Quick answer
Washington hands a venue something no other state in this series does: the locator’s registration number has to appear in its own advertising, and the registration sits in a public file at the Department of Financial Institutions. A Washington host can check the caller before the call ends.
On this page
At a glance
| The question | Washington’s answer |
|---|---|
| Signed venues on the record | 1 — Kennewick, at 40% of net |
| Where to look a seller up | Department of Financial Institutions |
| Where the number must appear | In the advertising itself |
| Statutory threshold | A location promise, at any price |
| What your building must license | Nothing; no decal either |
| National median share | 40% of net |
Who calls Washington venues about vending machines?
Two kinds of company ring a Washington venue, and they want different things from the same floor space.
PinPoint Vending places specialty equipment — cotton candy, ice cream, coffee — and has one signed Washington venue on the open record, in Kennewick. Nationwide Vending Locators handles Washington snack and drink banks, charging per location on installation.
The company that signs a Washington venue up is frequently not the company that restocks the machine afterwards, and the second one is the one you will actually deal with. How to choose a vending company covers the operator; who calls, and what each kind wants separates the two kinds of Washington caller.
How does a Washington venue check who is calling?
In two steps, both of which take a minute. RCW 19.110 requires a seller to register with the Department of Financial Institutions for $200 and to print that registration number in its advertising.
| What a host can check | Washington | Most verified states |
|---|---|---|
| A number in the advertising | Required | Rare |
| A public registry | Department of Financial Institutions | Varies |
| A price threshold to hide behind | None at all | Usually $500 |
| Bond or trust account | $50,000 where income is guaranteed | Varies |
So the check runs: find the number on the flyer, email or web page, then confirm it against the Department of Financial Institutions. A Washington pitch with no registration number printed anywhere has already failed a requirement that costs $200 to meet, and the statute applies at any price, so there is no small-deal exemption to fall back on.
Washington adds two protections aimed at the operator rather than the host — no money may change hands before signature, and seven business days to cancel afterwards. Neither is yours, but both tell a venue how well the caller knows the state it is selling in.
What did the one Washington venue agree?
Forty per cent of net, at an indoor playground in Kennewick signed July 20, 2026, reporting 50,000 visitors a year — about 140 a day.
| The Washington listing | Detail |
|---|---|
| Venue type | Indoor playground, standard tier |
| Reported traffic | 140 a day, against a category median of 110 |
| Share | 40% of net |
| Minimum term | 16 months |
Kennewick is above the middle of its category on traffic and exactly at the national median on share, which makes it a fair benchmark rather than a flattering one. A Washington venue being quoted a lower figure can reasonably ask what distinguishes its building from a playground doing 140 a day.
Worth knowing where it sits, too: Kennewick is in the dry southeast, roughly 200 miles from Seattle, so the state’s only placement is nowhere near its population. A Puget Sound venue is negotiating as the first in its region, which is leverage.
What does Washington require of the building?
Nothing at state level. Washington has no vending licence and no decal, which puts it with North Carolina and Massachusetts at the lightest end of this series — and nothing at all attaches to your premises.
Local health permitting still applies by county and by address, through the Washington State Department of Health and your local jurisdiction. A Washington host should treat that as the operator’s obligation, written into the agreement with an indemnity, because the machine will be in your building when an inspector arrives.
One reading tip for a Washington quote: a line item for a state vending licence is describing a fee Washington does not charge. The costs that are real here are the $200 registration on the seller’s side and county permitting on the machine’s.
What does 40% of net pay a Washington venue?
Kennewick’s 40% of net works out at $2.48 to the host on an $8 serving.
| Share | A Washington host takes per $8 serving |
|---|---|
| 30% | $1.86 |
| 40% — the Kennewick listing | $2.48 |
| 50% | $3.10 |
Washington sales are netted down by $1.80 a serving first, which is why none of those figures is a straight cut of the shelf price. How the share is calculated runs an example end to end, and what to read in a vending service agreement covers the clauses that decide what “net” means.
Compared with ordinary snack and drink commission, a Washington specialty machine pays a better percentage on a smaller number of sales. Fifty per cent exists in the record, but nearly every venue holding it is somewhere people pass through rather than visit.
What should a Washington venue settle before signing?
Four things, and the first is quick:
- The registration number in the advertising, checked against the Department of Financial Institutions.
- How your building compares with Kennewick — 140 visitors a day at 40% is the state’s only benchmark.
- Who holds county health permitting, written as the operator’s obligation with an indemnity.
- What notice ends the sixteen-month term, and who pays to clear the floor afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage do Washington businesses get from vending machines?
The one signed Washington venue agreed 40% of net — an indoor playground in Kennewick reporting 140 visitors a day. Forty per cent is also the national median across the 81 placements stating a figure.
Can a Washington host check a locator?
Yes, and more easily than in any other state here. RCW 19.110 requires the registration number to appear in advertising, and the registration itself is held by the Department of Financial Institutions.
Does a Washington business need a licence to host a machine?
Nothing attaches to your premises. Washington has no vending licence and no decal, so county health permitting by address is the only item to establish.
What is the no-money rule?
No money may change hands before the operator signs. It protects the operator rather than the host, but a caller who does not know it is telling you how closely it reads its own state’s statute.
How long do vending agreements run in Washington?
The Washington placement carries a sixteen-month minimum term, as every signed placement in this record does. What ends it, and who removes the machine, are separate questions.
Sources
- RCW 19.110, business opportunity fraud (Washington State Legislature)
- Business opportunity registration, Washington State Department of Financial Institutions
- Food safety, Washington State Department of Health
- Nationwide Vending Locators: service, fees and coverage pages, checked October 6, 2026
- PinPoint Vending: open marketplace listings, collected October 5, 2026
