Question:  Exactly what I need to do legally to get my tobacco sales business going. 

The states regulate tobocco to curb
tobacco tax fraud and the counterfeiting of tobacco products. This does not
preempt local jurisdictions from adopting local tobacco licenses. Most counties, adopt  ordinances to encourage
responsible tobacco retailing and to discourage violations of federal, state and local
tobacco-related laws, especially those that prohibit the sale or distribution of tobacco
products to minors.  At the federal level of governement, he ATF also regulates the illegal tobacco and alcohol trafficking in interstate commerce.

In general, a “Tobacco retailer’ means any person who sells, offers for sale or distribution,

exchanges, or offers to exchange for any form of consideration, tobacco, tobacco

products, or tobacco paraphernalia without regard to the quantity sold, distributed,

exchanged, or offered for exchange.

Following the arrival of the Europeans, tobacco became popular as a trade item. It fostered the economy for the southern United States until it was replaced by cotton. Following the American civil war, a change in demand and a change in labor force allowed inventors to create a machine which automated cigarette production.

This increase in production allowed  growth in the tobacco industry until the scientific revelations of the mid-1900s.

A tobacco license is a certificate you will obtain from the state, county and city governments to sell, distribute and generally deal in tobacco product sales whether it will be retail or wholesale.

   I am opening a hookah bar. We will want to resell items such as gift baskets, clothing, and other items. Also, if we sell candybars, soda and other food items that are packaged, will we be getting into the health department? If you could, please let me know what we need to do. 

• Do i need a wholesale tobacco license to sell little cigars?
• Do you need a license to sell tobacco related products online?
• What kind of license do I need to ship tobacco?‎
• Do i need a license to sell tobacco online?

 Answer: In short, you will need a state tobacco license, a county tobacco license and a city tobacco license.  In addition, at a minimum, you will need a business license, a sales tax id license, and a DBA Trade Name Registration License.  Read more about all these licenses below.

If you selling tobacco, you will need more than one business license because the tobacco industry is regulated as is Broadcasting, Manufacturing,  alcohol, or firearms, Drug manufacturing,
 Preparing meat products, Ground transportation, Selling firearms, Investment advising, are all regulated by the federal, state and local governments. 

Required Documents When Starting a Tobacco Shop Business. In general, the following type of tobacco shops need at least these documents:   Tobacco shops that are organized as

• INDIVIDUALS, PARTNERSHIPS & CORPORATIONS OR LLCs doing business in a name other than their legal name need a DBA trade name and a business license.
• Tobacco shops that are CORPORATIONS & LLCs need a federal tax id and a tobacco and a  business license.
• Tobacco sellers that are EMPLOYERS need a federal tax id (EIN), a state tax id (EIN) and a business license. RETAILERS OR WHOLESALERS of tangible taxable items / services, need a seller's permit / resale license and a business license.
• Note that ALL BUSINESS NEED a business license in addition to a business license and most advisors recommend using a federal tax id to open a business bank account as well as perform a nationwide business name check before your register your dba or corporation.

Here is how to get the tobacco licenses you need and as noted above you need at least 3 tobocco licenses as well as other business license, a dba and a sales tax ID as well as a federal and state employer number if you will be an employer.   Simply, submit an online form with all your info on this site, pay and we will get them for you.   For example, you need to do your sales tax at the end of the year, you wil be looking for your tobacco sales tax id license.  For instance, gather all your business info, submit them and pay and we will obtain them for you.

You would normally have to go wait on lines on government buildings and drive all day to get these licenses but since we can get them for you, just obtain them here online so you save money and time as well as a lot of troubles and headaches.

Related Inquiries and Articles

The first reason you must get a tobacco license is because you are legally required to obtain these licenses.  Another reason is for example that you need a tobacco sales tax id to report tobacco sales and pay the state government for any tobacco sales tax collected.

For each tobacco license, you need to pay us the $99 fee plus any taxes and fees you need to pay to the government agencies issuing these licenses.