California Tobacco Directory

Beginning June 30, 2004 only cigarette brands and roll-your-own products listed in the Attorney General's California Tobacco Directory may be sold, offered for sale or possessed for sale in the state.To enter brands into the California Tobacco Directory, tobacco manufacturers must file certification and other required forms available on this website.

The tobacco directory was created by enactment of the California Cigarette and Tobacco Products Licensing Act of 2003 (AB 71-Jerome Horton/ Chapter 890, Statutes of 2003). The law seeks to improve compliance by tobacco manufacturers who either have not joined or have failed to comply fully with requirements for "participating manufacturers" under the Master Settlement Agreement or "non-participating manufacturers" under California law.

The law requires tobacco manufacturers to report their cigarette and roll-your-own tobacco brands to the Attorney General. It is illegal to put a state tax stamp on cigarettes or pay the state tax on roll-your-own tobacco unless the manufacturer and the brand family are listed in the directory. It also is illegal to sell such products in California unless the manufacturer and the brand family are listed in the directory. Violations of the law are subject to civil and criminal penalties, and products not listed on the directory can be seized as contraband.

Please note that tobacco products commonly known as "'little cigars" currently do not have to be listed in the tobacco directory in order to be lawfully sold in California. The Attorney General may decide in the future to require that certain brands of little cigars be listed in this Directory.

If you have a question about this Directory, please contact us.

Contraband Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products

The California Board of Equalization posts information on its website on seizures of contraband cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco, and other tobacco products. To report contraband cigarettes, roll-your-own tobacco or tobacco products, contact the California Board of Equalization Tax Evasion Hotline, 1-888-334-3300. Representatives of the BOE Investigations Division are available from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Pacific Time Zone), Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. Or email the Investigations Division.