A tampon or period product vending machine is a small wall-mounted dispenser for pads and tampons. The deciding question for a buyer today is less “coin or card?” than “free or paid, and if free, how do we stop it being emptied?” Laws in Scotland, in several US states and in Australian state programs now require free products in schools and public buildings. A free machine has a different job from a paid one, so it needs a different specification. This page covers the models, the laws (as of October 2026), the quota options and what to specify.
Quick answer
- Free vend is now the norm in schools, universities and public buildings. Paid machines remain in commercial venues.
- Laws require free products in some settings: Scotland (all councils and education providers since 15 August 2022), California and New York school restrooms, and a state-run machine program in Victoria’s government schools and public sites.
- A free machine needs an anti-emptying control: one pack per vend, a delay between vends, a code with a monthly quota, or a phone-based questionnaire. Use the lightest one that works.
- Small packs (2-packs) suit free vend. Stock at least two absorbencies of pads and of tampons.
- In the US, tampons dispensed by vending machine are exempt from FDA’s package-labelling rule, so put toxic shock syndrome information on the machine instead.
- We build compact wall-mount machines for this, including an advertising-funded free period-product program that went from five prototypes to a 50-unit order.
What kinds of period product dispenser are there?
| Type | How it releases | Power and data | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coin-operated mechanical | Coin turns a mechanism | No power, no data | Legacy paid restrooms |
| Push-button free dispenser | Button press, often with a time delay | Battery or mains; usually no remote reporting | Single-site free provision, schools |
| Smart free-vend machine | Button, touchscreen, code or QR | Mains plus 4G or Wi-Fi; stock and dispense data in the cloud | Multi-site funded programs that report to a funder |
| Smart paid machine | Card, phone wallet or QR payment | Mains plus connectivity | Commercial venues recovering product cost |
Victoria’s public program uses two designs side by side: a touchscreen machine (Start, choose product, collect) and a push-button machine with braille plates (press, collect). The braille plates make the push-button version usable by blind and low-vision users without a screen.
Free-vend or paid: which model fits?
| Model | Who pays for products | Control that matters | Typical sites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Publicly funded free vend | Government, council or school | Per-vend limit, delay, stock alerts, usage reporting | Schools, libraries, hospitals, stations |
| Advertising-funded free vend | Advertisers on the machine’s screen | Screen uptime, eligibility gate, audience data | Shopping centres, campuses, public restrooms |
| Employer or venue-funded free vend | The employer or venue | Per-vend limit; often badge or PIN | Workplaces, gyms, universities |
| Paid vend | The user | Payment acceptance, price per pack | Bars, clubs, transport hubs |
The advertising model is the least obvious and the one we know best. A Brisbane health-tech startup wanted to give pads and tampons away free in public restrooms and pay for them with on-screen advertising. We built five custom wall-mount machines with 32-inch Android touchscreens, because the screen is what generates the revenue. Our software partner Vending on Track built the cloud backend and an eligibility questionnaire that gates free dispensing. The prototypes went live 75 days after kickoff, the client raised institutional funding, and then ordered 50 more units. The project page and the full build story with costs and timeline have the detail.
Which laws require free period products?
This is a summary for planning, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the regulator where the machine will stand. Status as of October 2026.
| Jurisdiction | Rule | Who must provide | What it says about access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021, in force 15 August 2022 | Local authorities (s.1); schools, colleges and universities (s.2); specified public bodies (s.3) | Products obtainable free, “reasonably easily”, in a way that “respects the dignity” of users, with “a reasonable choice of different types” (s.4). Education providers must provide products in at least one location in each building normally used by pupils or students, unless judged unsuitable after consultation (s.2) |
| England | Department for Education period product scheme (guidance first published January 2020) | State-funded schools (from year 5) and 16–19 providers may order products free | Guidance favours products in toilets or communal areas “without having to ask”, and lists token vending machines or lockers as one option. A scheme, not a statutory duty |
| California, US | Education Code §35292.6, operative 1 July 2024 | Public schools with any of grades 3–12 | Products stocked in all women’s and all-gender restrooms and at least one men’s restroom, free of charge, with a notice posted in each of those restrooms |
| New York, US | Public Health Law §267, as amended effective 1 July 2024 | Public and non-public schools serving any of grades 6–12 (non-public schools may qualify for an exemption) | Menstrual products in school restrooms, at no charge to students |
| Victoria, Australia | State program (not legislation) | All government primary, secondary and special schools, with machines in every school by the end of Term 2, 2020; plus public sites | Free pads and tampons by vending machine; the public program reports more than 1,000 machines |
Scotland’s Act regulates the outcome rather than the hardware. It does not mention vending machines, registration or identity, but every arrangement must meet the “reasonably easily” and “dignity” tests. If you are a Scottish council or college considering a code or questionnaire gate, that is the test to weigh it against. England’s guidance is more direct: it names token vending machines and restricted-access lockers as acceptable “restricted access” options alongside open baskets in toilets.
How do you stop a free machine being emptied?
This is the most common worry for anyone running a free machine, and it should shape the specification. The controls, from lightest to heaviest:
| Control | How it works | Friction for the user | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| One pack per vend | Each press releases one small pack | None | Any motorised machine |
| Delay between vends | The machine pauses before it will vend again | Almost none | A vend timer in the machine’s controller |
| Code plus monthly quota | User registers once on a phone and gets a reusable code; the cloud counts vends against a monthly limit | Moderate: one-off sign-up | Cloud platform; connectivity |
| Phone questionnaire gate | A short web questionnaire releases the vend and collects usage data | Moderate, every visit or periodically | Cloud platform; screen or QR |
| Staff token or badge | Tokens or a staff/student card release the vend | High where people must ask staff | Token mechanism or card reader |
Victoria’s public machines use the light end: users choose a pack, and there is a short delay before the same machine will dispense again. There is no registration. At the other end, a health agency we worked with gives out free kits through a mobile website where users sign up once with an email or mobile number and receive a reusable access code that counts against a monthly quota (free vends with a monthly quota). The same pattern, applied to HIV self-tests, runs at up to four kits per person per month on the MyTest program.
For most period-product sites the right answer is the light end: small packs, one per vend, a delay, and stock data so you can see whether emptying is happening before adding friction. A code gate earns its place where a funder needs counts of unique users, or where a site has a real, measured hoarding problem.
What US federal rules apply to vended tampons?
In the US, tampons are medical devices. Unscented menstrual tampons are Class II devices under 21 CFR 884.5470. The labelling rule, 21 CFR 801.430, requires the package to carry a toxic shock syndrome (TSS) alert, one of five standard absorbency terms (light, regular, super, super plus, ultra) and consumer information. Paragraph (g) then states: “Any menstrual tampon intended to be dispensed by a vending machine is exempt from the requirements of this section.”
The exemption exists because vended tampons are usually single units without the box insert. It does not stop you giving users that information, and you should:
- Put the absorbency term on each selection label, so users can pick the lowest absorbency they need.
- Put TSS information on the machine panel, or behind a QR code linking to the manufacturer’s leaflet.
- Load tampons in their individual wrappers and pads in sealed packs, and remove anything with damaged packaging.
Pads are not covered by 801.430.
How much does a period product machine hold?
Capacity follows the pack, so start with packaging dimensions as loaded. Our period-product dispensing guide gives working coil sizes: about 50–70 mm coils at 50–60 mm pitch for individual pads, and 40–60 mm coils at 45–55 mm pitch for individual tampons. Multi-packs and boxes need wider coils.
Illustrative arithmetic, not a specification: on a coil with about 300 mm of usable length at 55 mm pitch, one selection holds about 5 packs (300 ÷ 55 ≈ 5.5, rounded down). Ten selections hold about 50 packs, so a machine serving 25 vends a day needs a visit roughly every two days. Only more selections, deeper coils or a second machine reduce that frequency. Our compact wall-mount units are typically 400–600 mm wide, 200–350 mm deep and 600–900 mm high, so depth is the limit on coil length. Run this calculation with your real pack sizes and expected daily vends before choosing a cabinet. Cloud stock data and low-stock alerts then show which machines run out first.
Where should the machine go?
- Inside the toilets where it is needed: women’s, all-gender and accessible toilets, and at least one men’s toilet where a rule such as California’s asks for it.
- At the reach height your accessibility rule sets. Our dispensing guide cites the US ADA reach range of 15–48 inches as an example; the applicable rule is local and yours to determine.
- Clear of water. Keep the slot away from basins and hand dryers.
- Not under a camera. If you need foot-traffic numbers in a toilet, an mmWave radar counter counts people without capturing images. It is a technical preview, built into custom projects on request.
- With a help label. Victoria puts a sticker on each machine with a helpline number and the machine’s unique number, so users can report an empty or faulty unit. That is cheap and worth copying.
What to specify if you are buying one
- Products and packaging dimensions as loaded, for every selection.
- Free or paid, and if paid, the payment method: MDB cashless, QR wallet or code release.
- The anti-emptying control from the table above, and the limit per vend or per period.
- Screen or screen-free. A screen pays for itself only if it carries advertising, instructions or a questionnaire.
- Connectivity and reporting — what your funder needs to see, per machine and per period.
- Mounting — brick, block or plasterboard. We supply drawings for the mounting backplate and installation guidance; on-site installation is optional and arranged locally, in some regions through a local distributor. Support from us is by email.
- Number of sites and the restock route.
Our compact wall-mount machines are published at about US$800–1,500 per unit depending on configuration; the cost guide covers the drivers. Hardware and software are designed in-house and built to specification in our partner factories in China; lead times run about 4–6 weeks for a modified standard machine and 8–12 weeks for a custom design. We sell direct and, in some regions, through local distributors. The medicine and health vending hub covers the wider controls, and the wall-mount guide covers the site survey.
Where a vending machine is the wrong answer
- A small site with a trusted population. An open basket in each toilet, refilled by cleaners, costs almost nothing and is the most dignified option. England’s guidance lists open provision first.
- Where your rule says “without having to ask”. A token handed out by staff fails that test. If a code gate makes people register, check whether it meets the “reasonably easily” and “dignity” requirements that apply to you.
- Where nobody owns restocking. An empty free machine is worse than none, which is why Victoria gives every machine a helpline sticker for reporting empty or faulty units. Plan the restock route before ordering.
- Wide product ranges. Period underwear and menstrual cups are bulky and expensive per unit; a vending cabinet holds a fixed number of selections.
Frequently asked questions
Are tampon vending machines free?
Many now are. Older restroom machines took coins, but schools, universities, councils and public bodies increasingly set them to free vend because a law or a funded program requires free products. Scotland’s 2021 Act, California Education Code section 35292.6 and New York Public Health Law section 267 all require products to be provided at no charge in the settings they cover. Paid machines still exist in commercial venues such as bars, gyms and transport hubs, where the operator recovers the cost of the products and the machine. The hardware is the same either way; what changes is the release method and the control that stops one person taking everything.
How do you stop people emptying a free period product machine?
Use the lightest control that works for the site. The simplest is a cap of one pack per vend plus a short delay before the next vend; Victoria’s public machines use a delay of this kind. Stronger options are a code issued on a phone with a monthly quota tracked in the cloud, a short questionnaire completed on the user’s phone before the vend, or a staff-issued token. Each step up reduces waste but adds friction, and where a law asks for products to be obtainable reasonably easily and with dignity, the operator has to judge whether a registration step is acceptable. Start with a per-vend limit and monitor stock data before adding anything heavier.
Does a vending machine have to supply the tampon leaflet in the US?
Not under the federal tampon labelling rule. FDA regulation 21 CFR 801.430 requires tampon packages to carry a toxic shock syndrome alert, standard absorbency terms and consumer information, but paragraph (g) states that any menstrual tampon intended to be dispensed by a vending machine is exempt from the requirements of that section. Good practice is still to show absorbency clearly on the selection label and to put toxic shock syndrome information on the machine panel or behind a QR code, because a single vended tampon reaches the user without the box insert. State or institutional rules may ask for more, so check them.
What products should a period product vending machine stock?
At least two absorbencies of pads and two of tampons, because the Scottish Act asks for a reasonable choice of product types and users need different absorbencies. Victoria’s public machines stock 2-packs of regular and super pads and regular and super tampons, with 6-packs at selected machines. Small packs suit a free machine because they meet immediate need without draining stock. A paid machine in a commercial venue can carry larger packs at a higher price. Send the packaging dimensions of every product as it will be loaded, because coil pitch and capacity are engineered from those numbers, not from the product inside.
Where should a tampon vending machine be installed?
In or right beside the toilets where people need the products: women’s, all-gender and accessible restrooms, and at least one men’s restroom where a rule such as California’s requires it. A compact wall-mount unit takes no floor space, so it fits inside a toilet block or lobby. Mount it at the reach height set by the accessibility rule in your jurisdiction, keep the dispensing slot clear of basins and hand dryers, and make sure a restocker can open it without blocking a doorway. Avoid placing it under a camera; if you need traffic data, a camera-free radar counter is available as a technical preview on custom builds.
How much does a period product vending machine cost?
KioskForce compact wall-mount machines are published at about US$800 to US$1,500 per unit, depending on configuration. A large touchscreen, cellular connectivity, a custom cloud backend and branding all add cost. On the free period-product program we built, five fully customised prototypes with 32-inch Android advertising screens came to about US$20,000 including international freight, and the cloud platform with an eligibility questionnaire cost a further US$20,000. A screen-free machine with a per-vend limit and no registration costs much less to build and to run. Products, restocking labour and connectivity are running costs on top.
Do period product vending machines need power?
A motorised coil machine with cashless payment, a screen or a cloud connection needs mains power and, for remote stock reporting, a 4G or Wi-Fi connection. That is what makes low-stock alerts, per-vend limits and quotas possible. Purely mechanical push-button or coin dispensers need no power but report nothing, so the restocker only finds out a machine is empty by visiting it. For a free program that has to report usage to a funder, or that covers many sites, a powered and connected machine is usually the better choice. Confirm power and signal at each position before ordering.
References
- legislation.gov.uk — “Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act 2021”, sections 1, 2 and 4 (accessed 2 October 2026). https://www.legislation.gov.uk/asp/2021/1/contents
- Scottish Government — “Period Products Act comes into force” (15 August 2022). https://www.gov.scot/news/period-products-act-comes-into-force/
- Department for Education (GOV.UK) — “Period product scheme for schools and colleges in England” (updated 21 September 2026). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/period-products-in-schools-and-colleges/period-product-scheme-for-schools-and-colleges-in-england
- California Legislative Information — “Education Code §35292.6” (accessed 2 October 2026). https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=EDC§ionNum=35292.6
- New York State Senate — “Public Health Law §267: Menstrual products in schools” (effective 1 July 2024). https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PBH/267
- Victorian Government — “Free period products in all government schools” (accessed 2 October 2026). https://www.vic.gov.au/free-period-products-all-government-schools
- Better Health Channel (Victoria) — “Free pads and tampons. Period.” (reviewed 7 May 2026). https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/free-pads-and-tampons
- Cornell Law School LII — “21 CFR §801.430 User labeling for menstrual tampons” (accessed 2 October 2026). https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/801.430
Related
- Medicine and health vending machines — the cluster hub: product groups, controls and our compliance position.
- How free-vend health programs work
- Health vending machines for universities and schools
- Emergency contraception vending machines on campus
- How much does a medicine vending machine cost?
- How to dispense period pads and tampons — product mix, coil sizing and maintenance.
Talk to us about a period product vending machine
Send the products and their pack sizes, the number of sites, whether supply is free or paid, and the rule or funding condition you are working to. We will come back with a cabinet layout, a control model and a price.
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