Hawaii Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Hawaii

We found no state license for vending machines in Hawaii. Hawaii also has no sales tax. It taxes the seller instead, through a general excise tax (GET) of 4.5% on gross receipts in every county, food and drinks included. Every operator needs a $20 GET license from the Department of Taxation, and inventory is bought at a 0.5% wholesale rate with Form G-17, not tax-free. A state Department of Health food permit applies only to food that needs temperature control. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Hawaii vending requirements at a glance

$20GET license, one-time fee

4.5%GET on retail sales, every county

0.5%Wholesale rate with Form G-17

4.712%Most GET you can pass on

Required

GET license

General excise tax license from the Department of Taxation. $20 once, and branch licenses for added locations are free.

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Recommended

Resale certificate

Give Hawaii suppliers Form G-17 so they can use the 0.5% wholesale rate. It lowers the tax on inventory. It does not remove it.

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Applies

GET on vending sales

4.5% of gross receipts on every island, food and drinks included. You may pass it on, up to 4.712%.

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Applies

Use tax on imports

0.5% on inventory you import from unlicensed sellers to resell. 4.5% on machines and supplies for your own use.

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Depends

Food permit

State Department of Health permit, unless every item is prepackaged and needs no temperature control.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need only the GET license.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license. They are merchandise, taxed at the 4.5% GET rate and covered by your GET license.

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Depends

Splitting receipts with a host

When receipts are divided with the location owner, each side pays GET on its own share. The law names coin operated devices.

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Hawaii Revised Statutes, Hawaii Department of Taxation, Hawaii Department of Health, Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, 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

Hawaii requirements and the laws behind them

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

Not a vending license. We found no Hawaii license for vending machines or the people who run them. The Department of Taxation's guide for new businesses (Tax Facts 31-1) lists the general excise tax (GET) license, employer's withholding and extra licenses for activities like transient accommodations, liquor and fuel. None covers vending.

Hawaii taxes the business, not the customer, so every operator needs a GET license whatever the machines sell (HRS 237-9). Add a Department of Health food permit for food that needs temperature control. County permits and zoning are separate; the state's Business Action Center gives information on them, so check before you install a machine.

General excise tax on vending sales in Hawaii

The general excise tax license

Hawaii has no sales tax. The general excise tax is a tax on the business itself, charged on the gross receipts of almost every business activity, sales of goods included (Department of Taxation). You owe it whether or not you charge it to customers.

• Cost: a one-time $20 fee. The license stays in force until it is canceled, with no renewal. Doing business without one can bring a fine of up to $500 (HRS 237-9(c)).
• Where to apply: Form BB-1, State of Hawaii Basic Business Application, online through Hawaii Tax Online, by mail, or in person at a district tax office. Registering for GET also registers you for use tax.
• Machine locations: the license is valid for business "at the place designated therein" and must be displayed there (HRS 237-9(a)). The Department says to get a branch license for each additional business location with Form G-50, at no charge. It does not say whether each machine placement counts as a business location, so ask the Department (808-587-4242) how to list your machines.
• Filing: periodic Form G-45 returns (semiannual, quarterly or monthly, depending on how much GET you owe) plus an annual Form G-49, even for periods with no sales. With machines on more than one island, attach Form G-75 to assign receipts to each county (GET brochure).

Buy inventory at the 0.5% wholesale rate, not tax-free

Your supplier owes GET on its sale to you as well. A sale to a licensed retailer for resale is a sale at wholesale (HRS 237-4(a)(1)), taxed at 0.5% instead of 4% (HRS 237-13(2)). The tax on your inventory is lower, not gone, and like any business your supplier may pass its GET on to you.

• Form G-17, Resale Certificate for Goods (General Form 1): give one to each Hawaii supplier with your GET license number and the nature of your business. It covers every purchase from that supplier until you revoke it in writing. The supplier keeps it; do not send it to the Department. Download Form G-17 (PDF).
• Without a certificate: the sale is presumed not to be at wholesale, so the supplier owes the retail rate and can pass it on (HRS 237-13(2)(F)(ii)).
• Multistate certificate: the Department accepts the Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform Sales and Use Tax Certificate as a resale certificate, but not as an exemption certificate (Tax Information Release 93-5). We found no Department guidance on the Streamlined certificate, so use G-17 or the MTC form.
• Mainland suppliers: inventory you import from an out-of-state seller with no Hawaii GET license, to resell at retail, carries 0.5% use tax on its landed value: the price plus shipping, insurance and duty. Only a GET-licensed importer gets that rate; otherwise it is 4% (HRS 238-2; Use tax brochure). Report it on the same G-45 and G-49 returns.

The certificate and the 0.5% rates cover goods you resell, not your machines. Machines, parts and supplies you import from an unlicensed seller for your own business use carry 4.5% use tax on landed value (Tax Facts 95-1). On a $5,000 machine with $800 of freight, that is $261. If you give a supplier Form G-17 and then use the goods yourself instead of selling them, the supplier can bill you for the extra tax (HRS 237-13(2)(F)(i)). The Department keeps G-17 and its other certificates on its GET and use tax forms page.

GET rates

The state rate on retail sales is 4%. All four counties (Honolulu, Hawaii, Kauai and Maui) add a 0.5% surcharge, so retail sales are taxed at 4.5% everywhere in the state. The surcharges run through December 31, 2030 (county surcharge). Wholesale sales and imports for resale are taxed at 0.5%, with no surcharge.

Passing GET on to customers

You may pass GET on, but you do not have to (Tax Facts 37-1). The Department's rules for doing it:

• Maximum: 4.712% in every county, a bit above 4.5% because GET is also due on the GET you collect.
• Disclosure: the customer must know the exact amount or percentage ahead of time and agree to it, and it must be listed as a separate itemized amount (GET brochure). If your machine cannot show that before the customer pays, build GET into the price instead.
• No "no tax" claims: you may not advertise that GET is not part of the price. The fine is up to $1,000 per offense (HRS 237-49).
• Tax-included prices: GET is figured on everything the machine takes in. There is no tax to back out first, so $100 of vends means $4.50 of GET.

What is taxable in a Hawaii vending machine

Nearly everything. GET applies to all gross receipts unless a specific exemption applies (Department of Taxation), and we found no exemption for food or drinks sold from machines. The food exemption in the GET law covers purchases made with SNAP benefits or WIC vouchers (HRS 237-24.3(5)). Snacks, soda, water, trading cards, sealed Pokémon product, mystery items and toys are all taxed at 4.5%.

• Receipts split with the location: where "a coin operated device" produces income divided between the owner or operator of the device and the owner or operator of the premises, each pays GET on their own portion "and no more" (HRS 237-18(a)). Each side reports its share on Schedule GE (division of gross income). Chapter 237 does not define "coin operated device," and we found no rule or ruling on card-only machines. If your machines are cashless, get a written answer from the Department before you report a split.
• Military bases: sales to the federal government are exempt, but the law says the exemption does not cover sales that turn on what customers buy through a vending machine (HRS 237-25(a)(4)). Do not treat machines on a base as federal sales.

Food and drinks: when you need a Department of Health permit

In Hawaii, food permits come from the state Department of Health, not a county office. Its Food Safety Branch regulates food establishments statewide and has offices on Oahu, Hawaii Island, Maui and Kauai.

The Food Safety Code, HAR chapter 11-50, was last amended effective August 24, 2025 (DOH news release). It says no one may operate a food establishment "without a valid permit issued by the director," and a permit lasts one year (HAR 11-50-3(a)). It defines a vending machine as a device that dispenses food "upon insertion of a coin, paper currency, token, card, or key, or by electronic transaction," so card-only machines count (HAR 11-50-2).

• No permit: a location that sells "only prepackaged foods that are not time/temperature control for safety food," made in a permitted or approved food establishment, is exempt from the permit rules (HAR 11-50-3(d)(2)). So is one that sells only prepackaged frozen treats from a permitted source. Exempt locations can still be inspected.
• Permit: sandwiches, salads, milk, or anything that must stay cold or hot to stay safe. Those machines need an automatic shutoff that stops sales when they cannot hold safe temperatures (HAR 11-50-46(x)).
• Fees: set by establishment type and risk category. The fee table has no line for vending machines, so ask the Food Safety Branch which applies.

If you bring deposit beverages such as soda, water or tea in from outside Hawaii yourself and sell them, Hawaii's HI-5 law makes you a deposit beverage distributor (HRS 342G-101). You register with the Department of Health a month before you start (HRS 342G-103) and pay the 5-cent deposit plus a container fee on each container (HRS 342G-105). The fee is 1 cent through August 31, 2027 (DOH notice).

Hawaii rules for trading cards, mystery products and toys

Pokémon and other trading cards

Hawaii has no special license for selling trading cards. They are taxable goods, so the GET license 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. Hawaii has no sales tax, so like other merchandise they are taxed through the 4.5% general excise tax on gross receipts, and your GET license covers them. We found no special license for selling mystery products from a vending machine.

Federal rules that apply in Hawaii 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 Hawaii

• Entity: form an LLC with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Business Registration Division. Articles of Organization (Form LLC-1) cost $50, and the annual report is $15 (fee schedule).
• GET for each entity: every LLC, single-member LLCs included, needs its own GET license (Tax Facts 31-1). Registering a trade name with the DCCA is optional.
• Counties: Hawaii has four counties: Hawaii, Kauai, Maui and Honolulu. Check zoning and any county permit with the county where each machine will sit.
• Government buildings: blind or visually impaired vendors registered with the Department of Human Services get priority for vending facilities in state and county public buildings, and vending machine space there is assigned by that department's permit (HRS 102-14).

Hawaii vending permit and license FAQ

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

We found no state vending machine license. You need a general excise tax (GET) license from the Department of Taxation ($20, once), plus a Department of Health food permit only for food that needs temperature control.

Do I need a food permit for a snack vending machine in Hawaii?

Not if the location sells only prepackaged foods that are not time/temperature control for safety food, from a permitted or approved source (HAR 11-50-3(d)(2)). Sandwiches, milk and other food that must stay cold or hot need a permit from the state Department of Health.

Is vending machine food taxed in Hawaii?

Yes. Hawaii's GET applies to food and drinks sold from machines like any other sale, at 4.5% of gross receipts in every county. The only food exemption we found in the GET law is for purchases made with SNAP or WIC.

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

No special license. Trading cards are taxable goods, so the GET license covers you. Stock authentic product and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine itself.

How much does a Hawaii GET license cost?

$20, paid once. Apply with Form BB-1 through Hawaii Tax Online. There is no renewal fee, and branch licenses for added locations are free.

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

Hawaii has no sales tax, but inventory is not tax-free. Give Hawaii suppliers Form G-17 so the sale is taxed at the 0.5% wholesale rate, which they may pass on to you. Inventory imported from an unlicensed out-of-state seller carries 0.5% use tax; items for your own use carry 4.5%.

Can I add GET to my vending prices in Hawaii?

Yes, but you do not have to. If you pass it on, the most you can charge is 4.712%, and customers must know the amount before they pay. Either way you owe GET on everything the machine collects.

Sources

1. Hawaii Department of Taxation, General Excise Tax (GET) and GET FAQs
2. Tax Facts 31-1, Licensing and Tax Information for New Businesses (April 2025)
3. Tax Facts 37-1, General Excise Tax (May 2025)
4. An Introduction to the General Excise Tax (June 2026) and General Instructions for Forms G-45 and G-49
5. Department of Taxation, County Surcharge on General Excise and Use Tax
6. Department of Taxation, Division of Gross Income Among Taxpayers
7. Form BB-1, Basic Business Application and Form G-50, Branch License Maintenance Form
8. Form G-17, Resale Certificate for Goods and General Excise and Use Tax Forms
9. Tax Information Release 93-5, Multistate Tax Commission certificate
10. Tax Facts 95-1, Use Tax (April 2025) and An Introduction to the Use Tax (August 2026)
11. HRS 237-9, licenses, 237-4, wholesaler and 237-13, imposition of tax
12. HRS 237-18, 237-24.3, 237-25 and 237-49
13. HRS 238-2, use tax
14. HAR chapter 11-50, Food Safety Code (2025) and DOH news release, August 25, 2025
15. Department of Health, Food Safety Branch contacts
16. HRS 342G-101, 342G-103 and 342G-105, deposit beverage containers
17. Department of Health, HI-5 distributor information and container fee notice (August 2026)
18. HRS 102-14, blind vendors in public buildings
19. DCCA, Domestic LLC fees and Form LLC-1
20. DCCA Business Action Center, Starting a Business
21. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
22. 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
23. 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)