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Information for Tobacco and/or Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealers
License Lottery
By law, the City can only issue new Tobacco Retail Dealer and Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer licenses within a Community District when the number of current licenses has fallen below the Community District cap. Twice each year, DCWP conducts a review to determine if there are available licenses in each Community District. Every April and October, DCWP will publish a notice in The City Record confirming if licenses are available in any Community District and the process to apply for the lottery. DCWP will also post this information on this webpage.
In October 2025, DCWP determined that certain Community Districts have available licenses and accepted lottery applications from November 3, 2025 through 5:00 p.m. on November 28, 2025. Read the published notice in The City Record about available Tobacco Retail Dealer and Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer licenses.
At the close of the lottery application period, DCWP assigns each accepted lottery application a randomized computer-generated priority number. If the number of accepted lottery applications exceeds the number of available licenses in a Community District, DCWP will issue offers to apply for licenses in the order of the assigned priority numbers. All applicants will receive notification from DCWP by email only when they can check the status of their application online.
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.
Tobacco Sales Training Program Affirmation Form
If your business received a violation for selling cigarettes, tobacco, electronic cigarettes, or other prohibited products to a person under 21, your business will receive:
- 2 points on your New York State retail dealer’s record OR
- 1 point on your New York State retail dealer’s record if the employee who made the illegal sale held a valid certificate of completion of a New York State Certified Tobacco Sales Training course.
Please complete and submit this Tobacco Sales Training Program Affirmation Form, which will be reviewed by DCWP.
Inspection Checklists
Read Inspection Checklist: Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealers.
Read Inspection Checklist: Tobacco Retail Dealers.