Three Steps To Take After Preliminary License Approval

If you’re a cannabis entrepreneur in Minnesota who’s made it to the preliminary license approval stage—congratulations! You’ve cleared the theoretical phase and officially graduated from “dreaming it” to “doing it.” But before you can stock your dispensary shelves or plant your first crop, there’s one more bureaucratic beast to slay: the final plan of record (FPOR) and attendant pre-license inspection. Here’s your guide to navigating this next step—and making sure you don’t get tripped up by missing paperwork or pesky pest control protocols.

Before You Begin: Secure Cannabis Real Estate

Before drafting detailed standard operation procedures (SOPs), you’ll want to secure your property in Minnesota, so you have a location around which to center your cannabis business planning. The location will affect communication with local government, hiring, utilities, vendors, supply chain, and diagrams, among other factors. Once your facility location is under your control, get started on your Final Plan of Record submission and prepare for inspection and operation.

Step 1: Submit Final Plans of Record – The Minnesota Paperwork Workout

This first phase of cannabis business startup in Minnesota involves compiling what the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) calls your Final Plan of Record. This is where you lay out, in exhaustive detail, exactly how your business will function, stay compliant, and remain secure—from the facility floor plan to your product recall and waste procedures. Here’s an abridged taste of what’s expected:

Cannabis Facility & Site Readiness

Electrical, water, sewer access

Floors, walls, and ceilings—must be cleanable, durable

Pest control, sanitation stations, ventilation, odor control, and product storage

Cultivation methods, harvest schedules, and where you’ll dry and cure your flower

Facility and Product Security (Yes, All 32 Questions)

Video surveillance specs (frames per second, resolution, power backup—you name it)

Alarm systems with audible alerts and law enforcement connectivity

Access control with ID badges and color coding

Inventory tracking, restricted areas, and secure recordkeeping

Standard Operating Procedures

Inventory control, diversion prevention, online sales, sample handling, and waste disposal

Quality assurance: how you’ll store, segregate, recall, and track every product

Accounting practices, tax compliance, and even how you’ll handle customer complaints

Endorsement-Specific Procedures

Want to process cannabis? Describe your extraction methods and chemical use.

Planning to take on retail cannabis? Detail your POS system, ID verification, and product security.

Offering medical cannabis too? Show how you’ll separate and track adult-use vs. medical products.

Pro tip: Plan Details Extensively

If you’ve ever described your Minnesota business as “simple,” now is the time to reconsider. OCM expects you to think like an operator, not a startup pitching investors. Every process, from seed-to-sale tracking to hand soap placement, matters.

Step 2: Submit Site Registration – Don’t Jump the Gun or Miss The Boat

The OCM has 90 days to approve or deny your Minnesota cannabis license after you submit your site registration and Final Plans of Record—so timing is everything.

Submitting Early May Increase Your Chances of Success

You may want to hold off on hitting “submit” until:

Your Final Plans of Record are complete and compliant
Your cannabis facility is ready
Local Minnesota zoning approvals are in hand
You’re compliant with Minnesota fire and building codes and within at least 90 days of being ready to open

Waiting Too Long Can Put You Behind Competitors

Here’s the tricky part, you can’t submit site registration until your facility is actually ready. But you also shouldn’t wait too long—especially if you’re a retailer trying to lock down a valuable location. Submitting early helps stake your claim and move you up the line for inspection.

For Minnesota cannabis cultivators, getting to market first can make a massive difference for success, especially when supply is still coming online. Those early cannabis harvests will have fewer competitors and more demand. So, if your plans and facilities are ready, don’t hesitate.

Be strategic, be prepared, and when your plans are dialed in and your build-out is complete, submit your site registration as soon as you’re ready to avoid getting stuck in the back of the line. Remember, you’ve also got 18 months from preliminary approval to get everything finalized, so resist the urge to sprint before your shoelaces are tied.

Step 3: Prepare For Inspection – Learn how to Ace It

After your final plans of record are reviewed and approved, the OCM will schedule a pre-inspection call. Think of this as your warm-up—it’s your chance to talk through the business plans and site with the inspector, confirm you’re operationally ready, and ask clarifying questions before the formal facility inspection begins.

Once your local Minnesota government certifies that your proposed site complies with all zoning and land use ordinances, OCM will move forward in scheduling the inspection, where OCM will verify that your facility, systems, documentation, and staff align with what you submitted in your approved application. This inspection is not symbolic—passing it will be the final requirement before receiving your license.

Conduct Mock Inspections To Be Prepared

To set your business team up for success, conduct an internal mock inspection walkthrough based on OCM’s regulations and official guidance. Your practice inspection should cover all the major compliance areas the state will be looking for, including facility readiness, security infrastructure, inventory and record-keeping, SOP implementation, and staff preparedness.

This exercise should validate that your site matches your Final Plans of Record, your systems are functional, and your team understands their roles. Make sure every aspect—from facility surveillance and restricted access to SOP binders and branding/signage—is in place and aligned with the law.

Step 4: Get Licensed and Go Live

Pass your inspection, pay your final Minnesota cannabis license fee, and you’re officially in business. Now you can exhale…as long as everything else is in order.

Think of the Final Plans of Record as addressing the physical and regulatory blueprint: site layout, inventory management, sanitation protocols, security specs, recall, quality, etc., but they don’t cover every critical element of starting and running a cannabis business. You still need to build the business systems, sales engine, and compliance culture to make that blueprint profitable and sustainable.

Here are seven (7) of the important aspects not covered in the Final Plan of Record submission that are still crucial for startup success:

1) Writing Full Standard Operating Procedures

The FPORs are a summary of your book of standard operating procedures; the OCM will expect a separate book of compliant step-by-step procedures to exist at the time of inspection

2) Developing a Branding and Marketing Strategy

Utilizing modern cannabis marketing techniques can cannabis products, engage the community, provide, education, navigate advertising restrictions, and protect IP

3) Creating a Business and Financial Plan

Leveraging cannabis financial modeling and tactics such as pro forma financial statements and a realistic funding plan and strategy for managing tax burdens.

4) Workforce Planning and Staffing

Hiring your cannabis team, developing a wage structure, benefits, and an employee handbook.

5) Creating Insurance Policies & Risk Management

To avoid future pitfalls and ensure smooth day-to-day business operations.

6) Regulatory Monitoring and a Compliance Culture

To continuously comply with changing laws and business standards

7) Exit Strategy and Long-Term Planning

To determine next steps after business launch and align ownership on future decisions and exit goals.

Need Help? Join Our Start Right Bootcamp

Canna Advisors covers all of these and more in our Start Right Bootcamp.

Get Ready For Minnesota Cannabis Inspections and Plans Now

With thousands of cannabis applicants in the pipeline, Minnesota’s OCM is juggling a heavy load. They’re reviewing Final Plans and scheduling inspections on a rolling basis, in the order they’re received.

So be ready. Be complete. And above all, be honest—if your facility isn’t finished or your SOPs aren’t aligned with the rules, it’s better to wait than risk a rejection or delay.

And if all of this feels overwhelming or if there aren’t enough hours in the day? That’s why we’re here.

The Minnsota Consulting Team That Gets It Done

Canna Advisors has spent decades helping cannabis operators nationwide navigate complex regulations and hit their milestones with confidence. From developing ironclad SOPs to prepping for inspections, we turn confusion into compliance—and plans into licenses.

Need help building your Final Plans of Record or surviving the inspection process? Contact Canna Advisors directly or book an hourly consultation spot — we’re fluent in cannabis compliance so you don’t have to be.

Minnesota Cannabis Pre-License Inspections and Final Plans