Indiana Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Indiana

Indiana has no general state license for vending machines. Most operators need one thing from the state: a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate from the Department of Revenue, $25 for each place of business. Since July 1, 2019, Indiana taxes vending food the way it taxes groceries, so chips, nuts and bottled water are exempt while candy, gum and soft drinks pay 7%. A food permit applies only if a machine sells food that needs temperature control. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Indiana vending requirements at a glance

$25Retail merchant certificate, per place of business

7%State sales tax

NoneLocal sales tax

$2MBusiness property tax exemption, per county

Required

Retail merchant certificate

Registered Retail Merchant Certificate from the Department of Revenue if you sell anything taxable. $25 per place of business.

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Recommended

Resale certificate

Buy inventory tax-free with Indiana Form ST-105. You collect the tax when it sells.

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Depends

Tax on vending food

Chips, nuts, water and milk are exempt. Candy, gum and soft drinks are taxed at 7%.

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Depends

Food permit

Not needed if every item is prepackaged and needs no temperature control.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need only the retail merchant certificate.

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Applies

Machine ID and property tax

Put your name and address on each machine. Business property under $2 million per county is exempt if you claim it.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license. They are taxable merchandise, covered by your retail merchant certificate.

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Varies

Local permits

Cities and counties can require business or zoning approval.

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Indiana Code, Indiana Department of Revenue, Indiana Administrative Code, Indiana Department of Health, Department of Local Government Finance, Indiana Secretary 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

Indiana requirements and the laws behind them

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

Not a vending license. We searched every title of the Indiana Code and found no license for operating vending machines. The Department of Revenue's bulletin on vending machines, Sales Tax Information Bulletin #45, deals only with sales tax. Indiana regulates what your machines sell and how you collect tax on it, not the right to run a machine.

If your machines sell anything taxable, like trading cards, toys, candy or soda, the one state registration you need is a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate. Add a food permit from the local health department if a machine sells food that needs time or temperature control for safety. Your name and address also go on each machine, and the machines count as business property for property tax (see business setup).

Sales tax on vending sales in Indiana

The Registered Retail Merchant Certificate

Indiana calls its sales tax permit a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate. A retail merchant may not make a retail transaction in Indiana until it has applied for one (IC 6-2.5-8-1). Bulletin #45 says sales tax must generally be collected on sales made from a vending machine.

• Cost: $25 for each place of business listed on the application. It is valid for two years, and the Department of Revenue renews it free if your returns and payments are current.
• Machine locations: the law issues a certificate for each place of business, and the Department's sales tax page says to display one at each location. Neither says whether a machine on someone else's property is a place of business. A merchant with no fixed place of business lists its residence. Ask the Department at (317) 232-2240 how to list your machines before you register.
• Where to apply: the Business Tax Application through INBiz. Several locations can file one combined return with Form BT-1C (register a business).

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

The sales tax on taxable 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. Indiana exempts property you buy to resell in the ordinary course of business without changing its form (IC 6-2.5-5-8). You claim the exemption by giving the supplier an exemption certificate on the Department's form (IC 6-2.5-8-8).

• Form ST-105, General Sales Tax Exemption Certificate: Indiana's certificate. Check "Sales to a retailer, wholesaler, or manufacturer for resale only," enter the 10-digit taxpayer ID and 3-digit location number from your Registered Retail Merchant Certificate, and give it to the supplier. An incomplete form does not count. Download Form ST-105 (PDF).
• Blanket certificates: allowed. Mark Section 3 as a blanket request to cover ongoing purchases from the same supplier (IC 6-2.5-8-8(d)). Out-of-state buyers can enter their home state tax ID instead.
• Multistate forms: Indiana is one of the Streamlined Sales Tax states, and the Department's sales tax forms page lists the Streamlined Sales and Use Tax Agreement Certificate of Exemption next to ST-105. The Multistate Tax Commission's Uniform certificate is not listed, so use one of those two.

The certificate covers products you resell, not the machines you sell them from. Bulletin #45 says the purchase of a vending machine is generally taxable. If you pull inventory for your own use or give it away after buying it with a certificate, that use becomes subject to use tax (45 IAC 2.2-3-15; IC 6-2.5-3-2). A registered retail merchant can report it on the sales and use tax return, Form ST-103, as the Department's Bulletin #40 on free merchandise explains.

Sales tax rates

The rate is 7% (IC 6-2.5-2-2). The Department's Streamlined Sales Tax business rules call Indiana "a single-rate state," so no city or county sales tax is added. Some counties and cities do levy a food and beverage tax, 1% in most of them, on food sold for eating at the seller's location or on its equipment. The Department's food bulletin says it does not apply to vending machines unless you sell hot beverages or other items you prepare.

What is taxable in an Indiana vending machine

Indiana used to tax all food sold through vending machines. Senate Enrolled Act 124 (2018) took vending food off the list of items excluded from the food exemption, effective July 1, 2019 (Bulletin #29, June 2019). Now a vending item is exempt or taxable under the same food rules as a grocery store (IC 6-2.5-5-20; Sales Tax Information Bulletin #29):

• Exempt: chips, crackers, nuts, bakery items like cookies and pastries, plain water, milk, and juice drinks that are more than 50% juice.
• Taxable at 7%: candy, chewing gum, soft drinks (any drink with a sweetener, unless it contains milk or is more than 50% juice), and food sold heated or with utensils.
• The flour rule: Indiana does not count anything that contains flour as candy (IC 6-2.5-1-12). Bulletin #29 names Kit Kat, Nestle Crunch and Twix as examples, so those bars are exempt food while a plain chocolate bar is taxable candy.
• Tax-included prices: Bulletin #45 says to post a sign on the machine stating that sales tax is included in the price. With the sign, divide taxable receipts by 1.07 to get the amount subject to tax. Without it, the Department expects 7% on your gross taxable sales.

Cashless machines: Bulletin #45 describes a vending machine as a device that dispenses items "for either money or tokens," and none of these sales tax rules depends on coins. We found nothing in Indiana sales tax law that treats a card-only machine differently.

Anything that is not food is taxable at 7%: trading cards, sealed Pokémon product, mystery items, toys and general merchandise.

Food and drinks: when you need a food permit in Indiana

Indiana's retail food code, 410 IAC 7-26, lists a vending location as a kind of retail food establishment (410 IAC 7-26-105). A vending machine location is the room, enclosure, space or area where at least one machine is installed and operated, plus the storage and service areas (410 IAC 7-26-131). The same definition leaves out "an establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not TCS," meaning foods that do not need time or temperature control for safety.

• No food permit: sealed shelf-stable snacks, candy, and bottled or canned drinks, when that is all the location offers.
• Food permit: sandwiches, salads, milk, or anything that has to stay cold or hot to stay safe. A machine that vends TCS food has to stop vending automatically if it cannot hold safe temperatures, and the food has to stay in its original package (410 IAC 7-26-191, 7-26-259).

Your regulator is the local or county health department, or the Indiana Department of Health for places on state property (Indiana Department of Health). Its own registration form is only for state property, and it sends everyone else to the local health department. You have to register with the regulator and notify it at least 30 days before you start (410 IAC 7-26-477).

Indiana's food law defines a vending machine as a self-service device started by a coin, paper currency, a token, a card, a key or a smartphone app (IC 16-42-5-32; 410 IAC 7-26-130), so a card-only machine is treated the same as a coin machine.

Indiana rules for trading cards, mystery products and toys

Pokémon and other trading cards

Indiana has no special license for selling trading cards. They are taxable merchandise, so the Registered Retail Merchant Certificate 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. Indiana taxes them like cards, toys and other merchandise, at 7%. Your Registered Retail Merchant Certificate covers them. We found no special license for selling mystery products from a vending machine.

Federal rules that apply in Indiana 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 Indiana

• Entity: form an LLC with the Indiana Secretary of State through INBiz. Articles of Organization (State Form 49459) cost $75 filed online or $100 on paper (IC 23-0.5-9-19). After that, an LLC files a biennial report, $20 online or $50 on paper (IC 23-0.5-9-34).
• Machine ID: the owner of a vending machine must put an identification device on the face of the machine that shows the owner's name and address (IC 6-1.1-3-8). If a machine has none, the county auditor adds a $1 penalty to the next property tax installment of the person on whose premises it sits (IC 6-1.1-37-8). The statute defines a vending machine as one that dispenses goods "when a coin is deposited in it," so it may not reach a card-only machine, but a label costs little.
• Personal property tax: vending machines are business personal property. From the 2026 assessment date on, a business whose personal property in a county cost less than $2 million in total is exempt in that county (IC 6-1.1-3-7.2). Claim it on a personal property return with the county or township assessor. The 2026 return was due May 15 (Department of Local Government Finance). After the first claim, you do not refile while you still qualify.
• Government buildings: Indiana gives its blind vending program the sole vending rights in buildings owned, leased in whole or operated by the state, a county, township, city or town (IC 12-12-5-1). Other operators can contract there only after the state's Rehabilitation Services Bureau gives up that right, for no more than two years (IC 12-12-5-3, 12-12-5-4).
• Local rules: your city or county may require a business license or zoning approval. Check with the city where each machine sits.

Indiana vending permit and license FAQ

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

Indiana has no general vending machine license. If you sell taxable items, you need a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate from the Department of Revenue, $25 for each place of business. Add a local health department permit only if your machines sell food that needs time or temperature control.

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

Not if every item is a prepackaged food that needs no time or temperature control. Indiana's food code leaves those locations out of its definition of a retail food establishment. Sandwiches, salads, milk and other food that must stay cold need a permit from the local health department.

Is vending machine food taxed in Indiana?

Since July 1, 2019, vending food follows the same rules as grocery food. Chips, crackers, nuts, bakery items, water and milk are exempt. Candy, gum, soft drinks and heated food are taxed at 7%, and candy bars made with flour, like a Twix, count as exempt food.

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

No special license. Trading cards are taxable merchandise, so the Registered Retail Merchant Certificate covers sales tax. Stock authentic product and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine itself.

How much does a Registered Retail Merchant Certificate cost in Indiana?

$25 for each place of business on your application. It is valid for two years and renews at no cost if your returns and payments are current. Apply through INBiz.

Do I need a separate certificate for each vending machine location in Indiana?

The law charges $25 and issues a certificate for each place of business, and the Department of Revenue says to display one at each location. Neither the statute nor the Department's guidance says whether a machine on someone else's property counts as a place of business. Ask the Department at (317) 232-2240 before you register.

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

Not if you buy it to resell. Give your supplier Form ST-105, the General Sales Tax Exemption Certificate, marked for resale with your taxpayer ID and location number. You collect the tax when items sell. Inventory you use yourself or give away is subject to use tax.

Sources

1. IC 6-2.5-8-1, retail merchant certificate and 6-2.5-8-8, exemption certificates
2. IC 6-2.5-2-2, tax rate, 6-2.5-5-8, resale exemption, 6-2.5-5-20, food exemption, 6-2.5-1-12, candy and 6-2.5-3-2, use tax
3. Indiana DOR, Sales Tax, Business FAQ and Register a Business
4. DOR Bulletin #45, vending machines (April 2023)
5. DOR Bulletin #29, food (September 2025) and June 2019 version
6. DOR Bulletin #40, free merchandise
7. Indiana DOR, Sales Tax Forms and Form ST-105 (PDF)
8. Indiana DOR, Streamlined Sales Tax and SST Business Rules (September 2026)
9. Indiana DOR, Food and Beverage Tax
10. 45 IAC 2.2, sales and use tax rules
11. 410 IAC 7-26, retail food code and Indiana Department of Health, retail food
12. IC 16-42-5-32, vending machine defined
13. IC 6-1.1-3-8, vending machine owners, 6-1.1-37-8, 6-1.1-3-7.2 and DLGF, Personal Property
14. IC 12-12-5, blind vending services
15. Indiana Secretary of State, Business Forms, Form 49459 and IC 23-0.5-9, fees
16. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
17. 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
18. 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)