Calling All Retailers – Carding Under 30 is now law.

FDA has made it official: carding for everyone Under 30.

Beginning September 30th, FDA’s new finalized rule requires retailers to verify with a valid government issued photo ID the age of anyone under 30 years old who tries to purchase tobacco products and vaping products. Back in 2019 when the federal minimum-age was increased to 21 years of age, the federal law called for FDA to finalize a rule increasing the “carding” age from 27 to 30. While it’s taken a few years, this “under 30” requirement is now in place.

Many retailers had been following the previous Under 27 requirement while others had raised the age to card as a matter of company policy to Under 30 or All Customers. The objective is to reduce the chance that a retail employee not card someone who may look older but is underage. We Card has a guess my age game embedded within its training that helps illustrate just how difficult it is to guess someone’s age.

Your state law might have a higher age threshold to ask for ID and you must follow the state requirement. See We Card’s state law summaries to find out. And if your store policy sets a different carding age above age 30, that’s the rule to follow.

In addition to the new “under 30” requirement, the FDA also requires that retailers may NOT sell tobacco products via vending machines in facilities where individuals under 21 years old are present or permitted to enter. This means vending machine sales are only allowed in facilities where only 21+ year olds are allowed to enter.

We Card’s training courses reflect this new law and reinforce the

“Under 30” requirement throughout the course

Consider Re-Training all employees, using We Card’s Refresher Training Course.

Retailers can also take a 10-12 minute FREE BOOSTER course to update employees and properly prepare them for complying with the “under 30” requirement.

We Card’s training can help with customer pushback on carding under 30. Handling confrontations is a key part of We Card training. Using the We Card AERO technique is a customer service-focused technique that can help diffuse tense situations.

You should also know that We Card state law summaries and various resources are all updated with the “under 30” carding requirement.

Finally, new in-store signage is not required by the FDA for this “under 30” carding requirement but We Card offers signs where “under 30” is specifically communicated which can be found here.

For We Card’s resources, visit www.wecard.org.