Monterey County, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- Monterey County Code Ch. 7.80
- Scope
- Unincorporated county only
- License term
- Annual, July 1 to June 30
- Flavored tobacco
- Sale banned outright
- Single-use e-cigarettes
- Sale banned outright
- First suspension
- 60 days for a violation
- Fourth violation
- Revoked, 5-year new-license bar
Summary
Unincorporated Monterey County requires every tobacco retailer, including vape and e-cigarette sellers, to hold a Tobacco Retailer License from the Health Officer under Chapter 7.80. The chapter also bans selling flavored tobacco products and single-use electronic cigarettes outright, on top of the licensing mandate.
G.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, or to possess with intent to sell or offer for sale, any flavored tobacco product...H.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, or to possess with intent to sell or offer for sale, any single use electronic cigarette.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 56).
Full Breakdown
80 applies only in the unincorporated area of the county; incorporated cities like Salinas, Monterey and Seaside license tobacco sales under their own codes. 040(A)-(B)). 060(A)). 070). 080). 090). 040(G) makes it a violation for a retailer or its agents to sell, offer for sale, or possess with intent to sell any flavored tobacco product, with a rebuttable presumption of intent to sell if four or more flavored products are on hand. 040(H) separately bans selling or offering for sale, or possessing with intent to sell, any single-use electronic cigarette, defined to include single-use e-cigs, e-cigars, e-pipes, vape pens and e-hookahs sold with nicotine.
Violations & Fines
A license found in violation is suspended sixty days for a first offense, one hundred twenty days for a second within sixty months, one hundred eighty days for a third, and revoked outright on a fourth, barring a new license at that location for five years (MCC § 7.80.100(C)). Retailing tobacco without a license bars a new license for sixty days after a first violation, one hundred eighty days after a second, and five years after a third within any sixty-month period (§ 7.80.110(A)). Denials, suspensions and revocations can be appealed to a county Hearing Officer within fourteen calendar days of service (§ 7.80.130).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a vape shop operate without a county tobacco license in unincorporated Monterey County?
Can a licensed retailer sell single-use vape pens or flavored e-liquid in unincorporated Monterey County?
What happens if a Monterey County tobacco retailer is caught selling without a license?
Does this county license apply inside Salinas, Monterey or Carmel-by-the-Sea?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Monterey County
California rules heatmap·Compare Monterey County to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
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