Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program Round 3

DCEO’s Office of Economic Equity & Empowerment (OE3) will begin accepting applications for Round 3 of the Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program on Monday, August 11, 2025.

Loans will be provided to qualified, licensed social equity craft growers, infusers, transporters, and adult-use dispensing organizations.

At the core of DCEO’s Cannabis Social Equity Loan Program is an unwavering commitment to the State’s efforts to promote equity and diversity in Illinois’ growing cannabis industry. This means ensuring entrepreneurs that have been impacted by the war on drugs have a space in Illinois’ cannabis industry.

DCEO developed the Direct Forgivable Loan (DFL) Program in response to feedback from license holders that continue to face systemic barriers to accessing capital and becoming operational.  Direct Forgivable Loans are fully financed by the State of Illinois. DCEO offers a grace period, low interest rates, and full principal forgiveness upon receiving proof of eligible expenses.

Interest Rates are 4% after an 18-month grace period of no required payments and 0% interest; applicants can also pursue forgiveness prior to any interest accruing. The loan principal is 100% forgivable upon providing documentation for eligible business expenses.

All Qualified Social Equity Craft Growers, Infusers, and Transporters (as certified by the Illinois Department of Agriculture (IDOA)), and Social Equity Adult-Use Dispensing Organizations (as certified by the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation (IDFPR)) are eligible to participate in the direct forgivable loan program. If your license received a loan in Rounds I or II you are welcome to apply. However, priority will be given to licenses that have not previously received a loan from the DCEO.

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document with questions about the loan process is available.

Applicants are encouraged to attend one of DCEO’s webinars.  

Round III Overview Webinar: Thursday, August 21, 2025 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Application Review Webinar: Thursday, September 4, 2025 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Office Hours: Thursday, September 18, 2025 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Registration link: https://bit.ly/3JiZRXD

Applicants must fill out the documents outlined below and complete the loan application by Thursday, September 25, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. CDT. Late submissions will not be reviewed or accepted. Complete instructions are detailed in the Cannabis Round 3 Loan Application Introduction.

Loan application: Smartsheet link (please note that all application materials will be available on August 11, 2025)

Application Components

• Round 3 Loan Application Introduction
• Instructions for Documents Upload
• Employee Table
• Ownership Table
• Proposed Use of Loan Funds Budget Worksheet
• Applicant Consent for Disclosure Between Agencies Form
• Optional Demographic Disclosure Survey
• Zero-Income Affidavit
• Authorized Designee Form
• Use of Cannabis Loan Funds Table

Please direct any questions about the application via email to: CEO.CannabisLoan@illinois.gov.