Rhode Island tobacco and vapor compliance

Uniform CTE License: Distributor / Importer / Manufacturer

Who needs it

Distributor or wholesaler, Importer, US manufacturer, Manufacturer outside the US, Online or remote seller

Agency

RI Division of Taxation

Fee

$100 (non-stamping distributor, importer or manufacturer, including OTP-only and ENDS-only distributors); $1,000 if the licensee affixes cigarette stamps; $100 vending distributor

Bond

No bond stated on the application. R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-25 requires a bond of a nonresident person authorized to pay tax, in an amount the tax administrator sets; how the Division applies this to out-of-state OTP distributors was not confirmed

Term

Expires June 30 following issuance

Renewal

Annual; renewal application and fee due on or before February 1 for the July 1 to June 30 license year

A distributor includes any person, in or outside Rhode Island, other than a dealer, who sells or distributes OTP or ENDS within or into the state. A manufacturer, export warehouse proprietor, or importer holding a federal permit under 26 U.S.C. 5712 is not a distributor if it sells in Rhode Island only to licensed distributors. The manufacturer license requirement in 44-20-2(a) excepts cigars. A separate license is needed for each place of business and each class of business; an applicant with no Rhode Island location is licensed at its principal place of business. The Division states that a CTE distributor must obtain and maintain a list of 40 or more Rhode Island licensed CTE dealers. Since June 12, 2026, a dealer whose annual cigar sales exceed 50% of its sales may also hold a distributor license at the same location as its dealer license and may buy pipe tobacco from unlicensed sources. A license cannot be granted or renewed if the applicant owes $500 or more in delinquent taxes or is a month or more behind on tax filings. Apply with the Uniform CTE License application.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-1(4), 44-20-2, 44-20-4, 44-20-4.1, 44-20-5, 44-20-25; H 7127 Sub A as amended (2026), Art. 6, sec. 3; Uniform CTE License application; ADV 2025-24 Source

Uniform Cigarette, Tobacco, and ENDS (CTE) Dealer's License

Who needs it

Retailer, Online or remote seller

Agency

RI Division of Taxation

Fee

$25 application; $25 annual renewal

Bond

None stated

Term

July 1 to June 30

Renewal

Annual; Form CTEREN due on or before February 1 (for example, February 1, 2026 for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027)

Required for each place of business that sells cigarettes, OTP (including cigars and nicotine pouches), or ENDS at retail. A dealer is any person in or outside Rhode Island who sells or distributes these products to a consumer in the state. The Division's OTP guide says dealers with a Rhode Island location apply for both a sales permit and the Uniform Dealer CTE License. Must be displayed at the premises. Must be in good standing on state taxes to renew. Former Department of Health ENDS dealer licenses were folded into this license on January 1, 2025.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-1(3), 44-20-2, 44-20-4, 44-20-5; Form CTEREN (FYE2027); OTP & Rhode Island Tax Guide for Businesses (Sept. 2025) Source

Other tobacco products (OTP) tax

Rate

80% of wholesale cost

Base

Wholesale cost: for a manufacturer, the price set for the products or, if none, the wholesale value; for a distributor, the price at which the distributor buys the products before discounts; for a dealer, the invoice price to the dealer

Who pays

Licensed distributor on OTP-1; a dealer or consumer who buys from a supplier without a Rhode Island distributor license pays on OTP-4. The tax is presumed to be a direct tax on the retail consumer, precollected for convenience.

Effective

80% in effect; nicotine products (including tobacco-free pouches) added to OTP October 1, 2025 by P.L. 2025, ch. 278, art. 5

OTP means products made from or derived from tobacco or containing nicotine, natural or artificial, including cigars, cheroots, stogies, pipe and smoking tobacco, chewing tobacco, hookah and shisha, snuff, and any tobacco or nicotine substitute, but not cigarettes, little cigars, ENDS products, or FDA-approved cessation products. Tobacco blunt wraps and leaf appear to fall within OTP, but 'cigarettes' is defined to include each sheet of cigarette rolling paper made of paper or any other material (see open questions).

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-1(11), 44-20-13.2(a)(1), 44-20-53; 280-RICR-20-15-2 Source

Cigar cap

Rate

80% of wholesale cost, not to exceed $0.50 per cigar

Base

Wholesale cost per cigar; the Division's forms treat cigars with a wholesale cost of $0.63 or less at 80% and cigars above $0.63 at $0.50 each

Who pays

Licensed distributor (OTP-1 Schedule B) or, for cigars bought from an unlicensed supplier, the dealer or consumer (OTP-4)

Effective

In effect; no rate or cap change found in the 2025 or 2026 legislation

No premium cigar exemption beyond the $0.50 cap. Returns require a count of cigars above the $0.63 break point.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-13.2(a)(2); Forms OTP-1 and OTP-4 Source

Snuff tax

Rate

$1.00 per ounce of net weight as listed by the manufacturer, prorated for fractions

Base

Net weight; a product listed at less than 1.2 ounces is taxed as 1.2 ounces

Who pays

Licensed distributor; dealer or consumer if bought from an unlicensed supplier

Effective

In effect

Other smokeless tobacco (such as chewing tobacco) is taxed at 80% of wholesale cost. Tobacco-free nicotine pouches are taxed as nicotine products at 80% of wholesale cost per the Division, not at the snuff rate.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-13.2(a)(3); Form OTP-1 Schedule C Source

Electronic nicotine-delivery system (ENDS) products tax

Rate

$0.50 per mL of e-liquid for prefilled, manufacturer-sealed, non-refillable products; 10% of wholesale cost for all other ENDS products

Base

E-liquid volume (closed systems) or wholesale cost (open systems, devices, components, bottled e-liquid)

Who pays

Every Rhode Island licensed distributor collects, files, and pays

Effective

January 1, 2025 (P.L. 2024, ch. 117, art. 6)

ENDS products include e-liquid whether or not it contains nicotine, and are defined to include hemp-derived consumable CBD products; ENDS products subject to the cannabis taxes are exempt. A one-time floor tax applied to inventory held January 1, 2025.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-1(5) to (7), 44-20-13.2(a)(4), 44-20-60; ADV 2025-01 Source

Little cigars taxed as cigarettes

Rate

Cigarette rate of 225 mills ($0.225) per little cigar, evidenced by stamps

Base

Per stick

Who pays

Stamp-affixing licensed distributor

Effective

In effect

Little cigars are rolls with an integrated filter, excluding tobacco-wrapped rolls weighing over 4 pounds per thousand. They are excluded from OTP and follow the cigarette stamping and licensing rules. Cigarettes are otherwise out of scope.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-1(11), 44-20-12, 44-20.2-1, 44-20.2-2 Source

2025 floor tax on newly taxed nicotine products

Rate

80% of wholesale cost of nicotine products not previously taxed as OTP held at 12:01 a.m. October 1, 2025

Base

Inventory on hand

Who pays

Licensed dealers and licensed distributors, manufacturers, and importers

Effective

One time; return and payment due October 16, 2025

Past event; relevant to audits of 2025 periods.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-13.2(c); ADV 2025-19 Source

Distributor's Other Tobacco Products Tax Return

Form

OTP-1 with Schedules A (tax computation), B (cigars), C (snuff), D (products made in or brought into RI) and E (exports)

How often

Monthly

Due

On or before the 10th day of the month for the previous calendar month

Where

https://taxportal.ri.gov/

Filed by licensed OTP distributors with payment. The Division states that cigarette, ENDS, and OTP taxes are subject to its electronic filing mandate and are filed and paid only on the Taxpayer Portal, although the form still shows a mailing address. The current posted form (revised 07/2023) has no separate line for nicotine products; nicotine products taxed as OTP since October 1, 2025 are reported at 80% of wholesale cost.

280-RICR-20-15-2, sec. 2.6; Form OTP-1; ADV 2025-24; OTP & Rhode Island Tax Guide for Businesses (Sept. 2025) Source

Dealer/Consumer Other Tobacco Products Return

Form

OTP-4 with Schedule B

How often

Per purchase

Due

Within 5 days after coming into possession of cigars bought from a supplier that is not a Rhode Island licensed distributor

Zero returns

No

Where

https://taxportal.ri.gov/

Tax is 80% of wholesale cost for cigars at or below $0.63 and $0.50 each above that. The Division's OTP page says a dealer or consumer who buys OTP from a non-Rhode Island licensed distributor files OTP-4; since January 1, 2025 cigars are the only OTP a dealer may lawfully buy from an unlicensed source.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-13.2(b)(3); 280-RICR-20-15-2; Form OTP-4 Source

Distributor's Electronic Nicotine-Delivery System (ENDS) Products Tax Return

Form

ENDS-1

How often

Monthly

Due

On or before the 10th day of each month for the previous calendar month (first due February 10, 2025)

Where

https://taxportal.ri.gov/

Filed and paid by Rhode Island licensed ENDS distributors on the Taxpayer Portal.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-13.2(a)(4); ENDS tax page Source

OTP floor stock tax return (nicotine products)

Form

OTP floor tax form on the Taxpayer Portal

How often

Once

Due

October 16, 2025 (past)

Where

https://taxportal.ri.gov/

Inventory of newly taxed nicotine products held at 12:01 a.m. October 1, 2025, taxed at 80% of wholesale cost.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-13.2(c); ADV 2025-19 Source

Master Settlement Agreement compliance for cigarette and roll-your-own manufacturers

Who files

Manufacturer outside the US, US manufacturer, Importer

Fee

None found

Deadline

Not confirmed

Rhode Island's escrow statute defines 'cigarette' to include roll-your-own tobacco, and a CTE license may not be granted to a cigarette manufacturer or importer that is neither a participating manufacturer nor in full compliance with chapter 44-20.2 and 23-71-3. Details of any Attorney General brand directory for roll-your-own were not confirmed.

R.I. Gen. Laws 23-71-2, 44-20-4.1(a)(5) Source

Flavored ENDS ban

Effective

January 1, 2025 as statute (P.L. 2024, ch. 117, art. 6); earlier Department of Health rules

No sale, offer for sale, or possession with intent to sell flavored ENDS products to consumers in Rhode Island. A characterizing flavor is any distinguishable taste or aroma other than tobacco or menthol, including fruit, mint, wintergreen, chocolate, vanilla, candy, dessert, alcoholic beverage, herb, spice, or a cooling or numbing sensation. A flavor claim to consumers creates a presumption. Menthol ENDS remain legal.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-61 Source

Retailers buy only from licensed distributors (cigars excepted)

Effective

January 1, 2025

Since January 1, 2025, OTP (other than cigars) and ENDS sold at wholesale in Rhode Island must be sold by a Rhode Island licensed distributor, manufacturer, or importer, and dealers may obtain them only from a licensed distributor. Product bought from an unlicensed source is contraband subject to seizure. Cigars are exempt from this rule; a dealer that buys cigars from an unlicensed supplier must pay the tax on OTP-4.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-8.2, 44-20-13.2(b)(2); ADV 2025-01 Source

Age 21 and training

Effective

Age 21 since July 7, 2021 (P.L. 2021, ch. 204 and 205)

No sale, gift, or delivery of cigars, little cigars, blunts and blunt wraps, rolling papers, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, ENDS, or any product defined in 44-20-1 to anyone under 21. Notice of the law must be posted. Retail clerks must be trained before selling, and dealers keep training records. Civil fines of $250, $500, and $1,000 plus a 14-day license suspension for first, second, and third violations in 36 months, and $1,500 plus a 90-day suspension for each later violation.

R.I. Gen. Laws 11-9-13, 11-9-13.13 Source

Original package only

Effective

In effect

License holders may not sell tobacco products, including ENDS, in any form other than the original factory-wrapped package as sealed and certified by the manufacturer. Penalty $500 per violation.

R.I. Gen. Laws 11-9-13.8(2), 11-9-13.13(c) Source

Shipping rule

Anyone, including online retailers, who sells or ships little cigars, snuff, any OTP, or ENDS directly to a Rhode Island purchaser by mail or package delivery must first obtain a copy of a valid government ID showing the buyer is 21 or older and a signed attestation from the buyer, ship only to the address on that ID, and use a delivery method that requires the buyer's personal signature or the signature of an adult 21 or older at the address. The Attorney General enforces, with a minimum $1,000 fine per delivery to a person under 21. A remote seller to Rhode Island consumers is a 'dealer' that needs a CTE dealer license, and the Division's OTP guide treats a person who accepts orders from Rhode Island consumers by phone or internet as a distributor.

R.I. Gen. Laws 11-9-13.11, 44-20-1(3); OTP & Rhode Island Tax Guide for Businesses (Sept. 2025) Source

Shipping rule

Delivery sales of cigarettes follow the separate delivery sales chapter (44-20.1), which does not cover cigars or other OTP.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20.1-1, 11-9-13.11(e) Source

Local rule

Providence bans the sale of flavored non-cigarette tobacco and nicotine products, including cigars, pipe tobacco, smokeless, snus, and e-liquids, with tastes or aromas of fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, candy, cocoa, herb, spice, dessert, or alcoholic beverages; menthol, mint, and wintergreen are not prohibited flavors, and smoking bars as defined in R.I. Gen. Laws 23-20.10-2 are exempt. Providence also bans redeeming tobacco coupons and multi-pack discounts and selling single cigarettes. Fines are $250 for a first offense, $350 for a second and $500 for later offenses, and license revocation is possible after three violations. Other municipalities may have their own rules; check the local code for each store location.

Providence Ordinances 2012-6.42, 2012-7.43, 2011-13.224; City of Providence summary Source

Records

Each manufacturer, importer, distributor, and dealer keeps invoices or equivalent records for each non-retail transaction showing the other party's name and address and quantity by brand style, for 3 years, on the licensed premises (centralized records only with the Division's permission).

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-40; 280-RICR-20-15-2 Source

Records

No one may sell or possess for sale OTP or ENDS without a written record of payment of the Rhode Island tax; product without it is contraband. Dealers should keep invoices from licensed distributors, or copies of filed OTP-4 returns for cigars bought from unlicensed suppliers, on the premises.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-33, 44-20-13.2(b)(3); OTP guide Source

Penalty

Selling, offering, or possessing with intent to sell OTP or ENDS without the required license is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 per offense, up to 1 year in prison, or both. Selling tobacco at retail without a dealer license also carries a $10,000 civil fine in district court.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-3, 11-9-13.15 Source

Penalty

Civil penalties for any violation of chapter 44-20: up to 10 times the retail value of the products for a first offense in 24 months and up to 25 times for later offenses, plus the greater of $1,000 or up to 5 times the unpaid tax.

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-51.1 Source

Penalty

OTP or ENDS bought from an unlicensed person (other than cigars) is subject to confiscation under 44-20-15 and taxed. The Division may suspend or revoke a license for any violation and must revoke one where the holder becomes ineligible (for example, $500 or more in delinquent taxes).

R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-8, 44-20-13.2(b)(2), 44-20-4.1 Source

January 1, 2025

Unified CTE licensing began: single dealer license for cigarettes, OTP, and ENDS, and single distributor/importer/manufacturer license. Department of Health ENDS licenses under 23-1-56 were repealed and moved to the Division of Taxation. OTP (except cigars) and ENDS must be bought from Rhode Island licensed distributors. New ENDS tax of $0.50 per mL (closed) and 10% of wholesale (open), with a floor tax. Flavored ENDS ban placed in statute.

P.L. 2024, ch. 117, art. 6; ADV 2025-01 Source

October 1, 2025

Definition of OTP expanded to include products containing nicotine, natural or artificial, such as tobacco-free nicotine pouches, taxed at 80% of wholesale cost; floor tax return due October 16, 2025.

P.L. 2025, ch. 278, art. 5; ADV 2025-19 Source

June 12, 2026 (upon passage)

A dealer whose annual cigar sales exceed 50% of its sales may be licensed as a CTE distributor, may hold that license at the same location as its dealer license, and may buy pipe tobacco from unlicensed manufacturers, importers, or distributors.

H 7127 Sub A as amended (FY2027 budget), Art. 6, sec. 3, amending R.I. Gen. Laws 44-20-1(4), 44-20-4.1, 44-20-8.2 Source

Pending

Pending: H 8254 (introduced March 6, 2026, referred to House Finance) would add menthol to the flavored ENDS ban. Not shown as enacted as of this review.

2026 H 8254 Source

RI Division of Taxation (Department of Revenue), Excise Tax Section

Handles

Administers the cigarette, OTP, and ENDS taxes under R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 44-20; issues the unified CTE dealer and distributor/importer/manufacturer licenses; receives OTP-1, OTP-4, and ENDS-1 returns; publishes licensed dealer and distributor lists; audits, seizes contraband, and suspends or revokes licenses. Contact Tax.Excise@tax.ri.gov, 401.574.8955.

Online

https://taxportal.ri.gov/

Source

RI Office of the Attorney General

Handles

Brings actions for tobacco and ENDS sales by mail or package delivery to persons under 21 (minimum $1,000 fine per delivery) and administers Master Settlement Agreement escrow laws for cigarette and roll-your-own manufacturers.

Source

RI District Court

Handles

Hears citations for underage sales, signage, packaging, and unlicensed retail sales; imposes fines and license suspensions and reports them to the Division of Taxation within 60 days.

Source

City of Providence

Handles

Enforces local ordinances banning non-cigarette flavored tobacco products (including cigars) outside smoking bars, tobacco coupon and multi-pack discounts, and single cigarette sales.

Source