Delaware Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Delaware

Delaware has no sales tax, so there is no sales tax permit and nothing to collect at the machine. It does license vending, and every operator needs a retailer's business license from the Division of Revenue plus a $5 yearly license for each coin-operated machine. Retailers pay a 0.7468% gross receipts tax instead of collecting sales tax, but only on receipts above $100,000 a month. Machines that sell food beyond sealed, shelf-stable items also need a Division of Public Health permit. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Delaware vending requirements at a glance

NoneState sales tax

$90Retailer's business license, first location

$5Vending machine license, per machine each year

0.7468%Gross receipts tax above $100,000 a month

Required

Retailer's business license

There is no sales tax permit. Vending operators need this Division of Revenue license: $90, plus $40 per added location.

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Not applicable

Resale certificate

Delaware has no sales tax, and the Division of Revenue says resale certificates do not apply there.

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Required

Vending machine license

$5 a year for each coin-operated machine, plus an owner label on each one. Card-only machines: ask the Division.

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Applies

Gross receipts tax

0.7468% of your receipts, after the first $100,000 a month is excluded. Returns are still due.

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Depends

Food permit

Needed unless every item is prepackaged food that needs no temperature control. $25 a year per location by statute.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need only the retailer's and machine licenses, and carry no sales tax.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license beyond your retailer's and machine licenses. Delaware has no sales tax.

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Varies

Local permits

Counties, cities and towns can add their own licenses and zoning rules.

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Delaware Code, Delaware Division of Revenue, Delaware Division of Public Health, Delaware Division of Corporations, Delaware Business First Steps, Delaware General Assembly, federal regulations (full list at the bottom)  ·  General information, not legal advice.

• Requirements and laws
• Do you need a license?
• Sales tax
• Food and drinks
• Cards, mystery and toys
• Federal rules
• Business setup
• FAQ
• Sources

Delaware requirements and the laws behind them

Do you need a license to run a vending machine in Delaware?

Yes. Delaware licenses vending machines through the Division of Revenue, and its license search lists "Vending Machine Operator" as a category (Delaware Business Licenses Search). You need two licenses and a label on each machine.

The retailer's business license

Delaware defines a retailer to include "automatic merchandising machine operators regardless of the product dispensed or vended" (30 Del. C. § 2901(18)). The Division's vending tax tip says "every vending machine owner is required to obtain a license as a retailer" (Tax Tips for Vending Machine License).

• Cost: $90 for the first location and $40 for each additional one. That is the $75 and $25 fees in § 2905(a) plus a $15 Retail Crime Fee on each (Retail Crime Fee; § 2911). The tax tip does not say whether each machine site counts as a location, so ask the Division.
• Term: licenses expire December 31. After the first year you can buy a three-year license for three times the annual fee (Business Licenses FAQs; 30 Del. C. § 2102). Apply through Delaware One Stop.
• Out-of-state operators: the Division says any person or entity "conducting a trade or business in the State of Delaware" needs a Delaware business license.

The vending machine license

"Every owner or operator of a coin-operated vending machine in this State" also pays $5 a year for each machine, when the coin needed to run it is worth 5 cents or more (30 Del. C. § 2304(c)). Amusement and cigarette machines have their own fees. The Division stopped issuing machine decals in 2004. You renew by December 31 and get a business license that shows how many machines you may operate (vending tax tip).

• Owner label: each coin-operated machine, including "all merchandising machines regardless of the product dispensed," needs a label of at least 2 square inches that identifies the owner and the owner's address (§ 2304(a)).
• Machine locations: if the Division asks in writing, you have 120 hours to say where your machines are. A missing label or location costs $25 to $50 per machine (§ 2304(b)). The tax tip says owners must also report machine counts, customers and locations, on Form 5004 or an electronic list, when they register and when the Division asks.

Sales tax and the gross receipts tax on vending sales in Delaware

No sales tax, so no sales tax permit

"Delaware does not impose a state sales tax; however, Delaware does impose a tax on the gross receipts of most businesses," the Division of Revenue says. There is no sales tax permit, no tax to add at the machine and no sales tax return.

Buying inventory: Delaware has no resale certificate

The Division says "there are no state or local sales taxes in Delaware and as such, sales tax exemption certificates and reseller certificates are not applicable to Delaware" (Exemption Certificates).

• Delaware suppliers: they charge no sales tax. The same page says "sales for resale are not exempt," but that tax falls on the seller. A Delaware wholesaler pays its own 0.3983% gross receipts rate on goods it delivers in the state (30 Del. C. § 2902).
• Out-of-state suppliers: a supplier in a sales tax state follows its own state's rules on charging tax and on proof of resale. Delaware has no certificate for you to give it, so ask what it needs from a Delaware buyer.

The gross receipts tax

The tax "is levied on the seller of goods or services, rather than on the consumer" (Gross Receipts Tax FAQs), and the Division says these taxes "may not be passed on to the consumer."

• Rate: retailers, including vending operators, pay 0.7468% of gross receipts from goods sold in Delaware (30 Del. C. § 2905(b)). Receipts include cash and card payments (vending tax tip), with no deduction for the cost of goods (§ 2120).
• Exclusion: the first $100,000 a month is excluded, or $300,000 a quarter for quarterly filers, and businesses under common ownership share one exclusion (§ 2905(b)). In the Division's retailer tax tip example, $173,000 in a month leaves $73,000 taxable and $545 due.
• Filing: new businesses file quarterly, by the last day of the month after each quarter. Above $1,500,000 in taxable receipts for the prior July to June, a figure adjusted yearly, you file monthly by the 20th (§ 2905(b)). Filing is online, and even with nothing taxable you file at least once a year (§ 2123).

What is taxed in a Delaware vending machine

Nothing at the machine, so the price on the machine is the whole price. Every sale still counts toward gross receipts, because the retailer definition covers operators "regardless of the product dispensed or vended." Food, drinks and merchandise share one total and one rate, and card payments count the same as cash.

Food and drinks: the Delaware vending machine location permit

The Division of Public Health (DPH) issues food permits through its Office of Food Protection, and Delaware law lists "food vending machines" among food establishments (16 Del. C. § 122(3)(u)). The State of Delaware Food Code defines a vending machine to include one run by "card, or key, or by electronic transaction," so cashless machines are covered.

• No permit: the state lists "an establishment that offers only pre-packaged foods that are not time/temperature control for safety" among operations that need no food permit (Business First Steps). That covers sealed chips, candy and canned or bottled drinks that are safe without refrigeration.
• Permit: sandwiches, salads, milk, or anything that has to stay cold or hot to stay safe. A machine selling that food also needs an automatic control that stops sales if it loses temperature (Food Code 4-204.111).
• Cost: the statute sets the yearly fee for a "Vending Machine Location" at $25. DPH's plan review guide, revised September 2023, lists $30, so confirm when you apply. Nonprofits are exempt.
• Per location: the Food Code defines a vending machine location as "the room, enclosure, space, or area where one or more vending machines are installed and operated," and DPH permits last one year and do not transfer "from location to location." Expect one permit per site.
• Applying: the DPH application has a "Vended Food" permit type, and the guide says "specific limitations may apply" to vending machines. Call the Office of Food Protection before you install.

Delaware rules for trading cards, mystery products and toys

Pokémon and other trading cards

Delaware has no special license for trading cards. A card machine needs the same two licenses as any vending machine, and there is no sales tax on the cards. The legal questions with card machines are about intellectual property: stock authentic product, and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine itself. Our guide to the legal side of trading card vending machines covers both, and the Pokémon vending machine guide covers the business.

Mystery products and toys

We found no special Delaware license for selling mystery products, such as blind boxes, mystery bags and capsule toys, from a machine. A machine that sells them needs the same two licenses as any vending machine, and like trading cards and toys, they carry no sales tax. Their receipts count toward gross receipts like everything else.

Claw and crane machines

The Delaware license laws we reviewed do not name claw or crane machines. An "amusement machine owner" pays $75 a year for each coin or token game "designed for public amusement," on top of a $75 amusement license, and those machines are left out of the $5 vending license (30 Del. C. §§ 2301(a)(2), 2304(c)). A claw machine may fall in this group, so ask the Division of Revenue how to license one.

Federal rules that apply in Delaware and every other state

ADA reach ranges

Where vending machines are provided, at least one of each type has to meet the operable parts rules in the 2010 ADA Standards (sections 228.1 and 309). The parts a customer operates, like the screen, card reader and pickup door, have to sit within reach: between 15 and 48 inches above the floor for an unobstructed reach (section 308).

Calorie labeling for food

If you own or operate 20 or more vending machines that sell food, federal rules require calorie information for any item whose Nutrition Facts label the buyer cannot see before buying (21 CFR 101.8). In glass-front machines, packages that show calories on the front in large enough type can meet the rule.

Schools

Machines that sell food to students during the school day may stock only items that meet the USDA's Smart Snacks nutrition standards. The school day runs from midnight until 30 minutes after the official school day ends (7 CFR 210.11).

Setting up the business in Delaware

• Entity: a certificate of formation for an LLC costs $110 at the Division of Corporations (fee schedule revised August 1, 2026). Every Delaware entity needs a registered agent with a Delaware street address (How to Form a New Business Entity). An LLC from another state that does business in Delaware registers as a foreign LLC, which costs $200.
• LLC annual tax: $400 a year for every Delaware LLC and every registered foreign LLC, with no annual report. Each year's tax is due June 1 of the next year, and paying late adds $200 plus interest of 1.5% a month (6 Del. C. § 18-1107; Pay LLC/LP/GP Taxes). House Bill 400, signed May 21, 2026, changed the tax effective January 1, 2026. Some older Division pages still show $300.
• Leased machines: if you lease machines instead of buying them, Delaware charges a use tax of 1.9914% of the rent, and the lessor collects it with each payment (30 Del. C. §§ 4302, 4303).
• Local rules: the state's Business First Steps site says your principal location "and any additional sites where you provide sales and services" decide whether you need county, city or town licenses (Business First Steps, Local). Check licensing and zoning where each machine will sit.

Delaware vending permit and license FAQ

Do I need a license to put a vending machine in Delaware?

Yes. Vending operators need a retailer's business license from the Division of Revenue ($90 for the first location, $40 for each additional one), a $5 yearly license for each coin-operated machine, and an owner label on each machine. A food permit applies only if a machine sells food beyond prepackaged items that need no temperature control.

Do I need a food license for a snack vending machine in Delaware?

Not if every item is prepackaged food that needs no time or temperature control, like sealed chips, candy and canned or bottled drinks. Sandwiches, milk or other food that must stay cold needs a Division of Public Health vending machine location permit, $25 a year by statute ($30 in DPH's 2023 guide, so confirm).

Is vending machine food taxed in Delaware?

Not with sales tax, because Delaware has none. Food sales count toward your gross receipts, and retailers pay 0.7468% on receipts above $100,000 a month (30 Del. C. § 2905).

Do I need a license to sell Pokémon cards from a vending machine in Delaware?

No special license. A card machine needs the same retailer's license and $5 machine license as any vending machine, and there is no sales tax on the cards. Stock authentic product and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine.

How much does a Delaware sales tax permit cost?

Nothing, because Delaware has no sales tax permit. You need the retailer's business license instead: $90 for the first location, $40 for each additional one, plus $5 a year per coin-operated machine.

Do I pay sales tax on inventory I buy for my vending machines in Delaware?

No. Delaware has no sales tax, and the Division of Revenue says resale certificates "are not applicable to Delaware." If you buy from a supplier in a sales tax state, ask what it needs from a Delaware buyer.

Do card-only vending machines need the $5 machine license in Delaware?

The statute covers "coin-operated" machines and does not define the term (30 Del. C. § 2304). The retailer's license applies either way. Ask the Division of Revenue in writing about your cashless machines and keep its answer.

What license does a claw machine need in Delaware?

The Delaware license laws we reviewed do not name claw machines. A coin or token amusement game pays $75 a year per machine (30 Del. C. § 2301), so ask the Division of Revenue how to license one.

Sources

1. Delaware Code Title 30: Chapter 21, general license provisions, Chapter 23, occupational licenses, Chapter 29, merchants' licenses and gross receipts and Chapter 43, use tax on leases
2. Delaware Division of Revenue tax tips: Vending Machine License (PDF), General Retailers (PDF) and Retail / Wholesale index
3. Delaware Division of Revenue: Business Licenses FAQs, Gross Receipts Tax FAQs, Exemption Certificates, Retail Crime Fee and Business Licenses Search
4. Delaware One Stop business registration
5. Delaware Code Title 16, § 122(3)(u), food establishment fees
6. Delaware Division of Public Health: State of Delaware Food Code (PDF), Plan Review and Approval for Food Establishments (PDF) and Office of Food Protection
7. Delaware Business First Steps: Food Establishments and Local licensing
8. Delaware Code Title 6, § 18-1107, LLC annual tax
9. Delaware Division of Corporations: Pay LLC/LP/GP Taxes, Fee Schedule, August 1, 2026 (PDF) and How to Form a New Business Entity
10. Delaware General Assembly, House Bill 400 (2026)
11. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
12. 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
13. 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)