Cigarette and Tobacco Products Wholesaler
Industry Topics

California Tobacco Directory

It is illegal to distribute, sell, offer, or possess for sale cigarettes and roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco products in California if the manufacturer, brand family, and brand style are not listed on the Tobacco Directory. It is also illegal to affix a California tax stamp on cigarettes or pay the California excise tax on RYO tobacco unless the manufacturer, brand family, and brand style are listed on the Tobacco Directory. All cigarettes and RYO tobacco products and their manufacturers must be included on the Tobacco Directory before they may be lawfully distributed, sold, offered for sale, or possessed for sale in California.

Flavor ban

California prohibits the retail sale of flavored cigarettes, most flavored tobacco products, and tobacco product flavor enhancers. This means wholesalers may sell only the cigarettes and tobacco products listed on the Unflavored Tobacco List (UTL) or tobacco products that are not prohibited by California’s flavored tobacco sales law. Please keep in mind that we or other law enforcement agencies may seize flavored cigarettes, flavored tobacco products, or tobacco product flavor enhancers, and may issue fines for prohibited products. We may also suspend and revoke the cigarette and tobacco products license of repeat offenders.

A wholesaler may not sell, offer for sale, possess with the intent to sell, or offer for sale flavored cigarettes, flavored tobacco products, tobacco product flavor enhancers, or any tobacco products not listed on the UTL to any person in California.

Additional local restrictions may apply

Cities, counties, and local jurisdictions may have their own laws restricting tobacco access. In all cases, the stricter law applies.

Types of flavored products banned and subject to seizure

We may seize banned flavored products, including, but not limited to:

  • Electronic devices, such as e-cigarettes, cigars, pipes, or hookahs, that deliver nicotine or other vaporized liquids, containing or sold with flavored nicotine or other flavored liquid or element
  • Flavored eLiquids, eJuices, or pods
  • Components, parts, or accessories of a tobacco product containing or sold with a product that has a flavor other than the taste or odor of tobacco
  • Flavored cigarettes, such as menthol and products that produce a cooling sensation
  • Flavored little cigars and cigarillos
  • Flavored smokeless tobacco products
  • Flavored wraps
  • Flavored looseleaf RYO tobacco
  • Flavored tobacco rolling papers
  • Tobacco product flavor enhancers (products designed, manufactured, produced, marketed, or sold to produce a flavor other than the taste or odor of tobacco when added to a tobacco product)
  • Includes eLiquid flavor enhancers that can be used with a tobacco product, regardless if the flavor enhancer contains tobacco or nicotine
  • Flavored synthetic nicotine products
  • Flavored nicotine analogs and alkaloids
  • Flavored products listed on the Tobacco Directory
    • Products listed on the Tobacco Directory may still be illegal to sell. The Tobacco Directory applies in addition to any state or local restrictions on the sale of tobacco products, which includes California’s flavored tobacco sales ban law. The Tobacco Directory may list flavored or mentholated products that comply with the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) but they are still illegal for sale in California under California’s flavored tobacco sales ban law.
  • Flavored tobacco products (including cigarettes) not listed on the California UTL

Types of flavored products not banned

  • Premium cigars. A premium cigar means a cigar that:
    • Is handmade,
    • Is not mass produced by mechanization,
    • Has a wrapper that is made entirely of whole tobacco leaf,
    • Has a wholesale price (retailer’s purchase price) of $12.00 or more,
    • Does not have a filter, tip, or nontobacco mouthpiece, and
    • Is capped by hand.
  • Looseleaf pipe tobacco
  • Shisha tobacco products sold by a hookah tobacco retailer who:
    • Has a valid cigarette and tobacco products retailer license at the location,
    • Only allows people 21 years of age or older to be on the premises at any time, and
    • Complies with all state and local laws related to the sale and consumption of tobacco products.

Notes

  1. The wholesale price, or in other words, the retailer’s purchase price, for flavored premium cigars includes California tobacco products excise taxes. We presume that the excise taxes have not been paid to us on tobacco products, which include cigars, in the retailer’s possession until the retailer establishes the contrary by proof of payment to us or by tax-paid purchase invoices (Business and Professions Code [BPC] section 22974.3[b]) .

Unflavored Tobacco List

On December 31, 2025, the California Office of the Attorney General (OAG) published the UTL on its website. The UTL, which is updated regularly, identifies specific tobacco product brand styles that do not have a characterizing flavor (a taste or odor other than tobacco) and can be sold in California. Any tobacco product not on the UTL is prohibited under California’s tobacco sales law and can’t be sold.

  • Submit product information for the UTL
    To assist with maintaining the UTL, the OAG created a UTL Portal to allow tobacco manufacturers, importers, and the public to submit any information about a tobacco product, such as photos, reviews, or studies, relevant to the UTL.

Civil penalties

Wholesalers

Wholesalers who violate the ban will have their flavored products seized and be subject to the following penalties:

Wholesalers
Wholesalers
BPC section 22978.3(b)
Occurrence per Location Civil Penalty
First seizure $50 per individual package of flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer seized
Second seizure $50 per individual package of flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer seized and license suspension
Third seizure $50 per individual package of flavored tobacco product or tobacco product flavor enhancer seized and license revocation

Wholesalers or other persons

If we discover that a wholesaler (if flavored products were not seized), delivery seller, or other person sold flavored products in California, they will be subject to the following penalties:

Wholesalers or Other Persons
Wholesalers or Other Persons
BPC section 22978.3(c)
Occurrence per Location Civil Penalty
First offense A warning notice
Second offense License suspension
Third offense License revocation

Resources

Enacted legislation

Exported tax-paid tobacco products

If you purchased tax-paid tobacco products from an out-of-state California licensed distributor and you subsequently exported or shipped those tobacco products to a buyer outside of California, you may file a claim for refund with us for the excise taxes paid on those tobacco products. Claims for the excise tax paid on these purchases may only be made if the excise tax is separately stated on the wholesaler’s purchase invoice from the out-of-state California licensed distributor.

Inspections

We conduct routine inspections to ensure compliance with California state laws governing the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products. These inspections are authorized by the California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 (Licensing Act), Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law (CTPTL), and the California Cigarette Fire Safety and Firefighter Protection Act.

Our inspectors make sure that:

  • You have a valid cigarette and tobacco products license according to the Licensing Act and CTPTL and any other business permits or licenses that may be required.
  • You keep purchase and sales invoices at each licensed location for at least one year after the date of purchase.
  • You bought your cigarettes and tobacco products from a CDTFA-licensed cigarette or tobacco products distributor or wholesaler and have purchase invoices to support your inventory.
  • The cigarettes in your inventory:
  • The California tobacco products excise tax was paid on your tobacco products.
  • You do not sell or have flavored cigarettes, flavored tobacco products, or tobacco product flavor enhancers.
  • You do not sell or have cannabis or cannabis products, or presumed cannabis products, such as items containing or appearing to contain a synthetic cannabinoid, like gummies, or other cannabis products, such as creams, dust, crystals, and so on.

For more information on the inspection process, watch the What To Know About Your Cigarette and Tobacco Products Inspection video to learn the process, visit publication 152, Cigarette and Tobacco Products Inspections, and visit the Cigarette and Tobacco Products Inspections Program webpage. For information on enforcement and penalties, please visit the Resources guide.