PCA

Florida

Florida state legislature

Alerts & Updates

Key Contacts

Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation
Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco
(850) 487-1395

PCA Contact

Joshua Habursky
Glynn Loope [email protected][email protected]

Legislative Information

2019 Session Info
2019 Partisan Splits

Taxation

Florida imposes both a tax and a surcharge on tobacco products other than cigars purchased for sale in the state by any person engaged in business as a tobacco products distributor. The tax and surcharge are imposed at the time the distributor: brings tobacco products into the state for sale; makes, manufactures, or fabricates tobacco products in the state for sale in the state; or ships or transports tobacco products to retailers in the state, to be sold by those retailers. Consumers in possession of 1 pound or more of untaxed tobacco products are liable for the tax and surcharge.

Florida does not tax cigars.

Fla. Stat. § 210.276

Fla. Stat. § 210.30

Staff reported that Florida localities do not impose additional taxes on tobacco products.

The excise tax on all tobacco products is 25% of the wholesale sales price. The surcharge all tobacco products are 60% of the wholesale sales price.

Fla. Stat. § 210.276

Fla. Stat. § 210.30

Form Type / NameForm Number / Link
Florida Department of State, Division of CorporationsForms
Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation: Forms CenterLicensing-Related Forms
Application for Retail Tobacco Products Dealer PermitForm ABT-6028
Application for Retail Tobacco Products Dealer Permit – InstructionsInstructions
Application for Tobacco Products Wholesale DealerForm ABT-6005
Application for Tobacco Products Wholesale Dealer – InstructionsInstructions
Application for Cigar Wholesale Dealer PermitForm ABT-6006
Application for Cigar Wholesale Dealer Permit – InstructionsInstructions
Surety Bond FormForm ABT 6032
Division of Alcoholic Beverages and TobaccoElectronic Data Submission (EDS)
In-State Tobacco Products Wholesale Dealer’s ReportForm ABT 4000A-300
In-State Tobacco Products Wholesale Dealer’s Report – InstructionsInstructions
Monthly Report SummaryForm 4000A-300-1
Product TransactionsForm ABT 4000A-300
Certificate of Tobacco Products DestroyedForm ABT 4000A-300
Out-of-State Tobacco Products Distributor’s Monthly ReportForm ABT 4000A-305-1
Notification of Election to Permit Tobacco Smoking in the Licensed PremisesForm DBPR ABT-6039

Cigar and Smoking Tobacco Definitions

“Smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, burning, carrying, or possessing any lighted tobacco product, including cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and any other lighted tobacco product.

Fla. Stat. § 386.203

“Tobacco products” meansloose tobacco suitable for smoking; snuff; snuff flour; cavendish; plug and twist tobacco; fine cuts and other chewing tobaccos; shorts; refuse scraps; clippings, cuttings, and sweepings of tobacco, and other kinds and forms of tobacco prepared in such manner as to be suitable for chewing.

“Tobacco products” does not include cigarettes or cigars.

Fla. Stat. § 210.25

“Distributor” means:

  • Any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco products in the state who brings tobacco products into the state for sale;
  • Any person who makes manufactures, or fabricates tobacco products in the state for sale in the state; or
  • Any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco outside the state who ships or transports tobacco products to retailers in the state to be sold by those retailers.

Fla. Stat. § 210.25

“Stand-alone bar” means any licensed premises devoted, during any time of operation, predominantly or totally to serving alcoholic beverages, intoxicating beverages, or intoxicating liquors, or any combination thereof, for consumption on the licensed premises; in which the serving of food, if any, is merely incidental to the consumption of any such beverage; and the licensed premises is not located within, and does not share any common entryway or common indoor area with, any other enclosed indoor workplace, including any business for which the sale of food or any other product or service is more than an incidental source of gross revenue. A place of business is a stand-alone bar in which the service of food is merely incidental if the licensed premises derive no more than 10% of its gross revenue from the sale of food consumed on the licensed premises.

Fla. Stat. § 386.203

“Retailer”means any person engaged in the business of selling tobacco products to ultimate consumers.

Fla. Stat. § 210.25

“Retail outlet” means each place of business from which tobacco products are sold to consumers.

Fla. Stat. § 210.25

“Manufacturer” means any person who manufactures and sells tobacco products.

Fla. Stat. § 210.25

“Vape” or “vaping” means to inhale or exhale vapor produced by a vapor-generating electronic device or to possess a vapor-generating electronic device while that device is actively employing an electronic, a chemical, or a mechanical means designed to produce vapor or aerosol from a nicotine product or any other substance. The term does not include the mere possession of a vapor-generating electronic device.

Florida SB 7012 (2019)

“Vapor-generating electronic device” means any product that employs an electronic, a chemical, or a mechanical means capable of producing vapor or aerosol from a nicotine product or any other substance, including, but not limited to, an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, or other similar device or product, any replacement cartridge for such device, and any other container of a solution or other substance intended to be used with or within an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, or other similar device or product. 

Florida SB 7012 (2019)

“Vapor-generating electronic device retailer” or  “retail vape shop” means any enclosed indoor workplace dedicated to or predominantly for the retail sale of vapor-generating electronic devices and components, parts, and accessories for such products, in which the sale of other products or services is merely incidental.

Florida SB 7012 (2019)

Restrictions

A person may not smoke or vape in an enclosed indoor workplace, except as otherwise provided.This prohibition applies to all enclosed indoor workplaces and enclosed parts thereof regardless of whether work is occurring at the time.

“Enclosed indoor workplace” means any place where one or more persons engages in work, and which is predominantly or totally bounded on all sides and above by physical barriers, regardless of whether such barriers include: uncovered openings; screened or otherwise partially covered openings; or open or closed windows, jalousies, doors, or the like. A place is “predominantly” bounded by physical barriers during any time when both of the following conditions exist:

  • It is more than 50% covered from above by a physical barrier that excludes rain, and
  • More than 50% of the combined surface area of its sides is covered by closed physical barriers. In calculating the percentage of side surface area covered by closed physical barriers, all solid surfaces that block airflow, except railings, must be considered as closed physical barriers. 

Fla. Stat. § 386.203

Fla. Stat. § 386.204

Florida SB 7012 (2019)

Florida state law expressly preempts regulation of smoking to the state and supersedes any municipal or county ordinance on the subject. However, school districts may further restrict smoking by persons on school district property.

Fla. Stat. § 386.209

Tobacco smoking or vaping, or both may be permitted in each of the following places:

  • A private residence whenever it is not being used commercially to provide childcare, adult care, or health care, or any combination thereof as defined in s. 386.203(1).
    • A retail tobacco shop.
    • A retail vape shop.
    • A designated guest room at a public lodging establishment.
    • A stand-alone bar that complies with all applicable provisions of the Beverage Law and this part.
    • An enclosed indoor workplace, to the extent that tobacco smoking or vaping is an integral part of a smoking or vaping cessation program approved by the department, or medical or scientific research conducted therein. Each room in which tobacco smoking or vaping, or both, are authorized must comply with the signage requirements in s. 386.206.
    • A custom smoking room in an airport in-transit lounge under the authority and control of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection of the United States Department of Homeland Security subject to the restrictions contained in s. 386.205 

Fla. Stat. § 386.2045

It is unlawful for any person under the age of 18 to knowingly possess any tobacco product or to misrepresent his or her age or military service for the purpose of inducing a dealer or an agent or employee of the dealer to sell, give, barter, furnish, or deliver any tobacco product. However, “any person under the age of 18” does notinclude any person under the age of 18 who is acting in his or her scope of lawful employment with a licensed tobacco distributor.

Alachua County, Florida has raised the tobacco purchase age to 21.

Fla. Stat. § 569.11

Fla. Stat. § 569.002(7)(d)

Similarly, it is unlawful to sell, deliver, barter, furnish, or give any tobacco product, directly or indirectly, to any person who is under 18 years of age.

Fla. Stat. § 569.101

A dealer that sells tobacco products shall post a clear and conspicuous sign in each place of business where such products are sold which substantially states the following:

THE SALE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS TO PERSONS UNDER THE AGE OF 18 IS AGAINST FLORIDA LAW. PROOF OF AGE IS REQUIRED FOR PURCHASE.

Fla. Stat. § 569.14

Florida law contains no specific provision concerning state preemption of sampling, so local communities may pass more stringent laws or ordinances on tobacco sampling.

The gift of sample tobacco products to any person under the age of 18 by a licensed entity is prohibited.

Fla. Stat. § 569.0075

Tobacco samples are subject to the tobacco products tax, as the term “sale” includes a gift by a person engaged in the business of selling tobacco products for advertising.

Fla. Stat. § 210.25(9)

Florida law containsno specific provision concerning state preemption of sampling, so local communities may pass more stringent laws or ordinances in this area.

Operating Your Business

No person is permitted to engage in the business of selling or dealing in tobacco products in Florida without first obtaining a license. A person outside the state who ships or transports tobacco products to retailers in the state, to be sold by those retailers, may also apply for a distributor license.

Fla. Stat. § 210.35

Anyone who plans to distribute or sell tobacco products in Florida must register with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations, complete the appropriate application, and pay a fee for each permit requested. Retailers must complete an Application for Retail Tobacco Products Dealer Permit(Form ABT-6028) and pay a $50 fee; tobacco wholesale distributors must complete an Application for Tobacco Products Wholesale Dealer(Form ABT-6005), pay a $25 fee, and complete a Surety Bond Form (Form ABT-6032) for a $1,000 surety bond; and cigar wholesalers must complete an Application for Cigar Wholesale Dealer Permit(Form ABT-6006) and pay a $25 fee. Each license will expire on June 30th following its date of issue.

Each tobacco wholesale distributor is required to report [with Form 4000A-300 (In-State) or Form 4000A-305 (Out-of-state)] all other tobacco product transactions and pay the applicable excise taxes to the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco on a monthly basis. All reports must be made on or before the 10th day of the month following the calendar month for which the report is filed. Distributors paying $50,000 or more in excise taxes per year must remit tax payments through electronic funds transfer.

Every seller (manufacturer, wholesaler, or distributor) of tobacco products who sells to a retailer in Florida must also electronically file an annual information report on or before July 1st. This report is considered delinquent if it is not received by September 30th. The report must contain: the seller’s name; the seller’s tobacco permit number; the retailer’s name; the retailer’s tobacco permit number; the retailer’s address; the general item type or types; and the net monthly sales total sold to each retailer.

Fla. Stat. § 212.133

 Localities may require additional business licenses.

Form Type / NameForm Number / Link
Florida Department of State, Division of CorporationsForms
Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation: Forms CenterLicensing-Related Forms
Application for Retail Tobacco Products Dealer PermitForm ABT-6028
Application for Retail Tobacco Products Dealer Permit – InstructionsInstructions
Application for Tobacco Products Wholesale DealerForm ABT-6005
Application for Tobacco Products Wholesale Dealer – InstructionsInstructions
Application for Cigar Wholesale Dealer PermitForm ABT-6006
Application for Cigar Wholesale Dealer Permit – InstructionsInstructions
Surety Bond FormForm ABT 6032
Division of Alcoholic Beverages and TobaccoElectronic Data Submission (EDS)
In-State Tobacco Products Wholesale Dealer’s ReportForm ABT 4000A-300
In-State Tobacco Products Wholesale Dealer’s Report – InstructionsInstructions
Monthly Report SummaryForm 4000A-300-1
Product TransactionsForm ABT 4000A-300
Certificate of Tobacco Products DestroyedForm ABT 4000A-300
Out-of-State Tobacco Products Distributor’s Monthly ReportForm ABT 4000A-305-1
Notification of Election to Permit Tobacco Smoking in the Licensed PremisesForm DBPR ABT-6039

Political Involvement

 “Lobbying” means influencing or attempting to influence legislative action or non-action through oral or written communication or an attempt to obtain the goodwill of a member or employee of the Legislature.

Fla. Stat. § 11.045

A “lobbyist” is a person who is employed and receives payment, or who contracts for economic consideration, for the purpose of lobbying, or a person who is principally employed for governmental affairs by another person or governmental entity to lobby on behalf of that other person or governmental entity.

Fla. Stat. § 11.045

A “lobbying firm” is any business entity, including an individual contract lobbyist, which receives or becomes entitled to receive any compensation for the purpose of lobbying, where any partner, owner, officer, or employee of the business entity is a lobbyist.

Fla. Stat. § 11.045

“Principal” means the person, firm, corporation, or other entity which has employed or retained a lobbyist.

Fla. Stat. § 11.045

Florida law requires both legislative and executive lobbyists to register prior to engaging in lobbying. Legislative lobbyists must register annually on January 1st by accessing the online Lobbyist Registration and Compensation Reporting System (LRCRS), completing the process, and paying $50 for the first registration of the year and $20 for each additional registration ($25 for the first registration and $10 for each additional registration if registering to lobby before only one chamber). Executive lobbyists must register annually on January 1 by accessing LRCRS, completing the process, and pay a $25 fee per principal.

Lobbying firms must file compensation reports through LRCRS for each calendar quarter during any portion of which one or more of the firm’s lobbyists were registered to represent a principal. Due dates for the reports are as follows:

Reporting periodfiling deadline
January 1 – March 31May 15
April 1 – June 30August 14
July 1 – September 30November 14
October 1 – December 31February 14

Lobbyist Registration and Compensation Reporting System (LRCRS)

Form Type / NameForm Number / Link
Lobbying before the Legislature; registration and reportingFla. Stat. § 11.045
Lobbying before the executive branch Fla. Stat. § 112.3215

Shipping Regulations

Florida’s delivery sales statutes address the delivery sale of tobacco products. Tobacco products mean all cigarettes, smoking tobacco, snuff, fine-cut chewing tobacco, cut and granulated tobacco, cavendish, and plug or twist tobacco. A retailer must obtain a license from the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco before accepting an order for a delivery sale.

Each person accepting an order for a delivery sale must comply with each of the following:

  • age-verification requirements,
  • disclosure requirements,
  • shipping requirements,
  • registration and reporting requirements,
  • tax collection requirements,
  • licensing and tax stamp requirements which apply to sales of tobacco products occurring entirely in Florida, and
  • all laws of Florida generally applicable to sales of tobacco products occurring entirely in Florida which impose excise taxes and assessments.

Before making sales or shipping tobacco products in connection with sales, a person shall file with the Division a statement providing the person’s name, trade name, and the address of the person’s principal place of business, as well as any other place of business.

No later than the 10th day of each month, each person who has made a sale or mailed, shipped, or otherwise delivered tobacco products in connection with any sale during the previous calendar month shall file with the Division a memorandum or a copy of the invoice, providing for each sale:

  • the name and address of the individual who submitted the order for the sale,
  • the name and address of the individual who accepted delivery of the tobacco products,
  • the name and address of the person who accepted the order for the sale of the tobacco products,
  • the name and address of the delivery service and the name of the individual making the delivery,
  • the brand or brands of the tobacco products sold in the sale, and
  • the quantity of each brand of tobacco products sold in the sale.

A person may comply with the requirements to file a statement and monthly report with the Division by complying with the requirements of 15 U.S.C. § 376.

Fla. Stat. § 210.095

No person is permitted to engage in the business of selling or dealing in tobacco products in Florida without first obtaining a license. A person outside the state who ships or transports tobacco products to retailers in the state, to be sold by those retailers, may also apply for a distributor license.

Fla. Stat. § 210.35

A wholesale dealer or distributing agent, as defined in Section 210.01, or a distributor, as defined in Section 210.25, may sell or deliver tobacco products only to dealers who have permits.

Fla. Stat. § 569.007

Additional information about licensing in Florida is available under the Operating Your Business tab above.

A person may not mail, ship, or otherwise deliver tobacco products in connection with an order for a delivery sale unless, before the first delivery to the consumer, the person accepting the order for the delivery sale:

  • Obtains from the individual submitting the order a certification that includes:
    • Reliable confirmation that the individual is an adult; and
    • A statement signed by the individual in writing and under penalty of perjury which:
      • Certifies the address and date of birth of the individual; and
      • Confirms that the individual wants to receive delivery sales from a tobacco company and understands that, under the laws of this state, the following actions are illegal:
        • Signing another individual’s name to the certification;
        • Selling tobacco products to individuals under the legal minimum purchase age; and
        • Purchasing tobacco products, if the person making the purchase is under the legal minimum purchase age.
  • Makes a good faith effort to verify the information contained in the certification provided by the individual against a commercially available database that may be reasonably relied upon for accurate age information or obtains a photocopy or other image of a valid government-issued identification card stating the date of birth or age of the individual.
  • Provides to the individual, via electronic mail or other means, a notice that sales of tobacco products are
    • Illegal if made to individuals who are not adults.
    • Restricted to those individuals who provided verifiable proof of age, and 
    • Taxable
  • If an order for tobacco products is made pursuant to an advertisement on the Internet, receives payment for the delivery sale from the consumer by a credit or debit card issued in the name of the consumer, or by personal or company check of the consumer.
  • Imposes a two-carton minimum on each order of cigarettes and requires payment for the purchase of any tobacco product to be made by personal or company check of the purchaser or the purchaser’s credit card or debit card. Payment by money order or cash may not be received or permitted. The person accepting the order for delivery sale shall submit, to each credit card acquiring company with which the person has credit card sales, identification information in an appropriate form and format so that the words “tobacco product” may be printed in the purchaser’s credit card statement when a purchase of a tobacco product is made by credit card payment.
  • Makes a telephone call after 5 p.m. to the purchaser confirming the order before shipping the tobacco products. The telephone call may be a person-to-person call or a recorded message. The person accepting the order for delivery sale is not required to speak directly with a person and may leave a message on an answering machine or through voice mail.

Fla. Stat. § 210.095

Florida imposes both a tax and a surcharge on tobacco products other than cigars purchased for sale in the state by any person engaged in business as a tobacco products distributor. The tax and surcharge are imposed at the time the distributor: brings tobacco products into the state for sale; makes, manufactures, or fabricates tobacco products in the state for sale in the state; or ships or transports tobacco products to retailers in the state, to be sold by those retailers. Consumers in possession of 1 pound or more of untaxed tobacco products are liable for the tax and surcharge.

Florida does not tax cigars.

Each tobacco wholesale distributor must report all other tobacco product transactions and pay applicable excise taxes on each month on or before the tenth day of the month following the calendar month for which the report is filed. Every taxpayer with a place of business in the state shall file a return with the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco showing the taxable price of each tobacco product brought or caused to be brought into this state for sale, or made, manufactured, or fabricated in this state for sale in this state, during the preceding month. Every taxpayer outside this state shall file a return showing the quantity and taxable price of each tobacco product shipped or transported to retailers in this state, to be sold by those retailers, during the preceding month. Each return shall be accompanied by a remittance for the full tax liability shown.

Each person accepting a purchase order for a delivery sale shall collect and remit to the Division all taxes imposed on tobacco products by this state with respect to the delivery sale. With respect to cigarettes, the collection and remission are not required if the person has obtained proof in the form of the presence of applicable tax stamps or tax-exempt stamps or other proof that the taxes have already been paid to this state.

Fla. Stat. § 210.276

Fla. Stat. § 210.30

Fla. Stat. § 210.55

Fla. Stat. § 210.095

Disclaimer: PCA believes the information on this site is accurate. However, tobacco laws and regulations are subject to frequent change and court interpretation. Statements above are not intended as legal advice or restatement of law. PCA does not guarantee or assume responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of this information, nor that this information complies with all federal laws or the laws of all 50 states. Parties acknowledge and agree it is not the intention of PCA to provide specific legal advice for particular individuals, but rather to provide users with general information to better understand these issues. Users shall neither construe any of these materials as legal advice nor make this site the primary basis for any legal decisions made by or on your behalf and agree to release and waive any claims against PCA for the same. You shall consult with legal advisors concerning any contemplated individual decision.