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Registration Instructions

Patient Enrollment Process

Before you may register for the program, a Minnesota licensed doctor, physician assistant or advanced practice registered nurse who has registered with the Office of Medical Cannabis must first certify you as suffering from one of the following medical conditions:

  • Cancer *
  • Glaucoma
  • HIV/AIDS
  • Tourette Syndrome
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
  • Seizures, including those characteristic of Epilepsy
  • Severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
  • Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn’s disease
  • Terminal illness with a probable life expectancy of less than one year*
  • Intractable pain
  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
  • Obstructive Sleep Apnea
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Chronic pain
  • Sickle cell disease
  • Chronic motor or vocal tic disorder

*If your illness or its treatment produces one or more of the following: severe or chronic pain; nausea or severe vomiting; or cachexia or severe wasting.

A health care practitioner’s participation in Minnesota’s Medical Cannabis Program is voluntary. It is your responsibility to locate and meet with a health care practitioner who is registered to certify patients for the medical cannabis program.

If requested by your certifying health care practitioner, go to the Office of Medical Cannabis website and print the Patient E-mail & Acknowledgement Form. Write in the e-mail address you would like to use to receive program information. If you do not already have a non-employer-based e-mail address, consider setting up a new personal e-mail account BEFORE your appointment. Bring this form along with you to your appointment and give it to your health care practitioner.

During your visit, ask your practitioner for an appointment summary and a list of the medications that are currently prescribed to you. Take these documents with you after you are approved when you go pick up your medical cannabis.

After your health care practitioner certifies your condition(s) online, you’ll receive an e-mail from the Minnesota Health Department Registry that will contain:

  • Confirmation of your condition by your health care practitioner
  • Your unique registration link for the medical cannabis patient registry

Once you receive an enrollment e-mail, you will be ready to enroll. Before you click on the enrollment link, please have the following items ready:

  1. An image of your government-issued photo identification, such as a Minnesota Identification Card/Driver’s License. Image file type must be JPG, GIF, TIF, or PNG and smaller than 4 MB.
  2. If your photo ID is expired, or does not show your current physical address, you will also need to upload an electronic copy/image of one of the following, showing your current physical address:
  • stamped state-issued Minnesota driver’s license or State ID, driver’s license application or renewal ID slip issued within the past 90 days;
  • current residential mortgage statement, or lease or rental agreement;
  • rent or mortgage payment receipt dated within the past 90 days;
  • state tax documents from the previous calendar year;
  • utility bill issued within the past 90 days;
  • Social Security disability insurance statement, Supplemental Security income benefits statement, or medical claim or statement of benefits from a private insurance company or governmental agency that is issued within the past 90 days; or
  • an affidavit from a person who will act as a designated caregiver for the patient, or from a person who is engaged in health services or social services, which states they know the patient and believes the patient resides in Minnesota at a specified location. Please note that an affidavit must be notarized (have a notary certify the signature). A description of where the patient sleeps/can be found is acceptable.

Options for picking up your medical cannabis

  • If you choose to add a parent/legal guardian to pick up your medical cannabis, you must provide an image of your birth certificate/legal guardianship paperwork AND your Parent/Legal Guardian’s government-issued photo identification, such as a Minnesota Identification Card/Driver’s License.
  • If you are adding a spouse to pick up your medical cannabis, you must provide an image of the marriage certificate AND spouse’s government-issued photo identification, such as a Minnesota Identification Card/Driver’s License.
  • If you are adding a caregiver to pick up your medical cannabis, you must include your caregiver’s name, email address, and phone number. The caregiver will receive an email with instructions for completing a separate registration.

The submitted form will be reviewed by the Office of Medical Cannabis and is subject to approval.

When your account has been approved, you’ll be notified by e-mail.

Caregiver Enrollment Process

The patient will add their caregiver from their Registry account. The patient will need the caregiver’s full name, phone number and email address. When the patient submits that information during their registration, the caregiver will receive an email with a link to the medical cannabis registry system.

A caregiver must create a user account (login and password) for the medical cannabis registry system, complete the Caregiver Enrollment Form and pass a background check.


To be a primary caregiver, you must:

  • Be 18 years of age or over.
  • Have a patient add you as their primary caregiver during their enrollment process.
  • Pass a background check.

How to Enroll

You will be notified via email requesting registration as a caregiver for a patient. Please click the link provided in email to the Medical cannabis registry system. You will need to create an account (login and password) to enter the system.

Once you are logged in, you will need to complete the Caregiver Enrollment Form. You will be required to upload an electronic copy of your government-issued photo ID (state ID, driver’s license, or passport). The form will allow you to select an image file (scanned copy) of your ID and/or will allow you to use a camera from a phone or tablet to take a photo of the qualifying government-issued ID.  You will also need to fill out and sign the Designated Caregiver Background Check Informed Consent form (PDF), enclose payment of $15 for the background check, enclose a stamped addressed envelope to the address on the form and send all of the items in a single envelope to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Approval Process

The Office of Medical Cannabis will review your application and review your background check before approving your application. Once approved, you will be able to pick up medication for a patient.

Health Care Practitioner Process

As a health care practitioner, the patient enrollment process begins when you initiate their application. The patient cannot enroll or log in to the medical cannabis registry system until you are enrolled as a health care practitioner in the system and complete the Certify Patient Form.

To begin certifying your patients you must:

  • Confirm that your medical license and DEA number are current.
  • Create a user account (login and password) for the medical cannabis registry system.
  • Complete the Health Care Practitioner Enrollment Form.
  • Complete the Certify Patient Form.

Enroll as a Health Care Practitioner

Before you can certify a patient, you must enroll in the medical cannabis registry system. You must create a user account (login and password) for the system and complete the Health Care Practitioner Enrollment Form.

  • Once your account has been created, an Office of Medical Cannabis employee will contact you to verify your identity. (This is a routine practice to protect you against identity theft and to reinforce the validity of the Program.)

You are now ready to certify patients.

Certify Patient

Once you are enrolled, and you determine that your patient should be registered in the medical cannabis registry for the medical use of cannabis, you may complete the Certify Patient Form to certify that your patient has a qualifying medical condition.

You will need following information:

  • Patient’s full name.
  • Patient’s email address.
  • Patient’s date of birth.
     

Once the Certify Patient Form is submitted, the patient will receive an email with instructions and a link to the medical cannabis registry where they can complete their registration.

Please click on the button below to begin registering as a health care practitioner.

Health Care Practitioner Registration Form