Corvallis, OR Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Corvallis Municipal Code § 8.10.010 defines 'tobacco product' broadly to include any electronic smoking device, covering e-cigarettes, e-cigars, e-pipes, and e-hookahs and their cartridges and components, so vape shops fall under the same license as cigarette retailers. Section 8.10.020 makes it a violation for a retailer to sell tobacco products without holding a City license for each location, with all licenses renewed annually by June 30. The section bars issuing a license for a non-fixed location such as a kiosk or vehicle, or for a temporary event like a farmer's market or fair, and prohibits new licenses within 1,000 feet of a school or within 1,000 feet of another tobacco retailer, though retailers already operating lawfully before the buffer took effect are grandfathered.

License fees are set under Chapter 8.03 (Section 8.10.030), a license is non-transferable except when an eligible retailer relocates (Section 8.10.040), and it must be prominently displayed at the location (Section 8.10.048). Section 8.10.050 bars sales to anyone under 18, Section 8.10.060 requires vendor-assisted sales rather than self-service displays except for vending machines allowed under ORS 167.402, and Section 8.10.067 bars minors from working tobacco retail sales. Section 8.10.080 escalates penalties for licensee violations: $500 for a first violation, $1,000 plus a 45-day suspension for a second within two years, and $1,500 plus revocation, with a six-month reapplication bar, for a third.

Selling without any license at all draws a $500-per-day fine under Section 8.10.090. Critically, Section 8.10.120 puts the City's own enforcement of Chapter 8.10 on hiatus as of Ordinance 2022-14, with Benton County's tobacco ordinances applied and enforced inside Corvallis city limits under an intergovernmental agreement for the duration.