Health Canada will not issue a cannabis export permit until the importer's own permit already exists. That sequencing makes importer due diligence the first step of every export deal rather than paperwork you finish after the price is agreed. If the buyer's licence is wrong, expired, or scoped to the wrong product, the Canadian export permit never gets filed.
Vetting an international cannabis importer means confirming four things before you quote: that the company holds a valid wholesale or import authorisation in its own country, that it can obtain the shipment-level import permit Health Canada will ask to see, that it can pay on the terms you need, and that it can receive, release, and distribute medical cannabis under its local GMP and GDP rules. Canada exported 79,280 kg of dried cannabis in 2023, according to Health Canada figures reported by StratCann, and most of that volume moved through a short list of qualified importers. The LPs that lose money abroad usually chose a buyer from the longer list.
Why vetting an international cannabis importer starts before the permit
The Cannabis Regulations require a Canadian LP to apply for an export permit shipment by shipment, and the application has to show that the destination country has authorised the import. In practice that means a copy of the importer's permit lands on your regulatory affairs desk before Health Canada sees anything. The two-permit chain only works if the first link is solid.
That is why the commercial conversation and the compliance conversation can't run in parallel. An importer who hasn't yet applied for its shipment permit can't give you a delivery date, and a delivery date you can't honour costs you the next order. Ask for the permit status in the first call.
There's a second reason to vet early. Importing countries operate under annual INCB estimates, and a buyer whose quota is already consumed will keep negotiating with you anyway, because the paperwork problem is theirs to disclose and yours to discover. The INCB estimate system is public. Check whether your buyer's market still has room before you reserve inventory.
Treat the permit question as a filter. Buyers who clear it quickly are the ones worth quoting.
The Importer 4-Check: what to request and where to verify it
Four checks cover most of the risk. Run them in this order, because each one is cheaper than the next and a failure at step one saves you the cost of steps two through four.
| Check | What to request | Where to verify | Red flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Wholesale or import authorisation | Licence number, issuing authority, scope, expiry | EudraGMDP (EU), MHRA GMDP (UK), national registers elsewhere | Number not found, or scope excludes narcotic or herbal medicinal products |
| 2. Shipment-level import permit capability | Copy of a previous import permit, redacted if needed | Issuing authority named on the permit | Buyer has never imported and can't name the permit form |
| 3. Financial capacity | Trade references, bank reference, two recent LP suppliers | Direct calls to the references, not emailed letters | Asks for net-60 terms on a first order |
| 4. Quality and release capability | GMP or GDP certificate, named QP or responsible person, site address | EudraGMDP GMP and GDP certificate modules, or local regulator | Release site differs from the licence address |
Check 1 is the one most LPs skip because the buyer's email signature looks legitimate. In the EU, the EudraGMDP database run by the European Medicines Agency has been public since 2011 and lists Wholesale Distribution Authorisations and Manufacturing and Importation Authorisations by company name. Search it yourself. Not every national authority has uploaded every authorisation, so an empty result isn't proof of fraud, but it is a reason to call the competent authority that the buyer says issued the licence. The Danish Medicines Agency tells its own wholesalers to do exactly that, and a Canadian LP should hold itself to the same standard.
Financial capacity, check 3, deserves more weight than it usually gets. Cannabis importers in several EU markets are thinly capitalised trading companies, and a 30 kg order can exceed their working capital. Your payment terms should reflect that: prepayment or a confirmed letter of credit on the first shipment, and open terms only after two clean cycles.
Check 4 is where the deal either becomes repeatable or stays a one-off. A buyer who can't name the person who will release your batch has not yet built the chain your product needs. Ask who signs. If nobody can answer, you have your answer.
Verifying importer licences in Germany, Australia and Israel
The checks above are the same everywhere. The documents are not. Here is what a legitimate importer in each of AlphaLeaf's core markets should be able to show you, and what each one proves.
Germany
Since the Medizinal-Cannabisgesetz took effect on 1 April 2024, a German importer needs a general licence from BfArM under Section 4 MedCanG to handle medical cannabis at all, plus a separate import permission under Section 12 MedCanG for the goods coming in. On the medicines side, the same company needs a wholesale authorisation under Section 52a of the Arzneimittelgesetz (AMG) and, for product arriving from a third country such as Canada, an import authorisation under Section 72 AMG. Section 52a(3) AMG places the wholesale decision with the authority of the German state where the site sits, so a Bavarian importer's licence comes from Munich, not Bonn. Ask for all four references. A buyer that offers only the BfArM number is giving you half a file.
Australia
An Australian buyer needs an import licence and a consignment-level import permit from the Office of Drug Control, and the product itself must meet TGO 93, the TGA quality standard for medicinal cannabis. The licence proves the company is allowed to import. The permit proves this shipment is allowed to land. Request both, and confirm the permit names the cannabinoid profile and quantity you're actually shipping.
Israel
Israeli imports run through the Israel Medical Cannabis Agency inside the Ministry of Health. The importer should hold an IMCA licence for the activity it performs and an import approval tied to your specific lot. Israeli distributors also expect the Canadian side to document IMC-GAP equivalency, so your due diligence file and theirs tend to grow together. If the buyer can't say which IMCA licence category it holds, the deal isn't ready.
In every one of these markets, the permit document names an issuing office, a reference number, and a date. Those three fields are what you verify with the issuing office.
Where Canadian LPs get importer vetting wrong
The most common failure is running the checks on the wrong entity. Many first contacts come from a broker, consultant, or affiliate that won't appear on any permit, and LPs end up with a thick file on a company that will never be the importer of record. Vet the name that will appear on the import permit, and ask early who that is.
The second failure is treating a GMP certificate as proof of import capability. A manufacturing certificate shows a site can make or test medicine. It doesn't show the company can clear customs, hold narcotic stock, or release a batch into its market. For EU buyers, that release step usually sits with a Qualified Person at an EU-GMP site, and distribution runs under EU GDP rules. If your buyer owns neither, ask who it contracts with and verify that party too.
Then there is the commercial failure. A buyer that can't produce its authorisation number in the first exchange is not an importer. Walk away. The documentation load of international cannabis supply is real on both sides, and a counterparty that treats it casually will treat your batch records the same way.
Write what you verified into the supply agreement: licence numbers, permit obligations, who files what and by when, and what happens to the order if a permit lapses. Verbal assurances don't survive a customs hold.
AlphaLeaf is a Health Canada Licensed Producer operating an indoor facility in Montreal, supplying hand-trimmed flower from refined genetics with ISO/IEC 17025 batch testing and full lot traceability. We hold export authorisation under the Cannabis Act and run this same importer vetting on every new partner in Germany, Australia and Israel before a quote goes out. If you're an importer with your licences in order, contact our export team to discuss supply into your market. Bring the permit number. We'll bring the batch data.
Frequently Asked Questions
What documents should a Canadian LP request from an international cannabis importer?
Request the importer's wholesale or import authorisation (number, issuing authority, scope, expiry), a copy of a previous shipment-level import permit, trade and bank references, and the GMP or GDP certificate of the site that will receive and release the batch. Verify each document with the issuing authority or a public register such as EudraGMDP rather than relying on copies the buyer supplies.
How do you verify a German cannabis importer's licence?
A German importer should hold a Section 4 MedCanG licence from BfArM, a Section 12 MedCanG import permission, a Section 52a AMG wholesale authorisation issued by its state authority, and a Section 72 AMG import authorisation for third-country goods. Search the wholesale authorisation in the EMA's EudraGMDP database and confirm the rest with the issuing office.
Can a Canadian LP get an export permit without the importer's permit?
Not for markets that require an import permit, which includes Germany, Australia and Israel. Health Canada asks for evidence that the destination country has authorised the shipment before it issues the Canadian export permit, which is why importer due diligence has to finish before the export application starts.
What is EudraGMDP and can non-EU companies use it?
EudraGMDP is the European Medicines Agency's public database of manufacturing and importation authorisations, wholesale distribution authorisations, and GMP and GDP certificates issued by EU and EEA authorities. Anyone can search it, including Canadian LPs checking an EU buyer. Not every national authority has uploaded every authorisation, so an empty result should trigger a direct call to the regulator rather than a conclusion.
What payment terms should a Canadian LP offer a new cannabis importer?
Prepayment or a confirmed letter of credit on the first shipment is standard practice for a new counterparty, with open terms considered only after two completed cycles. Many cannabis importers are small trading companies, and a single bulk order can exceed their working capital.
