Nebraska Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Nebraska

Nebraska has no general state license for vending machines. Most operators need one permit from the state: a free sales tax permit from the Department of Revenue, and it covers machines at every location. Nebraska exempts groceries, candy and soda from sales tax in stores, but not when they come out of a vending machine. A Department of Agriculture food permit applies only if your machines sell more than a short list of shelf-stable snacks and drinks. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Nebraska vending requirements at a glance

FreeSales tax permit

5.5%State sales tax

7.5%Max combined sales tax

100%Of vending food receipts taxed

Required

Sales tax permit

Free from the Department of Revenue. One permit covers machines at all your locations.

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Recommended

Resale certificate

Buy inventory tax-free with Nebraska Form 13. You collect the tax when it sells.

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Applies

Tax on vending food

Food, candy and soda are tax-exempt in a store but taxable from a vending machine.

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Depends

Food permit

Not needed if machines sell only listed shelf-stable snacks and drinks.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need only the sales tax permit.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license. They are taxable merchandise, covered by your sales tax permit.

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Depends

Litter fee

License and fee once your food and drink sales reach $100,000 a year.

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Applies

Personal property return

File with the county assessor by May 1 each year for machines you own.

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Nebraska Revised Statutes, Nebraska Department of Revenue, Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Nebraska 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

Nebraska requirements and the laws behind them

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

Not a vending license. Nebraska regulates what your machines sell and how you collect tax on it, not the machines themselves. The Secretary of State's new business guide puts it in one line: "There is not a general business license in Nebraska." The amusement device law, which taxes arcade games, does not cover "vending machines which dispense tangible personal property" (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-3001).

If your machines sell anything taxable, and in Nebraska that includes vending snacks and soda, you need a sales tax permit. Add a Department of Agriculture food permit if a machine sells food beyond a short list of shelf-stable snacks and drinks. Crane games and larger snack and drink operators have extra state rules, covered below. Cities can add their own occupation taxes and zoning rules, so check with the city where each machine will sit before you install it.

Sales tax on vending sales in Nebraska

The sales tax permit

Nebraska makes it unlawful to sell at retail without a sales tax permit (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2705). Regulation 1-031, Coin-Operated Machines, makes the person who owns the products in the machine the retailer, responsible for tax on the entire gross receipts "regardless of how such receipts are divided." Splitting revenue with the location owner does not split the tax.

• Cost: free, with no renewal. The statute says "There shall be no charge to the retailer for the application for or issuance of a permit." The Department of Revenue can require a bond from sellers who sell from locations other than a store (Reg-1-033).
• Coverage: "Where the retailer has machines at various locations, only one sales tax permit shall be required" (Reg-1-031). Keep records of where and when each machine is installed and removed, and its gross receipts.
• Where to apply: register online or file the Nebraska Tax Application, Form 20. The Department's Starting a Business page confirms the permit needs no renewal.
• Local tax: the location of the machine sets the local tax (Reg-1-031). Report it by city or county code on Schedule I of the Nebraska and Local Sales and Use Tax Return, Form 10. The Sales Tax Rate Finder gives the rate for any address.

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

The sales tax on vending sales is yours to collect and send in, so you should not also pay it when you buy the inventory. A supplier who takes a properly completed resale certificate from you is relieved of the tax (Reg-1-013).

• Form 13, Nebraska Resale or Exempt Sale Certificate: check "Purchase for Resale," complete Section A with a description of what you buy, enter your Nebraska sales tax ID number, then sign and date it. Give it to the supplier. Do not send it to the Department of Revenue. Download Form 13 (PDF).
• Blanket certificates: allowed. Check "Blanket" on the form and it stays valid until you revoke it in writing. Reg-1-013 lets a supplier accept one when you buy from it at least once every 12 months.
• Out-of-state suppliers: Nebraska recognizes Form 13, the Multistate Tax Commission Uniform Sales and Use Tax Certificate and the Streamlined Sales Tax certificate of exemption (Reg-1-013).

The certificate covers products you resell, not the machines. Reg-1-031 calls owners of coin-operated machines their "ultimate consumers," so you pay sales or use tax on what a machine costs. If you take inventory out for personal or business use instead of selling it, you owe use tax on what you paid, as of the day you first use it (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2703(2); Reg-1-013). You can report it on Form 10 (Reg-1-002). Other certificates are on the Department of Revenue's forms page.

Sales tax rates

The state rate is 5.5% (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2701.02). Cities and villages can add up to 2% (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-27,142), and Dakota County adds 0.5% outside cities with their own tax. On the Department of Revenue's local rate chart for July 1 to December 31, 2026, the highest combined rate is 7.5%, in cities with a 2% local rate such as Beatrice, Grand Island and York. Omaha is 7% and Lincoln is 7.25%.

What is taxable in a Nebraska vending machine

Nebraska exempts food from sales tax, and in a store that exemption covers candy, gum, soft drinks and bottled water (Reg-1-087). It stops at the vending machine. The statute exempts food "except for prepared food and food sold through vending machines," and it defines vending food as food "dispensed from a machine or other mechanical device that accepts payment" (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2704.24).

• Everything in the machine: the Department of Revenue's food guide says "All food and other items sold through a vending machine are subject to tax." Tax applies to the full receipts, with no reduced base for food.
• Tax-included prices: you do not have to state the tax separately. To back it out before you report, subtract any exempt sales and divide the rest by one plus the tax rate (Reg-1-008). At a 7.5% combined rate, $1,075 in receipts is $1,000 in taxable sales and $75 in tax.
• Low-price machines: Reg-1-031 makes no exception for gumball, capsule or other low-price machines.

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

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

The Department of Agriculture licenses food sales under the Nebraska Pure Food Act. A food establishment is any operation that "stores, prepares, packages, serves, sells, vends, or otherwise provides food," and none may operate without a valid permit (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2,245.01 and 81-2,270).

The definition leaves out "an establishment or vending machine operation" that offers only these items, as long as none of them needs time or temperature control for safety:

• Prepackaged soft drinks, canned or bottled fruit and vegetable juices, and prepackaged ice.
• Candy and chewing gum.
• Potato or corn chips, pretzels, cheese puffs and curls, crackers, popped popcorn, nuts and edible seeds.
• Cookies, cakes, pies and other pastries.

A second exemption covers a business that is not a "commercial food establishment," meaning a permanent location with more than 100 cubic feet of area containing food, and sells only commercially packaged foods that need no temperature control (81-2,245.01; 81-2,242.04). For other packaged snacks, such as protein bars, ask the Department of Agriculture whether either exemption fits. Sandwiches, milk or anything that has to stay cold to stay safe needs a permit.

• Who issues it: the Department of Agriculture. Email its Request for Permit. NDA asks for it 60 days before you open. In Lancaster, Douglas and Hall counties, the request goes to the local health department that inspects there under contract (NDA permit steps), and paying that department's fees replaces the state inspection fee (81-2,281).
• Fees: the Pure Food Act caps vending machine operations at a $122 initial permit fee plus an annual fee by number of units, from $24 for 1 to 10 units to $122 for more than 40 (81-2,270). The Department sets the actual fees each year, and annual fees are due August 1. Operating without a permit adds $60.

Trading cards, mystery products and crane games

Pokémon and other trading cards

Nebraska has no special license for selling trading cards. They are taxable merchandise, so the sales tax permit 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, like toys. They are taxable on full receipts at the state rate plus the local rate where the machine sits, and your sales tax permit covers them. We found no special license for selling them from a machine. See our mystery vending machines.

Claw and crane machines

Nebraska taxes crane games as amusement devices, not vending machines. The Mechanical Amusement Device Tax Act covers machines played "for a game, contest, or amusement of any description" (77-3001), and the Department of Revenue's Form 54 lists crane games by name. Its notice to operators says merchandise dispensers that incorporate a game of skill need a decal. Games that just dispense a product once started do not.

• Decal: an occupation tax decal on each device, renewed by January 1. The tax is $35 for 2026 and $70 a year from 2027 (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-3004). The Department says the $70 is not prorated.
• License: operators and distributors apply on Form 54, which lists no license fee. A device without a decal draws a $75 penalty.
• Sales tax: paying the decal tax on time exempts the device's receipts from sales tax (77-3005; Reg-1-031).

Federal rules that apply in Nebraska 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 Nebraska

• Entity: form an LLC with the Nebraska Secretary of State. A Certificate of Organization costs $100 online or $110 in office (fee schedule). Then publish a notice of organization in a legal newspaper for three successive weeks and file proof of publication (Neb. Rev. Stat. 21-193). LLC biennial reports are due April 1 of odd-numbered years (Secretary of State).
• Personal property return: Nebraska taxes depreciable business equipment, which may include vending machines you own. File a Personal Property Return with the county assessor by May 1 each year (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1229). Under the Department of Revenue's guide, a machine kept in another county for most of the year may need a return there. Late returns add 10% of the tax, or 25% from July 1. The stock inside your machines is business inventory, which is exempt.
• Litter fee: retailers pay an annual litter fee of $175 per $1 million in sales of food, drinks and a few other products (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1560.01). The Department of Revenue's litter fee rules count vending operators as retailers and treat vending food and drinks as covered. You need a license once those sales reach $100,000 a year, and the return is due October 1 (Litter Fee Information Guide).
• State buildings: licensed blind vendors get priority for vending on state property, with exceptions for Game and Parks and the University of Nebraska (Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-8611).
• Local rules: any Nebraska city can levy an occupation tax on businesses within its limits, paid directly to the city (Department of Revenue). Ask the city about it, and about zoning, before you install.

Nebraska vending permit and license FAQ

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

Nebraska has no general business license and no state license for merchandise vending machines. You need a free sales tax permit, plus a Department of Agriculture food permit only if your machines sell food beyond a short list of shelf-stable snacks and drinks.

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

Not if the machines offer only listed prepackaged items that need no temperature control, such as soft drinks, juices, candy, gum, chips, crackers, popcorn, nuts and cookies (Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2,245.01). Sandwiches, milk or anything that must stay cold for safety needs a Department of Agriculture permit.

Is vending machine food taxed in Nebraska?

Yes. Nebraska exempts food, candy and soft drinks sold in stores, but not food sold through vending machines (Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-2704.24). Tax applies to your full vending receipts. Prices include the tax, so you back it out before you report.

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

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

How much does a Nebraska sales tax permit cost?

Nothing. State law says there is no charge to apply for or receive a permit, and it does not need renewal. One permit covers machines at all your locations (Reg-1-031).

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

Not if you buy it to resell. Give your supplier Form 13, the Nebraska Resale or Exempt Sale Certificate, with your sales tax ID number. You then collect and send in sales tax when the items sell from your machines. Inventory you take for personal or business use is subject to use tax.

Do claw machines need a decal in Nebraska?

Yes. Form 54 lists crane games as mechanical amusement devices, and each one needs a yearly occupation tax decal from the Department of Revenue, $70 per device from 2027. Vending machines that only dispense merchandise do not need one.

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

If you own them, yes. Nebraska taxes depreciable business equipment, so file a Personal Property Return with the county assessor by May 1 each year. The stock inside the machines is business inventory, which is exempt.

Sources

1. Nebraska Revised Statutes, sales and use tax: 77-2701.02, 77-2703, 77-2704.24, 77-2705 and 77-27,142
2. Nebraska Department of Revenue, sales and use tax regulations: Reg-1-002, Reg-1-008, Reg-1-013, Reg-1-031, Coin-Operated Machines, Reg-1-033 and Reg-1-087
3. Nebraska Department of Revenue, Form 13, Nebraska Resale or Exempt Sale Certificate and sales and use tax forms
4. Nebraska Department of Revenue, Starting a Business in Nebraska, online registration and Form 20
5. Nebraska Department of Revenue, sales tax guide for food (6-437)
6. Nebraska Department of Revenue, sales and use tax rates, local rates, rate chart effective July 1, 2026 and Sales Tax Rate Finder
7. Mechanical Amusement Device Tax Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-3001, 77-3004 and 77-3005
8. Nebraska Department of Revenue, Form 54 (Rev. 9-2026) and notice to distributors and operators
9. Nebraska Pure Food Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-2,245.01, 81-2,242.04, 81-2,270 and 81-2,281
10. Nebraska Department of Agriculture, Foods, permit steps and Request for Permit
11. Nebraska Secretary of State, New Business Information, Forms and Fees and biennial reporting; Neb. Rev. Stat. 21-193
12. Neb. Rev. Stat. 77-1229 and Nebraska Department of Revenue, personal property guide
13. Litter fee, Neb. Rev. Stat. 81-1560.01, 81-1548.02, Title 316, Chapter 28 regulations and Litter Fee Information Guide
14. Neb. Rev. Stat. 71-8611, vending facilities on public property
15. Nebraska Department of Revenue, Occupation Taxes
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)