Boston, MA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

2(C) requires all retailers who hold a commonwealth cigarette license to also obtain and maintain a "Permit for Location and Sales" from the city for each location where tobacco products are sold. The Boston Public Health Commission issues the permit only if the applicant's permit is not currently suspended and the applicant has no unremedied violations or unpaid fines. The permit runs for a one-year term, costs $100 per tobacco retail location, and is nontransferable except when a retailer relocates. c. 270, §§ 6-7, along with signage disclosing how to report violations and where to get smoking-cessation referrals; failing to post this signage is deemed non-compliance subject to Commission-set penalties.

If the permit is suspended for a violation, all tobacco products must be removed from the premises, and anyone selling tobacco without a valid permit is fined under the Section's penalty schedule. Retailers must also request photo ID from any purchaser who appears 26 or younger, and no employee may sell tobacco until they have read the Boston Tobacco Control Ordinance and signed a compliance statement kept on file with the employer.