Redwood City, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

98, Title 4, "Tobacco Retailer Permit," by reference, so any retailer selling tobacco products in Redwood City must hold the County permit rather than a separate City license, and certified copies of the County chapter are kept on file with the City Clerk for public inspection. 22 sets the suspension and revocation ladder: a first violation within any sixty-month period can draw up to a thirty-day suspension, a second up to ninety days, a third up to one year, and a fourth mandatory revocation with a five-year bar on holding a new permit.

Any violation involving a sale to someone under twenty-one triggers the maximum suspension or revocation regardless of which violation number it is. The Director must issue written findings within ten calendar days of a hearing, and a suspension or revocation takes effect ten calendar days after it is mailed unless the retailer appeals in writing to the San Mateo County Licensing Board before that effective date, which stays the suspension pending the appeal. 23 layers on administrative fines up to $500 for a first violation and up to $1,000 for each subsequent violation within a sixty-month period, billed solely against the permit holder, with every day of unpermitted sales counted as a separate violation.