Cigarette Wholesale Business

Your business requires a Graduated Business License (GBL).

Every dealer or wholesaler engaged in the business of selling cigarettes or offering or displaying cigarettes within the city must pay an occupation tax of three dollars and fifty cents per thousand for all cigarettes sold or offered or displayed (seven cents per pack of twenty cigarettes). Tax stamps are provided as proof of payment of the tax.

All cigarettes sold, offered for sale or displayed in the City of St. Louis must have a St Louis City Cigarette Tax Stamp and a Missouri State Cigarette Tax Stamp affixed to the package.

Any cigarettes subject to the tax and upon which the occupation tax has not been paid or the stamps not affixed to the package as required by law will be seized and forfeited to the city.

To obtain more information on cigarette tax stamps please contact our office at (314) 622-4528.

If you still have questions about your business type, please contact our office at 314-622-4528 to find out the appropriate steps that you will need to follow to obtain a business license for the City of St. Louis.

Step 1: Obtain State Sales Tax Number

Step 2: Complete GBL form and visit our office

Visit the License Collector’s office in Room 104 of City Hall in person. For your convenience, you may download the Graduated Business License application and fill it out in advance.

Step 3: Obtain Statement of Clearance

In addition to visiting the License Collector’s office, you will also need to obtain a clearance from the Collector of Revenue’s office at the location below:

City Hall Room 410
1200 Market St.
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 622-3291

St. Louis City Ordinance 63454
St. Louis City Revised Code Chapter 8.02.010 - Statement of Clearance requirement

Step 4: Obtain Occupancy Permit

You must also obtain an Occupancy Permit from the Building Division at the location below:

Building Division
Department of Public Safety
City Hall Room 425
1200 Market St.
St. Louis, MO 63103
(314) 622-3313

Once all clearances and payments are received, you will be able to obtain your license to do business in the City of St. Louis.

If you pay by check, the license application may be held for several working days until the check clears.

A separate Graduated Business License is required for each business location or trade name (St. Louis City Ordinance 52030).

Please visit our general information page to get more important information that you will need to know before obtaining your business license.

For more information about the License Collector's Office other resources and services, please visit our office home page. Once you are there, you will find a list of links to the various other resources and services provided by our office.