Federal Tobacco 21 (Public Law 116-94) and California Business and Professions Code section 22963 bar Santa Clara County retailers from selling cigarettes, cigars, vapes, or any tobacco product to anyone under twenty-one. SCC Public Health enforces in unincorporated areas with photo-ID checks.
Since December 2019, the federal Tobacco 21 amendment to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act has set the national minimum sales age at twenty-one for all tobacco and vape products. California codified the same age in Business and Professions Code section 22963 and STAKE Act enforcement. Santa Clara County retailers operating under Ordinance NS-300.789 must check government photo identification for any buyer who appears under twenty-seven and cannot rely on military exemptions. The County Public Health Department and FDA conduct undercover decoy compliance checks across unincorporated areas; multiple violations can suspend or revoke the county Tobacco Retail License. The fifteen incorporated cities enforce parallel rules.
Selling tobacco to a person under twenty-one is a misdemeanor under state STAKE Act enforcement and grounds for SCC Ord. NS-300.789 license suspension, with civil fines up to about six thousand dollars per repeat offense.
See how Santa Clara's tobacco age restrictions rules stack up against other locations.
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