Duluth, MN Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Duluth Legislative Code § 11-1 folds e-cigarettes into its licensing requirement: the chapter defines "tobacco related devices" to include any electronic-smoking device that delivers nicotine or other substances, whether marketed as an electronic cigarette, electronic cigar or electronic pipe, and bars any person or employee from manufacturing, selling, exchanging, bartering or keeping such products for sale in the city without a license. Licenses run May 1 through April 30 and are issued by the city clerk under § 11-3, with the annual fee set under § 31-6(a).

Section 11-4 forbids issuing a license for a movable place of business, for sale from a vending machine or other mechanical device, or for more than one location per license, and requires the applicant be of good moral character. The city clerk can deny a license under § 11-3(b) for a prior tobacco-related violation, a disqualifying conviction under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 364, material misstatements on the application, refusal to answer police or administrative questions, unpaid tobacco license fees, or if the applicant is under 21.

12, Subd. 7. Violations, including a sale to someone under 21, draw an administrative penalty under § 31-8; a second violation at the same location within 24 months carries a mandatory penalty, and a third within 24 months adds a mandatory suspension of at least seven days. Section 11-9's earlier youth-possession provision was repealed by Ordinance 10610 in 2019.