New Hampshire Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · New Hampshire

New Hampshire has no general sales tax, so there is no sales tax permit and no state tax on the cards, toys and sealed snacks your machines sell. We found no state license for vending machines either. Two things can still apply: the 8.5% Meals and Rentals Tax and its license, if a machine sells taxable meals like sandwiches, and a food license, if a machine sells food that needs temperature control. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

New Hampshire vending requirements at a glance

NoneState sales tax

8.5%Meals tax on taxable meals

$150State food license, TCS vending

$100LLC certificate of formation

Depends

Meals and Rentals license

There is no sales tax permit. You need this DRA license only if a machine sells taxable meals, like sandwiches.

See details →

Depends

Resale certificate

No form for merchandise. For meals you buy to resell, the seller records your Meals and Rentals license number.

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Depends

8.5% meals tax

Sandwiches and drinks in unsealed containers are taxed. Sealed snacks, candy and bottled drinks are not.

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Depends

Food license

$150 a year from DHHS, or a city or town license, for machines selling food that needs temperature control.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need no license, and New Hampshire does not tax them.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license. New Hampshire has no sales tax, so there is no tax to collect on them.

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Depends

Business Profits Tax

7.5% of profits, filed only above a gross income threshold ($92,000 in the statute, adjusted for inflation).

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Varies

Local permits

Check zoning with each city or town. Some, like Manchester, license food vending themselves.

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: New Hampshire Revised Statutes, New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules, Department of Revenue Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Business and Economic Affairs, Secretary of State, City of Manchester, 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

New Hampshire requirements and the laws behind them

Do you need a license to run a vending machine in New Hampshire?

Not a vending license. We found no New Hampshire statute or rule that licenses vending machines or vending operators as such. There is no sales tax permit either, because New Hampshire has no general sales tax. What you may need depends on what your machines sell:

• Meals and Rentals license: only for taxable meals, like sandwiches or drinks in unsealed cups.
• Food license: only for food that needs time or temperature control for safety.
• Business and local rules: entity or trade name registration, plus zoning and any city or town permits.

Sales tax and the meals tax on vending sales in New Hampshire

No sales tax, so no sales tax permit

The state's Department of Business and Economic Affairs lists "No use tax" and "No sales tax" (NH Economy). There is no sales tax permit to get. The one tax that can reach a vending machine is the Meals and Rentals Tax, and only on food and drinks that count as meals.

The Meals and Rentals license

New Hampshire's meals tax law lists "food vending machine" among the kinds of restaurants it covers (RSA 78-A:3, XX). An operator that sells taxable meals registers each place of business with the Department of Revenue Administration (DRA) and gets a meals and rentals license. No one may serve taxable meals without one (RSA 78-A:4).

• How to apply: before you start selling, online through the DRA's Granite Tax Connect portal or on paper Form CD-3, Application for Meals and Rentals Tax Operators License, from the DRA (Rev 705.01).
• Cost: the statute and the DRA's rules set no license fee.
• More than one site: the rules require a separate license for each business location but one license for a whole fleet of vending trucks (Rev 705.01). They do not say how machines at several sites count, so ask the DRA first.
• Renewal: licenses expire June 30 of each odd-numbered year and renew automatically unless you close, change owners or owe unpaid tax (Rev 705.02, 705.03).
• Returns: file monthly by the 15th, even when no tax is due (RSA 78-A:8). File and pay on time and you keep 3% of the tax (RSA 78-A:7), unless you file on paper with $25,000 or more in taxable meals (RSA 78-A:8). After a full year, an operator whose tax averages under $100 a month can ask to file quarterly (Rev 706.02).

Buying inventory: no sales tax, and your license number for meals you resell

New Hampshire has no sales or use tax, so there is no New Hampshire resale certificate for cards, toys or snacks, and no state tax on merchandise you take for your own use. Two cases still involve paperwork:

• Meals you buy to resell: if you buy sandwiches or other taxable meals from a commissary or caterer, the seller does not have to collect the meals tax when the sale is to another operator and its records show your meals and rentals license number. Or the invoice can say the tax was not collected and is your responsibility (Rev 702.16). Either way, you collect the 8.5% when the meal sells.
• Out-of-state suppliers: a supplier in a sales tax state may ask for proof that you buy to resell. That is the supplier's state rule, and the DRA's meals tax rules have no resale form for merchandise. Ask the supplier which certificate it accepts from an out-of-state buyer.

Meals tax rate

The tax is 8.5% of the charge for a taxable meal over $1.00, with fractions of a cent rounded up. Charges from 36 cents to $1.00 use a cents table in the statute, from 4 cents up to 9 cents (RSA 78-A:6).

You can show the tax separately or build it into the price. If the price includes the tax, the tax is 7.834% of the price (Rev 702.01). A receipt that does not state the tax separately must carry this line: "The tax on meals and rooms is included for the costs of meals and lodging only" (RSA 78-A:7).

What counts as a taxable meal in a vending machine

A meal is food or drink "prepared for human consumption and provided by a restaurant in such form as to be available for immediate consumption without further significant preparation." The definition then leaves out "any food or beverage wholly packaged off the premises," except sandwiches of all kinds, beverages in unsealed containers, and catered or delivered meals (RSA 78-A:3, VIII). The DRA's rule on meals (Rev 701.09) gives examples:

• Not taxable meals: chips, crackers, pastries, candy, gum, breath mints and energy or granola bars sold in their original unopened packages; canned or bottled drinks, including soda, juice, milk, coffee drinks and energy drinks, sold sealed; and prepackaged ice cream novelties.
• Taxable meals: sandwiches of all kinds, even when packaged somewhere else; drinks poured or sold in unsealed containers; and prepared food packaged as a meal.
• Single serving drink machines: a drink from a single serving beverage machine is not a taxable meal when the machine is "not used in conjunction with other food vending machines such as, but not limited to, commissaries" (RSA 78-A:6-c, IX). If a cup coffee machine sits beside food machines, ask the DRA how that applies.
• Card readers: none of these rules mention coins, so expect them to apply the same way to cashless machines.

Trading cards, sealed Pokémon product, mystery items, toys and other merchandise are not meals, so New Hampshire collects no tax on them at the machine.

Food and drinks: the New Hampshire food service license

The Food Protection Section of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) licenses food service establishments, and the law's definition of one includes a "food vending operation" (RSA 143-A:3, IV; RSA 143-A:4).

• Machines that need it: the license classes list "on-site vending machines or unattended markets, which serve TCS food" as Category F-5 (He-P 2304.04). TCS food is food that needs time or temperature control for safety, such as sandwiches, salads or milk.
• Cost: Class F licenses cost $150 a year (He-P 2304.05). A full license runs one year (RSA 143-A:6).
• Applying: use the Application for New, Change of Ownership, Change in License Class Food Service License, online through the DHHS Food Protection page or by mail (He-P 2304.01). Vending machines skip the water, wastewater and floor plan filings (He-P 2304.01, 2304.12) and the certified food protection manager rule (He-P 2303.02).
• Sealed, shelf-stable snacks only: the rules have no license class for machines that sell only food that needs no temperature control, and the law's definition of a retail food store leaves out "food and beverage vending machines" (RSA 143-A:3, VII). That points to no license for those machines, but no rule says so outright. Confirm with the Food Protection Section before you skip it.

Cities and towns that license food themselves

Food establishments licensed by a city or town health officer are exempt from the state license (RSA 143-A:5). Manchester, for example, runs its own food licensing. Its Health Department licenses and inspects about 750 food establishments (Manchester Food Protection), and its food permit application lists "Vending Machines servicing TCS Food" as Class III-C, $25. Ask the local health officer who licenses each machine.

New Hampshire rules for trading cards, mystery products and toys

Pokémon and other trading cards

New Hampshire has no special license for selling trading cards, and with no sales tax there is no tax to collect on them. The legal questions with card machines are about intellectual property. 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. New Hampshire has no sales tax, so there is no tax to collect on them and no sales tax permit to get. We found no special license for selling them from a machine. See our mystery vending machines.

Federal rules that apply in New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire

• Entity: form an LLC by filing a certificate of formation with the Secretary of State. The fee is $100 (RSA 304-C:191). Every LLC then files an annual report between January 1 and April 1, starting the year after it forms (RSA 304-C:194). The report costs $100, plus $50 if it is late.
• Trade name: a sole proprietor doing business under any name other than their own registers it with the Secretary of State (RSA 349:1). Registration costs $50 and lasts 5 years (RSA 349:6, 349:7).
• Business Profits Tax: 7.5% of taxable business profits (RSA 77-A:2). It covers sole proprietorships and LLCs, not just corporations (RSA 77-A:1). You file only if gross business income tops $92,000, a figure the DRA adjusts for inflation every two years (RSA 77-A:6), so check the current threshold.
• Business Enterprise Tax: 0.55% of the enterprise value tax base, which is the compensation, interest and dividends a business pays (RSA 77-E:2; 77-E:1). You file if gross business receipts or that base tops $250,000, as adjusted for inflation. A 2026 law raises the statutory threshold to $400,000 effective January 1, 2027 (RSA 77-E:5).
• Local rules: check zoning and permits with each city or town where a machine will sit. Manchester's checklist for new food businesses, for example, starts with zoning and a city business license.

New Hampshire vending permit and license FAQ

Do I need a license to put a vending machine in New Hampshire?

We found no general vending machine license in New Hampshire law, and there is no sales tax permit. You need a Meals and Rentals license from the Department of Revenue Administration only if a machine sells taxable meals, like sandwiches, and a food license only if it sells food that needs temperature control for safety.

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

The state license classes cover vending machines that serve TCS food, meaning food that needs time or temperature control, at $150 a year (He-P 2304.04, 2304.05). The rules have no class for machines selling only sealed, shelf-stable snacks, so those appear to need no license, but confirm with the DHHS Food Protection Section or your city or town health officer.

Is vending machine food taxed in New Hampshire?

Only food that counts as a meal. Sandwiches and drinks in unsealed containers are taxed at 8.5% under the Meals and Rentals Tax. Chips, candy, gum and canned or bottled drinks sold sealed are not meals and are not taxed (RSA 78-A:3, VIII; Rev 701.09).

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

No special license, and no sales tax, because New Hampshire has none. Stock authentic product and keep Pokémon characters and logos off the machine itself.

How much does a New Hampshire sales tax permit cost?

Nothing, because there is no such permit. New Hampshire has no general sales tax. If your machines sell taxable meals, you need a Meals and Rentals license instead, and the statute and rules set no fee for it.

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

No. New Hampshire has no sales or use tax, so there is no resale certificate for merchandise. If you buy sandwiches or other meals to resell, the seller can skip the meals tax when its records show your Meals and Rentals license number (Rev 702.16).

Sources

1. NH Department of Business and Economic Affairs, Low Tax Burden
2. NH RSA 78-A, Meals and Rooms Tax: 78-A:3, definitions, 78-A:4, licenses, 78-A:6, rate, 78-A:6-c, meals exceptions, 78-A:7, collection, 78-A:8, returns
3. NH Code of Administrative Rules, Rev 700, Meals and Rentals Tax (Rev 701.09, 702.01, 702.16, 705.01 to 705.03, 706.02)
4. New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration
5. NH RSA 143-A, Food Service Licensure: 143-A:3, 143-A:4, 143-A:5, 143-A:6
6. NH Code of Administrative Rules, He-P 2300, Sanitary Production and Distribution of Food (He-P 2303.02, 2304.01, 2304.04, 2304.05, 2304.12)
7. NH Department of Health and Human Services, Food Protection
8. City of Manchester Health Department: Food Protection, Permits and Licenses, Food Service Establishment Facility Permit Application (PDF), Open a New Food Business
9. NH RSA 77-A, Business Profits Tax: 77-A:1, 77-A:2, 77-A:6
10. NH RSA 77-E, Business Enterprise Tax: 77-E:1, 77-E:2, 77-E:5
11. NH RSA 304-C, Limited Liability Companies: 304-C:191, fees and 304-C:194, annual reports
12. NH RSA 349, Trade Names: 349:1, 349:6 and 349:7, fees
13. New Hampshire Secretary of State
14. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
15. 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
16. 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)