Spokane County, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Minimum sale age
- 18 years old
- Adopting ordinance
- Ord. No. 11-0135 (2011)
- Retailer violation class
- Class 1 civil infraction, RCW 7.80
- Minor violation class
- Class 3 civil infraction, RCW 7.80
- Vending machine rule
- 10 feet from entrances, adults-only premises
Summary
Retailers in unincorporated Spokane County can't sell, give, sample or market e-cigarettes, liquid nicotine or their components to anyone under eighteen, under Chapter 8.62 of the county code. Sellers must post a required warning sign, check ID when age is in question, and keep any vending machine dispensing e-cigarettes inside an adults-only premises or ten feet from every entrance.
(a)No person may give, distribute, transfer, sell, market, or offer E-cigarettes, their components, or samples to persons under eighteen years of age...Violation of any provision of this ordinance by a minor is a class 3 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW and is subject to the monetary penalty and statutory assessments as set out in chapter 7.80 RCW. Violation of any provision of this ordinance by a person other than a minor is a class 1 civil infraction under chapter 7.80 RCW and is subject to the monetary penalty and statutory assessments as set out in chapter 7.80 RCW. Each transaction is a new and separate violation.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 63).
Full Breakdown
62 of the Spokane County Code regulates the retail sale of electronic cigarettes and liquid nicotine countywide, adopted by Ordinance No. 11-0135 in 2011 after the Spokane Regional Health District found the unregulated devices posed a nicotine-addiction risk to minors. 090's standards is a defense. 050 bars distributing e-cigarettes through coupons redeemable without an in-person retail transaction, closing a loophole minors could use to get product by mail. 060 separately makes it unlawful for a person under eighteen to purchase, attempt to purchase, possess or obtain e-cigarettes or their components, except under law-enforcement or health-district control.
070 requires every seller to post a sign, in contrasting colors and at least 20-point type, warning that sale to anyone under eighteen is strictly prohibited and that photo ID is required, and to check ID whenever a customer's age is in question. 080 confines vending-machine sales of e-cigarettes to premises where minors are barred entirely, or to industrial worksites, and requires machines to sit at least ten feet from every entrance and exit unless the county building director finds that distance architecturally impractical. The ordinance is written to sunset automatically if state or federal law later adopts substantially the same protections.
Violations & Fines
The Spokane County sheriff and the Spokane Regional Health District's health officer enforce Chapter 8.62 as a civil infraction under RCW Chapter 7.80. A minor who violates the chapter commits a class 3 civil infraction; anyone else who violates it, including a retailer, commits a class 1 civil infraction, both carrying the monetary penalties and statutory assessments set by RCW Chapter 7.80. Each individual sale or transaction is charged as a separate violation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Spokane County store sell e-cigarettes to a 17-year-old?
What sign does a Spokane County vape retailer have to post?
Are e-cigarette vending machines allowed in Spokane County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Spokane County
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