Anaheim, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Permitting authority
- Planning Director, Chapter 18.16 Regulatory Permits
- School/park buffer
- 1,000 feet from schools, parks, libraries, mental health facilities
- Retailer buffer
- 500 feet from another tobacco retailer
- Operating hours
- Closed 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. daily
- First-offense fine
- $250 civil fine plus 10-day suspension
- Third-offense penalty
- Permit revoked, 2-year new-permit bar
Summary
Anaheim requires every tobacco and e-cigarette retailer to hold a City-issued tobacco retail permit from the Planning Director before selling any product, and bars new retailers within 1,000 feet of a school, park, library or mental health facility, or within 500 feet of an existing tobacco retailer. Retailers must close between midnight and 6 a.m. and cannot use self-service displays.
.020 Tobacco Retail Permit Required. It shall be unlawful for any Tobacco Retailer to engage in Tobacco Retailing in the City without first obtaining and maintaining a valid tobacco retail permit from the Planning Director for each location at which Tobacco Retailing is to occur. Engaging in Tobacco Retailing without a valid tobacco retail permit constitutes a public nuisance. ... .0308 Any application for a tobacco retail permit shall be denied if the proposed business location is within one thousand (1,000) feet of a school ... Community Center; Park; Library; or a city or county Mental Health Facility (collectively, "sensitive uses") ... .0309 Any application for a tobacco retail permit shall be denied if the proposed business location is within five hundred (500) feet of a location occupied by another Tobacco Retailer, as measured in a straight line from the boundary lines of the parcel of an existing Tobacco Retailer's business location to the boundary lines of the parcel of the permit applicant's proposed business location.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-28: Code: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 6627, passed 8-11-2026 | Zoning: Local legislation current through Ord. 6627, passed 8-11-2026).
Full Breakdown
090, makes it unlawful for any Tobacco Retailer, including a vape shop where 15 percent or more of floor area or visible inventory is devoted to tobacco or e-cigarette products, to engage in Tobacco Retailing without first obtaining a tobacco retail permit from the Planning Director for each location. Operating without a permit is declared a public nuisance. The Planning Director must deny an application if the site sits within 1,000 feet of a school, community center, park, library, or a city or county mental health facility, or within 500 feet of another tobacco retailer, measured parcel boundary to parcel boundary; retailers lawfully operating before the ordinance's effective date are grandfathered.
, and may not use vending machines or other self-service displays. No more than 20 percent of a storefront's transparent window and door area may carry advertising, and signage cannot block law enforcement's view of the register area. Permits are fixed-location only: sidewalk, vehicle, flea-market and farmers' market tobacco sales are barred outright. The Chief of Police and code enforcement officers may inspect the premises during business hours. 16.
Violations & Fines
A first violation of Section 18.16.090 suspends the tobacco retail permit for 10 business days; a second violation within five years suspends it for 30 business days; a third violation within five years revokes the permit outright, barring a new permit at that location for two years and barring the operator from any new Anaheim location for two years. Civil fines under Chapter 1.20 run $250 for a first offense, $500 for a second within 12 months, and $1,000 for a third and each later offense within 12 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a vape shop need a separate City permit in Anaheim?
How close can a new tobacco or vape retailer locate to a school?
What happens after a tobacco retailer's third violation in Anaheim?
Can an Anaheim tobacco retailer sell after midnight?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Anaheim
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