Before engaging in most businesses relating to the tobacco industry, you must submit an application to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and receive approval prior to beginning operations. The type of application will depend on the activities you intend to conduct, and we will determine your eligibility after we review your application. If you are eligible and provide the necessary information, we will authorize you to begin the requested operations. Let’s walk through the general steps to apply.
Step 1 – Decide Who is the Applicant
One of the first steps in filing any application is to determine “Who is the applicant?” Is it:
- You as an individual (sole proprietor)?
- A partnership of two or more people or companies?
- An entity such as a corporation or Limited Liability Company (LLC)?
It is important to decide early who the applicant will be because if you change your business structure, such as going from a partnership to a corporation, the new entity will need to file a full new application and be approved before beginning operations.
TTB strongly suggests that you contact an attorney and/or an accountant before making a final decision on which structure best suits your business needs. Business structure options include:
- Sole Proprietorship
- Partnership
- Limited Liability Company (LLC)
- Corporation
If you are thinking about starting a business, see the comprehensive information about starting a new business, including resources from the Internal Revenue Service, BusinessUSA, and the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Step 2 – Identify Your Desired Type of Tobacco Operations
The next important step in getting started in the tobacco industry is deciding which type of tobacco operation(s) you intend to conduct.
Types of Tobacco Operations
Manufacturers
These are businesses that manufacture tobacco products. Tobacco products are cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipe tobacco, and roll your- own tobacco. A manufacturer of tobacco products is also any person who for commercial purposes makes available for consumer use a machine capable of making cigarettes, cigars, or other tobacco products. The activity of packaging processed tobacco may qualify as a manufacturing activity.
These are businesses that manufacture processed tobacco. Processed tobacco is any tobacco that has undergone processing, but does not include tobacco products. Processing of tobacco includes, but is not limited to, stemming (that is, removing the stem from the tobacco leaf), fermenting, threshing, cutting, or flavoring the tobacco, or otherwise combining the tobacco with non-tobacco ingredients. Processing does not include curing, baling, or packaging for the consumer.
These are businesses that manufacture cigarette papers and/or tubes.
Tobacco Importers
An importer of tobacco products is anyone who engages in the business of importing tobacco products into the United States. Tobacco products are cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco.
These are businesses that import processed tobacco into the United States. Processed tobacco is any tobacco that has undergone processing, but does not include tobacco products. Processing of tobacco includes, but is not limited to, stemming (that is, removing the stem from the tobacco leaf), fermenting, threshing, cutting, or flavoring the tobacco, or otherwise combining the tobacco with non-tobacco ingredients. Processing does not include curing, baling, or packaging for the consumer.
Export Warehouse Proprietors
These are businesses which store non-taxpaid tobacco products or cigarette papers or tubes or any processed tobacco for subsequent exportation to a foreign country, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, or a possession of the United States, or for consumption beyond the jurisdiction of the internal revenue laws of the United States.
While the application procedures among the various operations have similarities, there are significant differences between them that will affect how you become qualified to operate.
NOTE: If you want to manufacture electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)—generally, e-cigarettes, "vaping" devices, or other similar products that do not contain tobacco—you do not need to apply to TTB for a permit to operate. Federal law (section 5702 of H1: 26 of the United States Code) defines tobacco products subject to the Federal excise taxes administered by TTB as cigars, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco (snuff and chewing tobacco), pipe tobacco, and roll-your-own tobacco. Each of these products is specifically defined in section 5702. TTB does not regulate manufacturers of any ENDS products that do not fall within these definitions. Such manufacturers may be subject to regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as well as State and local laws.
Step 3 – How to Apply
After deciding on the applicant and operation type, you can begin the application process. (Note: For information about qualifying as a manufacturer of cigarette papers or tubes, please contact TTB’s National Revenue Center at 1-877-882-3277.)
You can apply for approval of your application electronically using our free TTB Permits Online system. Using TTB Permits Online may save you time and result in faster processing of your application. Learn more at our TTB Permits Online page or see our Permits Online Tutorial which will walk you through the electronic application process
It is still possible to file paper applications and submit them by mail to TTB. However, filing electronically generally will help in submitting a complete application to ensure timely processing. In addition, filing through Permits Online will allow you to obtain the status and updates of your application at any time. Any approved documents will be available electronically through Permits Online.
Whether filing on paper or electronically, during the application process you must send us all the required information so that TTB can consider your application. Filing electronically replaces the need to complete most paper forms, but you may need to scan in other required documents and submit them through the Permits Online system, possibly including –
- Tobacco Bond – Collateral - TTB F 5200.25
- Tobacco Bond – Surety - TTB F 5200.26
- Tobacco Bond - TTB F 5200.29
- Power of Attorney - TTB F 5000.8 or
- Signing Authority for Corporate and LLC Officials - TTB F 5100. 1 (see Note)
Note: If someone signs the paper application or electronically submits the application on the applicant’s behalf, that person must be granted signing authority by a corporate resolution or through the use of TTB F 5000.8 or TTB F 5100.1.
After you’ve submitted your application (electronically or on paper), including all required documents, here's what we do:
For Permits Online applications
- We review the application package for general completeness and accuracy.
- We may notify you electronically that we require additional information or corrections.
- After we determine that the submission is substantially complete, we will assign you a tracking number. You will receive an email providing that information.
- We then assign the application to a processing specialist for a detailed review. That specialist will contact you with any questions or if something additional is needed.
- Once the application is correct and complete, the application is referred for a site visit, or we send your application to the approving official. If the application package is approved, we will upload your approved documents into Permits Online.
- We will send you notification by email that your application is approved.
For additional information on processing your Permits Online application, please refer to the Customer Reference Guide.
After receiving notification of approval of an electronic application, here’s what you do:
- Log into the Permits Online
- Print required documents, as needed
For paper applications
- After we receive the application in the mail and have it routed to the proper area, we review the application package for general completeness and accuracy.
- We may notify you by email or letter if the application needs something to make it substantially correct and complete.
- After we determine that the submission is substantially complete, we then assign the application to a processing specialist for a detailed review. That specialist will contact you with any questions or if something additional is needed.
- Once the application is correct and complete, the application is referred for a site visit, or we send your application to the approving official.
If the application package is approved, we will mail your approved documents to your mailing address on the application.
Once you have received approval, you are ready to begin operations!
Related Information
- Tobacco Homepage
- Tobacco-related Permits
- TTB Business Central
- TTB Learning Center
- Maintaining Industry Compliance
TTB G 2015-2