Age checks under the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026

On 15 June 2028, two 19-year-olds can ask for the same packet of cigarettes at the same counter. The one born on 31 December 2008 can be served. Staff must refuse the one born on 10 January 2009, that day and every later day. Both are 19, so the person on the till can only tell them apart by reading a date of birth.

The generational smoking ban in the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 puts that decision in front of staff. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill became the Act on 29 April 2026. From 1 January 2027 it makes a tobacco sale to anyone “born on or after 1 January 2009” an offence, while the vape and nicotine product offence, from 29 October 2026, turns on an age of 18.

A check that returns only “over 18” cannot tell a retailer whether a tobacco sale is legal. In June 2028 an “over 19” check lets the customer born in January 2009 through, and “over 20” turns away the customer born in December 2008. Tills and checkouts built on a yes or no at 18 need a date comparison for tobacco before January 2027.

How will retailers check age for tobacco under the Tobacco and Vapes Act?

From 1 January 2027 it is an offence to sell tobacco, herbal smoking products or cigarette papers to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009, across the UK. Nicotine vapes are already 18; other nicotine products join them on 29 October 2026. A tobacco check must confirm a birth date before 1 January 2009, which an over-18 result cannot.

When the new offences start

The Act legislates nation by nation: Part 1 covers England and Wales, Part 2 Scotland and Part 3 Northern Ireland. None of their sale offences is in force as at 15 September 2026.

29 October 2026: vapes and vending machines

In England and Wales, section 10 makes it an offence to sell a vaping product or nicotine product to a person under 18. Section 80 does the same in Northern Ireland, and section 61 extends Scotland’s existing rules to vaping and nicotine products. From 29 October 2026 the legal age to buy vapes is 18 in every UK nation under the Act, and Department of Health and Social Care guidance of 11 August 2026 names nicotine pouches among the products covered.

October also brings a ban on tobacco and vape vending machines in England and Wales under sections 3 and 12, with no age element.

1 January 2027: tobacco by date of birth

Section 1 turns the tobacco rule in England and Wales into a birth date test: selling a tobacco product, a herbal smoking product or cigarette papers “to a person born on or after 1 January 2009” is an offence. Scotland’s version is section 52 and Northern Ireland’s is section 72. All three commence on 1 January 2027 under section 175(3). Until then the sale age for tobacco and cigarette papers is 18 in all four nations.

Buying for someone else

In England and Wales, adults who buy vaping or nicotine products for under-18s commit an offence under section 11 from 29 October 2026. From 1 January 2027 section 2 applies the same to tobacco bought “on behalf of a person born on or after 1 January 2009”, which catches a 30-year-old buying cigarettes in 2029 for a friend born in 2009. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own proxy offences.

An over-18 result cannot answer the tobacco question

The gap between the two rules starts at a single birth date on 1 January 2027 and widens through every year, because each new 18-year-old can buy vapes and alcohol and is permanently barred from tobacco.

For staff reading a photocard, the working test for tobacco from 2027 is a birth year of 2008 or earlier. Any round age, applied by a person or by software, gives the wrong answer for somebody on every day except 31 December.

What a retailer has to prove

Section 1(2) sets out the defence for a tobacco sale in England and Wales, and it names no documents:

“It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove - (a) that they took such steps as may be specified in regulations made by the Secretary of State to verify that the customer was born before 1 January 2009, or - (b) that they otherwise took all reasonable steps to avoid the commission of the offence.”

Section 10(2) gives vape sellers in England and Wales the same two routes, framed around verifying “that the customer was at least 18 years old”, and section 72 carries the tobacco defence into Northern Ireland.

No regulations have yet set out those steps. DHSC guidance of 11 August 2026 says: “Regulations will set out the steps that retailers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can take to verify that the customer was born before 1 January 2009.” Until they exist, a retailer has to prove it took all reasonable steps, and customers are told to “expect to show ID if they are asked to prove they are above the age of sale”.

Scotland keeps under-25 tobacco checks until the end of 2033

Scotland is the only UK nation with a statutory age verification policy for tobacco and vapes. Under section 4B of the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010, a tobacco or vape business must operate a policy of checking age where a customer “may be under the age of 25”.

From 1 January 2027, section 52 of the 2026 Act changes the tobacco trigger to a customer who “may have been born on or after 1 January 2009”. A transitional rule keeps the under-25 trigger for tobacco “in relation to times before the end of 2033”, by which point the youngest person allowed to buy tobacco has turned 25. The trigger for vapes and nicotine products stays at under 25.

Scotland’s statutory document list also stays in force: a passport, a UK driving licence, an EU photocard driving licence, or a prescribed document such as a card bearing the national Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram. Section 63 of the Act would replace the list with steps prescribed in regulations, but SSI 2026/210 did not commence it, so as at 15 September 2026 the list remains law.

Can customers use digital ID to buy tobacco or vapes?

No regulation made so far recognises digital proof of age for tobacco or vapes, and the DHSC retailer guidance of 11 August 2026 does not mention digital ID. The alcohol rules in force from 15 September 2026 let licensed premises in England and Wales accept certified digital proof of age for alcohol only. In a convenience store that has adopted it, a customer can have staff scan a QR code on their phone for a bottle of wine, then find no regulation-backed digital option for cigarettes at the same till.

At Commons report stage on 26 March 2025, Ashley Dalton MP, then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention, said the regulation-making approach “provides the potential to recognise digital ID, as well as physical ID”. The regulations that would settle the question have not been published.

Online sellers face the same offences

DHSC guidance says the vape offence will apply to “retailers, including online retailers”, and uses the same words for tobacco from 1 January 2027. The Act’s Parts for England and Wales and for Northern Ireland set out no separate age check for a remote sale, so an online vape shop relies on the same defence as a corner shop. A customer who puts cigarettes and a vape in one online basket in 2028 has to clear two different tests, and a single over-18 check covers only the vape.

In Wales, section 52 of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017 would make handing over tobacco, cigarette papers or nicotine products to under-18s on delivery or collection an offence. That section is prospective and not yet in force.

Penalties for an underage sale

From 29 October 2026, sections 37 and 40 allow a £200 fixed penalty notice in England and Wales for an underage vape or nicotine product sale, and section 46 makes notices available in England and Wales for under-18 tobacco sales before the generational offence begins. From 1 January 2027, DHSC guidance says a person selling tobacco to an underage customer “can receive an FPN of £200 in England, Wales and Scotland”. In Northern Ireland the guidance gives £250 for the vape offence, “subject to approval by the Northern Ireland Assembly”.

Once the new offences start, fines on conviction go up to level 4 on the standard scale in England and Wales and in Scotland, and level 5 in Northern Ireland. Repeat offending at the same premises in England and Wales can lead, from 29 October 2026, to a restricted premises order of up to a year.

Existing buyers and Challenge 25

Nobody who can legally buy tobacco loses that right. A DHSC Media Centre blog of 5 November 2024 said: “The increase in the age of sale will be phased in over time, so no one who can legally be sold tobacco products today will be prevented from doing so in the future.”

Challenge 25 is not a legal requirement for tobacco or vapes in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. A retailer there can still run one as part of its own reasonable steps.

Where OneID fits

OneID is a certified digital verification services provider on the government’s DVS register. Digital proof of age has no role set by regulation for tobacco or vapes yet. Before 1 January 2027, a retailer can ask of any age check, including a till prompt, whether it confirms a birth date before a fixed cut-off such as 1 January 2009 as well as an over-18 result for the same customer. A retailer selling tobacco and vapes needs both answers, and can put both questions to OneID, as to any provider.

Preparing tills and checkouts for January 2027

Sort product lines into two groups: tobacco, herbal smoking products and cigarette papers on a birth date test, and vapes and nicotine products on an 18 test. Brief staff on the vape and proxy offences before 29 October 2026. Change till prompts and checkout rules for tobacco before 1 January 2027, then watch for the regulations under the Tobacco and Vapes Act that will set out the steps for a defence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Questions retailers ask about tobacco and vape age checks

Can a shop sell cigarettes to a 19-year-old in 2028? Only if the customer was born before 1 January 2009. Selling tobacco to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 is an offence in every UK nation from 1 January 2027. In 2028 some 19-year-olds were born in late 2008 and can buy tobacco, while others were born in 2009 and cannot, so staff need to read the date of birth.

What is the legal age to buy vapes in the UK? The legal age for nicotine vapes is already 18. From 29 October 2026 the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 makes it an offence to sell a vaping product or nicotine product to anyone under 18, through section 10 in England and Wales, section 80 in Northern Ireland and amendments made by section 61 in Scotland. Vapes and nicotine products sit outside the birth date rule for tobacco.

What ID does a retailer have to see before selling tobacco from 2027? In England, Wales and Northern Ireland the law sets no list of documents. The defence is to take steps specified in regulations, which have not yet been made, or all reasonable steps. In Scotland a statutory list applies: a passport, a UK driving licence, an EU photocard driving licence, or a prescribed document such as a card with the PASS hologram.

Can customers show digital ID to buy tobacco or vapes? Neither the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 nor any regulation made so far names digital proof of age for tobacco or vapes. The digital proof of age rules for licensed premises in England and Wales cover alcohol only. In March 2025 the government said leaving the steps to regulations “provides the potential to recognise digital ID, as well as physical ID”.

What happens if staff sell tobacco or vapes to someone underage? From 1 January 2027, Department of Health and Social Care guidance says an underage tobacco sale can bring a £200 fixed penalty notice in England, Wales and Scotland. For vapes in Northern Ireland the figure is £250, subject to approval by the Northern Ireland Assembly. On conviction the fine can reach level 4 on the standard scale in England and Wales, or level 5 in Northern Ireland.

Do the rules apply to online shops selling vapes or tobacco? The new offences will cover online sales. Department of Health and Social Care guidance says they will apply to “retailers, including online retailers”. The Act sets out no separate online check method for England, Wales or Northern Ireland, so an online seller relies on the same defence as a shop. In Wales, a delivery handover offence exists in legislation but is not yet in force.