Yonkers, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Tobacco Retail License (2026)
Key Facts
- Annual license fee
- $200 per establishment (§ 31-155)
- License expires
- January 31 each year
- Transferable
- No, not between owners or locations
- Covers
- Cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes, other tobacco
- Issuing office
- Director, Office of Licensing
- Bulk threshold
- 5,000+ units presumes retail dealer status
- Penalty
- Class II offense, up to $5,000 fine
Summary
Yonkers requires every retailer of cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to hold a cigarette dealer license from the Office of Licensing before opening. The license costs $200 a year per establishment, expires every January 31, and cannot transfer between owners or locations under City Code Chapter 31, Article XVII.
A license must be obtained for each place of business, wherein such person sells cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products in the City. The possession or transportation at any one time of 5,000 or more cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products by any person other than a manufacturer, an agent, a licensed wholesale dealer or a person delivering cigarettes in the regular course of business for a manufacturer, an agent or a licensed wholesale or retail dealer, shall be presumptive evidence that such person is a retail dealer.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4745274; v31 updated 2025-10-28; through 10-28-2025).
Full Breakdown
Anyone selling cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes or other tobacco products at retail in Yonkers must hold a separate license for each place of business under § 31-153. The Director of the Office of Licensing, successor to the Consumer Protection Officer named in Charter Article IIIA, issues the license after reviewing a written application stating the exact business location and the maximum number of employees, per § 31-154. Applicants pay the Comptroller an annual fee of $200 per establishment selling cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products, set by § 31-155 and last amended in 2017.
Each license expires on January 31 following issuance unless the Director suspends or revokes it sooner, and it cannot be transferred from person to person or moved to a new location, per § 31-156. Possessing or transporting 5,000 or more cigarettes, cigars, e-cigarettes or other tobacco products at one time, outside the normal course of manufacturing, wholesale or delivery, is presumptive evidence under § 31-153 that the possessor is operating as a retail dealer and therefore needs this license. The definitions in § 31-152 fold e-cigarettes into 'cigarette retail dealer,' so vape shops and stores that merely carry e-cigarettes alongside other merchandise fall under this same licensing article, not a separate vape-specific permit.
O. No. 8-2004 and amended repeatedly through 2019, most recently to add the flavored e-liquid definitions used in the companion sales ban at § 31-157.
Violations & Fines
Operating as a cigarette, cigar or e-cigarette retail dealer without the required license, or otherwise violating Article XVII, is a Class II offense under § 31-157.1. Under the citywide penalty schedule at § 1-21, a Class II criminal offense carries a fine of $100 to $5,000, up to 15 days in jail, or both; the parallel civil penalty runs $250 to $5,000. The Director of the Office of Licensing can also suspend or revoke the license.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do vape shops in Yonkers need a special license?
How much does the Yonkers tobacco dealer license cost?
When does a Yonkers cigarette dealer license expire?
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Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yonkers
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