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Information for Tobacco and/or Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealers
License Lottery
April 3, 2023: By law, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) has conducted a review of Tobacco Retail Dealer and Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer licenses in each Community District to determine if the number of current licenses has fallen below the Community District cap. DCWP determined that the following Community Districts have available licenses:
- Tobacco Retail Dealer
- Manhattan Community District 12: 12 available licenses
- Bronx Community District 1: 17 available licenses
- Bronx Community District 3: 5 available licenses
- Bronx Community District 4: 2 available licenses
- Bronx Community District 9: 8 available licenses
- Brooklyn Community District 2: 1 available license
- Brooklyn Community District 3: 11 available licenses
- Brooklyn Community District 5: 21 available licenses
- Brooklyn Community District 8: 4 available licenses
- Brooklyn Community District 16: 9 available licenses
- Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer
- Brooklyn Community District 16: 1 available license
The period to apply for the lottery begins Monday, May 1, 2023 and ends Wednesday, May 31, 2023. DCWP must receive your completed lottery application by 5:00 p.m. on May 31, 2023.
Important:
- Submit one lottery application per business address and indicate the license for which you are requesting to apply.
- If both licenses are available in your Community District, you must submit separate lottery applications.
- If your business is randomly selected to apply for a license, you must submit a complete license application within 65 days of receiving DCWP’s offer to apply. Receiving an offer to apply does not mean you are automatically licensed.
Lottery Application Form Submission Guidelines:
- DCWP will only accept the DCWP-approved Lottery Application Form
- All Lottery Application Forms must be completed and submitted by 5:00 p.m. on May 31, 2023
- DCWP will accept only one Lottery Application Form per applicant in a particular Community District. Look up a Community District based on a business address.
- Submit your Lottery Application Form in ONE of the following ways only
- Online (recommended). Note: If you haven’t registered an account with the City of New York, you will need to register an account before you can proceed to the online application.
- In person by appointment* only at:
- DCWP Licensing Center, 42 Broadway, Lobby, New York, NY 10004 OR
- NYC Small Business Support Center, 90-27 Sutphin Blvd., 4th floor, Jamaica, NY 11435
*To schedule an appointment, email LicensingAppointments@dcwp.nyc.gov or call (212) 436-0441 (Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.).
Tobacco and E-cigarette Control Laws
As of July 1, 2020, tobacco and e-cigarette retail stores in New York City are only allowed to sell products with specific flavors.
- Stores with an e-cigarette license may sell e-cigarettes or e-liquids/liquid nicotine that are tobacco-flavored or unflavored. This includes all disposable, refillable and tank-based vaping products.
- Stores with a tobacco license may sell cigarettes with tobacco or menthol flavors. They may also sell other tobacco products that are unflavored or are tobacco-, menthol-, mint- or wintergreen-flavored.
Learn more including FAQs by visiting the NYC Department of Health at nyc.gov/health.
Local Law 191 of 2017
As of April 14, 2018, it is illegal to sell non-tobacco shisha, herbal cigarettes, rolling papers, and other smoking-related paraphernalia to individuals under 21 years of age in New York City. Download Age Restriction Sign.
Inspection Checklists
Read Inspection Checklist: Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealers.
Read Inspection Checklist: Tobacco Retail Dealers.