Montana Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Montana

Montana has no general sales tax, so there is no sales tax permit to get and no state tax on what your machines sell. There is also no state license for snack, drink or merchandise machines. What you may need depends on what you sell and where: a state retail food license if a machine sells food beyond sealed, shelf-stable items, a free county permit for each claw machine, and registration with the town if you place machines in one of the few resort towns that charge a local resort tax of up to 4%. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Montana vending requirements at a glance

NoneState sales tax

4%Max local resort tax

$150Food license, small operator

$1 millionBusiness equipment value exempt from property tax

None

State sales tax

Montana has no general sales tax, so there is no sales tax permit to get.

See details →

Depends

Resort tax

Up to 4% on luxuries in resort towns like Big Sky, West Yellowstone and Whitefish.

See details →

Depends

Resale certificate

Only for out-of-state suppliers. Use the Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate.

See details →

Depends

Food license

Needed unless every item is commercially prepackaged and shelf-stable. One license covers all your machines.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license and no state sales tax. Resort towns may tax them.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need no state license. Resort towns may tax them.

See details →

Varies

Local permits

Cities and counties handle business licensing in Montana.

See details →

Depends

Business equipment tax

Vending machines count as business equipment, but the first $1 million in value is exempt.

See details →

Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Montana Code Annotated, Montana Department of Revenue, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Montana Department of Commerce, Montana Secretary of State, resort tax towns and districts, 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

Montana requirements and the laws behind them

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

Not a general one. Montana has no state license for snack, drink or merchandise vending machines or the people who run them. The Department of Commerce's small business office says that "local city and county offices provide all business licensing in Montana" (Montana SBDC). The state's eStop business license list covers retail food, scales, tobacco and a few other trades. Its only vending license is the tobacco vendor license for cigarette machines, which this page does not cover.

There is no sales tax permit either, because Montana has no general sales tax. What you may need depends on what your machines sell and where they sit:

• Food: a state retail food license if a machine sells food that is not commercially prepackaged and shelf-stable.
• Claw and crane machines: a free yearly permit from the county commissioners for each crane game.
• Resort towns: registration to collect the local resort tax in towns like Big Sky and Whitefish.
• Local rules: a city or county business license and zoning approval, where the local government requires them.

Sales tax and resort tax on vending sales in Montana

No state sales tax, so no sales tax permit

"Montana does not have a general-use sales tax," the Department of Revenue says. There is no sales tax permit or seller's license to apply for and no state sales tax return to file. The one tax on sales that can reach a vending machine is the local resort tax, covered below.

Buying inventory: no Montana tax, and one form for out-of-state suppliers

Montana has no general sales or use tax, so you do not need a resale certificate to buy inventory from Montana suppliers, and pulling inventory for your own use does not create a Montana tax bill. The Department of Revenue also says Montanans buying online "do not generally owe sales tax to another state."

A supplier in a sales tax state may still ask for proof that you buy to resell. For that, the Department of Revenue offers one form:

• Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate: enter your business name and Montana business registration number from the Secretary of State, the kind of products you sell and a description of what you are buying, then sign it. Give it to the out-of-state supplier. Do not file it with the Department of Revenue. Download the certificate (PDF).
• Suppliers can say no: a supplier may accept it as a substitute resale certificate, "but they are not required to accept it." Some states, including Washington, may require their own form or more information.
• Personal use: on the form you certify that you will resell the items, and it warns that using them any other way may leave you owing use tax. Montana imposes none, so that would come from another state's rules.
• If a supplier refuses: the Department of Revenue asks that a supplier who insists on a Montana permit or exemption number contact it.

Resort tax in resort towns

Montana lets small tourist towns and areas charge a local resort tax. The Department of Commerce designates the place, and local voters approve the tax. The rate may not exceed 3%, and voters can add up to 1% more for infrastructure, so 4% is the ceiling (MCA 7-6-1503).

The Department of Revenue lists ten resort communities and areas: Big Sky, Cooke City, Craig, Gardiner, Red Lodge, St. Regis, Virginia City, West Yellowstone, Whitefish and Wolf Creek. It does not administer the tax and calls its page informational, so confirm the rate with the town. Three posted rates:

• Big Sky: 4%, paid to the Big Sky Resort Area District, monthly for most collectors by the end of the following month (district FAQ).
• West Yellowstone: 4%, due to the town by the 20th of each month for the prior month (Town of West Yellowstone).
• Whitefish: 3%, with payment and a transmittal form due by the 20th of the following month (City of Whitefish).

What the resort tax reaches in a vending machine

The tax covers everything sold by lodging, restaurants and other food service, bars and destination recreation businesses, and "luxuries" sold anywhere in the town (MCA 7-6-1503). The law defines luxuries as any gift item, luxury item or other item normally sold to the public or to tourists, and leaves out food purchased unprepared or unserved, medicine, appliances, hardware and other necessities of life (MCA 7-6-1501).

Trading cards, toys, souvenirs and mystery items are not on that exclusion list, so they are likely taxable in a resort town. Packaged snacks and drinks vary by town:

• Whitefish: its list of typical taxable items, written for temporary vendors, includes soda pop, bottled water and candy, along with toys and souvenir items.
• Big Sky: Ordinance 98-01 treats unprepared food, including any food or drink that qualifies for SNAP, as an exempt necessity of life, except when sold at listed businesses such as hotels, restaurants, bars and ski resorts. Every business and vendor operating in the district must register with it.

Each town writes its own collection rules by ordinance (MCA 7-6-1505). Before you place a machine in a resort town, ask the town how to register and which of your items it taxes.

Food and drinks: the Montana retail food license

Montana counts a vending location as a retail food establishment (MCA 50-50-102), and anyone operating one needs an annual license from the Department of Public Health and Human Services, or DPHHS (MCA 50-50-201).

The same definition leaves out "a person that sells or serves only commercially prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous." Potentially hazardous food is food that needs time and temperature control for safety.

• No food license: machines stocked only with commercially prepackaged snacks, candy and drinks that are safe without refrigeration.
• Food license: sandwiches, salads, milk, or anything that has to stay cold or hot to stay safe.

• One license for all machines: "Only one retail food establishment license is required for a person owning and operating one or more vending machines" (MCA 50-50-201(3)).
• Where to start: the county sanitarian. DPHHS sends new operators to the local environmental health department, and the state's eStop guidance says plans and a pre-opening inspection must be approved before the sanitarian tells DPHHS the license can be issued. The license is not valid until the local health officer signs or validates it (MCA 50-50-214). If your machines sit in more than one county, ask the sanitarian how the other counties review them.
• Cost: $150 a year for a small establishment (two or fewer employees at peak hours), $225 for medium (three to nine) and $275 for large (10 or more). A county may not add its own inspection fee unless a violation persists after two inspections (MCA 50-50-205).
• Renewal: licenses expire December 31 (MCA 50-50-207). A renewal paid after that costs $25 more, and a license still unpaid three months after it expires is canceled (DPHHS license renewal).

Trading cards, mystery products and claw machines

Pokémon and other trading cards

Montana has no special license for selling trading cards and no state sales tax on them. In a resort town, cards are likely taxable luxuries, so register with the town if a card machine sits there. 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. Montana has no state sales tax on them. In a resort town they are likely taxable luxuries, so register with the town if a machine sits there. We found no special license for selling them from a vending machine. See our mystery vending machines page.

Claw and crane machines

Montana's amusement game law requires a county permit for crane games:

• Permit: before a game goes into public play, get a permit from the board of county commissioners where it sits. An operator who places games on its own or someone else's premises can get an annual permit for each game, good January 1 through December 31. The county may not charge a fee (MCA 23-6-103).
• Payment: the law defines a crane game as one activated by a coin or token and says the player pays cash to play (MCA 23-6-101). If your machine takes cards or phone payments, ask the county how that applies.

Federal rules that apply in Montana 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 Montana

• Entity: form an LLC by filing articles of organization with the Montana Secretary of State, which sets the filing fees (MCA 35-8-211). Every LLC then files an annual report between January 1 and April 15, starting the year after it forms (MCA 35-8-208).
• Business equipment tax: Montana taxes business equipment, and the Department of Revenue's equipment lists name vending machines. The first $1 million of a business's statewide market value is exempt (MCA 15-6-138), and business inventories are exempt too (DOR fact sheet). Equipment you own on January 1 is reported by February 15, and late or missing reports carry a penalty of 20% of the market value. Ask the Department of Revenue whether you have to report.
• Local rules: the state's small business office says to contact your city and county about licenses "as their requirements vary." Do that for each machine location.

Montana vending permit and license FAQ

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

Montana has no state license for snack, drink or merchandise machines and no sales tax permit. You need a DPHHS retail food license only if your machines sell food beyond commercially prepackaged items that need no temperature control, a free county permit for each claw machine, and any license your city or county requires.

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

Not if you sell only commercially prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous, such as sealed snacks, candy and canned or bottled drinks that need no refrigeration (MCA 50-50-102). Sandwiches, milk or other food that must stay cold needs a DPHHS retail food license, and one license covers all of your vending machines.

Is vending machine food taxed in Montana?

Not by the state, because Montana has no general sales tax. Resort towns can tax it: Whitefish's list of typical taxable items includes soda pop, bottled water and candy, while Big Sky exempts unprepared food, including items that qualify for SNAP. Ask the town before you set prices there.

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

No special license, and no state sales tax. In resort towns such as Big Sky, West Yellowstone and Whitefish, cards are likely taxable luxuries under the local resort tax. Stock authentic product and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine itself.

How much does a Montana sales tax permit cost?

Nothing, because there is no such permit. Montana does not have a general sales tax. If you place machines in a resort town, register with that town or district to collect its resort tax instead.

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

Not to Montana, which has no general sales or use tax. If a supplier in another state asks for a resale certificate, give it the Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate. The supplier may accept it but does not have to, and some states, such as Washington, want their own form.

Do claw and crane machines need a permit in Montana?

Yes. Each crane game needs an annual permit from the board of county commissioners where it sits, and the county cannot charge for it (MCA 23-6-103).

Do I pay property tax on my vending machines in Montana?

Vending machines are business equipment, but the first $1 million of a business's statewide equipment value is exempt (MCA 15-6-138). The reporting deadline is February 15, and the Department of Revenue can tell you whether you need to report.

Sources

1. Montana Department of Revenue, Sales Tax Guidance for Montana Business and Residents
2. Montana Department of Revenue, Montana Business Registry Resale Certificate (PDF)
3. Montana Department of Revenue, Local Resort Tax
4. Montana Code Annotated, resort tax: MCA 7-6-1501, 7-6-1503 and 7-6-1505
5. Big Sky Resort Area District, Frequently Asked Questions and Ordinance 98-01, as amended October 5, 2022
6. Town of West Yellowstone, Resort Tax Information
7. City of Whitefish, Resort Tax and Typical Items of Temporary Vendors (PDF)
8. Montana Department of Commerce, Small Business Development Center: Business Licensing
9. Montana Department of Revenue, eStop Business Licenses
10. Montana Code Annotated, retail food establishments: MCA 50-50-102, 50-50-201, 50-50-205, 50-50-207 and 50-50-214
11. DPHHS Environmental Health and Food Safety, Retail Food Establishments, License Renewal and fees and county and tribal health departments
12. Montana Code Annotated, amusement games: MCA 23-6-101 and 23-6-103
13. MCA 15-6-138, class eight property
14. Montana Department of Revenue, Personal Property, Personal Property Equipment Lists and Personal Property Assessment Fact Sheet (PDF)
15. Montana Code Annotated, limited liability companies: MCA 35-8-208 and 35-8-211
16. Montana Secretary of State, Business Services
17. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
18. 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
19. 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)