Seattle, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing chapter
- SMC Chapter 6.240 Retail Sale of Tobacco
- License required
- Tobacco product retailer's license from FAS
- Annual fee
- $135 per location, vehicle, or operation
- License year
- July 1 to June 30
- Route-change fee
- $25 to reissue after relocation
- Minor sales penalty
- Gross misdemeanor, absolute liability (6.240.100)
- Vapor products
- Defined separately, not a licensed tobacco product
Summary
Selling any tobacco product in Seattle, pipe tobacco, cigars, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff, or cigarillos, without a City tobacco product retailer's license is unlawful under SMC 6.240.020. The license runs July 1 to June 30 annually, costs $135 per location, vehicle, or operation under SMC 6.204.120, and mobile vendors must follow a fixed, approved route.
No person shall offer for retail sale at any location within The City of Seattle any tobacco product without having a valid City license therefor. For the purposes of this Chapter 6.240, all tobacco vending machines owned or managed by the same operator at a single business address shall be deemed to be one operation for which a single tobacco product retailer's license shall be required. A separate tobacco product retailer's license shall be required for each motor vehicle from which any tobacco product is offered for retail sale.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 44 Update 1).
Full Breakdown
020. 010 to mean pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, snuff, cigars, cigarettes, or cigarillos; a separate definition covers 'vapor product,' but that term is not folded into the licensed 'tobacco product' category. Vending machines owned by the same operator at one address count as a single licensed operation, while a mobile tobacco vendor needs a separate license for each motor vehicle and may only sell along a fixed, pre-approved route to business, industrial, or construction sites described on the application. 00 fee to reissue a license after a route change.
080 bars selling any tobacco product outside its original sealed package bearing the required health warning. 010), with absolute liability, no mental-state defense applies, and retailers must check ID whenever a customer's age is in question. 200 converts violations of the licensing, packaging, and ID-check provisions into civil infractions layered on top of the misdemeanor exposure for minor sales.
Violations & Fines
Selling tobacco without the SMC 6.240.020 license, running an unlicensed mobile route, or breaking the sealed-package rule under SMC 6.240.080 is a civil infraction under SMC 6.240.200. Selling to a minor under SMC 6.240.100 is a gross misdemeanor carrying absolute liability, with every sale during a visit, unless part of one multi-item purchase, counted as a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Seattle
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