Authorised hemp varieties: finding the official list
*In France, only Cannabis sativa L. varieties listed in the European Union's common catalogue or in the official French catalogue may be grown and used, and their delta-9-THC content must not exceed 0.30%. Both lists are public, and the common catalogue held 116 hemp varieties in 2024. They describe seeds and say nothing of your batch's content.*
Key takeaways
- The text to read is Article 1 of the French order of 30 December 2021, in its version in force since 29 December 2022.
- Authorisation comes from either of two catalogues: the EU common catalogue or the official French catalogue.
- A name can be checked in a few clicks on the European Commission's plant variety portal.
- Listing concerns the seed; the real content of a product is read on the analysis of its batch.
- CBD flowers are almost never sold under catalogue names.
The rule: one paragraph of the 2021 order
Article 1 of the order of 30 December 2021, taken under Article R. 5132-86 of the French Public Health Code, authorises cultivation, import, export and industrial and commercial use "of only those varieties of Cannabis sativa L. whose delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol content is not greater than 0.30%". The varieties must appear "in the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species or in the official catalogue of plant species and varieties grown in France".
Three further conditions in the same paragraph are often overlooked:
- the flowers and leaves must come from plants grown from certified seed;
- plants may not be sold, and cuttings may not be taken;
- flower and leaf cultivation is reserved for active farmers.
Under the order, the THC content of a variety is determined by the sampling and testing method set out in its annex. Paragraph II, which banned the sale of raw flowers and leaves, was annulled by the Conseil d'État decision of 29 December 2022, and the article on the flower ban order traces the episode. The 0.30% threshold is covered in a separate article: the legal THC limit in France.
The catalogue lists agricultural seeds; it authorises no product for retail sale. Nor does it allow a private individual to grow at home, as the article on CBD seeds explains.
Where to check the list
The EU common catalogue
Council Directive 2002/53/EC governs the common catalogue of varieties of agricultural plant species. The European Commission describes it as the list of varieties that may be marketed in the EU. Updates are published as supplements to the Official Journal of the EU, and the online version is on the EU Plant Variety Portal.
On the portal, you check a name like this:
- Open the "Agricultural species" register; the other two cover vegetable and fruit species.
- Pick the species Cannabis sativa L. from the UPOV list.
- Type the variety denomination, or the name of the maintainer, meaning the company responsible for keeping the variety.
- Read the status: "Registered" means the variety is listed, while "Withdrawn", "Expired" or "Terminated" mean it is no longer valid.
The official French catalogue
The Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for the French catalogue and publishes listing decisions on a proposal from the CTPS, the standing technical committee on plant breeding. The online version is kept by GEVES and holds more than 9,000 varieties of 190 species, among them more than 100 flax and hemp varieties.
Field crops have two lists. List A holds varieties whose seed may be produced and sold in France, and list B those produced in France for export outside the EU. A variety is admitted only after passing two examinations: DUS (distinctness, uniformity, stability) and VCU (value for cultivation and use).
| Criterion | EU common catalogue | Official French catalogue |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | Directive 2002/53/EC | Orders of the Ministry of Agriculture |
| Who decides | Compilation of national catalogues by the Commission | Ministry, on a CTPS proposal |
| Where to check | EU Plant Variety Portal | GEVES online catalogue |
| Updates | Supplements in the EU Official Journal | Orders published in the French Official Journal |
| Scope | Marketing throughout the EU | France, then the EU via the common catalogue |
The European portal is enough for a quick check. Use the French catalogue to find the order that listed, removed or amended a variety.
Example: what a catalogue order shows
Each order changes the catalogue. A good example is the order of 29 July 2020 amending the official catalogue for flax and hemp seed, which adds no variety and only changes maintainers.
Under its Article 1, Hemp It ADN takes over the upkeep of 15 hemp varieties, among them Fedora 17, Futura 75, Felina 32 and Santhica 27. These are catalogue denominations: often a name plus a number, approved at listing and attached to a responsible maintainer.
When a variety is sold as "certified" or "authorised", compare it with that format. A name you cannot find on the portal does not belong to a catalogue variety.
What listing guarantees, and what it does not
Listing guarantees something about the seed. It shows that a line was examined, found distinct, uniform and stable, and had its THC content checked by the official method. How the crop was then grown, when it was harvested, which part of the plant was kept and how it was processed all lie outside its reach.
The compliance of a finished product is read on the analysis of its batch. Paragraph III of the order states it plainly: the delta-9-THC content of hemp extracts, and of the products containing them, is not greater than 0.30%. MILDECA, the French interministerial drugs agency, makes the same split: listed variety and certified seed apply to cultivation, the 0.30% threshold to products.
The lines to check are detailed in our guide to reading a certificate of analysis, and the measurement methods on the CBD laboratory page.
Trade name versus catalogue name
Read a CBD flower page, then open the European portal: the names will differ. Catalogue denominations are agronomic breeding names. The CBD trade uses cultivar names inherited from cannabis growing, such as Super Boof, Amnesia Haze or Lemon Haze, and these have no administrative standing. Several of them are traced back in the article on the Haze family.
The two naming systems run side by side. What matters on a product page is the batch number, the values tied to that batch and where those values come from. On 16 September 2026, the Super Boof flower showed 9.64% CBD for batch PG-26-047F, and the Amnesia Haze 11.65% for batch PG-26-A32B. These figures come from the product reference data, and no laboratory PDF certificate is attached to the pages yet.
Every product is listed in the CBD flowers category. Whoever the seller, a variety name with no batch number or analysis proves nothing you can verify.
116 varieties for a sector that is agricultural first
In 2024, the European Commission counted 116 hemp varieties in the common catalogue. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/126 requires farms claiming direct payments under the Common Agricultural Policy to grow a variety whose THC content stays below 0.3%.
Fibre hemp went from 20,540 hectares in 2015 to 33,020 hectares in 2022, a 60% increase, while production rose 84.3%, from 97,130 to 179,020 tonnes. France grows more than 60% of it, followed by Germany (17%) and the Netherlands (5%). The article on hemp in Europe gives the figures country by country.
These numbers describe a fibre and seed sector much larger than the CBD market. They also explain how the catalogue works: it organises open-field production and leaves the retail flower trade aside. No "list of varieties authorised for sale" exists in that form.
Frequently asked questions
Not on its own. Listing shows that the line tested below the threshold when it was examined. The content of the finished product depends on cultivation, harvest and processing, and the batch analysis is where you check it.
Rarely. Trade names belong to the cultivar tradition and carry no administrative standing. If a denomination is presented as listed, look it up on the European portal and read its status.
No. The order of 30 December 2021 reserves flower and leaf cultivation for active farmers using certified seed, and it prohibits selling plants and taking cuttings. A listed variety gives a private individual no right to grow it.
Written by the Phytogrammes team
Each journal article draws on cited primary sources: ANSM, EFSA, EUR-Lex and peer-reviewed publications. Product profiles are distinguished from documented laboratory results. Our approach.
Article published on . CBD is not a medicine.