Business Tax & Licenses

A tobacco retailer license (TRL) gives you the right to sell tobacco in the Town of Fairfax.  Under a local tobacco retailer licensing law, the government requires all businesses that sell tobacco products to obtain a license from the government in exchange for the privilege of selling tobacco products.

Fairfax charges only $25 per license to fund administration and enforcement.

This new law is to reduce youth access to tobacco, and to ensure compliance with other tobacco related-laws. 90% of tobacco retailers are ethical and have done a good job of checking identifications and not selling tobacco to minors under the age of 18.  However, the County Sheriff’s compliance checks have found that some merchants continue to sell tobacco to youth. Only losing their license would stop them from making profits by addicting youth in our communities.

(Ordinance No. 814)

1. You must apply for the TRL License. It is now against the law for any retailer or individual to offer to sell tobacco products in the Fairfax without first obtaining a Tobacco Retailer license from the Town (application enclosed).
2. It is against the law for any retailer to sell tobacco to any youth under the age of 18. All tobacco retailers must train their employees to check a valid identification before selling tobacco.
3. You must display your Tobacco Retailer License in a place where everyone can see it.
4. You must renew your Tobacco Retailer License each year ($25).

The license renewal is effective January 1^stand is due annually.  You must reapply for renewal of your license before it expires each year in December. If your address or anything else changes on your license, you must notify the Town of Fairfax within 10 business days. The fee to renew our license is $25, subject to change, depending on administration and enforcement costs

The Town conducts regular undercover compliance checks of all stores to determine which clerks still sell tobacco to teens.  Those who continue to sell tobacco to youth risk suspension (losing) their Tobacco Retailer License.  You can also lose your license by failing to re-new your application each year, or by not paying the $25 application fee.

Watch out for “shoulder tapping” in which teens lurk outside a store and try to convince (and pay) older teens, homeless people, or anyone they can find, to go into your store and buy tobacco for them.  In addition to refusing to sell tobacco to teens, you could train your employees to refuse to sell to adults who buy tobacco for youth who are waiting outside.