St. Louis County, MN Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Section 300 of Ordinance No. 51 bars anyone from selling or offering to sell tobacco or a tobacco-related device without first obtaining a license from St. Louis County, unless the sale happens inside a home rule charter or statutory city that has kept its own licensing authority under Minn. 12, subd. 1. Applications go to the County Auditor, who forwards complete files to the County Board for action at its next regular meeting; the Board may approve, deny, or delay for further investigation (§ 300, Subd.

2). Licenses run for the calendar year issued and must be renewed between 30 and 60 days before expiration (Subd. 8); they are not transferable between locations or people, and moveable businesses cannot be licensed at all (Subd. 5-6). Section 500 lets the County deny or revoke a license if the applicant is under 21, was convicted of a tobacco-law violation in the past five years, had a license revoked in the preceding 12 months, or gave false information. Section 600 bans sales to anyone under 21, sales through vending machines, self-service access without a clerk handoff, and loosies.

Section 700 requires tobacco and tobacco-related devices to sit behind a counter or in a closed case unless the shop is 21-plus and derives at least 90 percent of revenue from tobacco. Section 900 requires the County to run compliance checks at least once a year using underage buyers aged 17-20 under Sheriff supervision, and those checks expressly cover attempts to purchase tobacco, tobacco-related devices, electronic delivery devices, and nicotine or lobelia products, meaning vape retailers fall under the same licensing and enforcement scheme.