Washington Vending Machine Permits and Licenses

Vending permits and licenses by state · Washington

Washington has no general state license for vending machines. If you sell anything taxable, you need a state business license with a tax registration endorsement from the Department of Revenue, $50 to open, and a free reseller permit to buy inventory tax-free. Washington taxes vending food its own way: sales tax applies to 57% of food and candy receipts, while soft drinks, bottled water and hot food are taxed in full. On top of sales tax, you owe the state's B&O tax on gross receipts. Below is each requirement and the law it comes from.

Washington vending requirements at a glance

$50Business license application, to open

6.5%State sales tax

10.7%Highest combined rate, Oct. to Dec. 2026

57%Of vending food receipts taxed

Required

Business license and tax registration

State business license with a tax registration endorsement from the Department of Revenue if you sell anything taxable. $50 to open.

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Recommended

Resale certificate

Washington uses a reseller permit. Get it free from the Department of Revenue and give suppliers a copy to buy inventory tax-free.

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Applies

Tax on vending food

Sales tax on 57% of food and candy receipts. Soft drinks, bottled water and hot food are taxed in full.

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Applies

B&O tax

A gross receipts tax on top of sales tax: 0.471% for retailing, 0.5% from January 1, 2027. A small business credit can wipe it out.

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Depends

Food permit

Not needed if every item is prepackaged and needs no temperature control.

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Not required

Trading card license

Pokémon cards need only the business license and tax registration.

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Not required

Mystery products

No special license. They are taxable merchandise, covered by your business license and tax registration.

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Varies

City endorsements

Many cities license businesses located or doing business in city limits, and some add a city B&O tax.

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Last reviewed: October 28, 2026  ·  Sources: Revised Code of Washington, Washington Administrative Code, Washington Department of Revenue, Washington State Department of Health, Washington 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

Washington requirements and the laws behind them

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

Not a vending license. Washington regulates what your machines sell and how you report the tax, not the machines themselves. The Department of Revenue's list of state endorsements has no vending endorsement, and its guide to common business activities lists vending machines under just two taxes: retailing B&O and retail sales tax.

If your machines sell anything taxable, like trading cards, toys, candy or soda, you need a state business license with a tax registration endorsement. Add a local food permit for food that needs temperature control, an amusement game license for claw and crane machines, and any city endorsement where a machine will sit.

Sales tax and B&O tax on vending sales in Washington

The business license and tax registration

Washington has no separate sales tax permit. You register through the Department of Revenue's Business Licensing Service, and the tax registration endorsement prints on your business license (WAC 458-20-101). Register if you sell anything that requires collecting sales tax, whatever your income (apply for a business license).

• Cost: $50 Business License Application fee to open, plus any city or state endorsement fees. The tax registration endorsement is free (DOR processing fees; tax registration).
• Where to apply: My DOR, starting with the Business Licensing Wizard. An LLC files with the Secretary of State first. Allow about 10 business days.
• Machine locations: the rule requires a license document for each place of business, and its definition names a "cigarette vending machine" without mentioning other machines. Adding a location has no processing fee, and all locations can share one return. Ask the Department at 360-705-6705 how to list your machines.

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

The sales tax on vending sales is yours to collect and send to the state. That is why you should not also pay sales tax when you buy the inventory. Washington has no fill-in resale certificate for this. The Department of Revenue issues a reseller permit, and each supplier keeps a copy to prove the sale was wholesale (RCW 82.04.470; WAC 458-20-102).

• Reseller permit: free. Apply in My DOR once your business license is issued. It is generally valid for four years, or two if your business is less than 12 months old (reseller permit Q&A). See a sample permit (PDF).
• Suppliers: give each one a copy. A supplier may verify your permit online instead of keeping a copy.
• Streamlined certificate: Washington-registered buyers may use the Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption (PDF) for resale instead, but only with the reseller permit number on it.
• Multistate Tax Commission certificate: accepted only from buyers not required to register in Washington, so not for Washington operators (approved certificates).

The permit covers products you resell, not your machines, supplies or items you give away, and misuse costs the tax plus a 50% penalty. Inventory you take for your own use is reported as deferred sales tax under use tax on your excise tax return (WAC 458-20-102(12); RCW 82.12.020).

Sales tax rates

The state rate is 6.5% (RCW 82.08.020). Local tax adds to it: in the Department of Revenue's rate table for October 1 to December 31, 2026, combined rates run from 7.6% to 10.7% (Edmonds and Lynnwood), and Seattle is 10.55%. Rates change every quarter.

Tax follows the place where the customer receives the item (DOR sourcing rules). For a vending machine, that is where the machine sits. The Department's own vending example applies Seattle's and Spokane's rates separately. Use the tax rate lookup to find each machine's location code.

What is taxable in a Washington vending machine

Washington exempts most grocery food from sales tax, candy included, but not food sold through vending machines. The law taxes part of those receipts instead (RCW 82.08.0293(4)), and WAC 458-20-244(9) and the Department's vending machine guide show the math:

• Food and candy: tax on 57% of gross receipts. That covers chips, candy, gum, nuts, milk and juice that is more than 50% juice. Receipts times 0.57 times the local rate is the tax included in them.
• Soft drinks, bottled water and hot food: taxed on the full price. A soft drink is any sweetened drink unless it contains milk or a milk substitute, or is more than 50% juice. Hot food means food dispensed heated, like coffee or soup. Back the tax out by dividing receipts by 1 plus the tax rate.
• Pricing: vending prices may include the tax without stating it separately (RCW 82.08.050(9)). Open honor box snack trays do not count as vending machines.

Cashless machines: the vending rule covers machines that work "through the insertion of coins or other forms of payment" (WAC 458-20-187(3)), so card-only machines follow the same rules. Everything that is not food is taxed on the full price: trading cards, sealed Pokémon product, mystery items, toys and other merchandise.

B&O tax on top of sales tax

Washington also taxes gross receipts through its business and occupation (B&O) tax, which you pay yourself rather than collect from customers (DOR). Vending sales fall under the retailing classification (WAC 458-20-187(4)(a)).

• Rate: 0.471% of gross receipts, rising to 0.5% on January 1, 2027 (RCW 82.04.250).
• Food is not exempt: B&O applies to all vending receipts, including the 43% of food receipts that escapes sales tax. Only the sales tax in the price is deducted (WAC 458-20-244(9)).
• Small business credit: for most retailers it covers all B&O tax up to $55 a month and shrinks to zero at $110 a month (RCW 82.04.4451). Sales tax is still due (WAC 458-20-104).
• Litter tax: a separate 0.015% on vending sales of food, drinks and other listed products, on the same amount as retailing B&O (RCW 82.19; DOR). Its 13 product groups do not name trading cards or toys.
• Host commissions: a business that hosts your machine for a commission reports that income under service and other activities B&O (WAC 458-20-187(4)(c)).

Food and drinks: when you need a food permit in Washington

Washington's retail food code, chapter 246-215 WAC, counts a vending location as a food establishment. A vending machine location is the area where machines are installed, plus their storage and service areas (WAC 246-215-01115). The same definition leaves out "an establishment that offers only nontime/temperature control for safety food prepackaged in a licensed food establishment or food processing plant," and one that offers only prepackaged frozen treats from a licensed source.

• No food permit: sealed shelf-stable snacks, candy, and bottled or canned drinks, when that is all the location offers. The Department of Health's Permit-Free Picks flyer (PDF) lists commercially packaged snack foods, bottled drinks and packaged frozen novelties as items that may not need a permit.
• Food permit: sandwiches, salads, milk, or anything that has to stay cold or hot to stay safe. Those machines need an automatic shutoff if they cannot hold safe temperatures (WAC 246-215-04246).

No one may operate a food establishment without a permit from the regulatory authority (WAC 246-215-08300), which is the local board of health acting through the local health officer. In practice that is your county or district health department, and fees are local. Find yours through the Department of Health.

The food code defines a vending machine as a self-service device started by a coin, paper currency, a token, a card, a key or an electronic transaction (WAC 246-215-01115), so a card-only machine is treated the same as a coin machine.

Trading cards, mystery products, claw machines and toys

Pokémon and other trading cards

Washington has no special license for selling trading cards. They are taxable merchandise, so the business license and tax registration 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 trading cards and toys, they are taxable on the full price, and the receipts count toward retailing B&O tax, so the business license and tax registration cover them. We found no special license for selling them from a vending machine. See our guide to mystery vending machines.

Claw and crane machines

Washington's rules list crane and claw games as amusement games (WAC 230-13-045). A business other than a charity or nonprofit may run amusement games only with an amusement game license from the state (RCW 9.46.0331), applied for through wsgc.wa.gov. The commercial license is $550 plus $70 per approved location, plus quarterly fees of 1.198% of gross receipts, capped at $17,600 a year (WAC 230-05-170).

Toys, plush and jewelry

Washington's Children's Safe Products Act bars retailers from knowingly selling children's products with lead above 90 parts per million, cadmium above 40 parts per million, or phthalates above 0.1% by weight (RCW 70A.430.020). Children's products include toys, and jewelry sold in a vending machine counts as children's jewelry (RCW 70A.430.010). Buy toys, plush and capsule jewelry from suppliers who can show test results.

Federal rules that apply in Washington 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 Washington

• Entity: form an LLC with the Secretary of State before you apply for the business license. The Certificate of Formation costs $180, and the annual report is $70 (fee schedule).
• City endorsements: many cities license businesses located or doing business inside city limits, and partner cities can be added to your state license (city endorsements). Spokane charges $131 plus employee fees (Spokane). Seattle and Tacoma are not on the list, so contact them directly.
• City B&O tax: many cities add their own B&O tax, which the Department of Revenue does not collect (city B&O tax).
• Personal property tax: file a personal property listing for your machines with the county assessor by April 30 each year (RCW 84.40.040; DOR licensing FAQ).
• Government buildings: blind vendors licensed by the Department of Services for the Blind get priority for vending machines in public buildings (RCW 74.18.220), and net proceeds from other machines there go to that program (RCW 74.18.230).

Washington vending permit and license FAQ

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

Washington has no general vending machine license. If you sell taxable items, you need a state business license with a tax registration endorsement from the Department of Revenue, $50 to open. Add a local health permit only for food that needs temperature control, and an amusement game license for claw and crane machines.

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

Not if the location offers only prepackaged foods that need no time or temperature control, like sealed snacks, candy and bottled drinks (WAC 246-215-01115). Sandwiches, milk and other food that must stay cold or hot need a permit from the local health department.

Is vending machine food taxed in Washington?

Yes. Food and candy that are tax-free at a grocery store are taxed on 57% of vending receipts, and soft drinks, bottled water and hot food are taxed in full (RCW 82.08.0293). All vending receipts also count toward B&O tax.

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

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

How much does a Washington business license cost?

$50 to open a new business through the Business Licensing Service, plus any city or state endorsement fees. The tax registration endorsement and the reseller permit are free.

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

Not if you buy it to resell. Give each supplier a copy of your free Washington reseller permit from the Department of Revenue. You collect the tax when items sell. Inventory you use yourself is subject to use tax.

Do vending operators pay B&O tax in Washington?

Yes. Vending sales fall under retailing B&O: 0.471% of gross receipts, then 0.5% from January 1, 2027. For most retailers, a small business credit covers up to $55 a month of it.

Sources

1. DOR, State endorsements and common business activities
2. DOR, Apply for a business license, processing fees and Tax Registration
3. WAC 458-20-101 and 458-20-104
4. RCW 82.04.470 and WAC 458-20-102, reseller permits
5. DOR, Reseller permits, Q&A, approved certificates and sample permit
6. Streamlined Sales Tax Certificate of Exemption (Washington)
7. RCW 82.12.020, use tax
8. RCW 82.08.020 and 82.08.050
9. DOR, Local rates for Q4 2026 (XLSX), rate lookup and sale location
10. RCW 82.08.0293 and WAC 458-20-244, food (vending machines)
11. WAC 458-20-187, vending machine owners and operators and DOR vending machines guide
12. DOR, B&O tax, RCW 82.04.250 and 82.04.4451
13. RCW 82.19, litter tax and DOR
14. Chapter 246-215 WAC, retail food code
15. Department of Health, Permit-Free Picks (September 2025) and local contacts
16. RCW 9.46.0331, amusement game licenses
17. WAC 230-13, amusement games, 230-05-170, fees and amusement game licensing agency (wsgc.wa.gov)
18. RCW 70A.430.010 and 70A.430.020, children's products
19. DOR, City endorsements, Spokane and city B&O tax
20. RCW 84.40.040 and DOR licensing FAQs
21. RCW 74.18.220 and 74.18.230, blind vendors
22. Secretary of State, LLC filings and fees
23. 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design and U.S. Access Board guide to operable parts
24. 21 CFR 101.8, calorie labeling of food in vending machines
25. 7 CFR 210.11, competitive food standards (Smart Snacks)