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Nashville, TN Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Few Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Governing chapter
Metro Code Ch. 10.19
Exemption test
Vapor products = largest sales category
Max fine
$50 per violation
Enforcement
Metro Department of Health
Zoning/licensing
No separate vape-shop zoning or license

Summary

Metro's age-restricted-venue vaping ban carves out retail vapor product stores, shops that draw their largest sales category from vapor products and accessories, along with retail tobacco stores, cigar bars, hookah bars and vapor bars.

A.Smoking and the use of vapor products is prohibited in all age-restricted venues.B.Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, the prohibition on smoking and the use of vapor products in age-restricted venues shall not apply to:1.retail tobacco stores;2.retail vapor product stores;3.cigar bars;4.hookah bars;5.vapor bars.

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. Section 39-17-1551 - Preemption of Field of LegislationView official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 53 | Charter: Republication 9).

Full Breakdown

Metro Code Chapter 10.19 bans smoking and vaping inside any "age-restricted venue": a business that checks ID at the door to keep out everyone under 21. Retail vapor product stores are carved out of that ban: if vapor products and accessories make up a store's largest sales category, it can let customers vape on-site without violating Chapter 10.19, the same treatment given retail tobacco stores, cigar bars, hookah bars and vapor bars. Nashville has no separate zoning district or business license aimed at vape retailers beyond this sales-mix-based exemption; the Metro Department of Health enforces the chapter countywide, including the six satellite cities' residents but not their own separately-coded businesses.

Violations & Fines

Up to $50 per violation for smoking or vaping in a covered age-restricted venue without a qualifying exemption; each instance and each refusal to comply with a compliance request counts as a separate violation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Nashville require a special license for vape shops?
No. Metro Code has no vape-retail-specific business license; the only local rule is the age-restricted-venue vaping exemption in Chapter 10.19, based on a store's sales mix.
Can customers vape inside a Nashville vape shop?
Yes: if the shop qualifies as a retail vapor product store (vapor products and accessories are its largest sales category), it's exempt from the age-restricted-venue vaping ban.

Sources & Official References

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All Nashville rules

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