Florida Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Florida

Florida's vending machine law is a tax law. It does not create a vending license. It requires you to register with the Florida Department of Revenue for sales tax in every county where you have machines, and that registration is free. Food, candy and drinks sold from machines are taxable, with a few exceptions like bottled water, and a state food license applies only to machines that sell food needing temperature control. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Florida vending requirements at a glance

FreeSales tax registration, per county

6%State sales tax

8%Max combined sales tax (2026)

$21Yearly DBPR license, perishable food machines

Required

Sales tax registration

A certificate of registration from the Department of Revenue for each county with machines. Free.

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Recommended

Resale certificate

Give suppliers a copy of your Florida Annual Resale Certificate, Form DR-13. You collect the tax when it sells.

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Applies

Tax on vending food

Snacks, candy and soft drinks sold from machines are taxable. Bottled water is exempt.

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Depends

Food license

DBPR vending machine license, $21 a year, only if a machine sells food that needs temperature control.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need only the sales tax registration.

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Varies

Local business tax

Cities and counties can tax machines. The host location must make sure any required receipt is in place.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license. They are taxable merchandise, covered by your county sales tax registration.

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Depends

LLC annual report

LLCs file one with the Division of Corporations by May 1 each year. $138.75.

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Florida Statutes, Florida Administrative Code, Florida Department of Revenue, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, Florida Department of State, 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

Florida requirements and the laws behind them

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

Not a vending license. Florida's vending machine law, section 212.0515 of the Florida Statutes, sits in the sales tax chapter. It bars an operator from running a vending machine until it has registered with the Department of Revenue and holds a separate registration certificate for each county where its machines are located. We found no general state license for vending machines.

Two more state rules depend on what you sell. A machine selling food that needs temperature control, like milk cartons or packaged sandwiches, needs a license from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR). Game machines fall under separate amusement machine rules.

The amusement machine certificate is for games, not merchandise

Florida defines a coin-operated amusement machine as one run by coin, token or a similar device for entertainment or amusement, like pinball, jukeboxes and arcade games (s. 212.02(24)). A machine that only dispenses food, drinks or merchandise is a vending machine instead. Game machine receipts are taxed at 4% plus county surtax, and the operator buys an annual Amusement Machine Certificate, $30 per machine at each location, that expires June 30. A missing certificate costs $250 per machine (s. 212.05(1)(h); DOR brochure GT-800020). A claw machine may count as an amusement machine, so confirm with DOR before you place one.

Sales tax on vending sales in Florida

Sales tax registration, one per county

Register with the Florida Department of Revenue (DOR) before your first sale. Florida's vending rule works by county: you need a separate Sales and Use Tax Certificate of Registration (Form DR-11) for each county where you have machines. One certificate covers all of your machines in a single county (Rule 12A-1.044(3); s. 212.18(3)).

• Cost: free. DOR dropped its $5 sales tax registration fee on January 1, 2018 (TIP 18A01-02). If you operate without registering, the law adds a $100 registration fee on top of other penalties (s. 212.18(3)(d)).
• Where to apply: DOR's online registration or the paper Florida Business Tax Application (Form DR-1). You can retrieve your certificate number online after three business days.
• Adding a county: DOR's registration guide lists vending machine operators under "Submit one application for each County" (Form DR-1N). Once registered, you can use the shorter Form DR-1A to add a new Florida location.
• Who registers: the operator, meaning whoever stocks the machine and removes the receipts. If you and the location owner both hold money box keys and both remove receipts, agree in writing who the operator is. Without that agreement, the machine owner is the operator (Rule 12A-1.044(1)).

You collect the tax, so buy your inventory tax-free

The sales tax on vending sales is yours to collect and send to the state. That is why you should not also pay sales tax when you buy the inventory. Florida's resale certificate works differently from a fill-in form: DOR issues one to every active registered dealer, and you give your suppliers a copy (Rule 12A-1.039).

• Form DR-13, Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax: it expires December 31, and DOR issues a new one each year while you stay registered. If you file online, you print your own from DOR's Print Annual Resale Certificates page. No signature is needed.
• How suppliers use it: a supplier keeps a copy on file and sells to you tax-free for that calendar year, or longer if you buy on account. A supplier can also verify your number with DOR instead of keeping a copy.
• Out-of-state suppliers: Florida accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Certificate only together with a DOR transaction or vendor authorization number (Rule 12A-1.039(8)). The rule does not provide for the Streamlined Sales Tax certificate, so do not rely on it for Florida purchases.

The certificate covers products you resell, not the machines you sell them from. The purchase or repair of a vending machine is taxable (Rule 12A-1.044(4)). If you buy inventory tax-free and then use it yourself or give it away, you owe use tax on what you paid (s. 212.05(1)(b)). DOR's Annual Resale Certificate page says use tax is figured at the same rate as sales tax and reported on your sales and use tax return.

Sales tax rates

The state rate is 6% (Florida DOR). Most counties add a discretionary sales surtax. For 2026, county surtax runs from none in Citrus and Collier counties to 2% in Hamilton County, so the combined rate tops out at 8% (Form DR-15DSS, 2026). DOR updates that list every November. Vending sales are taxed at the surtax rate of the county where the machine sits (Rule 12A-15.011(2)).

What is taxable in a Florida vending machine

Florida exempts most grocery food, but the exemption does not cover food sold through a vending machine. Candy and soft drinks are excluded from it too (s. 212.08(1)(c)). So nearly everything in a snack or drink machine is taxable, along with trading cards, toys and other merchandise.

• Bottled water: exempt when sold from a vending machine in bottles, cans or other containers, unless carbonation or flavorings were added in manufacturing (Rule 12A-1.011).
• Other exemptions: machines owned and operated by churches or synagogues, nonprofit-sponsored machines selling food or drinks for 25 cents or less, and machines in K to 12 student dining areas (Rule 12A-1.044(2)).

The vending tax formula

Florida treats the money in a machine as tax-included and backs the tax out with divisors (s. 212.0515(2)). Divide gross receipts for the period by the divisor for the machine's county. The result is taxable sales, and the rest is tax due. Cards, toys and other items use a slightly higher divisor than food and beverages. If you cannot track sales by item type, use the highest divisor for everything in that machine.

DOR's vending brochure (GT-800041) works an example: $100 from a soft drink machine in a 6.5% county, divided by 1.0686, is $93.58 in sales, so $6.42 is tax. On the Form DR-15 return, report food and beverage vending on Line E, other vended items on Line A, and the county surtax on Line 15(d).

Food and drinks: when you need a DBPR vending machine license

Florida's food license for vending machines comes from DBPR's Division of Hotels and Restaurants. It reaches only machines selling food that needs time and temperature control for safety, which Florida law calls potentially hazardous food. The statute that defines a licensed public food service establishment leaves out "any vending machine that dispenses any food or beverages other than potentially hazardous foods" (s. 509.013(5)(b)).

• No food license: machines that sell only sealed shelf-stable snacks, candy, and canned or bottled drinks.
• DBPR vending machine license: machines that dispense food needing temperature control. DBPR's vending machine guide gives milk cartons and packaged sandwiches as examples. The license is $21 a year, and vending machines are exempt from DBPR's $50 application fee (Rule 61C-1.008; DBPR fee page).
• What DBPR expects: submit each machine's serial number on Form HR-7035, keep a current list of machine locations, and put the DBPR decal on each machine (Rule 61C-1.002). DBPR's guide also calls for a thermometer in the machine and an automatic shutoff that stops sales if food is not held at the right temperature. DBPR inspects licensed machines, so be ready to open yours for the inspector.

One related permit: a machine that fills customers' own containers with water is a water vending machine, and its operator needs a yearly operating permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (s. 500.459).

Florida rules for trading cards, mystery products and toys

Pokémon and other trading cards

Florida has no special license for selling trading cards. They are taxable merchandise, so your county sales tax registration covers you. The legal questions with card machines are about intellectual property, not state permits: 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

Blind boxes, mystery bags and capsule toys are merchandise. Florida taxes them like cards, toys and other merchandise, so you back the tax out of receipts with the divisor for other items. Your county sales tax registration covers them. We found no special license for selling mystery products from a vending machine.

Federal rules that apply in Florida 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 Florida

• Entity: form an LLC with the Florida Department of State, Division of Corporations. Articles of Organization (Form CR2E047) cost $125, which is the $100 filing fee plus the $25 registered agent designation.
• Annual report: starting the year after you form, file online between January 1 and May 1. It costs $138.75 for an LLC, or $538.75 if received after May 1 (Division of Corporations LLC fees).
• Local business tax: counties and cities can charge a local business tax, and Florida law addresses vending machines directly. The business where a vending or amusement machine sits must make sure any required city or county business tax receipt for the machine is secured. The tax is based on the most machines at that location on any single day of the prior year, and the machine owner must tell each location about this rule (s. 205.0537).
• Local rules: your city or county may also require zoning or other approval. Check with the city and county where each machine will sit before you install it.

Florida vending permit and license FAQ

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

Florida's vending law does not create a vending license. It requires a free sales tax certificate of registration from the Department of Revenue for each county where you have machines. Add a DBPR license only if a machine sells food that needs temperature control.

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

Not if everything it sells is shelf-stable, like sealed snacks, candy and canned soda. Florida law leaves those machines out of DBPR licensing (s. 509.013(5)(b)). A machine selling perishable food, like milk or sandwiches, needs a DBPR vending machine license, $21 a year.

Is vending machine food taxed in Florida?

Yes. Florida's grocery exemption does not cover food sold through vending machines, and candy and soft drinks are taxable anyway (s. 212.08(1)(c)). Bottled water is exempt. You figure the tax by dividing receipts by your county's divisor, such as 1.0645 for food and beverages where there is no county surtax.

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

No special license. Trading cards are taxable merchandise, so your county sales tax registration covers you. Stock authentic product and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine itself.

How much does a Florida sales tax registration cost?

Nothing. The Department of Revenue stopped charging its $5 registration fee on January 1, 2018. You need a separate certificate for each county where you have machines.

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

Not if you buy it to resell. Give each supplier a copy of your Florida Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax (Form DR-13), which the Department of Revenue issues when you register and renews each year. Inventory you use yourself or give away is subject to use tax.

Do I need a separate sales tax registration for each Florida county?

Yes. Vending operators need a separate certificate of registration for each county where machines are located, and one certificate covers all your machines in that county (Rule 12A-1.044(3)).

Do claw and crane machines need a license in Florida?

A claw machine may count as a coin-operated amusement machine. Those need a $30 per machine Amusement Machine Certificate from DOR each year (s. 212.05(1)(h)), so confirm with DOR first.

Sources

1. Florida Statutes s. 212.0515, vending machines
2. Florida Administrative Code Rule 12A-1.044, Vending Machines and Rule 12A-15.011 (surtax divisors)
3. Florida DOR, Sales Tax on Vending Machines (GT-800041)
4. Florida Statutes s. 212.18, registration and DOR TIP 18A01-02, registration fees eliminated
5. Florida DOR, Registering Your Business (Form DR-1N), Form DR-1, Form DR-1A and Account Registration
6. Florida DOR, Sales and Use Tax and Discretionary Sales Surtax Information for 2026 (Form DR-15DSS)
7. Florida DOR, Annual Resale Certificate for Sales Tax and Print Annual Resale Certificates
8. Florida Administrative Code Rule 12A-1.039, Sales for Resale
9. Florida Statutes s. 212.05, use tax and amusement machines and s. 212.02, definitions
10. Florida Statutes s. 212.08, food exemption and Rule 12A-1.011, food and drinking water
11. Florida Statutes s. 509.013, public food service establishment
12. Florida Administrative Code Rule 61C-1.002 and Rule 61C-1.008, license fees
13. Florida DBPR, Vending Machine license guide and food service fees
14. Florida Statutes s. 500.459, water vending machines
15. Florida DOR brochure GT-800020
16. Florida Statutes s. 205.0537, local business tax on vending machines
17. Florida Division of Corporations, LLC fees and Articles of Organization (CR2E047)
18. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
19. 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
20. 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)