Missouri Vending Machine Permits and Licenses
Vending permits and licenses by state · Missouri
We found no general state license for vending machines in Missouri. Most operators need one thing from the state: a free retail sales license from the Department of Revenue. Missouri taxes vending its own way: tax is figured on 135% of what you paid for the products, at the rate where each machine sits, and qualifying food gets a reduced state rate. Food permits are local, and the state Food Code does not cover a location that offers only sealed food that needs no temperature control. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.
Missouri vending requirements at a glance
Retail sales license
Free from the Department of Revenue. List each city or county with machines once, not each machine.
See details →Resale certificate
Buy inventory tax-free with Missouri Form 149. You pay the tax when it sells.
See details →Vending tax formula
Tax is due on 135% of your product cost, at the rate where each machine sits.
See details →Food permit
Set locally. The state Food Code skips locations with only sealed snacks that need no temperature control.
See details →Tax on machine purchases
Machines and parts are exempt when you pay sales tax on what the machines sell.
See details →Local licenses
St. Louis sells a $10 decal per coin slot. Kansas City requires a business license.
See details →Franchise tax
Missouri ended its corporate franchise tax in 2016. LLCs file no annual report.
See details →Last reviewed: October 28, 2026 · Sources: Revised Statutes of Missouri, Missouri Department of Revenue, Missouri Code of State Regulations, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Missouri Secretary of State, City of St. Louis, City of Kansas City, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 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
Missouri requirements and the laws behind them
| Requirement | What Missouri requires | Source |
|---|---|---|
| State vending license | None found in Missouri statutes or agency guidance. | Missouri DOR; Missouri DHSS |
| Retail sales license | Free from the Department of Revenue. No bond unless the department asks. List each city or county with machines once. | RSMo 144.083; Missouri DOR |
| Buying inventory | Tax-free when you buy it to resell. Give each supplier Form 149, the Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate. | RSMo 144.018; Missouri DOR |
| How vending is taxed | On 135% of product cost, with no allowance for spoilage, at the rate where each machine sits. | RSMo 144.012; 12 CSR 10-103.400 |
| Sales tax rate | 4.225% state rate plus city, county and district taxes, which vary by address. | Missouri DOR |
| Food sold from machines | Reduced 1.225% state rate plus full local tax for food that qualifies under SNAP rules. Hot food pays the full rate. | RSMo 144.014; 12 CSR 10-110.990 |
| Vending machines and parts | Exempt when you pay tax on the machines' sales. Taxable at exempt sites like churches and public schools. | RSMo 144.518; 12 CSR 10-103.400 |
| Trading cards, mystery products, toys, merchandise | Taxable at the full rate, on 135% of cost. | RSMo 144.012; Missouri DOR |
| Food permit | Local. The state Food Code does not cover sites offering only prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous. | Missouri Food Code 1-201.10; DHSS |
| Franchise tax | None for tax years starting in 2016 or later. LLCs file no annual report. | RSMo 147.010; Missouri Secretary of State |
| Forming an LLC | $50 online or $105 on paper for Articles of Organization (Form LLC 1). | Missouri Secretary of State |
Do you need a license to run a vending machine in Missouri?
Not a vending license. We found no general state license for vending machines in Missouri law or agency guidance. The state regulates how you pay tax on what your machines sell, and local governments handle food permits and business licenses.
If your machines sell anything taxable, like trading cards, toys, snacks or soda, the one state license you need is a retail sales license from the Department of Revenue. Add a local food permit if a machine sells food that is not prepackaged or has to be kept cold for safety. Cities and counties add their own rules. St. Louis, for one, requires a decal for each coin slot (see business setup).
State buildings
Blind persons get priority to run vending facilities, which can include vending machines, on state property: buildings with at least 100 state employees and 15,000 square feet of state space, occupied for three years or more (RSMo 8.705).
Sales tax on vending sales in Missouri
The retail sales license
You need a retail sales license before your first retail sale (RSMo 144.083), and a vending sale is a retail sale made where the machine is (RSMo 144.012).
- Cost: free. The license is issued at no cost and stays valid until revoked or surrendered. Since August 28, 2018, the Department of Revenue no longer requires a bond from businesses that collect sales tax, though it may require one from a business that is delinquent (registration FAQ; RSMo 144.087).
- Machine locations: you do not register each machine. On Form 2643, the Missouri Tax Registration Application, list each city or county where you have machines once, and write "vending" in the street address field.
- Where to apply: the Department's online business registration, or paper Form 2643. Allow 10 business days.
- Filing: monthly if you owe $500 or more a month in state tax, quarterly below that, yearly under $200 a quarter (sales tax filing FAQ). Reporting from three or more locations requires electronic filing (DOR sales and use tax). File and pay on time and you keep 2% of the tax (RSMo 144.140).
You collect the tax, so buy your inventory tax-free
The tax on vending sales is yours to report and send to the state, so do not also pay sales tax on the inventory. A purchase for resale is exempt when the later sale is taxed (RSMo 144.018), and the Department's vending companies tax matrix lists "any products to be sold through a vending machine" as exempt purchases. You claim the exemption by giving each supplier an exemption certificate.
- Form 149, Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate: check the box for purchases of tangible personal property for resale and enter your Missouri Tax I.D. Number, which Missouri retailers must have. Sign it, because an unsigned certificate is not valid (12 CSR 10-107.100). Download Form 149 (PDF).
- Blanket use: a supplier can rely on a certificate on file for future sales unless it stops applying or the supplier can no longer rely on it in good faith (12 CSR 10-107.100).
- Out-of-state suppliers: Form 149 has a field for your home state. We found no Department statement accepting the Multistate Tax Commission or Streamlined certificates, so use Form 149 and ask out-of-state suppliers what they accept.
- Machines and parts: vending machines and parts used in a commercial vending business are exempt when you pay sales tax on what the machines sell (RSMo 144.518). The matrix adds attached card readers. A machine placed where sales are not taxed, such as a church or public school, is taxable to buy (12 CSR 10-103.400). Sellers must keep a certificate for exempt sales (RSMo 144.210), so ask the seller which exemption document they need; Missouri's general certificate is Form 149.
The certificate covers products you resell. If you pull inventory for your own use or give it away, you owe the tax yourself: sales tax at the seller's location if you bought from a Missouri seller, or use tax if you bought from out of state (12 CSR 10-107.100(3)(E); RSMo 144.610). More on the Department's sales and use tax exemptions page.
Sales tax rates
The state rate is 4.225%. Cities, counties and special districts, such as fire districts, add their own taxes, so the combined rate depends on the address (Missouri Department of Revenue). You send state and local tax to the Department together. Its rate map gives the rate for any address.
How Missouri taxes vending sales
Missouri does not tax a vending machine on what customers pay. For everything except photocopies and tobacco products, the taxable amount is 135% of the net invoice price of the products you vend (RSMo 144.012; 12 CSR 10-103.400). Net invoice price is your product cost, including freight, minus any quantity or timely payment discounts from your supplier. Buy $1,000 of trading cards, freight included, and once they sell, tax is due on $1,350 at the rate where the machines sit, whatever price you charged.
- No spoilage allowance: items lost to spoilage, breakage or theft are taxed like items sold.
- More than one location: track product cost machine by machine, or split the taxable amount by each location's share of gross sales, and apply each location's rate.
- Exempt locations: sales from machines at religious organizations, charitable organizations and public elementary and secondary schools are not taxed.
- Food: qualifying food pays a reduced state rate of 1.225% plus full local tax (RSMo 144.014; 12 CSR 10-110.990). Report it on the food line of your return, apart from full-rate sales.
Missouri ties the reduced rate to what SNAP (food stamp) benefits can buy, and the law names vending machine food. That covers most cold and room-temperature snacks and drinks, including food the buyer microwaves in the vending area. Hot food, alcohol and tobacco pay the full rate (reduction on food).
One change to watch: the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved Missouri's request to stop SNAP benefits from buying candy, prepared desserts and certain beverages, now set to start February 15, 2027 (USDA). Because the reduced tax rate is tied to SNAP, ask the Department of Revenue whether those items will keep it. We found no Department guidance on this as of this review.
Anything that is not food pays the full rate on 135% of cost: trading cards, sealed Pokémon product, mystery items, toys and general merchandise.
Food and drinks: when you need a food permit in Missouri
Missouri has no state food permit. The Department of Health and Senior Services "does not issue permits." It sets the Missouri Food Code, and local public health agencies inspect and enforce, including for vending machine operations (DHSS retail food safety).
The Food Code covers vending locations, but not an establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous, meaning sealed foods that need no temperature control to stay safe (Missouri Food Code 1-201.10).
- Outside the Food Code: sealed shelf-stable snacks, candy, and bottled or canned drinks, when that is all the location offers.
- Inside it: sandwiches, salads, milk and other foods that must stay cold to stay safe. Expect an application and preopening inspection with the local public health agency, and possibly a local permit fee.
- Ice cream: selling frozen desserts received in final frozen form from a licensed manufacturer does not require the state frozen dessert license (19 CSR 20-1.030).
Local rules can be stricter than the Food Code. Kansas City's Health Department, for example, says its Food Establishment Permit is required for businesses that "store, prepare, package, serve, vend, or otherwise provide food directly to consumers" (KC BizCare health permits). Ask before you place a snack machine. DHSS can help you find your local public health agency.
Machines that sell only trading cards, toys or other merchandise do not sell food, so food permits do not apply to them.
Missouri rules for trading cards, mystery products and toys
Pokémon and other trading cards
Missouri has no special license for selling trading cards. They are taxable merchandise, so the retail sales license covers you, and tax is figured on 135% of your card cost. 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 taxed at the full rate on 135% of your product cost, so the retail sales license covers them. We found no special license for selling them from a vending machine. See our mystery vending machines page.
Claw and crane machines
Amounts paid to play a coin-operated amusement device are exempt from Missouri sales tax, and the statute names redemption games such as the claw as examples (RSMo 144.518). In St. Louis, three or more coin-operated amusement devices in one place trigger extra arcade rules.
Federal rules that apply in Missouri 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 Missouri
- Entity: form an LLC with the Missouri Secretary of State. Articles of Organization (Form LLC 1) cost $50 online or $105 on paper (fee schedule). Missouri LLCs do not file an annual report (Secretary of State FAQ).
- Franchise tax: none. Missouri imposes no corporate franchise tax for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2016 (RSMo 147.010).
- Local licenses: a city or county occupation license requires your retail sales license and a Department of Revenue statement of no tax due dated within 90 days (RSMo 144.083).
- Kansas City: any operation that generates revenue, transacts or employs within city limits needs a city business license (KC BizCare).
- St. Louis: the License Collector requires one decal per coin slot on every vending, amusement or service machine in city limits: $10 per slot for vending items priced 10 cents or more, for a July 1 to June 30 license year. Its examples include soda, candy, food and crane machines (City of St. Louis). Ask how it counts a machine that takes only cards.
- Everywhere else: check business license and zoning rules with the city or county where each machine will sit.
Selling vapes or nicotine? Those products have their own Missouri rules. See our Vape Vending Machines Sales Laws and Regulations in Missouri.
Missouri vending permit and license FAQ
Do I need a license to put a vending machine in Missouri?
We found no general state vending machine license in Missouri. If you sell taxable items, you need a free retail sales license from the Department of Revenue. Add a local food permit only if a machine sells food that is not prepackaged or needs temperature control, and check city rules, such as the St. Louis decal for each coin slot.
Do I need a food permit for a snack vending machine in Missouri?
Not under the state Food Code if the location offers only prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous, such as sealed snacks and canned drinks. Missouri has no state food permit. Local public health agencies set permit rules and some are stricter, so ask the one where the machine will sit.
How is vending machine food taxed in Missouri?
Tax is figured on 135% of what you paid for the products, not on what customers pay. Food that qualifies under SNAP rules gets the reduced 1.225% state rate plus full local tax. Hot food pays the full 4.225% state rate plus local tax (RSMo 144.012; 12 CSR 10-110.990).
Do I need a license to sell Pokémon cards from a vending machine in Missouri?
No special license. Trading cards are taxable merchandise, so the retail sales license covers you. Stock authentic product and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine itself.
How much does a Missouri retail sales license cost?
Nothing. RSMo 144.083 says the license is issued at no cost. The Department of Revenue has not required bonds from businesses that collect sales tax since August 28, 2018, though it may require one from a delinquent business. Allow 10 business days.
Do I pay sales tax on inventory I buy for my vending machines in Missouri?
Not if you buy it to resell. Give your supplier Form 149, the Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate, with your Missouri Tax I.D. Number. You then pay tax on 135% of that product cost when it sells from your machines. Inventory you use yourself or give away is taxable.
Do I pay sales tax when I buy a vending machine in Missouri?
Not if the machine is used in a commercial vending business that pays sales tax on what the machine sells (RSMo 144.518). A machine placed at an exempt site, such as a church or public school, is taxable to buy because its sales are not taxed.
Sources
- RSMo 144.012, vending machine sales
- RSMo 144.014, reduced rate on food
- RSMo 144.083, retail sales license, 144.087, bonds and 144.140, timely payment
- RSMo 144.018, purchases for resale, 144.210, exemption certificates and 144.610, use tax
- RSMo 144.518, vending machine and amusement device exemptions
- 12 CSR 10-103.400, Sales Tax on Vending Machine Sales
- 12 CSR 10-110.990, Tax: Sales of Food
- 12 CSR 10-107.100, Use of and Reliance on Exemption Certificates
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Vending Companies Tax Matrix (revised August 28, 2025)
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Business Tax Registration FAQs
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Sales Tax Filing FAQs
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Sales/Use Tax: state rate and Sales and Use Tax Rate Map
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Missouri Sales Tax Reduction on Food
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Form 149, Sales and Use Tax Exemption Certificate and Sales and Use Tax Exemptions
- Missouri Department of Revenue, Form 2643, Missouri Tax Registration Application and Online Business Registration
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Missouri SNAP Food Restriction Waiver
- Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Retail Food Safety and Find Your Local Public Health Agency
- Missouri Food Code (19 CSR 20-1.025), definitions in 1-201.10
- 19 CSR 20-1.030, frozen dessert license
- RSMo 8.705, blind vendor priority on state property
- City of St. Louis License Collector, Vending, Amusement, and Service Machine Business
- City of Kansas City BizCare, Obtain a KCMO Business License and Health Permits
- Missouri Secretary of State, Form LLC 1, Articles of Organization, Schedule of Fees and Charges and Corporations FAQ
- RSMo 147.010, corporation franchise tax
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
- 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
- 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)
Disclaimer: Informational only, not legal advice. Statutes, regulations, tax rates and fees change frequently; verify current text at official .gov sources and confirm compliance with qualified counsel for your jurisdiction.
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