We sell tobacco. Federal law sets 21 as the minimum age to buy it anywhere in the United States, and we verify every order before it ships. This page explains exactly what that means for you and what happens to the information you provide.
How it works
Verification happens in two steps.
First, when you click Verify age and check out in your cart, you'll be asked to confirm your date of birth. Then, when you place your order, your details are checked against public and commercial records by AgeChecker.Net, an independent verification service.
Roughly nine out of ten customers clear in a few seconds and never see another prompt.
If verification doesn't pass, your order will not ship and any amount charged is refunded in full. We'll email you first and give you a chance to correct your information — most failures come down to a mistyped date of birth.
If you're asked for a photo ID
When public records can't confirm you, you'll be prompted to submit a government-issued photo ID — driver's license, state ID card, military ID, or passport. The same thing you'd hand across the counter at a tobacconist.
Three ways to send it:
- Photograph it with your webcam, directly in the window
- Upload an image from your device
- Enter your mobile number and finish on your phone via text link
Verification usually completes in 10 to 30 seconds after you submit.
Military IDs need front and back. If you have trouble uploading two images at once, email them together as attachments to help@agechecker.net — both images must be in the same message, since submissions are processed and deleted individually.
Why verification fails
Nearly every failure comes down to one of four things.
Your date of birth doesn't match your ID. This is the most common cause by a wide margin. The date you type has to match the date on your ID exactly — even when both are well over 21. A typo in the year will fail you.
The name doesn't match. The name on your ID has to match the name on your order. Nicknames, maiden names, missing middle initials, and "Bill" instead of "William" will all trip it.
Part of the ID isn't readable. Name, date of birth, and expiration date all need to be clearly visible. Please don't black anything out — a partially covered ID can't be validated and will be rejected.
Your public record is thin. If you've recently moved, are on the younger side, or don't have much of a records footprint, automatic verification may not find you. That's not a problem — just submit the ID.
Once you've verified with an ID, you generally won't be asked again, as long as you use the same name, address, and date of birth next time.
If it still won't go through
Nothing is lost. Your cart stays where it is, and you can correct your information and try again.
If it's the verification tool itself giving you trouble — a photo that won't upload, a submission that seems stuck — AgeChecker's support team handles that directly at help@agechecker.net, around the clock.
For anything about your order or our age policy, email us at contact@21cigars.com and we'll work through it with you. We answer within one business day.
We can't override the minimum age or ship to a state on our restricted list, so please don't ask us to. Everything else we're glad to sort out.
What's stored, and by whom
What we keep: the verification result, the date and time, and a reference number. That's it. We do not store images of your ID or your Social Security number on our systems.
What AgeChecker keeps: your name, date of birth, and address, so you can be verified without an ID on future orders. According to AgeChecker, photo IDs are not stored by default and are deleted once verification completes, and their records are held encrypted on a private internal network not connected to the internet.
For the full picture on their side, see AgeChecker's FAQ and their privacy policy. For ours, see our Privacy Policy.
At delivery
Verification at checkout doesn't replace the check at your door. Every cigar shipment requires the signature of someone 21 or older, with ID presented to the driver. UPS will not leave a tobacco shipment unattended, and there's no waiver.
The person signing doesn't have to be you — but they do have to be 21, and they do have to be there. If nobody is, UPS tries three times and then returns the package to us.
If you're not usually home during the day, redirect the package to a UPS Access Point from your tracking link and pick it up on your own schedule. It's the easiest way to avoid a missed delivery. More on that in Shipping & Returns.
Questions
contact@21cigars.com — anything about your order, our age policy, or where we ship.
help@agechecker.net — anything about the verification window itself.