Cayuga County, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Section 241-3 bars selling, offering to sell, or permitting the sale of tobacco products in the county without a valid tobacco retail license from the Cayuga County Health Department; wholesale dealers who sell only to retailers for resale are excused. Licenses run for no more than one year, expiring every January 1, and the application carries a $100 permit fee due at application or renewal; a license is non-transferable except when an existing licensed business is sold to a new owner operating at the same location and scope.

New applicants use a Department-prescribed form, and renewal applicants must apply at least 30 days before their current permit expires. Section 241-4 blocks a license for any retailer without a fixed, permanent location or whose store sits within 100 feet of a school's property line. Section 241-5 requires retailers to submit to unannounced compliance inspections by the Department. The Department can refuse to issue or renew a license if the application is incomplete or false, the applicant lacks a valid state retailer registration from the Department of Taxation and Finance, the applicant's license was previously revoked, the applicant owes the county fees or fines, or the applicant violated the state Public Health Law or this chapter in the prior six months. Every license must be displayed prominently where customers can see it, and selling tobacco without a displayed, valid license is itself a violation.