Cigarette and Tobacco Products Distributor
Getting Started

Responsibilities

Distributors of cigarettes or tobacco products must:

• Obtain a seller’s permit.
• Obtain and maintain a valid California cigarette and tobacco products distributor’s license.
• Keep complete and legible purchase invoices and sales invoices for cigarettes and tobacco products for four years, and the latest 12 months of purchase and sales invoices at the licensed location. (Business and Professions Code [BPC] sections 22978.1, 22978.4, and 22978.5)
  • Cigarettes must be listed by the brand and style names, filter, and packaging, number of cartons or packs sold, and the sales price.
  • Tobacco products must be listed by brand, type (such as pipe, cigars, or roll-your-own [RYO]), flavor, packaging (such as pouches, tins, or boxes), quantity sold, and sales price.
• Allow our staff or law enforcement officers to review your sales and purchase records upon request.
• Purchase and sell only cigarettes and RYO tobacco authorized for sale in California as listed in the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) California Tobacco Directory.
  • As a distributor, it is illegal for you to sell or be in possession of cigarettes and RYO tobacco that are not in compliance with the Master Settlement Agreement according to Revenue and Taxation Code (RTC) section 30165.1, unless the product is solely sold out-of-state.
• Purchase and sell only unflavored cigarettes and tobacco products authorized for sale in California as listed in the OAG’s Unflavored Tobacco List.
• Sell to distributors, wholesalers, or retailers with a valid CDTFA cigarette and tobacco products license. Distributors may sell to a person located outside of California who is not licensed with us. You may verify a license at Verify a License.
• Not sell cannabis or cannabis products at any location licensed to sell cigarettes and tobacco products. BPC section 22980.6(a)
• File tax returns and reports along with payments for amounts due. Visit Filings and Payments for more information.

These requirements do not apply to tobacco products that are not subject to the tobacco products tax. For example, vape liquids that do not contain any nicotine are not subject to these requirements. However, they are subject to retail licensing.

Registration

Before registering for a license with us, you should check with your local health department, cities, and counties for any local cigarette and tobacco licensing requirements, which may be more restrictive.

Online Registration–Register with us online to obtain your cigarette and tobacco products license, a seller’s permit, and other permits, licenses, or accounts. If you need assistance with creating a username and password, watch our video tutorial.

Online registration is available 24 hours a day. Upon registration, you will be required to pay the applicable license fees.

Visit the tax rate page to view cigarette and tobacco products tax rates and license fees for distributors.

License and account requirements

A distributor license is required for each business location in California that distributes cigarette and tobacco products in California. A warehouse or storage location is not considered a location that distributes cigarette and tobacco products unless direct distributions of cigarette and tobacco products are made from that warehouse or storage location.

Engaged in business in this state (California)

Engaged in business in this state means any of the following:

• Maintaining, occupying, or using, permanently or temporarily, directly or indirectly, or through a subsidiary or agent, by whatever name called, an office, place of distribution, sales or sample room or place, warehouse, or storage place, or other place of business within California.
• Having any representative, agent, salesperson, canvasser, or solicitor operating in California under the authority of the distributor or its subsidiary for the purpose of selling, delivering, or taking of orders for cigarettes or tobacco products.

License requirement for distributors located outside of California

Licensed distributors, whether out-of-state or in-state, have the same responsibilities and requirements (RTC section 30140.1). A distributor located outside of California who is engaged in business in California must have a California distributor license for licensing and tax reporting purposes (RTC section 30108). A distributor located outside of California who is not engaged in business in California selling or accepting orders for cigarettes or tobacco products may voluntarily apply for a distributor license and tax reporting account. Retailers and wholesalers are prohibited from purchasing cigarettes or tobacco products from unlicensed persons (BPC 22980.1(d)(1)).

A person located outside of California selling cigarettes or tobacco products to California consumers should read the information contained in the PACT Act, Delivery Seller, Common Carrier, and Consumer guide.

Notes

1. You must have a California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax (CECET) permit (account) if you sell electronic cigarettes containing or sold with nicotine to consumers. For more information, visit the California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax page of the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Retailer guide.

Vapes and electronic cigarettes (eCigarettes)—Example of who is required to register

Examples of licenses that are required (in addition to a seller’s permit):

A distributor does not need to be licensed under the California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 to sell electronic nicotine delivery systems that do not contain nicotine or are not sold with nicotine to a retailer.

Native Americans

Native American tribes are generally required to obtain and maintain the appropriate cigarette and tobacco products licenses to sell cigarettes and tobacco products to businesses or consumers in California. If a Native American tribe sells cigarettes and tobacco products to non-Native Americans or tribe members of a different Native American tribe, the Native American tribe must obtain a cigarette and tobacco products license since those sales must be reported, and the tax must be collected and remitted to us.

If a Native American tribe operates on its own tribal land and exclusively makes sales to members of its own tribe, that Native American tribe is not required to hold a cigarette and tobacco products license.

If a Native American tribe acquires a cigarette and tobacco products license to sell cigarettes and tobacco products to non-Native Americans or tribe members of a different Native American tribe in California, they do not have to pay the license fee for a cigarette and tobacco products license.

More than one type of license may be required

You may need a seller’s permit as well as multiple cigarette and tobacco products licenses. For example:

• If you are a distributor that intends to sell directly to consumers, you will need:
  • A seller’s permit,
  • A tobacco products distributor’s license (account),
  • A cigarette and tobacco products distributor’s license, and
  • A cigarette and tobacco products retailer’s license.
• If you are a manufacturer/importer that intends to sell to wholesalers and retailers, you will need:
  • A seller’s permit,
  • A tobacco products manufacturer/importer’s license (account),
  • A cigarette and tobacco products manufacturer/importer’s license,
  • A tobacco products distributor’s license (account), and
  • A cigarette and tobacco products distributor’s license.

If you intend to sell electronic cigarettes containing or sold with nicotine to consumers, you will also need a California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax (CECET) permit (account) (RTC 31002).

For the business activities listed below, the following permits, licenses, and accounts are required.

Notes

1. For registration requirements for sales and use tax, please review our guide, Use Tax Collection Requirements Based on Sales into California Due to the Wayfair Decision.
2. A CECET permit (account) is required if you sell electronic cigarettes containing or sold with nicotine to consumers. For more information, visit the CECET page under our Retailer guide.
3. If you sell, transfer, or ship for-profit cigarettes, RYO tobacco, smokeless tobacco, or ENDS into California, visit the PACT Act and Delivery Seller page of the PACT Act, Delivery Seller, Common Carrier, and Consumer guide. There are additional requirements under federal law, the Jenkins Act, 15 U.S.C. sections 375-378, amended by the PACT Act, and the 2021 Omnibus Appropriations Bill HR 133 section 602.
4. These licenses are not allowed if licensee is a distributor. A wholesaler’s license may not be issued to an out-of-state person selling at an out-of-state location.
5. These licenses are not allowed if licensee is a wholesaler.

Cigarette tax stamps

As a cigarette distributor, you must obtain a seller’s permit, a cigarette and tobacco products distributor license, a cigarette distributor/importer license, and a cigarette stamp account.

Additional information

• Cigarette Tax Stamp Contract Information
• Order Cigarette Tax Stamps Online
• CDTFA-413-ACTS, Cigarette Distributor’s Report of Returned Stamps
• Publication 63, Cigarette Distributor Licensing and Tax Stamp Guide

Questions about cigarette tax stamps? Contact us

Stamp Desk representatives are available to assist Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Pacific time), except state holidays.

• Email
• Telephone
  1-916-309-8200
• Fax
  1-916-327-6235
• Mail:
  Cigarette Tax Stamp Program MIC:41
  California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
  PO Box 942879
  Sacramento CA 94279-0041

License renewals

Once a year you must renew your license to sell and purchase cigarettes or tobacco products. A license cannot be transferred to someone else. Remember, you may not sell cigarettes or tobacco products at any location without a valid cigarette and tobacco products license for that location.

License periods

A distributor’s license is valid for one calendar year (January through December).

Renewal reminders

Approximately 60 days prior to your license expiring, we will send you an email and paper notice reminding you to renew your license. Approximately 30 days prior to your license expiring, we will email you another reminder notice. It is important that you renew your license before it expires, as you must have a valid license for each location to purchase or sell cigarettes and tobacco products at each location.

Renewing your license online

Renew your license by logging into our Online Services system with your username and password and selecting your license from your list of accounts. For more information about online license renewals, please visit our frequently asked questions and watch our video tutorial.

License renewal fee

Distributors must pay an annual license fee per location to renew their license each year. License fees are not prorated.

Filings and payments

Taxpayer online services portal

You must file all applicable cigarette and tobacco products tax returns, reports, and schedules even if you made no transactions or deliveries during the reporting period.

You are required to file your tax forms online with us through our Online Services webpage. Log in using your username and password and select your account, then select the File and/or View a Return/Report link under I Want To for the filing period you wish to file.

If you do not have a username and password, select the Sign Up Now link under the Create a Username heading from the Online Services webpage.

Filing a late return or late payment may result in a late penalty and interest assessment.

Tax forms

Cigarette distributors and importers

• CDTFA-501-CD, Cigarette Distributor/Importer Tax Report
  • CDTFA-810-CTI, Cigarette Tax Receipt Schedule
  • CDTFA-810-CTF, Cigarette Tax Disbursement Schedule
  • CDTFA-810-CTE, Instructions for Preparing Cigarette Tax Schedules
• CDTFA-413-ACTS, Cigarette Distributor’s Report of Returned Stamps

Tobacco products distributors

• CDTFA-501-CT, Tobacco Products Distributor Tax Return
  • Schedule T
  • CDTFA-810-CTN, Electronic Cigarettes and Vaping Products that Contain Nicotine Tax Disbursement Schedule

Filing Deadlines

Due Date: Unless otherwise specified, all tax returns and reports must be filed, and payments must be made on or before the 25th day of the calendar month following the reporting period.

• For example: a return or report for the monthly reporting period of August 2026 would be due on or before September 25, 2026, along with the total payment amount due.

Online filing resources

• Cigarette and Tobacco Products Online Filing
• Online Filing Templates
• Online Filing Instructions for Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax
• Video Tutorials
• Cigarette and Tobacco Products Flat (FLT) File and XML Filing Guide

Payments

Taxpayers with an estimated average monthly tax liability of $20,000 or more are required to pay amounts due by EFT. We will notify you in writing if you are required to pay your taxes electronically.

You can make Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or card payments through our Online Services webpage. Log in using your username and password and select the account for which you wish to make a payment. Select the More link under the I Want To section. Then select the Make a Payment link and follow the prompts.

Visit our website for additional payment information.

• Online Services Make a Payment
• Trouble Paying Taxes?

Claim for refund

If you believe you have paid more taxes directly to us than you owe, you may file a claim for refund using our Online Services.

To submit a claim for refund, log in using your username and password and select the account for which you want to request a refund. Click on the More link under the I Want To section, then, select Submit a Claim for Refund.

You may also file a claim for refund using CDTFA-101, Claim for Refund or Credit, or file an amended return stating the specific reasons for the overpayment. Additional details about filing a claim for refund can be found at our Filing Claims for Refund – Special Taxes webpage.

For additional information regarding claiming a refund for cigarette tax stamps, visit publication 63, Cigarette Distributor Licensing and Tax Stamp Guide.

Time limit for filing a claim for refund

Be sure to file your claim for refund by the applicable deadline. If you do not file on time, we cannot consider your claim, even if you overpaid the tax. You must file a claim for refund by the latest of these dates:

• Three years after the due date of the return on which you overpaid the tax
• Six months after the date you overpaid the tax
• Six months after the date a determination (billing) became final
• Three years after the date we collected an involuntary payment, such as from a levy or lien

If you’re not sure how to calculate your due date, please contact our Appeals and Data Analysis Branch.

• Email
• Telephone
  1-916-309-0284
• Fax
  1-916-323-9497
• Mail:
  Appeals and Data Analysis Branch MIC:33
  California Department of Tax and Fee Administration
  PO Box 942879
  Sacramento CA 94279-0033

Exported tax-paid tobacco products

A claim for refund or credit based upon the exportation of tax-paid tobacco products from California to a point outside this state must be filed within three months after the close of the calendar month in which the tobacco products were exported (Regulation 4063.5). A distributor may only receive a refund or credit for the exportation of tax-paid tobacco products for which they paid the tax directly to us. A refund or credit is not permitted for exportation of tax-paid tobacco products that a distributor purchased tax-paid.

Updating your business information

Is your account information up to date? Has your business model changed? We must have the most current information about your business to ensure you receive updates, notices, and due date reminders. Log in to our Online Services using your username and password and select the account for which you want to update. Select the More link under the I Want To section. Then select the option you are requesting to update under Account Maintenance.

Update your account whenever you:

• Change your business or mailing address,
• Add or close a business location,
• Change your entity type, business, or legal entity name,
• Add or remove owners, officers, members, or partners, or
• Change your banking information.

If you change your licensed business location address, you may need a new license number.

You may also notify us of any changes by:

• Using CDTFA-345-SP, Notice of Business Change, Special Taxes and Fees Accounts,
• Contacting our Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-7115 (TTY: 711) and selecting the option for Special Taxes and Fees, or
• Sending us a message by visiting Email Your Tax Questions.