Selling Age-Restricted Products on Shopify: Alcohol, Vapes and CBD
What Shopify allows for alcohol, tobacco, vapes, CBD and adult products, where Shopify Payments, the Shop app and carriers draw tighter lines, and what each kind of age check does and doesn’t prove.
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Yes, you can sell age-restricted products such as alcohol, tobacco, vapes and hemp-derived CBD on Shopify, as long as the sale is legal where your business is and where your customers are. The platform is rarely the tightest rule. Shopify Payments doesn't support tobacco, cannabis, hemp and CBD sales, so those stores need a third-party payment provider. The Shop app, Shopify Catalog and Managed Markets exclude most age-restricted products. Carriers set their own rules: in the US, FedEx and UPS don't take vapes, and USPS treats alcohol as nonmailable. Age checks come in layers, from a storefront popup to an adult signature at the door, and each one proves something different.
This guide was checked on 29 October 2026 against Shopify's Help Center, payment terms and carrier pages. It is general information, not legal advice. Rules differ by country, state and product, so confirm what applies to your store with a qualified professional.
Can you sell age-restricted products on Shopify?
Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy doesn't list alcohol, tobacco or vapes as banned. Its main rule is that merchants are responsible for following the rules of the platform, their partners and the law, and that you can't use Shopify for anything illegal where you do business. The policy also points out that Shopify Payments and the Shop sales channel have their own terms and product rules.
Shopify's Help Center has a compliance section for regulated products. It currently has dedicated pages for alcohol and for hemp and hemp-derived products, and it asks merchants to know the legal status of what they sell in every region where they sell it.
Alcohol
Shopify's alcohol products page summarizes common requirements by region:
| Region | Age the page names for age verification | Other common requirements it lists |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Under 21 can't purchase or receive | Licenses to produce, market, sell and deliver; state-by-state shipping rules |
| Canada | 18 in Alberta, Manitoba and Quebec; 19 in the other provinces and territories | Federal labeling rules; provincial licensing and marketing policies |
| European Union | The legal age in the relevant jurisdiction | Label disclosures, excise duties, advertising rules |
| United Kingdom | Under 18 | Licenses (Licensing Act 2003 in England and Wales), duty stamps where required |
| Australia | Under 18 | Packaging and labeling, advertising codes |
| New Zealand | Under 18 | Marketing that limits encouragement of excessive or underage drinking |
For the US, the page asks for "effective age verification practices" so that people under 21 can't buy or receive alcohol. For the UK it suggests the PAS 1296:2018 standard as a way to prove age. For California, it notes that you can display a Prop 65 alcohol warning as a product disclosure.
Tobacco and vapes
Shopify has no dedicated Help Center page for tobacco or vapes, but several Shopify services exclude them, as the next sections show. In the US, federal rules are strict for online sellers. The FDA's Tobacco 21 page says it is illegal to sell any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes, to anyone under 21. ATF's page on vapes and e-cigarettes explains that the PACT Act was amended in 2021 to cover electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Sellers that ship ENDS for profit in interstate commerce must register with ATF and with the states they ship into, verify customers' ages for all purchases, have an adult with ID present at delivery and label the packages.
CBD and other hemp products
Shopify's hemp pages say Shopify supports hemp and hemp-derived products where the laws of both your store's location and the shipping destination permit them. US merchants must agree to Shopify's requirements for selling hemp, which include holding the state and local licenses you need, keeping products within the 0.3% THC dry-weight limit (or a lower state limit), and not marketing them with medicinal or therapeutic claims unless the FDA has approved them. Canadian merchants selling cannabis need a federal or provincial license first.
Federal hemp rules in the US are changing. The Congressional Research Service reported in December 2025 that P.L. 119-37 amended the federal definition of hemp to use total THC and to exclude final products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, with an effective date of 12 November 2026 at the time. Check the current status before relying on any THC figure, including the one in Shopify's attestation.
Adult products
The Shopify Payments eligibility page lists "adult products" with sexually explicit content, such as adult videos and magazines, as a prohibited category. The Shop app excludes mature or adult content and products showing nudity. Shopify's documentation doesn't describe an age rule for other adult products, so the law in each market you sell to decides.
Where Shopify's own services draw tighter lines
A product can be allowed on your online store and still be excluded from other Shopify services. These are the ones that matter most:
| Shopify service | Alcohol | Tobacco and vapes | CBD and hemp | Adult products |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments | Not named in the high-level list; check your country's list | Prohibited ("tobacco and related products") | Not supported (hemp payments page) | Sexually explicit content prohibited |
| Shop app | Prohibited | Tobacco prohibited | Cannabis products prohibited | Mature or adult content prohibited |
| Shopify Catalog | Ineligible | Ineligible, including vaporizers and e-liquids | CBD supplements ineligible | Mature category ineligible |
| Managed Markets | Prohibited | Restricted | Restricted | Restricted |
Some notes on reading that table:
- Shopify Payments lists are regional. The eligibility page says its list isn't exhaustive and varies by region. The Shopify Payments terms explain that prohibited and restricted categories are provided by the payment processor in your country, linked from Shopify's Payment Processor List. That is why alcohol rules can differ by country: Stripe's restricted businesses list, for example, marks alcohol as restricted in Canada.
- Payment providers set their own rules. If Shopify Payments can't take your products, you can add a third-party payment provider. For hemp, Shopify's payment options page names DigiPay and Bankful as examples you can apply to, and says approval is at each provider's discretion. A provider's own list can be stricter or looser than Shopify Payments, so read it before you apply.
- Hemp stores in person. Shopify's selling hemp page says you can use Shopify POS, but not POS hardware that requires Shopify Payments, so you need a card reader from your chosen provider.
- Managed Markets hides products. When a product is prohibited in a destination, Managed Markets hides it from customers there, and a product marked unsupported can't be published to your online store.
Can you advertise and message customers about them?
Shopify documents a few content limits that catch merchants out:
- SMS marketing. Shopify's SMS marketing requirements prohibit content about alcohol, and about cannabis, CBD, tobacco and vaping, in SMS campaigns sent with Shopify Messaging.
- Order notifications for hemp. SMS notifications aren't supported for hemp products, so order and shipping updates go by email only. Our guide to Shopify notifications covers which emails to edit first.
- Health claims. Shopify's hemp requirements rule out medicinal, disease-related or therapeutic claims unless the FDA has approved them for that product category.
- Alcohol advertising codes. Shopify's alcohol page points US, Australian and EU sellers to advertising codes and laws in both your jurisdiction and your customers'.
Ad platforms and marketplaces have their own policies on top of these, so check each channel before you list or advertise there.
How to ship age-restricted products
Shipping is where many age-restricted stores hit a wall, because a carrier can refuse a product your store is allowed to sell.
Shopify Shipping labels
Labels bought in Shopify admin follow each carrier's rules, plus some limits of their own:
- FedEx. Shopify's FedEx page says you can't ship alcohol, tobacco, vape products or firearms with FedEx labels from Shopify; those shipments must go through FedEx directly. It offers an Adult signature required option, where the signer must be 21 or older.
- UPS (US). Shopify's UPS page lists vape products within, to or from the US as items UPS won't ship, and says adult signature is no longer available on these labels.
- USPS. Shopify's USPS page says its labels don't support hazardous materials or USPS-prohibited goods.
- Hemp. You can buy labels for hemp products if the carrier allows them, and Shopify asks you to confirm that with the carrier for each destination.
Our guide to Shopify shipping labels covers buying and voiding labels in general.
Carrier rules for alcohol, tobacco and vapes (US)
| Carrier | Alcohol | Tobacco | Vapes |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS | Intoxicating liquors are nonmailable (Publication 52, 424) | Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco generally nonmailable, with narrow exceptions (Publication 52, 472) | ENDS generally nonmailable under the same rules |
| UPS | Licensed shippers under a UPS contract only; wine to consumers only in permitted states, with Adult Signature Required (21+) | Approved agreement required; no cigarettes or little cigars to consumers; Adult Signature Required (21+) (tobacco policy) | Not accepted in the US domestic network, regardless of nicotine content |
| FedEx | Approved, licensed shippers only; wine is the only alcohol shipped to consumers; adult signature required (alcohol shipping) | Not accepted, even with licenses (tobacco guidelines) | E-cigarettes and vaporizers not accepted |
Outside the US, carriers and postal services publish their own rules, and Shopify's alcohol page asks you to ship in line with the laws of both your jurisdiction and your customer's.
Restrict where products can ship
Shopify's hemp guidance notes that shipping profiles can restrict shipping locations by product. The same approach works for any product you can't legally send to some states or countries: put it in a profile that only includes the zones you can serve. Our guide to Shopify shipping profiles shows how, and how to test a cart with an address outside those zones. Then say which destinations you don't ship to, and that an adult must sign, in your shipping policy. Your refund policy should cover what happens when a parcel is returned because no eligible adult was there to sign.
Age checks: what each one does and doesn't prove
There is no single age check that fits every product and market. Most stores combine several layers, and each one answers a different question.
| Age check | Where it happens | What it does | What it doesn't prove |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age confirmation popup | Storefront, before browsing | Tells visitors the store or collection is for adults and asks them to confirm their age | The visitor's real age or identity; it is self-declared |
| Date of birth entry | Storefront popup | Asks for more than a Yes button, which adds friction | Still the visitor's own statement, not checked against any record |
| Checkbox before Add to cart or checkout | Product page or cart | Asks again at the point of purchase and can be saved on the order | Still self-declared |
| ID or database verification service | Before or after checkout | Checks details such as name, date of birth and address against data sources or ID documents, depending on the service | Who receives the parcel; accuracy depends on the provider and its data |
| Adult signature at delivery | The customer's door | The carrier checks the signer's age, for example 21+ with photo ID | Who placed the order online; only works when the carrier accepts the product |
A few facts help you place each layer:
- What US rules ask of tobacco and vape sellers. ATF's guide for tobacco sellers says delivery sellers must verify each customer's full name, birth date and residential address using commercially available databases, and use shipping methods that obtain an adult signature and proof of age at delivery. A popup on its own isn't that.
- What carriers check at the door. FedEx's signature services page says Adult Signature Required needs someone 21 or older with a valid government-issued photo ID, and electronic signatures aren't accepted. USPS Adult Signature services are for recipients 21 and above.
- Verification services handle personal data. An ID check collects details such as names, dates of birth and sometimes document images, so list the provider in your privacy policy and check where it stores that data and for how long.
Whether a given layer, or combination, is enough for your products and markets is a legal question. A storefront popup is a clear notice to visitors and a useful first step, but treat it as one layer, not as age verification.
Doorcheck: a free age confirmation popup
ShopOpsy makes Doorcheck: Age Verification, a Shopify app for the storefront and cart layers in the table above. It is free to install, and every feature is free. An optional one-time charge of $9.99 removes a small 24 × 24 px ShopOpsy icon from the popup.
What it does:
- Five ways to confirm: Yes/No buttons, one button, a checkbox, an age range or a date of birth. A date of birth is checked in the visitor's browser and is never sent to Doorcheck or anyone else.
- Where and to whom it shows: on every page or only on chosen collections, products, tags or pages; with a minimum age per country or only in the countries you list; and on the devices you choose.
- Different ages in one store: more popups with their own age, for example 21 on a spirits collection while the rest of the store asks 18.
- Cart and checkout: an age checkbox before Add to cart and before checkout, which can be saved on the order as the cart attribute "Age confirmed". On Shopify Plus, an "Age confirmation" block can be added to checkout.
- Product pages: an "Age notice" (18+) block for product pages.
- Statistics: daily totals of popups shown, passed and refused.
What it doesn't do: Doorcheck asks visitors to confirm their own age. It doesn't verify identity or age, it doesn't replace any legal age-verification requirement, and it doesn't make a store compliant. Pair it with the payment, shipping and delivery steps your products need. The FAQ on the Doorcheck page answers setup, data and cookie questions.
Checklist before you sell age-restricted products
- Confirm legality in every market. List each product, the countries and states you sell to, and the minimum age and license each one needs. Shopify's alcohol and hemp pages are starting points, not the full answer.
- Complete Shopify's requirements. US hemp sellers agree to Shopify's hemp requirements; Canadian cannabis sellers need a license and must agree to Shopify's Canadian requirements.
- Choose a payment provider that accepts your products. Check your country's Shopify Payments list, or apply to a third-party provider and read its restricted list before you launch.
- Check every channel. Expect alcohol, tobacco, vapes, cannabis and mature products to stay out of the Shop app and Shopify Catalog, and review Managed Markets before selling cross-border.
- Confirm your carriers. Get written approval or an agreement where the carrier requires one, and use the adult signature service it requires.
- Restrict shipping zones for products you can't send everywhere, and test a cart with an address outside them.
- Layer your age checks. Decide which layers your products and markets need: a storefront notice, a checkbox at purchase, an ID or database check, and an adult signature at delivery.
- Review your marketing. Remove health claims you can't support, keep restricted content out of SMS campaigns, and check each ad platform's rules.
- Update your policies. State age limits, excluded destinations and adult signature rules in your shipping, refund and privacy policies.
- Ask a professional. Have someone qualified review your setup for each market before launch and when the rules change.
Frequently asked questions
Can you sell alcohol on Shopify?
Yes, where it is legal for your business and your customers. Shopify's alcohol page lists common requirements such as licenses, effective age verification and compliant shipping. Alcohol isn't eligible for the Shop app or Shopify Catalog, and carriers such as UPS and FedEx accept it only from approved, licensed shippers.
Can you sell vapes on Shopify?
Shopify's own policies don't ban them, but Shopify Payments doesn't support tobacco and related products, and the Shop app and Shopify Catalog exclude them. In the US, USPS, UPS and FedEx don't carry vapes to consumers, and the PACT Act adds registration, age verification and delivery requirements.
Does Shopify Payments work for CBD?
No. Shopify says Shopify Payments doesn't support the sale of hemp, CBD and THC products, so you need a third-party payment provider that accepts them.
Is an age verification popup enough?
It depends on the product and market, and only a legal adviser can answer for your store. A popup asks visitors to confirm their own age. Some rules, such as the US PACT Act for tobacco and vapes, also require database age checks before the sale and an adult signature at delivery.
Sources
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- Considerations for selling hemp products — Shopify Help Center, accessed 29 October 2026.
- Selling hemp products on Shopify — Shopify Help Center, accessed 29 October 2026.
- Payment options for hemp sales on Shopify — Shopify Help Center, accessed 29 October 2026.
- Shopify Payments eligibility — Shopify Help Center, accessed 29 October 2026.
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