Grand Forks, ND Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

City Code § 21-2801(2) defines e-cigarette broadly to cover any electronic oral device, whether marketed as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, or e-pipe, that provides a vapor of nicotine or other substances simulating smoking, and § 21-2801(5) folds e-cigarettes and other electronic smoking devices into the article's tobacco products definition alongside cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, and rolling papers. Section 21-2802 makes it unlawful for any retail tobacco dealer, wholesaler, or distributor to sell, offer for sale, or give away any tobacco product anywhere in the city without first obtaining a retail tobacco dealer license.

Applications go to the city auditor under § 21-2803 with the applicant's name and address, the business location, and a copy of the applicant's state license; the auditor can issue the license directly or refer it to the city council. Section 21-2804 sets the annual fee by council resolution for each location and each vending machine, expiring every December 31. Section 21-2806 bars issuing a license for any place other than the applicant's established business or a movable location, bars vending-machine sales except as allowed under § 9-0217(3), bars sales to anyone under 21, requires ID checks when a buyer appears under 30, and requires tobacco products to be stored behind a counter rather than displayed for self-service.

Section 21-2808 sets an administrative penalty schedule enforced by the mayor or a hearing officer: a first offense draws a $100-$300 penalty, escalating through suspensions of increasing length for repeat offenses within one year, up to revocation on a fifth offense or any knowing, willful violation, with a right to a hearing and an appeal to the city council.