Opening a Convenience Store in Texas: Licenses & Permits

Texas convenience store licensing runs through about half a dozen agencies. Two recent changes catch people out: fuel pumps moved to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) in 2019, and TDLR took over the Texas Lottery on September 1, 2025. Below is who issues what, and how each rule shapes the store you design.

Licenses and permits at a glance

Fuel tanks: TCEQ

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality runs the petroleum storage tank program:

• Construction notice: notify TCEQ at least 30 days before building new tanks, online through STEERS or on Form TCEQ-00495. The STEERS acknowledgment letter can serve as a temporary delivery certificate.
• Registration: register a new tank within 30 days after first putting fuel in it, and update the registration within 30 days of any change.
• Delivery certificate: tanks that receive motor fuel need a delivery certificate, renewed every year through self-certification. It requires proof of financial assurance and Class A and B operator training certificates. Class A, B and C operators must all be trained.
• Cleanup costs: the state's PST Remediation Fund stopped reimbursing cleanups after September 1, 2012. You must carry your own financial assurance.

Beer and wine: TABC

Most Texas convenience stores hold a Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Off-Premise Permit (BQ), which covers beer and wine to go. It was renamed in 2021 from the "Wine and Beer Retailer's Off-Premise Permit". A store that sells only beer can hold a Retail Dealer's Off-Premise License (BF).

Liquor is not allowed. Distilled spirits for off-premises consumption are sold under a separate Package Store Permit (P).

Check wet or dry status before you buy a site. County, city and justice-of-the-peace precinct voters decide what alcohol can be sold where. As of March 2025, TABC counted 60 fully wet and 3 fully dry counties. All the others are partly wet. The county clerk must certify that a location is wet before TABC issues a permit.

Tobacco and vapor

The Texas Comptroller issues two separate permits:

• Cigarette, cigar and tobacco products retailer permit (Form AP-193): $180. Permit periods end May 31 of even-numbered years.
• E-cigarette retailer permit (Form AP-242): $180, or $90 if the location already holds a tobacco permit. Each location also needs an active sales tax permit.

Three laws took effect on September 1, 2025, with no grace period:

• SB 2024 bans e-cigarette products disguised as other items, products made wholly or partly in China or another foreign adversary country, and products containing cannabinoids, kratom and similar substances.
• SB 1313 bans e-cigarette signs and logos aimed at minors.
• SB 1316 limits e-cigarette advertising within 1,000 feet of churches and schools.

Food service: local health departments

Texas food permits usually come from the city or county health department. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) permits only in areas with no local ordinance or order, under the Texas Food Establishment Rules (25 TAC 228).

The state rules say plans may be required and set preoperational inspections. Many local health departments require plan review before construction or remodeling, with their own thresholds. Ask your local department before you finalize the kitchen.

What this means for your store design

• Beer and wine, no liquor department. All alcohol space goes to refrigerated beer and wine, so plan a beer cave or a long cooler wall.
• Wet or dry status changes the store. If a site can't sell alcohol, the cooler wall and beer cave space go to other categories. Check before you buy, not after design.
• Plan vape displays for a changing product list. After the 2025 laws, products and signage you could sell before may not be allowed now, so keep vape fixtures flexible.
• Build the tank notice into the schedule. TCEQ needs 30 days' notice before construction starts.

Local approvals

Your city or county also controls zoning, building permits, fire inspections and signs, and Texas cities vary widely. Our construction checklist covers the local steps.

For Texas store design, see convenience store design in Texas and walk-in cooler services in Texas.

Sources

• TCEQ, petroleum storage tank registration, construction notification, guidance RG-475d and reimbursement program pages.
• Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, license and permit types and local option elections.
• Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, tobacco retailer, e-cigarette retailer and sales tax permit pages, and e-cigarette FAQ.
• Texas Department of State Health Services, retail food establishment FAQs and 25 TAC 228.
• Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, Fuel Metering and Quality program (2019) and Texas Lottery transfer notice (September 1, 2025).

This page summarizes official sources as of October 2026. It is not legal advice. Fees and rules change, so confirm each one with the agency before you apply.