Maryland Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Maryland

Maryland licenses the vending machines themselves. Each machine needs a $2.50 yearly vending machine license from the Clerk of the Circuit Court, and the business needs a sales and use tax license from the Comptroller. Vending sales are taxed at 6% on 94.5% of gross receipts, with the tax built into the price. A local food license applies only where a location sells food that is not sealed and shelf-stable. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Maryland vending requirements at a glance

$2.50Vending license per machine, per year

6%State sales tax

NoneGeneral local sales tax

94.5%Of vending receipts taxed

Required

Sales and use tax license

From the Comptroller through Maryland Tax Connect before you start selling. The licensing statute sets no fee.

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Recommended

Resale certificate

No official form. Give suppliers a signed certificate with your 8-digit Maryland number.

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Required

Vending machine license

$2.50 a year for each machine, from the Clerk of the Circuit Court. A sticker goes on every machine.

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Applies

Tax on vending sales

6% on 94.5% of gross receipts, built into the price. Candy and soda are taxable.

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Depends

Food license

From the local health department, unless the location sells only sealed, shelf-stable food.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need no special license, only the vending and sales tax licenses.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license. They are taxable merchandise, covered by your vending machine and sales and use tax licenses.

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Applies

Annual report and property return

LLCs file Form 1 with SDAT by April 15 ($300). Property under $20,000 total cost is not taxed.

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Maryland Tax-General, Business Regulation and Health-General Articles, COMAR, Comptroller of Maryland, Maryland Department of Health, Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation, 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

Maryland requirements and the laws behind them

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

Yes. Maryland licenses the machines themselves. A person who sells goods through a vending machine in Maryland must have a vending machine license that covers that machine (Business Regulation 17-1903). The Comptroller's guide to business licenses says to get it from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the machines are located.

• Cost: $2.50 for each machine (BR 17-1904). The Comptroller also charges an issuance fee for each license (BR 17-303), so ask the clerk for the total.
• License year: May 1 to April 30. If you start after May 31, the license takes effect the day it is issued (BR 17-305).
• Sticker and contact details: attach the clerk's sticker to each machine where it is easy to see, and show the name and phone number of the licensee or owner. An inspector can seal a machine that shows neither (BR 17-1905). Selling without the license is a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $100 (BR 17-1906).
• Not covered: machines that sell only items like newspapers, paper cups, soap or postage stamps, bulk vending machines as the tax law defines them, and tobacco machines, which have their own rules (BR 17-1902).

A trader's license may apply too

Maryland defines a trader as a person who operates a room or other place of business for selling goods (BR 17-101) and requires a trader's license for each store or place of business (BR 17-1803). The Comptroller's guide reads it broadly: unless you grow or manufacture goods, you may not sell goods in Maryland without one. Neither source says whether a vending machine on someone else's property is a place of business, so ask the clerk in each county where you place machines.

Where a county has chosen a uniform fee, it is $15, or $20 in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Elsewhere the fee rises with the value of your stock in trade, starting at $15 for $1,000 or less ($20 in Baltimore City and Baltimore County) (BR 17-1807). The Comptroller says a clerk cannot issue one if you owe local personal property tax or are behind on your filings with the Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT).

Sales tax on vending sales in Maryland

The sales and use tax license

You must be licensed by the Comptroller before you do business as a retail vendor in Maryland (Tax-General 11-702). The Comptroller's sales and use tax page says to register through Maryland Tax Connect with the Combined Registration Application.

• Cost: the licensing statute (Tax-General 11-701 to 11-712) sets no fee, and the Comptroller's registration pages list none.
• Coverage: the law asks for an application for each place of business where you sell, or for your mailing address if you have no fixed place of business (Tax-General 11-703). It does not say whether a vending machine is a place of business, so ask the Comptroller how to list your machine locations.

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

The sales tax on taxable vending sales is yours to pay to the state, so you should not also pay it when you buy the inventory. A supplier does not have to collect tax when you give it a signed resale certificate (COMAR 03.06.01.14).

• No official form: the certificate must give your name, address and 8-digit Maryland sales and use tax registration number, and state that you are buying for resale. The Comptroller says you can generate one in Maryland Tax Connect (Purchases for Resale; Tax Tip 4).
• Blanket certificates: allowed. After one blanket certificate, put your registration number on later purchase orders.
• Purchases under $200: a supplier may not accept a resale certificate for a purchase under $200 paid by cash, check, card or electronic transfer, unless it delivers to your retail place of business. Claim tax paid that way as a credit of up to $1,000 on your next return, or apply for a refund with Form SUT212.
• Multistate forms: the rule does not mention the Multistate Tax Commission or Streamlined certificates. Numbers issued by other states are not valid on a Maryland resale certificate (COMAR 03.06.01.14H), so any form you use must show your Maryland number.

The certificate covers products you resell, not the machines you sell them from. Maryland taxes the use of property in the state as well as its sale (Tax-General 11-102). If you take inventory for your own use, report its cost as a taxable purchase on that period's return (COMAR 03.06.01.07).

Sales tax rates

The rate is 6%, and the Comptroller says there are no general local sales taxes in Maryland (Tax Tip 8). State law bars counties and cities from adding a retail sales tax outside narrow exceptions such as fuel and utilities (Tax-General 11-102(c)).

How vending sales are taxed in Maryland

For a retail sale through a vending or other self-service machine, the 6% rate applies to 94.5% of gross receipts (Tax-General 11-104(b); 11-301), which works out to 5.67% of what the machine takes in. You pay the tax to the Comptroller and may not charge it to the buyer as a separate item (Tax-General 11-405), so your prices include it.

• Example: $1,000 of taxable receipts × 94.5% = $945, and $945 × 6% = $56.70 of tax.
• Cash or card: the formula covers any "vending or other self-service machine" and says nothing about coins, so card-only machines use it too.
• Taxable food and drinks: candy, soft drinks and bottled water, which Maryland does not count as food (Tax-General 11-206(a); Tax Tip 5), plus sandwiches, ice cream and other prepared food.
• Exempt: milk, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and yogurt sold through a vending machine (Tax-General 11-206(g); COMAR 03.06.01.05).
• Snack food: the Comptroller says snack food sold through vending machines is not taxable (Tax Tip 5; Information About Sales of Food). The statute's vending exemption names only milk, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and yogurt, and neither source defines snack food, so get the Comptroller's answer in writing before you treat chips or crackers as exempt.
• Bulk vending: merchandise sold through a bulk vending machine for 75 cents or less is exempt (Tax-General 11-201.1; Bulk Vending Machine Sales). The law defines a bulk machine as one that, on insertion of a coin, dispenses unsorted merchandise at random, so a card-only gumball or capsule machine may not qualify. Ask the Comptroller first.

Everything that is not food is taxable under the same formula: trading cards, sealed Pokémon product, mystery items, toys and general merchandise.

Food and drinks: when you need a health license in Maryland

Local health departments license food service facilities, and state law sets the vending rules (Health-General 21-305(b)):

• Per location, not per machine: a license may be required for each location where vending machines are operated, but not for each machine. Baltimore City may require a license for each machine.
• No license: outside Baltimore City, vending locations used only for prepackaged, commercially sealed foods that are not potentially hazardous. Under COMAR 10.15.03.02, that means foods that need no temperature control to stay safe.
• License: sandwiches, milk, cut melon or anything else that has to stay cold to stay safe.
• County permits: where the state requires no license, a county can still require a permit under its own law (Health-General 21-305(b)(8)).

The Maryland Department of Health's Office of Food Protection sends retail food questions to local health department food programs. It has also announced plans to adopt the FDA 2022 Food Code, so check current rules before you stock perishable food.

Maryland rules for trading cards, mystery products and toys

Pokémon and other trading cards

Maryland has no special license for selling trading cards. They are taxable merchandise, so the vending machine license and the sales and use tax license cover 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, like any other toy. They are taxable under the same formula as other vending sales, 6% on 94.5% of gross receipts, so the vending machine license and the sales and use tax license cover them. Capsule toys sold for 75 cents or less may fall under the bulk vending exemption above. We found no special license for mystery products beyond those two. See our mystery vending machines page.

Claw and crane machines

Maryland regulates claw and crane machines as skills-based amusement devices. The rules cover machines that award merchandise through the use of skill, so a machine that simply sells the item a customer picks should fall outside them.

• Registration: the owner of a claw or crane machine that awards anything other than free play registers it every other year with the state commission that oversees skills-based amusement devices, and puts the commission's sticker on each machine (COMAR 36.08.02.01). A business that hosts a machine it does not own does not register.
• Amusement tax: the Comptroller lists coin-operated amusement devices under the local admissions and amusement tax (Tax Tip 13), which counties and towns set at 0.5% to 10% of receipts (Admissions and Amusement Tax). Registration asks for proof that you pay it.

Confirm with the commission and the Comptroller how your machine is classified before you place one.

Federal rules that apply in Maryland 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 Maryland

• Entity: form an LLC with SDAT. Articles of Organization cost $100, or $150 expedited.
• Annual report: every LLC files Form 1, the Business Entity Annual Report, by April 15. The fee is $300 for LLCs and stock corporations. Sole proprietors file Form 2 if they own business property or need a business license (Form 2 instructions).
• Personal property: Form 1 includes the business personal property return. List property by where it sat on January 1, because local rates and exemptions differ by county and town (Form 1 instructions). The form's depreciation table puts vending machines (cigarette, candy, soft drink) in Category C, at 20% a year. If all your Maryland personal property, inventory included, cost less than $20,000, it is not taxed, and you attest to that instead of filing the property schedules (Tax-Property 7-245).
• Local rules: your city or county may require zoning approval or a local permit. Baltimore County, Howard County, Calvert County and parts of Cecil County require planning or zoning approval before a first trader's license (BR 17-1805). The Comptroller lists each Clerk of the Circuit Court.

Maryland vending permit and license FAQ

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

Yes. Each machine needs a vending machine license from the Clerk of the Circuit Court in its county, $2.50 a machine per license year, plus a sales and use tax license from the Comptroller. Ask the clerk whether a trader's license applies too. A food license is needed only for food that is not sealed and shelf-stable.

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

Outside Baltimore City, not if the location sells only prepackaged, commercially sealed foods that need no temperature control (Health-General 21-305). Sandwiches, milk or anything that must stay cold needs a local health department license, issued per location. Baltimore City may license each machine.

How is vending machine food taxed in Maryland?

At 6% on 94.5% of gross receipts, with the tax built into the price. Candy, soft drinks, bottled water and sandwiches are taxable, and milk, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and yogurt are exempt. The Comptroller says vending snack food is not taxable, but no source defines it, so confirm in writing.

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

No special license. Trading cards are taxable merchandise, so the vending machine license and the sales and use tax license cover you. Stock authentic product and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine itself.

How much does a Maryland sales and use tax license cost?

The licensing statute sets no fee, and the Comptroller's registration pages list none. Register through Maryland Tax Connect. The separate vending machine license from the clerk is $2.50 a machine.

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

Not if you buy it to resell and give the supplier a signed resale certificate with your 8-digit Maryland number. There is no official form, and suppliers may not accept one for purchases under $200 paid by cash, check or card unless they deliver to your place of business. Inventory you use yourself is reported as a taxable purchase.

Do claw and crane machines need a license in Maryland?

The owner registers each claw or crane machine that awards anything other than free play with the state every other year and puts a state sticker on it. Receipts may owe the local admissions and amusement tax.

Sources

1. Maryland Tax-General 11-104, rates (vending at 94.5% of receipts), 11-301 and 11-405
2. Tax-General 11-102, sales and use tax, 11-206, food and 11-201.1, bulk vending
3. Tax-General 11-702 and 11-703, vendor licenses
4. COMAR 03.06.01.05, food, .07, personal use and .14, resale certificates
5. Comptroller of Maryland, Sales and Use Tax and Maryland Tax Connect
6. Comptroller, Information About Sales of Food, Bulk Vending Machine Sales and Purchases for Resale
7. Comptroller Tax Tips 4 (resale), 5 (food), 8 (rates) and 13 (new businesses)
8. Comptroller, 2026 Form 202 instructions and Form SUT212
9. Comptroller, Types of Business Licenses and Clerks of the Circuit Court
10. Business Regulation 17-1901 to 17-1906, vending machine licenses
11. Business Regulation 17-1803 to 17-1807, trader's licenses and 17-101, 17-303, 17-305
12. Health-General 21-305, food licenses and COMAR 10.15.03.02
13. Maryland Department of Health, Office of Food Protection and local health departments
14. COMAR 36.08.02.01, skills-based amusement device registration
15. Comptroller, Admissions and Amusement Tax
16. SDAT, 2026 Form 1, Form 1 instructions, Form 2 instructions and LLC Articles of Organization
17. Tax-Property 7-245, personal property under $20,000 and SDAT Business Personal Property
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)