from certification, and taking a course has no effect on your audit result.

Why Choose Kiwa ASI for CSQ Certification?

Kiwa ASI has audited food safety programs since the 1940s and today also audits dietary supplements, cosmetics, and cannabis and hemp operations.

  • Licensed

    CSQ’s Licensed Certification Body

    CSQ certificates are issued by ASI Food Safety, LLC (Kiwa ASI), CSQ’s licensed certification body. ASI Food Safety holds ANAB accreditation to ISO/IEC 17065.

  • Scope

    Every CSQ Standard

    We audit all five CSQ standards, for cannabis and hemp operations. Vertically integrated? Many sites certify more than one standard, such as Extraction and Manufacturing, on one certificate.

  • New York

    An OCM-Approved GMP Auditor

    Kiwa ASI is on the New York Office of Cannabis Management’s approved adult-use and cannabinoid hemp GMP auditor lists. New York doesn’t name or approve any private standard, including CSQ. See our New York guide.

  • Auditors

    Qualified Auditors

    Every Kiwa ASI CSQ auditor is registered with CSQ each year, holds CSQ lead-auditor training and HACCP training recognized by the International HACCP Alliance, and is approved standard by standard. CSQ rotates auditors, so no auditor does more than three certification audits in a row at your site.

  • Integrity

    Impartiality, Disclosed

    CSQ is owned by ASI Global Standards, LLC, which, like ASI Food Safety, LLC, is part of ASI Holdings. CSQ discloses that relationship and publishes an impartiality statement. Auditors can’t audit a site they provided consulting to, including delivering training, in the past three years, and every report gets an independent technical review before a certificate is issued. As the certification body, ASI Food Safety, LLC doesn’t provide management-system consulting or internal audits to the operations it certifies.

  • Partnership

    Global Kiwa Network

    Part of Kiwa, a testing, inspection and certification group operating in more than 30 countries. Kiwa ASI audits and certifies; it doesn’t provide laboratory testing.

Frequently Asked Questions About CSQ Certification

What is CSQ certification?

CSQ stands for Cannabis Safety & Quality. CSQ certification is a voluntary, third-party safety and quality certification for cannabis and hemp operations, with five standards that span the supply chain from cultivation to retail. It’s a process certification: an auditor checks your documented system, and how your team actually runs it, against the CSQ standard for your activity. CSQ 2.0 took effect in January 2026.

Is CSQ certification required?

No. We haven’t found a state rule that requires CSQ certification itself. Missouri requires every licensee to implement a quality management system built on a published standard and names CSQ among its examples, but it requires the system, not a certificate. New York requires processors to submit proof of a qualified third-party GMP audit, and Florida and Maryland require third-party GMP checks for some licensees, without naming a scheme. Whether a particular certificate meets a state’s requirement is the regulator’s decision. See the cannabis GMP rules by state.

Which CSQ standard do I need?

Match each activity at your licensed site to its standard: growing to CSQ Cultivation; extracting, refining or converting to CSQ Extraction; making or packing finished products such as pre-rolls, vapes, edibles, beverages and topicals to CSQ Manufacturing; selling to CSQ Retail or Deli-Style Retail; and storing and shipping to CSQ Warehousing & Distribution. Many sites certify more than one standard on one certificate.

Which CSQ level do I need?

CSQ doesn’t assign a level by license type. Most certified sites hold Level 1 today. Level 2 adds HACCP and is the minimum for the Dietary Supplement Addendum; Level 3 adds an advanced quality management system with unannounced audits and is required for the Pharma-GMP Addendum. Tell us what you make, and we’ll walk through the options.

Does CSQ cover hemp?

Yes. Every CSQ standard applies to cannabis and hemp alike, “regardless of regulatory classification”, so hemp growers, extractors, manufacturers, retailers and distributors are audited to the same requirements. You’ll need a current license for your operation. CSQ certifies your safety and quality system, not your product’s legal status. Federally, products containing cannabinoids the plant can’t naturally produce fall outside the hemp definition from November 12, 2026, and the full new definition, including a 0.4 mg total THC per container cap for final products, applies from December 11, 2026 (as of October 2026).

What happens during a CSQ audit?

First audits start with a one-day offsite document review, no more than six months before the site visit. Onsite, the auditor walks your whole facility, inside and out, checks that your documents match what your team actually does, and watches your team run a traceability exercise. Minimum onsite time is 1 day at Level 1, 1.5 days at Level 2 and 2 days at Level 3. Level 1 and 2 audits are usually scheduled with you, but at least one audit every three years is unannounced at every level. Every Level 3 audit is unannounced, including the first.

How is a CSQ audit scored?

Every audit starts at 100. Each minor finding deducts 1 point, each major 10, and a critical finding is an automatic failure. A score of 80–100 earns a certificate with the next certification audit in a year; 70–79 earns a certificate plus a surveillance audit about six months later; below 70 means no certificate and a six-month wait to reapply.

How long does CSQ certification take?

It depends on where your system stands. CSQ recommends at least 60 days of records before the audit. First audits add a one-day document review, held no more than six months before the site visit. After the audit, corrective actions close within 30 days, and you can expect a certification decision within 45 days. Most CSQ 2.0 certificates have been issued within about six weeks of the audit (October 2026).

How much does CSQ certification cost?

There’s no single price. Audit time drives the fee: your CSQ level (1, 1.5 or 2 days onsite minimum), the number of standards, the Dietary Supplement Addendum (at least 4 hours), the 1-day document review on first audits, your facility’s size, staff and product range, the number of sites, and travel. A score of 70–79 adds a surveillance audit. Your own costs include CSQ’s Overview course for your program manager; from Level 2, an IHA-approved HACCP course for one person and a back-up (not needed for standard Retail); and, for Cultivation, Extraction, Manufacturing and Deli-Style Retail, annual air and water tests by an ISO/IEC 17025 lab. Request a quote for your scope.

Who issues CSQ certificates?

CSQ certificates are issued by ASI Food Safety, LLC (Kiwa ASI), CSQ’s licensed certification body. ASI Food Safety holds ANAB accreditation to ISO/IEC 17065. CSQ says its program conforms to ISO/IEC 17067, the international standard for certification schemes; CSQ is a standard, so it isn’t itself accredited, and it isn’t GFSI-benchmarked. See CSQ’s program oversight and impartiality statement.

I hold a CSQ 1.x certificate (GMP, GMP+, GAP, GAP+ or 1.2). What changes?

Your current certificate runs to its expiry date, and your next certification audit is to CSQ 2.0; book it before your certificate expires. CSQ’s transition guide maps CSQ GMP or GAP to Level 1, GMP+ or GAP+ to Level 2, CSQ 1.2 to Level 3, and CSQ 1.2 with the 21 CFR 111 Addendum to Level 3 plus the Dietary Supplement Addendum. When we quote your next audit, we’ll confirm your level, your scope and whether it includes a document review. Book early so your certificate doesn’t lapse.

Do I need the Dietary Supplement Addendum?

If your cannabis or hemp material or product is marketed and sold as a dietary supplement or supplement ingredient, CSQ Cultivation, Extraction and Manufacturing require it, and it needs a Level 2 or Level 3 certification. It’s built on 21 CFR Part 111 and audited alongside your CSQ audit or later, at least 4 hours, pass/fail. It assesses supplement-specific controls; it doesn’t decide whether a product can legally be sold as a dietary supplement.

What is the CSQ Pharma-GMP Addendum?

A CSQ add-on, published in October 2026, for Level 3 sites handling cannabis materials or products as medicinal cannabinoid products. It’s built on 21 CFR Parts 210 and 211 and EU GMP (EudraLex Volume 4), with at least two days onsite and pass/fail scoring. As CSQ states, it’s a private third-party assessment, not an EU GMP certificate, an FDA or DEA authorization or registration, or a drug approval. Ask us about availability.

Can I put the CSQ logo on my products?

No. Once certified, you can use the CSQ logo and your level insignia on your website, marketing, displays and press releases, but not on product packaging.

Does federal law require cannabis GMP certification?

No federal rule requires third-party GMP certification for state-licensed cannabis. State-licensed medical marijuana moved to Schedule III in April 2026, but that change added no GMP requirement. Adult-use marijuana remains Schedule I while broader rescheduling is pending (as of October 2026).

Does Kiwa ASI training affect my CSQ audit?

No. Training and certification are kept separate. CSQ certification audits are delivered by ASI Food Safety, LLC, the certification body. Training is delivered by ASI Training and Consulting, LLC, separately from certification, and taking a course has no effect on your audit result. CSQ lists delivering training as a possible consulting activity, and an auditor, technical reviewer or certification decision maker can’t work on your certification if they provided consulting to your operation in the past three years.

Ready to get your operation CSQ certified?

Tell us your license type, what you grow, make, sell or store, and how many sites. We’ll recommend a CSQ standard and level, quote your audit and tell you the earliest dates we can offer.

Standards & Trust

CSQ certificates are issued by ASI Food Safety, LLC (Kiwa ASI), CSQ’s licensed certification body. ASI Food Safety holds ANAB accreditation to ISO/IEC 17065. CSQ is a standard, so it isn’t itself accredited, and it isn’t GFSI-benchmarked. CSQ is owned by ASI Global Standards, LLC, which, like ASI Food Safety, is part of ASI Holdings (see CSQ’s program oversight and impartiality statement). Kiwa ASI training is delivered separately from certification.