BIG CHANGES COMING
BIG CHANGES COMING
There are some big changes coming to CSQ in 2026. With the successful completion of two rounds of public comments, our major update from CSQ to CSQ 2.0 is being released in October 2025. This gives licensed operators three months to prepare for certification audits starting January 2026.
What did we change?
To improve the CSQ Certification Program we made two fundamental changes:
- We consolidated our nine accredited and unaccredited certification programs into one master accredited certification program.
- We took the audit requirements and turned them into a three-tiered modularized level-based system.
The CSQ Certification Program was modified to incorporate a level-based system for more flexibility and to better fit each licensed operations business and regulatory needs. The CSQ Audit Requirements were updated to reflect current industry trends, latest research, standards development, and regulatory changes for cultivation, extraction, manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, and retail operations.
These revisions are meant to make the certification process more approachable and streamlined for licensed operators across the supply chain. This modularized level-based system is designed to allow licensed operations to conform with progressively more stringent audit requirements over time and build a best-in-class cannabis safety and quality management system.
We also expanded our certification program by adding two new standards:
The CSQ Certification Program now includes five total CSQ Standard covering the cannabinoid product supply chain from seed-to-sale.
To top it all off, we updated our Dietary Supplement Addendum so it could be added to any of our standards to expand their scope to include dietary supplements.
You can learn more about CSQ 2.0, the certification process, new audit requirements, modules, levels, and more during one of our upcoming free webinars. Register today!
Already certified to CSQ!? See our quick guide to learn how these changes will impact your current CSQ Certification.
