NYC opens lottery for 55 vape retail licenses, 28 of them in Brooklyn

New York City’s Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) opened an online lottery on 2 November for 55 Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer licenses spread across 23 of the city’s community districts. Entries close at 5 p.m. on 30 November.

The same lottery covers 322 Tobacco Retail Dealer licenses in 41 districts. A business that wants both licenses in a district where both are available has to file two separate lottery applications, one for each license type.

Brooklyn holds just over half of the vape licenses

DCWP’s availability list, dated 1 October, puts 28 of the 55 e-cigarette licenses in Brooklyn, 15 in the Bronx, 11 in Manhattan and one in Queens. Staten Island has none. The largest single allocations are five licenses each in Brooklyn Community Districts 1 and 4, Bronx Community District 7 and Manhattan Community District 12.

For tobacco licenses the spread is wider: Brooklyn has 149 openings, the Bronx 92, Manhattan 56, Queens 16 and Staten Island 9.

The pool is smaller than in May

The May 2026 lottery listed 81 e-cigarette licenses in 23 districts and 411 tobacco licenses in 41 districts. The November round is 26 vape licenses and 89 tobacco licenses lower. Brooklyn Community District 1, which had 11 vape licenses on offer in May, has five this time.

DCWP’s notices do not explain the change. Availability is measured against the number of active licenses in each district, so licenses issued from the spring round reduce what is left for the next one.

Openings exist only because of a cap. Local Law 144 of 2017 limited e-cigarette retail licenses by community district, with the caps taking effect on 26 April 2018. The design shrinks the number of licensed sellers through attrition rather than by closing existing shops: the city can issue a new license only when the count in a district falls below its cap. DCWP reviews the numbers every April and October.

Winning the lottery is an offer, not a license

After entries close, DCWP gives each accepted application a randomly generated priority number. Where a district has more entries than licenses, offers to apply go out in that order. An applicant who receives an offer has 65 days to submit a complete license application and meet every requirement. Missing that deadline voids the offer, and the offer itself does not guarantee that a license will be issued.

For an e-cigarette license, the package includes the basic license application, a sales tax identification number, a Vapor Products Dealer Certificate of Registration from the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, proof of business and home addresses, and the fee. Pharmacies and businesses that contain a pharmacy cannot hold either license.

The filing date sets the fee and the term

The e-cigarette license runs on a two-year cycle that ends on 30 November, so the date of the full license application matters, not the date of the lottery entry. Under the fee table in DCWP’s lottery FAQ, an application filed by 30 November 2026 costs $150 and the license expires on 30 November 2027. One filed between 1 and 31 December 2026 costs $200 and runs to 30 November 2028, as does one filed between January and May 2027.

Because priority numbers are assigned only after the entry window closes, most successful applicants in this round will file in December or later and pay the $200 rate.

What a licensed shop can sell

A city license does not widen the product range. Since 1 July 2020, holders of an Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer license may sell only tobacco-flavored or unflavored e-cigarettes, e-liquids and liquid nicotine, a rule that covers disposable, refillable and tank-based products. Sales to anyone under 21 are banned, and New York State law separately prohibits the sale of flavored nicotine vapor products.

A city license is also separate from FDA marketing authorization, which decides whether a product can be sold in the US at all. Shops that win a license still have to meet federal, state and city rules on what they stock.

DCWP’s next availability review is due in April 2027, when it will publish an updated list in The City Record.

Questions readers ask

How many vape shop licenses is New York City offering in November 2026?

DCWP is offering 55 Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer licenses across 23 community districts: 28 in Brooklyn, 15 in the Bronx, 11 in Manhattan and one in Queens. Staten Island has none. Lottery entries are accepted online until 5 p.m. on 30 November 2026.

Does winning the NYC vape license lottery guarantee a license?

No. A winning priority number is an offer to apply. The applicant then has 65 days to submit a complete application and meet every requirement, and DCWP can still refuse the license. Missing the 65-day deadline voids the offer.

How much does a NYC Electronic Cigarette Retail Dealer license cost?

It depends on when the full application is filed. Under DCWP’s fee table, an application filed by 30 November 2026 costs $150 and expires on 30 November 2027, while one filed between 1 and 31 December 2026 costs $200 and expires on 30 November 2028.