Georgia Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Georgia

We found no general state license for vending machines in Georgia. Most operators need one thing from the state: a free sales and use tax certificate of registration from the Department of Revenue. Snacks, candy and soft drinks sold to individuals skip the 4% state tax but still pay local sales tax. Claw and crane machines are a separate case, with their own state amusement machine licenses. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Georgia vending requirements at a glance

FreeSales tax registration

4%State sales tax

9%Max combined sales tax

0%State tax on most vending food

Required

Sales tax registration

Certificate of registration from the Department of Revenue if you sell anything taxable. Free.

See details →

Recommended

Resale certificate

Buy inventory tax-free with Georgia Form ST-5. You collect the tax when it sells.

See details →

Applies

Tax on vending food

Snacks, candy and soft drinks sold to individuals pay local tax only. Prepared food pays the full rate.

See details →

Depends

Food license

GDA does not license unattended vending in controlled-access sites today. Ask before you sell perishable food.

See details →

Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need only the sales tax registration.

See details →

Varies

Local permits

Cities and counties issue business licenses and enforce zoning.

See details →

Not required

Mystery products

No special license. They are taxable merchandise, covered by your certificate of registration.

See details →

Depends

Net worth tax

Corporations only. None owed at $100,000 or less in net worth, but you still file.

See details →

Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Official Code of Georgia, Georgia Department of Revenue, Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Georgia Department of Public Health, Georgia.gov, 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

Georgia requirements and the laws behind them

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

Not a vending license. We found none at the state level for operators. Georgia regulates what your machines sell and how you collect tax on it. Georgia's coin-operated amusement machine law expressly leaves out "vending machines which for payment of money dispense products or services" and coin-operated gumball machines (O.C.G.A. 50-27-70(b)(2)(B)).

If your machines sell anything taxable, like trading cards, toys, candy or soda, the one state registration you need is a sales and use tax certificate of registration. Perishable food is a question for the Department of Agriculture, and claw and crane machines need amusement machine licenses (see claw and crane machines). Cities and counties can add their own business license or zoning rules, so check with the city where each machine will sit before you install it.

Sales tax on vending sales in Georgia

The certificate of registration

Georgia's vending rule makes the owner of the goods the seller. When property is sold by means of a vending machine, "the person owning the property contained in the machine is the retail seller" and owes tax on total gross receipts, with no deduction for commissions paid to the location (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-12-2-.06). The Department of Revenue says every dealer must register, even if all of its sales are exempt (O.C.G.A. 48-8-59).

• Cost: free. "No fee is required for the original certificate" (Rule 560-12-1-.09(9)).
• Where to apply: the Georgia Tax Center. The Department says you should get your tax number by email within 15 minutes of applying online (registration FAQ).
• Coverage: the rule asks for a certificate "for each place of business in this State," displayed at the place it was issued for. The Department's return instructions tell businesses with 4 or more separate locations to file one consolidated return under a master sales tax number. Neither source says whether a machine on someone else's property counts as a place of business, so ask the Department when you register.
• Reporting: on Form ST-3 you break out taxable sales by jurisdiction code, one per county, with combined county and city codes inside Atlanta. Local tax is due where the customer takes delivery (O.C.G.A. 48-8-77), so expect to use the rate for the county where each machine sits.
• Machines you rent out: if a business rents your machine and owns what is sold in it, that business is the seller and you owe tax on the rent (Rule 560-12-2-.06(3)).

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. The Department says a Georgia business buys property for resale without paying tax "by providing the supplier with a properly completed Form ST-5 Certificate of Exemption" (nontaxable sales FAQ).

• Form ST-5, Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption: check box 1, purchases "for RESALE ONLY," and enter your Georgia sales tax number, which the resale box requires. Give it to the supplier. Download Form ST-5 (PDF).
• Blanket certificates: one ST-5 covers "all purchases made after this date," and the supplier keeps one completed certificate for each buyer. The Department says most certificates of exemption do not expire.
• Out-of-state suppliers: Georgia is a full member of the Streamlined Sales Tax Agreement. The Department accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform certificate for drop shipments to resellers with no Georgia presence (out-of-state sellers FAQ). For your own purchases, use ST-5, and confirm with the Department before you give a supplier a multistate form instead.

The certificate covers products you resell, not the machines you sell them from. ST-5 itself says tax-free treatment "does not extend to any purchase to be used by the purchaser, including items the purchaser will donate." If you pull inventory for your own use, you owe use tax on what you paid for it (Rule 560-12-1-.14(4)(a); O.C.G.A. 48-8-30(g)). The Department's use tax guidance gives the same example for a retailer.

Sales tax rates

The state rate is 4%. Counties add local sales taxes, and the City of Atlanta adds its own. On the Department's rate chart effective October 1, 2026, combined rates reach 9% in many counties and 8.9% inside Atlanta. The Department posts a new chart every quarter.

How vending sales are taxed in Georgia

Georgia exempts food sold to an individual for off-premises consumption from the 4% state tax, but not from local sales taxes (O.C.G.A. 48-8-3(57)). Georgia's own 2026 entry in the Streamlined Sales Tax taxability matrix applies that to vending: food sold through vending machines is "subject to local taxes only when sold to an individual (i.e., not a business) for off-premises human consumption. However, prepared food sold through vending machines is subject to both state and local tax."

• Snacks, candy, soft drinks and bottled water: Georgia counts candy and soft drinks as food, so they get the same treatment. You collect only the local rate. In Chatham County, where the combined rate is 7%, that is 3%.
• Prepared food: taxed at the full state and local rate. Georgia defines prepared food in O.C.G.A. 48-8-2(27). If a machine heats food or sells food you put together, ask the Department how to report it.
• Everything else: trading cards, sealed Pokémon product, mystery items, toys and general merchandise are taxable at the full combined rate.
• Tax-included prices: allowed. Other retailers must tell customers in writing that a price includes tax, but "the notice requirement in this subparagraph does not apply to sales made from a vending machine" (Rule 560-12-2-.21(1)(b)). In the rule's example, a $214 charge at a 7% rate includes $14 of tax, so you divide receipts by 1 plus the rate that applies.
• Card readers: both vending rules cover sales made "by means of" or "from" a vending machine, with no coin requirement, so cashless machines fall under them the same way.

Food and drinks: who licenses vending food in Georgia

Georgia splits food oversight. The Department of Agriculture (GDA) licenses food sales establishments, and county health departments, under the Department of Public Health, permit food service establishments that prepare and serve food.

• GDA license: no one may operate a food sales establishment without a license from the Commissioner (O.C.G.A. 26-2-25). The Georgia Food Act definition names "wholesale sandwich and salad manufacturers, including vending machines and operations connected therewith," along with places that sell food mainly for consumption off the premises. Licenses cost $100 to $300 a year by risk tier and run July 1 to June 30 (GDA application).
• Unattended vending: GDA's Retail Food Program covers automatic vending, micro markets and self-service stores under the name unattended food sales establishments. Because they usually sit in controlled-access facilities, "at this time GDA has decided not to license and inspect these types of facilities," though it can still enter and inspect them.
• Machines open to the public: we found no rule on snack machines in public areas. Ask the Retail Food Program before you install.
• Perishable food: under the Department of Public Health's food service rules, food that needs time and temperature control must be vended in the package it was put in at the kitchen or plant that made it. A machine selling it needs an automatic shutoff that stops sales when it cannot hold safe temperatures (Rules 511-6-1-.04 and .05). GDA's Rule 40-7-1 uses the same vending machine definitions.

Georgia rules for trading cards, mystery products and toys

Pokémon and other trading cards

Georgia has no special license for selling trading cards. They are taxable merchandise, so the certificate of 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. Georgia taxes them like cards, toys and other merchandise, at the full state and local rate. Your certificate of registration covers them. We found no special license for selling mystery products from a vending machine.

Claw and crane machines

Georgia's coin-operated amusement machine (COAM) law lists crane machines and claw machines by name, and it counts machines paid by card as well as coin (O.C.G.A. 50-27-70). They are Class A machines (COAM notice). If you own one and offer it for play:

• Master license: $500 a year for five or fewer Class A machines (O.C.G.A. 50-27-71).
• Permit sticker: $25 a year on each Class A machine (O.C.G.A. 50-27-78).
• Location license: the business where the machine sits pays $25 a year for each Class A machine. If you own the machines in your own business, you need both a Class A master license and a Class A location license (Location License Holder Guide).

Play revenue from a machine that pays the COAM permit fee is exempt from sales tax (O.C.G.A. 48-8-3(43)). Licensing runs through the state COAM portal.

Federal rules that apply in Georgia 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 Georgia

• Entity: form an LLC with the Secretary of State. Articles of Organization (Form CD 030) cost $100 online or $110 by mail, and every LLC files an annual registration between January 1 and April 1 (Georgia.gov).
• Net worth tax: it applies to corporations. A corporation with a net worth of $100,000 or less owes none but must still file a return, and the most any corporation pays is $5,000 (Department of Revenue).
• Local rules: Georgia counties and cities issue business and occupation licenses, and the Food Act bars them from issuing one to a food sales establishment until it meets state food law (O.C.G.A. 26-2-25(a)). Check with the city or county where each machine sits about a license and zoning before you install.

Georgia vending permit and license FAQ

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

We found no general state vending machine license in Georgia. If you sell taxable items, you need a free certificate of registration from the Department of Revenue. Claw and crane machines need separate coin-operated amusement machine licenses.

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

The Department of Agriculture licenses food sales establishments, but it says it does not license unattended vending in controlled-access facilities at this time. For machines in public areas, or for sandwiches and other perishable food, ask GDA's Retail Food Program before you install.

Is vending machine food taxed in Georgia?

Food sold through a vending machine to an individual for off-premises consumption is exempt from the 4% state tax but pays local sales tax. That includes candy, soft drinks and bottled water. Prepared food pays both state and local tax (O.C.G.A. 48-8-3(57)).

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

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

How much does a Georgia sales tax registration cost?

Nothing. Georgia's rule says no fee is required for the original certificate of registration. Apply through the Georgia Tax Center, and the Department says your number should arrive by email within 15 minutes.

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

Not if you buy it to resell. Give your supplier Form ST-5, the Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption, with your Georgia sales tax number. You then collect and send in sales tax when the items sell from your machines. Inventory you use yourself or give away is taxable, and you owe use tax on what you paid for it.

Do claw and crane machines need a license in Georgia?

Yes. Claw and crane machines are Class A coin-operated amusement machines under Georgia law. Each machine needs a $25 yearly permit sticker, the owner needs a master license, and the business where it sits needs a COAM location license.

Sources

1. Georgia DOR, Sales and Use Tax and Registration FAQ
2. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-12-1 (Rules .09 and .14)
3. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 560-12-2 (Rules .06 and .21)
4. Georgia DOR, ST-3 return tips and Tax Rates FAQ
5. Georgia DOR, rate charts (October 1, 2026 chart, PDF)
6. Georgia DOR, Form ST-5 (PDF)
7. Georgia DOR, Nontaxable Sales FAQ and Out-of-State Sellers FAQ
8. Georgia DOR, What Is Subject to Sales and Use Tax
9. Georgia DOR, List of Sales and Use Tax Exemptions (PDF)
10. Georgia DOR, Streamlined Sales Tax and Georgia's Streamlined taxability matrix (2026)
11. Georgia Food Act, O.C.G.A. 26-2-20 to 26-2-41 (PDF)
12. Georgia Department of Agriculture, Retailers and license application (PDF)
13. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 40-7-1, Retail Food Sales
14. Georgia DPH, Food Service and Rules 511-6-1 (PDF)
15. O.C.G.A. 50-27-70 et seq., coin-operated amusement machines (PDF)
16. COAM crane and claw machine notice (PDF) and Location License Holder Guide (PDF)
17. Georgia COAM portal
18. Georgia DOR, Corporate Income and Net Worth Tax
19. Georgia.gov, Register an LLC
20. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
21. 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
22. 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)