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. ... (d)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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