Cigarette and Tobacco Products Retailer
Getting Started

Responsibilities

As a retailer of cigarettes and tobacco products, you must:

• Obtain a seller’s permit.
• Maintain a valid California cigarette and tobacco products retailer’s license (CRL). Visit publication 78, Sales of Cigarettes and Tobacco Products in California.
• Maintain a California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax (CECET) permit (account) (if you are a retailer who sells electronic cigarettes containing or sold with nicotine).
• Display your license for each retail location in an area where the public can clearly and easily see it.
• Keep complete and legible purchase invoices for cigarettes and tobacco products for four years, and the latest 12 months of purchase invoices at the licensed location (Business and Professions Code [BPC] section 22974, BPC 22978.4).
  • 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 us and law enforcement officers to review your purchase invoices upon request.
• Purchase and sell only those cigarettes and RYO tobacco authorized for sale in California as listed on the Office of the Attorney General’s (OAG) California Tobacco Directory.
• Purchase cigarettes and tobacco products only from valid California licensed distributors or wholesalers. Retailers may not purchase cigarettes or tobacco products from any other person (Revenue and Taxation Code [RTC] section 30478).
• Verify your suppliers have a valid cigarette and tobacco products license with us. To verify that you are purchasing from a valid licensed distributor or wholesaler, visit Verify a License.
• Only sell to consumers who are end users of the cigarettes and tobacco products.
• Only purchase cigarettes affixed with valid California tax stamps and California tax-paid tobacco products.
• Purchase and sell only unflavored cigarettes and unflavored tobacco products listed on the OAG’s Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL).
• Not purchase, possess, store, own, or sell flavored cigarettes, flavored tobacco products, or tobacco product flavor enhancers.
• Not sell cannabis or cannabis products at any location licensed to sell cigarettes and tobacco products BPC section 22980.6(a).
• Obtain a CECET account and file a quarterly CECET return, if you sell electronic cigarettes, along with payments for amounts due. For more information, visit California Electronic Cigarette Excise Tax.

Aside from the seller’s permit, 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 the tobacco products tax; 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 tax rates to view cigarette and tobacco products tax rates and license fees for retailers.

License and account requirements

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

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

Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement (STAKE) Act definition of tobacco products for retailer licensing purposes

The STAKE Act defines tobacco products as:

• Any product containing, made, or derived from tobacco or nicotine that is intended for human consumption.
• Any electronic smoking or vaping device that delivers nicotine or other vaporized liquids.
• Any component, part, or accessory of a tobacco product, whether or not sold separately.

Examples include, but are not limited to, cigarette papers or wrappers, electronic cigarettes, hookah (waterpipe), atomizers, vaping tanks or mods, and eLiquids or eJuices.

Notes

1. Under the STAKE Act, BPC section 22950.5 amended the definition of a tobacco product effective June 9, 2016. The STAKE Act definition of a tobacco product also applies to tobacco products retailers for the cigarette and tobacco products retailer license requirement under the BPC section 22971.7, effective January 1, 2017.

A retailer’s license is still required to sell non-nicotine tobacco products

Any retailer that sells tobacco products as defined under the STAKE Act, such as 0mg nicotine vape liquids or electronic cigarettes sold without nicotine, is required to hold a CRL from us to engage in the retail sale of these products.

This retailer licensing requirement does not apply to cannabis or cannabis products.

Below is a chart to help you understand if a CRL is required (in addition to a seller’s permit).

While we administer the cigarette and tobacco products retailer licensing requirements, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) administers the STAKE Act. For more information on the STAKE Act definition of tobacco products, visit CDPH and their publication What is a Tobacco Product under California Law?. For questions, contact the CDPH, California Tobacco Control Program by email or by telephone at 1-916-449-5500.

A tobacco product retailer may also be a tobacco product manufacturer

A tobacco product manufacturer is:

• Any person, including any repacker or relabeler, who manufactures, fabricates, assembles, mixes, blends, combines, processes, or labels a finished tobacco product.
• An owner of a brand or formula for a tobacco product who contracts with another person to complete the fabrication and assembly of the product to the brand or formula owner’s standard.
• A tobacco product retailer who mixes, blends, or combines a tobacco product that is not suitable for human consumption, such as liquid nicotine, with other ingredients or components to make a tobacco product that is suitable for human consumption.

A tobacco products retailer is not a tobacco product manufacturer solely because:

• They package liquid nicotine with other items as one unit.
• They allow their customers to mix, blend, or combine liquid nicotine and other components after a sale has been made.
• They package finished tobacco products, such as cigars, together as one unit.
• They mix, blend, or combine finished tobacco products, such as pipe tobacco.

A tobacco products retailer who is a tobacco product manufacturer must also be licensed with us as a tobacco products distributor. A tobacco products retailer who is not licensed as a tobacco products manufacturer, importer, or distributor must purchase their tobacco products from a licensed tobacco products distributor or wholesaler.

For more information about tobacco products manufacturers, visit our Manufacturer & Importer guide.

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, however, 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.

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 or importer that intends to sell to wholesalers, retailers, and consumers, you will need:
  • A seller’s permit,
  • A cigarette and tobacco products manufacturer/importer’s license,
  • 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 wholesaler that intends to sell directly to consumers, you will need:
  • A seller’s permit,
  • A cigarette and tobacco products wholesaler’s license, and
  • A cigarette and tobacco products retailer’s license.

In addition to the above, 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 visit our Use Tax Collection Requirements Based on Sales into California Due to the Wayfair Decision guide.
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.
3. If you sell, transfer, or ship for-profit cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, smokeless tobacco, or ENDS into California, visit the PACT Act and Delivery Seller’s 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.

License renewals

You must renew your license to continue to sell cigarettes or tobacco products every year. 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 CRL is valid for twelve months, starting from the date the license was obtained. If a retailer adds an additional retail location, the new location’s twelve-month license period will begin in the month that the retailer’s license for the first retail location was obtained (so all locations will always renew in the same month).

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 send you another reminder email notice. It is important to renew your license before it expires, as you must have a valid license for each location in order 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

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

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 your account. 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.