Sheboygan, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

Article V of Chapter 30 of the Sheboygan Municipal Code is short. Section 30-191 states that the city elects to license cigarette and tobacco products retailers in accordance with Wis. Stats. § 134.65, and Section 30-192 fixes the annual license fee for a cigarette and tobacco products retailer license at $100.00. The article prints no separate application procedure, no distance rule between retailers and no cap on the number of licenses, so the application mechanics come from the state statute the city adopted rather than from Chapter 30. Sections 30-193 through 30-220 are reserved.

The code does not use the word vapor or e-cigarette. The retailer license covers cigarettes and tobacco products, and Section 70-83(a) defines cigarette by reference to W.S.A. § 139.30(1), tobacco products by reference to W.S.A. § 139.75(12), and retailer as any person licensed under W.S.A. § 134.65(1). Whether a particular nicotine product falls inside those state definitions is a question the city text answers only by that cross-reference.

Licensed retailers also carry conduct duties under Section 70-83(b). No retailer or its agent or employee may sell or provide cigarettes or tobacco products to a person under 18, except as Section 70-82(c) allows. A retailer must post a sign in each area where cigarettes or tobacco products are sold stating that sale to a person under 18 is unlawful under Section 70-82 and Wis. Stats. § 254.92. A retailer may not sell cigarettes except in a package or container bearing a stamp under Wis. Stats. § 139.32(1). Vending machines are allowed only where no one under 18 is present or permitted to enter unless accompanied by a parent, guardian or spouse who is 18 or older, and no retailer may place a vending machine within 500 feet of a school.

Section 70-83(c) gives a defense to a sale to a minor if the purchaser falsely claimed to be 18 and presented an identification card, looked old enough to an ordinary and prudent person, and the seller acted in good faith in reasonable reliance on the card and appearance.