Specialty Vape Store Registration Lawyer

Are you looking to import or manufacture vaping products? Click here to go that page.

Are you thinking of becoming a vaping product retailer in Ontario? You’ve found the right page! If that’s the case then you’ll need to apply for a Specialty Vape Store licence in the province.

When do you need a Specialty Vape Store Registration?

If you are selling vapour products other than ones that are menthol, mint or tobacco flavoured you will need a vaping store licence. The licence also allows you to promote and display vape products.

Requirements to apply for a Specialty Vape Store Licence

There are certain requirements you must meet before you can get a Specialty Vape Store Licence.

85% or more of your store’s total sales in the past 12 months must be from vapour products

If your establishment has not bee in operation for less than one year: 85% or more of your store’s total inventory purchases for that time must consist of vapour products, or at least 85% of total sales for the time it has been in existence consists of vapour products.

The remaining inventory or sales must be items “reasonably associated with a vapour product or branded with the name of the specialty vape store or a brand of vapour product.”

You cannot let anyone under 18 enter the establishment, and the establishment must be a building or located in one.

Patrons can only enter the establishment from the outside or from the areas of a shopping mall that are: open to the public, common got most of the retail establishments or other businesses in the mall, and NOT part of the retail establishment or other business within the mall. Lastly, the establishment not be a thoroughfare.

Rules for In-Store Display and Sampling of Vaping Products

You can display and promote vapour products, but only inside the store — all indoor displays and promotion of products cannot be visible from outside the store at any time. Many stores accomplish this through film on the front windows.

In-store sampling is permitted but only if the use is for sampling a vapour product, no ore than 2 people are sampling the vapour product at the time, and stores must provide fresh one-time disposable mouthpieces for sampling. Lastly, the e-cigarette you are sampling from can’t contain cannabis or tobacco or any other controlled substance.

You need to ask for government-issued photo ID for anyone that is less than 25 years old that seeks to enter the stores and buy products. You will need to post Vapour Product signs in clear view of the seller and customer at the point of sale.

How Do I Apply For a Specialty Vape Store Licence?

You will need to download the Application for Registration as a Specialty Vape Store from the Ontario government’s website. Currently it can be found here. Following your completion of your application, you must submit it to the board of health for the public health unit in which the store is located in.

Do I need to register for a Tobacco Retail Dealer’s Permit / Licence?

If you are selling any tobacco products, such as ones that are used with Heat Not Burn products, you must also apply for a Tobacco Retail Dealer’s Permit, which you can read more about here.