Franklin County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Self-service sales
- prohibited countywide (unincorporated)
- Sales method required
- vendor-assisted only
- Adult-only exception
- stores restricting entry to 18+
- First offense
- second-degree misdemeanor
- Reporting
- convictions reported to FL Div. of Tobacco/Alcoholic Beverages
Summary
Unincorporated Franklin County retailers cannot display tobacco products on open, self-service shelving. The Merchandising of Tobacco Products Ordinance requires vendor-assisted sales for every retailer, stand, booth or concession that sells tobacco, unless the store already restricts entry to adults only.
No person, business, tobacco retailer, or other establishment subject to this article shall sell, permit to be sold, offer for sale, or display for sale any tobacco products by means of self-service merchandising. Only vendor assisted sales are allowed, unless access to the premises by persons under the age of eighteen (18) is prohibited by the person, business, tobacco retailer, or other establishment or prohibited by law.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 13, Article VII of the Franklin County Code, the "Merchandising of Tobacco Products Ordinance" (§§ 13-131 to 13-134), applies to any business in the unincorporated areas of Franklin County that operates a store, stand, booth, concession or other place selling tobacco products. Section 13-133 bars self-service merchandising, defined in § 13-132 as open display of tobacco products the public can reach without a vendor, store owner or employee stepping in. Retailers must run vendor-assisted sales, meaning a customer has no access to tobacco products without an employee handing them over, unless the retailer already restricts entry to persons eighteen and older or is otherwise exempt by law.
The article's definitions sweep in loose tobacco, snuff, snuff flour, plug and twist tobacco, chewing tobacco, cigarettes and cigars. Rather than issuing a license, the ordinance regulates how tobacco is displayed and sold at the point of purchase, and it operates alongside the county's local business tax registration requirements in Chapter 10 for any retailer already required to hold a county business tax receipt to operate.
Violations & Fines
A first conviction is a second-degree misdemeanor punishable as provided by state law. A second conviction carries at least double the first-conviction penalty, capped at the maximum allowed for a second-degree misdemeanor. Every conviction under this article must be reported by the county to the Florida Division of Tobacco and Alcoholic Beverages, giving the state a record of repeat violators beyond the county's own court file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a gas station in unincorporated Franklin County put cigarettes on an open shelf?
Does Franklin County require a special license to sell tobacco?
What happens after a second violation of the tobacco merchandising rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Franklin County
Florida rules heatmap·Compare Franklin County to another location·View the Florida business licensing & operations overview
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