Illinois SB 3098 | Age verification for online tobacco sales
As of August 2024, Illinois amended the Prevention of Tobacco Use by Persons under 21 Years of Age and Sale and Distribution of Tobacco Products Act via Illinois SB 3098. The amendments relate to the addition of a section regarding online sales of tobacco and tobacco products. The new act, also known as Public Act 103-0937 will go into effect on January 1, 2025. Here is everything we know about the new requirements.
The legalese
Before selling, offering for sale, giving, or furnishing a tobacco product, electronic cigarette, or alternative nicotine product to another person, the person selling, offering for sale, giving, or furnishing the tobacco product, electronic cigarette, or alternative nicotine product shall verify that the person is at least 21 years of age.
For sales of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, or alternative nicotine products made through the Internet or other remote sales methods, performing an age verification through an independent, third party age verification service that compares information available from public records to the personal information entered by the person during the ordering process that establishes the person is 21 years of age or older.
(a-5.2) No person shall cause electronic cigarettes ordered or purchased by mail, through the Internet, or other remote sale methods, to be shipped to anyone under 21 years of age in the State other than (i) a distributor, as defined in Section 1 of the Cigarette Tax Act, Section 1 of the Cigarette Use Tax Act, Section 10-5 of the Tobacco Products Tax Act of 1995, and Section 5 of the Preventing Youth Vaping Act, or (ii) a retailer, as defined in Section 1 of the Cigarette Tax Act, Section 10-5 of the Tobacco Products Tax Act of 1995, and Section 5 of the Preventing Youth Vaping Act.
What Illinois SB 3098 means for online sales
This amendment to Prevention of Tobacco Use by Persons under 21 Years of Age and Sale and Distribution of Tobacco Products Act loops in online sales into the age verification measures for tobacco purchase. Now, not only will liquor stores, grocery stores, and vape shops be required to check the ID of anyone appearing under the age of 30, but any business that sells tobacco digitally will be forced to use a third party service to verify age while confirming that data against public records. eCigarettes in particular are often sold online, and internet tobacco sales are legal broadly across the US.
Businesses that sell tobacco online will need to verify age in two steps:
- Upload the front and back of the individual’s government-issued ID or drivers license and perform an authenticity check and age verification.
- A check against a third party database such as the state DMV, before the transaction.
Smaller retailers can trigger mobile ID validation via SMS, while larger retailers will likely want to integrate validation more deeply into their existing workflows. This type of solution quickly parses the information in the ID’s 2D barcode, compares it to the front of the ID, and performs face matching via selfie, and can then be queried against a public database. It provides an extremely high level of confidence in the purchase’s age, and identity.
DMV integration is not available for all 50 states, so other third party sources will need to be used for states such as California and New York in order to meet the Illinois requirement that the ID verification software “compares information available from public records.”
Conclusion
While new legislation can be daunting, rest assured that IDScan.net has solutions readily available or can be easily integrated to ensure compliance with Illinois SB 3098. The new law doesn’t go into effect until January 1, 2025, so be sure to act early to ensure you don’t incur any fines or suffer a lapse in business continuity.
