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Can you order vapes online in New York? What the law says

Short answer: not delivered to your home. New York law makes it unlawful for a business that sells vapor products to ship nicotine vapor products to anyone in the state other than a registered vapor products dealer, certain warehouse operators, or a government official on duty. Carriers may not knowingly deliver them either.

Published September 26, 2026 · Last checked against federal and New York sources: September 26, 2026 · Informational research, not legal advice

The short answer

  • Since July 2020, New York Public Health Law § 1399-ll(1-a) has made it unlawful for “any person engaged in the business of selling vapor products” to ship nicotine vapor products to a person in New York who is not a registered vapor products dealer, an export or customs bonded warehouse operator, or a government officer acting in their official duties.
  • Carriers may not knowingly transport these products to anyone else in the state. If the delivery is to a home or residence, the law presumes the carrier knew (§ 1399-ll(2)).
  • The New York Attorney General’s office said in a July 20, 2020 release: “as of July 1, it is illegal to sell vaping products online and through mail order to New York consumers.”
  • Federal law adds its own rules: online vape sellers are covered by the PACT Act, and the U.S. Postal Service treats e-cigarettes as generally nonmailable.

What New York law says

The key text is subdivision 1-a of N.Y. Public Health Law § 1399-ll. It says it is unlawful for any person engaged in the business of selling vapor products “to ship or cause to be shipped any vapor products intended or reasonably expected to be used with or for the consumption of nicotine to any person in this state who is not” one of three kinds of recipient:

  1. “a person that receives a certificate of registration as a vapor products dealer under article twenty eight-C of the tax law”;
  2. an export warehouse proprietor or an operator of a customs bonded warehouse; or
  3. an officer, employee or agent of the U.S. or New York government “when such person is acting in accordance with his or her official duties.”

Subdivision 2 covers delivery. It is unlawful for a common or contract carrier to knowingly transport nicotine vapor products to anyone in New York the carrier reasonably believes is not one of those recipients, and “if vapor products intended or reasonably expected to be used with or for the consumption of nicotine are transported to a home or residence, it shall be presumed that the common or contract carrier knew” the recipient didn’t qualify. The same subdivision also says it should not be read to prohibit a person other than a carrier from transporting a limited amount: no more than “the lesser of 500 milliliters, or a total nicotine content of 3 grams at any one time.”

Penalties (§ 1399-ll(5)): a first violation of subdivision 1-a or 2 is a class A misdemeanor, and a second or subsequent violation is a class E felony. There is also a civil penalty of up to the greater of $5,000 per violation or $100 for each nicotine vapor product shipped or transported in violation.

New York has enforced this against online sellers. In July 2020 the Attorney General ordered three companies to stop selling vaping products online to New York consumers. In February 2025 the Attorney General sued 13 manufacturers, distributors and retailers, alleging among other things that they “illegally ship products to New York.”

What federal law adds: the PACT Act

The federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act covers “delivery sales,” which include orders placed online. Under a December 2020 amendment (the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act, effective in March 2021), the PACT Act’s definition of “cigarette” includes “an electronic nicotine delivery system,” defined to include e-cigarettes, vape pens and “any component, liquid, part, or accessory” of them (15 U.S.C. § 375). Under the Act, a delivery seller must:

  • comply with all state and local laws on these sales “as if the delivery sales occurred entirely within the specific State and place,” including excise taxes, licensing and restrictions on sales to minors (15 U.S.C. § 376a(a)(3));
  • first file a registration statement with the U.S. Attorney General and with the tobacco tax administrators of the state it ships into (15 U.S.C. § 376(a)(1));
  • use a shipping method that requires an adult to sign for the package and show “a valid, government-issued identification bearing a photograph” proving they are at least the legal purchase age (15 U.S.C. § 376a(b)(4)); and
  • make sure state and local excise taxes are paid before the sale or delivery (15 U.S.C. § 376a(d)).

The PACT Act generally leaves New York’s rule in place. Except for a limited carve-out affecting enforcement against certain exempt carriers, it says nothing in it shall be construed to “preempt, supersede, or otherwise limit or restrict State laws prohibiting the delivery sale, or the shipment or delivery pursuant to a delivery sale, of cigarettes or other tobacco products to individual consumers or personal residences” (15 U.S.C. § 376a(e)(5)(C)).

Can vapes be mailed through USPS?

Generally no. Federal law makes cigarettes nonmailable (18 U.S.C. § 1716E), and the U.S. Postal Service’s final rule applying that ban to e-cigarettes took effect October 21, 2021. The Postal Service says “ENDS products are generally nonmailable, except as authorized by an exception …” The exceptions are narrow: mailings within Alaska or within Hawaii, mailings for business purposes between licensed tobacco-industry businesses (or between those businesses and federal or state agencies for regulatory purposes), and limited noncommercial mailings by adult individuals (no more than 10 in any 30-day period).

The product still has to be legal to sell

Shipping rules are only part of it. Under federal law, only e-cigarettes the FDA has authorized may be lawfully sold; the FDA says its list is “the only e-cigarettes that may be lawfully sold in the United States.” New York also bans the sale of flavored nicotine vapor products, with an exemption for flavored products the FDA has authorized through premarket review (N.Y. Public Health Law § 1399-mm-1). See our FDA-authorized vapes database and Are disposable vapes legal?

Taxes and registration for New York sellers

New York’s Department of Taxation and Finance says “a 20% supplemental sales tax is imposed on retail sales of vapor products in New York,” and that a seller must obtain a Vapor Products Dealer Certificate of Registration “for each retail location, online location or vending machine where vapor products are sold.” For age limits, discount rules and more, see our New York vape laws guide.

If a website offers to ship vapes to a New York address

Under § 1399-ll as written, a seller shipping nicotine vapor products to a New York home, and a carrier knowingly delivering them, would be acting unlawfully. To check whether a specific product is FDA authorized, use our step-by-step guide: Is my vape FDA authorized? Nicotine pouches are a different product category; see our FDA-authorized nicotine pouches page. Other states have their own rules; see our state vape law guides.

This page is informational research for adults 21+, not legal advice. TristateVape doesn’t sell vapes or link to any retailer from this page.

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