Gilroy, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Chapter 13, Article VIII covers both traditional tobacco and electronic smoking devices such as vapes, e-cigarettes and their paraphernalia (§ 13.66). Every retailer must hold a valid, nontransferable city permit displayed at the location, and the permit dies if the retailer's ownership or location changes; a new proprietor must apply for a fresh permit (§ 13.68(h)). Retailers must sell only from a fixed, fully enclosed and publicly accessible space, cannot use self-service displays or vending machines, and cannot let anyone smoke inside or within 20 feet of any doorway or vent into the store, or keep ashtrays on site (§ 13.68(a),(f),(g)).

New permits cannot authorize tobacco retailing within 1,000 feet of a private or public elementary, middle or high school, measured property line to property line, though a retailer already lawfully operating on the ordinance's effective date is grandfathered, and that grandfathering survives an arm's-length sale of the business (§ 13.68(i)). Retailers must check ID for any customer who looks under 27 and must not sell to anyone under the state minimum purchase age (§ 13.68(c)-(e)).

Selling to an underage customer under § 13.68(d) escalates fast: a $1,000 civil penalty and a 30-day suspension for the first violation at a location, $2,500 and 60 days for a second within 60 months, and $5,000 plus permit revocation for a third within 60 months (§ 13.78).