Washington, DC Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- License required
- Retailer's license from the Mayor
- Annual fee
- $15 per retail location
- Covered products
- Vapor products are "other tobacco product"
- Vending machines
- Bars, clubs, 18+, licensed restaurants only
- Enforcement
- Suspension, then revocation, after hearing
Summary
Washington, D.C. requires anyone selling vapor products to hold a Mayor-issued retailer's tobacco license, since the D.C. Code classifies e-cigarettes and vape liquid as "other tobacco product" under the same licensing scheme that covers cigarettes.
No person shall manufacture for sale, keep for sale, offer for sale, display for sale in vending machines, or sell cigarettes or other tobacco product in the District without having first obtained a license or licenses for such purpose or purposes from the Mayor. ... A retailer's license shall authorize the licensee to keep for sale, offer for sale, and sell cigarettes or other tobacco product to consumers in original packages from the place or places designated therein. ... The annual fee for a retailer's license shall be $15 for each retail establishment.
Full Breakdown
The District's tobacco tax chapter defines "other tobacco product" to expressly include vapor products, the devices, cartridges, and nicotine solutions used in e-cigarettes, regardless of whether they contain actual tobacco. Under D.C. Code § 47-2404(a), no person may manufacture, keep, offer, display, or sell vapor products in the District without first getting a license from the Mayor. A retailer's license runs $15 a year per retail establishment and must be issued as a General Sales endorsement on the store's basic business license. Vending-machine sales of vapor products are further restricted to taverns, nightclubs, 18-plus establishments, and licensed restaurants.
Violations & Fines
Selling vapor products without the license violates D.C. Code § 47-2404(a). The Mayor may suspend the license for a first or second offense and must revoke it for a third, after a hearing; unlicensed product is also subject to seizure and forfeiture under § 47-2409.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a D.C. vape shop need a separate tobacco license?
Can a D.C. store sell vapes from a self-service display?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Washington
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