GACP certification in Thailand: the process step by step

GACP is one of two legal routes for a Thai farm's flower to reach a licensed shop or exporter. The other is a laboratory certificate of analysis for each harvest. A farm that holds neither has no lawful buyer, and the buyer carries the risk as well as the farm.

This article explains what GACP covers, the steps to certification and what a certificate does and does not do. The licence calendar that sits above every buyer is in the report.

What GACP covers

Good Agricultural and Collection Practices is a quality standard for growing and collecting medicinal plants. It covers the farm, not the factory: site and water, inputs and pesticides, worker hygiene, records, harvest, drying and handling. DTAM certifies cannabis farms against it. Verified

The Nation Thailand reported on 23 October 2026 that DTAM maintains a Thailand Cannabis GACP certification system, and that testing is meant to detect microbial contamination, heavy metals and pesticide residues. Estimated

GACP is not GMP. GACP governs cultivation and collection. GMP governs manufacturing and processing. A farm can hold the first and not the second.

Where the rule comes from

The Ministry of Public Health Notification on Controlled Herb (Cannabis) B.E. 2568 (2025) was published in the Royal Gazette on 25 June 2025 and has been in force since 26 June 2025. Since then flower a licensee sells or exports must come from a compliant source. The notification requires sources "certified to the good cultivation and harvesting standard by DTAM". It uses neither the word GACP nor the words certificate of analysis. Verified

DTAM said on 11 July 2025 that every harvest must carry analysis results, and accepted a laboratory certificate of analysis explicitly from 1 August 2025. A DTAM Director General notification gazetted on 12 September 2025 made that per harvest route formal, and DTAM guidance of 1 May 2026 names both routes for a plot that supplies a flower sales licence. Either route lets flower enter licensed sale or export. Verified

The process, step by step

1. Check eligibility. Confirm the farm is lawfully operated. On the text of the Foreign Business Act, List One, item two reaches growing a crop for sale, including cannabis, and no ruling has confirmed this. Indicative Take Thai counsel on ownership first.
2. Prepare the farm. Write procedures for planting, inputs, harvest, drying and storage, and keep records from the first day.
3. Apply to DTAM. Confirm the current application route, forms and timing with DTAM before you start.
4. Inspection and testing. DTAM inspectors visit the site, review records against the standard and take samples. Estimated
5. Correct findings. Close any gap the assessment raises.
6. Certificate. DTAM has stated that a GACP certificate runs for three years, as reported in the press. Estimated Keep it current and keep the records behind it.

What a certificate does and does not do

A certificate does not license the farm to sell. Nothing in the rules in force licenses cultivation as such, and farms are regulated through their buyers. Verified A licensee may sell flower only to another licensee, apart from dispensing against a PT.33 prescription, and the notification creates no separate wholesale licence. Verified

A certificate does not cover extracts above 0.2% THC, which sit under a separate regulation in force since 25 April 2026. It is also not the only route. A farm that tests each harvest at a laboratory can supply a licensee on the other route.

What buyers should check

• The route. Either DTAM's certificate or a laboratory certificate of analysis for the harvest.
• The match. The farm named on the certificate or test is the farm named on your purchase record.
• The paperwork. It supports your monthly PT.27 and PT.28 reports. Failing to keep or file those reports is a 30 day suspension ground under the guideline announced on 22 June 2026. Estimated

See PT.27 and PT.28 explained and lab testing for flower.

Under the draft Act

The Cabinet approved the draft Cannabis Control Act in principle on 22 September 2026, and the draft is with the Council of State for review. As reported, it would register cultivation plots as small, medium or large so their locations can be traced. Estimated The draft is not law, and it can still change. See how the Cannabis Control Act becomes law.

Common misreadings

• "GACP is a cultivation licence." It is a certification. The licence sits with the buyer.
• "Without GACP a farm cannot sell." A laboratory certificate of analysis for each harvest is the other legal route.
• "GACP replaces GMP." They cover different stages.

If you run, buy from or fund a farm

1. Ask DTAM for the current GACP application route and checklist. Do not rely on a consultant's summary alone.
2. Start the farm records before you apply, not after.
3. Ask each supplier for its certificate or its harvest test, and check the date.
4. Match the certificate or test to the batch on your purchase record.
5. Check your own licence date. See why GACP decides who survives.

Section 3 of the report, free to read, covers the sourcing rule. If you want it applied to a farm you are looking at, start with a call.

Sources

• Section 3 of the 2026 report, The rules in force (free to read)
• Nation Thailand, Thailand targets global cannabis, hemp and kratom market with higher standards, 23 October 2026
• JusLaws, Amendment to cannabis laws, 25 June 2025, 30 June 2025
• Tilleke & Gibbins, Thailand's new cannabis controls impact doctors, dispensaries and growers, 3 September 2025
• Nation Thailand, Thai cabinet endorses draft cannabis control bill for medical use, 22 September 2026

This article is market intelligence, not legal advice. Rules change by notification; check the current text with the licensing authority or Thai counsel before you act.