Greeley, CO Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Vending machine sales
- banned outright
- Display requirement
- behind counter, face-to-face
- Countertop open display
- prohibited
- Minimum fine
- $250 per violation
- Separate vape shop license
- does not exist
Summary
Greeley bans vending-machine sales of tobacco and nicotine products outright, and requires every retailer, including vape shops, to keep them behind the counter for a face-to-face sale rather than open countertop display.
Every person in charge or control of a retail business of any kind shall stock and display all cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products in such business in a manner so as to make all such cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products reasonably inaccessible to customers, thereby requiring a direct, face-to-face exchange of the cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products from an employee of the business to the customer. No cigarettes, tobacco products, or nicotine products are to be sold or displayed on countertops within physical reach of customers. (Ord. No. 1, 2024, § 1(app. A), 2-6-2024)
Editor's note— Ord. No. 1, 2024, § 1(app. A), adopted Feb. 6, 2024, amended § 8-308 in its entirety to read as herein set out. Former § 8-308, pertained to retail sales; vending machines, and derived from Code 1994, § 9.49.020; Ord. No. 59, 1998, § 1, 10-6-1998.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 6 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 8-307 defines 'nicotine product' to include any device that delivers nicotine, covering e-cigarettes and vapes alongside traditional tobacco. Sec. 8-308(a)-(b) bans selling or dispensing these products from a vending machine anywhere in the city. Sec. 8-308(d) further requires that all such products, vapes included, be stocked so customers can't reach them directly, forcing a face-to-face hand-off from an employee, with nothing displayed on countertops within physical reach. Greeley has no separate license or zoning category for vape shops; this Chapter 9 display and vending-machine rule is the city's only retail-specific regulation, layered on the statewide age-21 sale law.
Violations & Fines
Violating the vending-machine ban or display requirement is a misdemeanor under Sec. 8-309(b), carrying a minimum $250.00 fine, with each day of violation charged as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Greeley store sell vapes from a vending machine?
Does Greeley require a special license for vape shops?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Greeley
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