Jersey City, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Section 316-1 defines SMOKE SHOP as any premises displaying, selling, distributing, delivering, offering, furnishing, or marketing smoking products or smoking paraphernalia that meets at least one of three tests: visible exterior signage referencing smoking or tobacco, visible interior signage or displays of ten or more linear feet of such products, or retail sales exceeding $1,000 in any calendar month. Grocery stores, supermarkets, and convenience stores selling only conventional cigars or cigarettes as an ancillary line are expressly carved out and not treated as Smoke Shops.

A requires every Smoke Shop and Tobacco Store to obtain a license before engaging in retail distribution, renewable annually, and caps the Director of the Division of Commerce's authority at a maximum of 45 total Smoke Shop and Tobacco Store licenses citywide; shops operating when the ordinance took effect had 60 days to apply and 180 days to obtain a license, with early filers exempt from the cap. C bars issuing any license until the applicant secures all required approvals from the Division of Zoning and Construction Code Official for the premises, tying the license directly to zoning compliance.

B must be sworn and disclose the trade name, business address, everyone with a financial interest, and any criminal or quasi-criminal convictions of interested parties. The annual fee is set by Chapter 160, Fees and Charges, runs August 1 to July 31, and is prorated to half the annual fee if six months of the license year have already elapsed. Violations, suspension, and revocation are governed by Section 316-5.