Trenton, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)

City Code Chapter 280 bars anyone from selling, distributing or giving tobacco or nicotine-delivery products, including electronic smoking devices, in Trenton unless the owner or an employee of the establishment controls the sale, and every sale must be a direct, face-to-face exchange between retailer and consumer; self-service displays and vending machines are prohibited outright under § 280-1 and again under § 280-7. Section 280-5 requires a separate license for each individual location, even where one entity owns multiple stores, obtained by filing a written application with the Department of Health and Human Services along with the $750 annual fee; the Department must issue or deny the license within 14 days.

Licenses run January 1 through December 31 with no proration, cannot be transferred by sale (no 'pocket' licenses under § 280-6), and must be posted conspicuously in the store. Retailers must post six-by-eight-inch signs at displays and checkout counters warning that proof of age is required, and must verify age with government-issued photo ID for anyone who appears under 26, per § 280-1(C) and (D). Employees must sign a statement confirming they have read the Board of Health Code and state tobacco laws before they may sell. Itinerant vendors cannot obtain this license at all under § 280-5(E).