Laredo, TX Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

6, the Tobacco Shop special use permit (SUP) category governs any e-cigarette or tobacco retailer, because the Appendix A definition of "Tobacco Shop" names e-cigarettes and e-cigarette related products among the covered products, alongside cigars, cigarettes and chewing tobacco. A shop qualifies only if tobacco and vape sales are its main purpose and other merchandise stays under 45 percent of gross revenue; the City can require an audit of that revenue split. 1, submitting a site plan, proof of ownership and current City tax certificates.

to 12:00 midnight, no one under 18 may enter or buy product without an accompanying parent or guardian, and a sign must be posted at every public entrance stating that rule. The shop cannot sit within 800 feet, measured in a straight line from the building to the nearest property line, of any residential zoning district, church, day care, elementary through high school, college, university, public playground, park or stadium. Operators must also install a seven-foot opaque fence along any line abutting a residential use, hold an annual Fire Inspection, keep signage consistent with B-1 sign standards, and control litter.

The SUP is issued to the specific owner and operator and is non-transferable; a majority change in ownership voids it and the business must reapply for a new SUP, though publicly traded companies are exempt from that reporting duty.