Apply for tobacco and nicotine inhaling product licences

Before you apply for your licence, you will need to have some details ready.

These are:

• business owner details as they appear on Revenue documents
• tax registration number (TRN) - issued by revenue when you register for tax
• trading name - the name that appears over the door
• address of the premises
• website address if selling online

You can apply if you:

• are age 18 or over
• have a Tax Clearance Certificate from Revenue

You cannot apply if you:

• have a suspended licence by court order
• are applying for a licence for a temporary or moveable premises, such as market stalls and festival stalls

You cannot apply for a licence if you are a vending machine supplier. You are not considered to be selling tobacco or nicotine inhaling products directly by retail.

You will also need a National Environmental Health Service (NEHS) online portal account.

Register on the NEHS portal

How to apply

You can apply for your licence on the NEHS online portal.

To apply:

1. Sign in to your account.
2. Go to Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products licences.
3. Create your organisation.
4. Submit your application or applications.
5. Go to the shopping cart and pay.

After you apply

You will get a confirmation email after you pay for your application.

The application will be reviewed. If an amendment is required you will receive an email asking you to amend it on the portal. You can resubmit the applicaton when it is amended.

If your application is approved, you will get an email. You can download your licence from the "current licences" section on the portal.

You need to display the licence at the point of sale. If you are selling online, you need to include the licence number on the website.

You will need to reapply every year if you continue to sell these products.

Any changes, such as change of business ownership, must be notified to the HSE.

Information on licencing

From 2 August you need a licence if you sell by retail:

• tobacco products
• nicotine inhaling products
• tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products

You need a separate licence if you sell by retail from a:

• premises
• website (or otherwise online)

If you are selling tobacco products and nicotine inhaling products you need to have a licence for both.

If you have two premises and one website selling nicotine inhaling products, you need 3 licences.

Products covered by the licences

You need a licence if you are selling any tobacco products.

This includes:

• cigarettes
• cigarette papers
• cigarette tips
• cigars
• roll-your-own tobacco
• novel tobacco
• other tobacco products

You also need a separate licence if you are selling any nicotine inhaling products.

This includes:

• vapes
• vape refill containers that have nicotine in them

Licence fees

There are 3 levels of licence fees. These are:

• tobacco Products Only - €1,000
• nicotine Inhaling Products Only - €800
• both Tobacco products and Nicotine Inhaling Products - €1,800

Licences are valid for 12 months.

Legal requirement

Licencing is required under the Public Health (Tobacco Products and Nicotine Inhaling Products) Act 2023 (Irishstatutebook.ie).

If you sell tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products without a licence, you are committing an offence under tobacco control legislation. Failure to obtain a licence from the HSE may result in the service of a prohibition notice, prosecution or both.

Any offenders may be fined up to €4000, may face a 6 month prison term or both.

Tobacco Control convictions

The Tobacco Control convictions lists detail convictions under the Tobacco Control legislation enforced by the National Environmental Health Service (NEHS). It details convictions from July to December 2025 and January to March 2026. These prosecutions were for sales of tobacco products or nicotine inhaling products to children or smoking in the work place.

HSE Tobacco Control convictions 2026 Q1 (PDF,173 KB, 2 pages)

HSE Tobacco Control convictios 2025 Q3 and Q4 (PDF, 191 KB, 3 pages)

Contact

Contact your local Environmental Health Office

or

Email: tobacconehs@hse.ie

Phone: 1800 333 100

Phone: 045 988 204