Perris, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Per retail location, Sec. 5.51.030(a)
- Covers
- Tobacco and nicotine-containing vape/e-cig products
- Unlicensed sale
- Declared a public nuisance
- Lockout after 1st violation
- 30 days, no new license
- Lockout after 3+ violations
- 5 years, no new license
- License term
- 1 year, renew 30 days ahead
- Civil fine range
- $250 to $10,000, tiered by count
Summary
Selling tobacco, including vape and e-cigarette products, in Perris requires a valid tobacco retailer's license for each location: Perris Municipal Code Section 5.51.030(a) makes unlicensed tobacco retailing unlawful and declares it a public nuisance outright, under the city's Chapter 5.51 tobacco licensing program aimed at keeping tobacco out of the hands of minors.
(a)It is unlawful for any person to act as a tobacco retailer without first obtaining and maintaining a valid tobacco retailer's license pursuant to this chapter for each location at which that activity is to occur. Tobacco retailing without a valid tobacco retailer's license shall constitute a public nuisance. ... (e)In addition to any other penalty under this chapter, a person found to have engaged in tobacco retailing without a valid tobacco retailer's license shall be ineligible to apply for or be issued a tobacco retailing license according to the following:(1)After a first violation for a person within any 60-month period, no new license may issue for the person as a proprietor until 30 days have passed from the date of last violation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 13).
Full Breakdown
020). ' A retailer caught operating without a license, or on a revoked license, must keep the products out of public view and cannot advertise them (subsection (b)). Beyond any other penalty, subsection (e) locks the retailer out of getting a new license for a period tied to how many times they have been caught: 30 days after a first unlicensed-sale violation in a 60-month period, 90 days after a second, and five years after three or more. Unlicensed product is subject to seizure, forfeiture and destruction (subsection (f)). 060). 070).
Violations & Fines
Beyond the ineligibility periods in Section 5.51.030(e), a licensed retailer who violates the chapter faces revocation under Section 5.51.090: settlements for a first violation run at least a one-day shutdown and a $1,000.00 payment, a second at least ten days and $5,000.00, and civil fines otherwise range from $250.00 to $1,000.00 for a first violation, $1,500.00 to $2,500.00 for a second, and $3,000.00 to $10,000.00 for a third or later violation within 60 months, prosecutable as an infraction or misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Perris's tobacco license requirement cover vape shops and e-cigarettes?
What happens if a Perris retailer sells tobacco without a license?
How long is a Perris tobacco retailer license valid, and can it transfer with a business sale?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Perris
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