Prince George's County, MD Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Initial fee
- $5,000 before Use and Occupancy permit issues
- Renewal fee
- $5,000 every 12 months
- Enforcing agency
- Dept. of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement
- Underlying license
- State tobacco retail license, MD ATCC
- Add-on charge
- 5% technology fee on most permits
Summary
Prince George's County charges tobacco shops, electronic cigarette shops, retail tobacco businesses and convenience stores holding a state tobacco retail license a $5,000 Special Quality of Life Impact Uses fee before the county will issue a Use and Occupancy permit, plus a $5,000 annual renewal fee.
(j)Special Quality of Life Impact Uses.(1)The following fees shall apply and be remitted in advance of the issuance of Use and Occupancy permits for the following uses:...(B)Any business that is a tobacco shop, electronic cigarette shop, retail tobacco business, or convenience store use, as prescribed under Part 27-5 of Subtitle 27 of the Code, with a tobacco retail license issued by the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission - $5000;...(2)Renewal fee. Each business to which Paragraph (1), above, is applicable shall be required to remit an annual Use and Occupancy permit renewal fee in the amount of $5000 per year due every 12 months after the date of initial use and occupancy
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 2026 Update 2).
Full Breakdown
Under County Code Sec. 63(j), the Department of Permitting, Inspections and Enforcement (DPIE) treats certain business types as "Special Quality of Life Impact Uses" because of the strain they place on county services and neighborhoods. Any business operating as a tobacco shop, electronic cigarette shop, retail tobacco business or convenience store, as those uses are defined in Part 27-5 of Subtitle 27 of the County Code, and that holds a tobacco retail license issued by the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission, must remit $5,000 before DPIE will issue the business's Use and Occupancy permit.
The same $5,000 fee applies to businesses holding a Class A beer, wine and liquor license, a State Regulated Firearms Dealer's License, and to consolidated storage uses, so tobacco and vape retail is grouped with those other high-impact categories rather than treated as an ordinary retail storefront. The fee is not a one-time cost: Sec. 63(j)(2) requires the business to pay a $5,000 renewal fee every 12 months after the date its initial Use and Occupancy permit was issued, on top of whatever underlying state tobacco retail license fee the Maryland Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission separately charges.
Sec. 63(c) layers a 5% technology fee on top of most permit and licensing fees countywide, and Sec. 63(d) gives DPIE's Director authority to adjust the published Table of Fees after public informational sessions and County Council approval by resolution. Because the county's own zoning rules for where a tobacco or vape shop may locate live in the separate Zoning Ordinance (Subtitle 27, Part 27-5), this fee section is the licensing-side control: it does not authorize a location, it taxes the privilege of operating one once zoning and the state license are already in hand.
A shop that fails to pay either the initial or the annual renewal fee has no valid Use and Occupancy permit and cannot lawfully operate at that address.
Violations & Fines
Operating a tobacco shop, electronic cigarette shop, retail tobacco business or qualifying convenience store without first remitting the $5,000 Special Quality of Life Impact Uses fee means DPIE will not issue the Use and Occupancy permit the business needs to legally open. Missing the annual $5,000 renewal payment puts the existing permit at risk of expiration, and operating without a valid Use and Occupancy permit exposes the business to DPIE enforcement action and permit denial or revocation until the fee is paid in full, including the countywide 5% technology surcharge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Prince George's County issue its own tobacco retailer license?
Is the $5,000 fee a one-time cost for a PG County vape shop?
Which other PG County businesses pay the same $5,000 fee as tobacco shops?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Prince George's County
Compare Prince George's County to another location·View the Maryland business licensing & operations overview
See something wrong?
Help us keep this page accurate. If you notice an error or outdated information, let us know.