San Benito County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Fine
- $250 per violation
- Bans
- disposable vape pens, e-cigars
- Scope
- countywide, incl. Hollister
- Adopted
- Ord. 1044, 2022
Summary
San Benito County bars tobacco retailers from selling single-use electronic cigarettes and vape pens, regardless of flavor, throughout the incorporated and unincorporated county.
It shall be a violation of this chapter for any tobacco retailer or any of the tobacco retailer's agents or employees to sell or offer for sale, any single use electronic cigarette within the incorporated and unincorporated areas of the county.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-28: current through Ordinance 1078).
Full Breakdown
San Benito County Code § 7.13.004(C) makes it a violation for a tobacco retailer or its agents or employees to sell or offer for sale any single-use electronic cigarette: a single-use device sold with nicotine to deliver aerosolized or vaporized nicotine, such as a disposable vape pen, e-cigar, or e-hookah. Adopted by Ord. 1044 in 2022, this ban is separate from and broader than the flavor ban: it reaches unflavored single-use devices too, and applies both in unincorporated San Benito County and inside Hollister and San Juan Bautista.
Violations & Fines
Violating the single-use e-cigarette ban is an infraction carrying a $250 fine per violation, enforced through administrative citation by the county or its designated enforcement agency (§ 7.13.005).
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a nicotine-free disposable vape still banned?
Who enforces the ban?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Benito County
California rules heatmap·Compare San Benito County to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.