Rochester, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Section 90-32 of the Property Code defines SMOKING GOODS ESTABLISHMENT broadly: a premises where tobacco products, hookah products, vaping products or related accessories are sold for on- or off-premises use, expressly naming cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes, vaping devices, electronic nicotine delivery systems, hookahs and rolling papers, while carving out FDA-approved smoking-cessation products and wholesale dealer sales taxed under state law. Because SMOKING GOODS ESTABLISHMENT is one of the enumerated 'BUSINESS' types in that same section, Section 90-33 requires it to hold a City business permit before operating; the Director reviews the location for Zoning Code compliance under Section 90-34C, and the Chief of Police investigates the owner's and operator's background, including a criminal-records check, under Section 90-34D.

Section 90-38 sets the annual fee at $25, waived on timely renewal, with a $10 lost-permit replacement fee. Once open, Section 90-37F lists 'illegal possession, use, gift, sale or offer for sale of cigarettes or tobacco products' as a specific 'lack of good order' violation that can support suspension or revocation alongside gambling, prostitution and drug offenses, and the owner must post the permit in a conspicuous place near the entrance. A permit lasts one year under Section 90-39 and is void if the shop sits vacant for a month without responding to a seven-day notice under Section 90-40.

The Commissioner may deny, condition or revoke a permit under Sections 90-41 and 90-42 for code violations, unpaid judgments or a prior conviction tied to the business.