Marathon County, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum age
- 18 to buy cigarettes/nicotine/tobacco
- Vending machines
- Banned within 500 ft of school
- First-offense fine
- Up to $500 forfeiture
- Repeat violation
- 3-30 day license suspension
- Local opt-out
- Yields to town/village/city ordinance
Summary
Marathon County bars selling or giving cigarettes, nicotine products (including vapes) or tobacco to anyone under 18, and bans vending machines within 500 feet of a school -- but the rule steps aside wherever the local town, village or city has its own ordinance.
(a) No retailer, direct marketer, manufacturer, distributor, jobber or subjobber, [...] may sell or provide for nominal or no consideration cigarettes, nicotine products, or tobacco products to any person under the age of 18, except as provided in § 254.92(2)(a), Wis. Stats. [...] 2. Notwithstanding subdiv. 1m., no retailer may place a vending machine within 500 feet of a school.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 59).
Full Breakdown
Section 9.63 defines 'nicotine product' to sweep in vapor and e-cigarette products that aren't already classed as tobacco or cigarettes, and applies the same age-18 sale restriction, retailer signage, and clerk-training requirements to them as to cigarettes. No vending machine selling these products may sit within 500 feet of a school. Under subsection (5), the county ordinance yields entirely inside any town, village or city that has adopted its own ordinance under Wis. Stat. § 134.66(5), so coverage outside Wausau and the incorporated municipalities is what the county rule actually reaches.
Violations & Fines
A first violation draws up to a $500 forfeiture; a repeat violation within 12 months runs $200 to $500 and can suspend the retailer's license for 3 to 30 days, under § 9.63(4)(a).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Marathon County's tobacco ordinance cover vape and e-cigarette sales?
Can a store put a vape vending machine near a school in Marathon County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Marathon County
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