Corona, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- per location, § 5.19.030(D)
- Renewal deadline
- 30 days before expiration
- Warning sign
- 1/4-inch letters, age 21
- First-offense fine
- $250 to $1,000
- Third-offense fine
- $3,000 to $10,000
- 4th-offense license bar
- 5 years, no new license
- Retail tobacco store exemption
- 80% floor space threshold
Summary
Corona requires every tobacco retailer, including vape and e-cigarette sellers, to hold a tobacco retailer's license from the Chief of Police for each location before making a single sale, under Corona Code of Ordinances § 5.19.030. Sales must be vendor-assisted unless the store qualifies as a dedicated retail tobacco store, and every point of sale must post an age-21 warning sign.
(A) It shall be unlawful for any person, business, or tobacco retailer, except for a retail tobacco store, to sell, permit to be sold, offer for sale, or display for sale any tobacco product or tobacco paraphernalia by means other than vendor-assisted sales. A vending machine, as defined in § 5.19.020(L) above, is not a vendor-assisted sale. ... (D) It shall be unlawful for any person to act as a tobacco retailer without first obtaining and maintaining a valid tobacco retailer's license pursuant to this chapter for each location at which that activity is to occur. Tobacco retailing without a valid tobacco retailer's license is a public nuisance.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-56: Supplement contains: Local legislation passed through Ord. 3423, passed 12-3-2025).
Full Breakdown
030(D) makes it unlawful to act as a tobacco retailer without first obtaining and maintaining a valid license for each location, declaring unlicensed retailing a public nuisance. 030(A), all sales must be vendor-assisted, meaning only a store employee may hand over the product; a vending machine does not count as vendor-assisted. 020(H). 030(C). 070(C). 100(A). 100(B).
Violations & Fines
Selling tobacco or vape products without a license, or operating during a revocation, is treated as a public nuisance under § 5.19.030(D). The City Attorney or County Counsel may bring a civil action under § 5.19.120(B): fines run $250 to $1,000 for a first violation in 60 months, $1,000 to $2,500 for a second, and $3,000 to $10,000 for a third or later violation. Violations may also be prosecuted as infractions or misdemeanors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Corona's tobacco license cover vape and e-cigarette shops?
Can a store use a vending machine to sell tobacco or vapes?
What happens if a Corona retailer sells to a minor?
How long is a Corona tobacco retailer license valid?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Corona
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