Brentwood, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Citywide license cap
- 41 tobacco retailer licenses
- Youth-establishment buffer
- 500 feet
- Outdoor smoking buffer
- 25 feet from doorways
- Unlicensed sales fine
- $1,000 civil fine per violation
- Compliance checks
- 2 department checks + 1 police decoy op yearly
- Application method
- Physical filing only, no digital
Summary
Every store selling tobacco products in Brentwood needs a tobacco retailer's license under Municipal Code Chapter 5.76, and the city caps citywide licenses at 41. New licenses are barred within 500 feet of a school or other youth-oriented establishment, at bars, restaurants, or cannabis-licensed sites, and for mobile or delivery-only sales.
No license may issue to authorize tobacco retailing at other than a fixed physical location, including, but not limited to, tobacco retailing by persons on foot or from vehicles or for delivery services. ... No license may be issued, and no license may be renewed, to authorize tobacco retailing ... within 500 feet of a youth-oriented establishment as measured by a straight line from the nearest point of the property line of the parcel on which the youth-oriented establishment is located to the nearest point of the property line of the parcel on which the licensee's business is located. ... The total number of tobacco retailer's licenses within the city shall be limited to no more than 41. ... No license may be issued, and no license may be renewed, to authorize tobacco retailing at any location ... where smoking is permitted within 25 feet of any doorway, window, opening, or other vent into the licensed premises. ... The person shall be subject to a civil fine of $1,000.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4604307; v5 updated 2025-12-09).
Full Breakdown
080: no license for mobile or delivery-only tobacco sales, none at a site licensed for commercial cannabis activity, none within 500 feet of a youth-oriented establishment, none once the citywide total reaches 41 licenses, none at a bar or a restaurant that serves food for on-site consumption, and none where smoking is allowed indoors or within 25 feet of a doorway or window (an exception exists for shisha sold for on-site hookah use). 090 must be physically filed with the department in person or by mail; no digital or fax submissions are accepted, and the department opened the initial application window to existing retailers on October 9, 2025, with a 31-day head start over new applicants.
090(C). 150) to recover the full cost of administering the program. 160(B)), and any retailer inspected and found in violation must be reinspected within three months.
Violations & Fines
Selling tobacco without a valid license draws a $1,000 civil fine under Section 5.76.180(A)(3), and each day of unlicensed sales and each individual product offered are separate violations under Section 5.76.180(C). The location becomes permanently ineligible for a future license regardless of ownership change, and unlawfully offered tobacco products and paraphernalia are subject to seizure and forfeiture. Licensees may appeal denial, suspension, or revocation through Municipal Code Chapter 1.24.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a new Brentwood store start selling tobacco at any time?
Can a cannabis dispensary in Brentwood also sell tobacco?
What happens if a Brentwood shop is caught selling tobacco without a license?
Can an existing shop keep selling if it loses out to the license cap?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Brentwood
California rules heatmap·Compare Brentwood to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
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Tobacco Retail License in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Contra Costa County handle tobacco retail license.