Wawa To Require ID For Tobacco, Vape Purchases At Some NJ Locations

NEW JERSEY — Select Wawa stores in New Jersey are putting up notices that they will begin carding everyone for tobacco and vape purchases.

Beginning April 17, cashiers will ask for valid IDs for all of these purchases and cannot make exceptions no matter how old someone appears, according to signage posted at three Wawa stores in Howell.

The company told Patch the policy is "a test in select stores."

"We continuously work to ensure our store teams have streamlined processes in place to support them in consistently complying with the law," Wawa Public Relations Manager Lori Bruce said.

Patch has reached out to Wawa to determine which other New Jersey stores will be requiring ID; other Monmouth County Wawa stores in Eatontown did not have these signs posted as of Monday afternoon.

The Howell stores that Patch confirmed to have signs up were at two stores on U.S. Route 9, and on Newton's Corner Road:

• 4690 US Highway 9, Howell Twp
• 2485 US Highway 9, Howell Twp
• 157 Newton's Corner Road, Howell Twp

Patch staff confirmed similar signage is up at a Wawa in Philadelphia, requiring ID checks for all tobacco, vapor, and alcohol purchases.

This move may be to ensure stores are in compliance with tobacco and vape sale regulations, as Wawa stores in NJ do not sell alcohol.

FDA compliance check inspections list 35 Wawa stores in New Jersey who were issued a warning letter for selling tobacco or vape products to underage persons, from April 2012 up to October 2022.

A number of stores in NJ were all issued warning letters in 2022, according to the FDA: Wawa locations in Somerset, Burlington, Swedesboro, Hamilton, Northfield, and Wrightstown were all warned for selling cigars and packaged cigarettes to underage people.

Two NJ Wawa stores have been issued a civil fine, though no civil fines have been issued to any Wawa locations for underage smoke sales in the Garden State since 2017. And, FDA data shows that no NJ Wawa stores have been issued a no-tobacco-sale order since it began tracking.

Federal law stipulates that cashiers should check the photo ID of everyone "appearing under age 27" who tries to buy cigarettes, tobacco, smokeless tobacco, or vapor products.