Hollywood, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 3.23(J), Zoning and Land Development Regulations
- Smoke shop to smoke shop
- 2,500 ft separation
- Social service facility buffer
- 1,200 ft separation
- School/worship/day care buffer
- 500 ft separation
- Dispensing facility buffer
- 2,500 ft separation
- Vape retailers
- Included in SMOKE SHOP definition (§ 2.2)
Summary
Hollywood's code defines a smoke shop to include vape and e-cigarette retailers, and § 3.23(J) keeps every smoke shop 2,500 feet from the next one, 1,200 feet from a social service facility, 500 feet from a school, day care, or place of worship, and 2,500 feet from a marijuana dispensing facility.
J. The distance separation requirement minimums for smoke shops shall be as follows: 1. 2,500 linear feet between smoke shops; 2. 1,200 linear feet from a preexisting social service facility; 3. 500 linear feet from an established place of worship or school/licensed day care center; 4. 2,500 linear feet of an established medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility.
Full Breakdown
2 of the Zoning and Land Development Regulations defines a SMOKE SHOP as a retail establishment dedicated to selling or displaying tobacco, tobacco products, CBD, hemp, synthetic marijuana, Delta-8, and associated paraphernalia, including the inhaling or exhaling of smoke or vapor from an electronic device, for off-premises adult consumption, so a dedicated vape or e-cigarette store falls squarely inside the definition. 23(J)'s separation requirements, and a licensed medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility is expressly excluded from the smoke shop category as well. 23(J) sets four distance minimums measured linearly from closest property line to closest property line: 2,500 feet from any other smoke shop, 1,200 feet from a preexisting social service facility, 500 feet from an established place of worship, school, or licensed day care center, and 2,500 feet from an established medical marijuana treatment center dispensing facility.
Because the city treats a dedicated vape shop as a smoke shop rather than ordinary retail, an operator has to clear all four distance checks and secure the Certificate of Use the city requires before opening.
Violations & Fines
Opening a smoke shop or vape retailer inside any of the four buffers without a Certificate of Use is referred to the Special Magistrate under Chapter 36, which can fine the operator up to $1,000 per day the violation continues and up to $5,000 per day for a repeat violation under § 36.29, with a lien recordable against the property until resolved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a vape shop count as a smoke shop in Hollywood?
Are convenience stores exempt from the smoke shop rules?
How far must a new smoke shop stay from a school?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hollywood
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