Trusted by leading alcohol beverage brands nationwide
From your first federal TTB permit to state ABC licenses in every market you enter, we manage the entire alcohol licensing process so you can open and operate without the guesswork.
A proven process that keeps your compliance moving forward without the guesswork.
We scope your entity, operation, and target states.
We build federal and state filings as one aligned package.
We submit to the TTB and each state ABC and track review.
You're licensed and ready to operate, cleanly.
Getting licensed to produce, import, distribute, or sell alcohol in the United States means clearing two separate layers of government: the federal Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), and the alcohol beverage control (ABC) authority in every state where you operate. Each has its own forms, timelines, bonding requirements, and review standards, and a mistake at one level can stall the other.
Alcohol Industry Associates manages federal and state alcohol licensing from application through approval. We prepare and file your TTB basic permit or brewer's notice, coordinate the state ABC licenses you need, and handle the amendments and ownership changes that come later as your business grows. Our team includes former regulators, so we know how these applications are actually reviewed, not just how the instructions read.
Alcohol is one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country, and licensing is where most new operations get stuck. A complete application package typically requires business formation documents, premises diagrams, source-of-funds documentation, personnel questionnaires, bonding, and label or formula groundwork, all of which must line up across federal and state filings.
We handle the full scope of alcohol licensing and permitting, including:
The federal and state systems do not talk to each other, and they do not run on the same clock. A TTB basic permit can take several months; a state license might issue faster or slower depending on the jurisdiction. If your entity structure, premises, or personnel information is inconsistent across filings, reviewers flag it, and every flag adds weeks.
Because we prepare federal and state applications as a coordinated package, the details match the first time. That is the single biggest driver of a faster approval.
Our team includes former regulators with a decade of experience serving the alcohol beverage industry. We bring an insider's understanding of how these matters are actually reviewed, and we work with clients in all 50 states. Start with a consultation →
Different operations require different federal authorizations from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. Filter by category and tap any permit to see who needs it and what it covers.
A Distilled Spirits Plant is the federal authorization to produce, distill, rectify, blend, store, or bottle distilled spirits for commercial purposes. Operating a DSP requires both registering the plant with the TTB and obtaining an operating permit and/or basic permit, and in most cases a bond.
Because spirits are taxed at the highest rate, DSP applications carry some of the most detailed requirements, including bonded-premises diagrams and operational specifics. You cannot begin operations until the TTB approves your registration.
Distilleries producing whiskey, vodka, gin, rum, brandy, and other spirits.
A Bonded Winery permit authorizes the production, blending, cellar treatment, storage, and bottling of wine for commercial purposes. Winery operations may not begin until the TTB grants approval.
A bonded winery can also serve as the basis for custom crush or alternating-proprietor arrangements, where multiple producers use the same premises, each alternating proprietor holds its own bonded winery permit.
Wineries, cideries, and meaderies producing or bottling wine.
Related to the bonded winery, these authorizations cover wine premises that store, blend, or bottle wine without necessarily producing it from scratch. A bonded wine cellar (BWC) handles untaxpaid wine operations; a taxpaid wine bottling house (TPWBH) bottles wine on which tax has already been paid.
Which authorization you need depends on exactly what operations you plan to conduct on the premises, an assessment we handle as part of scoping your filing.
Operations that store, blend, or bottle wine without full production.
Breweries are the exception to the basic-permit rule. Brewers do not hold an FAA Act basic permit; instead they must file and receive approval of a Brewer's Notice before producing beer for sale. There is no federal filing fee.
The Brewer's Notice authorizes brewery operations and covers production and related activities. The TTB distinguishes between operations such as breweries and brewpubs, but all must have an approved Brewer's Notice before brewing commercially.
Breweries and brewpubs producing beer or malt beverages.
An Importer's Basic Permit is required to engage in the business of importing distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages into the United States for commercial sale. Most imported beverage alcohol also requires an approved Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) before it can enter commerce.
Companies that both import and produce domestically often need multiple permits, for example, an importer's basic permit alongside a bonded winery permit.
Businesses bringing spirits, wine, or beer into the U.S. to sell.
A Wholesaler's Basic Permit is required to engage in the business of purchasing distilled spirits, wine, or malt beverages for resale at wholesale, the middle tier of the three-tier distribution system.
Wholesaler requirements sit at the federal level, and separate state wholesaler and distributor licenses are almost always required in each state where you operate.
Distributors purchasing bottled alcohol for resale at wholesale.
Saké occupies a unique regulatory position. Anyone wishing to produce saké must qualify as a brewery and also file for a basic permit as a winery for labeling and advertising purposes, a dual qualification that trips up many new producers.
The paperwork for saké currently must be submitted on paper forms rather than through the online system, adding another wrinkle we manage for clients.
Producers of saké, which is regulated as both beer and wine.
The TTB provides for limited-purpose facilities used for research and development. An experimental distilled spirits plant may be established for specific, limited periods solely for experimentation in industrial spirits, source materials, or production processes. Similarly, a pilot brewery may be established off brewery premises for research, analytical, experimental, or developmental purposes.
These specialized authorizations have their own rules and time limits, and are worth considering for producers innovating on process or product.
R&D operations testing new spirits, processes, or beer.
Many businesses need more than one permit, a company that imports wine and bottles domestically may hold both an importer's basic permit and a bonded winery permit, each separately regulated. We determine exactly which federal permits your operation requires and manage every filing.
Common questions about licensing and permitting for alcohol beverage businesses.
TTB processing times vary by permit type and current agency workload, and they change over time. Distilled spirits and winery basic permits generally take longer to review than importer or wholesaler permits, and brewer's notices follow their own track.
The biggest variable you control is application quality. A complete, internally consistent package that does not trigger requests for correction moves through review far faster than one the agency has to send back. We prepare filings to that standard specifically to avoid those delays.
In almost all cases, yes. The TTB basic permit (or brewer's notice) authorizes you at the federal level, and a separate state ABC license authorizes you to operate in that particular state. If you sell into multiple states, you will generally need licensing in each of them. We coordinate both layers so they align.
Distilleries, wineries, importers, and wholesalers operate under a TTB basic permit. Breweries instead operate under a brewer's notice. They are different federal authorizations with different requirements, but both are filed with the TTB before you can legally produce or sell. We handle both.
Yes. Returned or rejected applications are common, and they are usually fixable. We review what the agency flagged, correct the underlying issue, and resubmit a clean package. Because our team reviewed applications from the regulator's side, we can often spot the real problem quickly.
Usually yes. Changes to ownership, officers, entity structure, premises, or trade name typically require an amendment or a new filing with both the TTB and the state. These changes trigger regulatory review, and operating without updating your permits can put you out of compliance. We manage these amendments so nothing lapses.
Difficulty varies widely because every state runs its own ABC system with its own rules, and those rules change. Some states have lengthy investigations, residency or local-approval requirements, or franchise considerations for distribution. Rather than generalize, we assess the specific states in your plan and map the requirements for each.
No. We work with brand-new operations getting licensed for the first time and with established producers, importers, wholesalers, and brand owners expanding into new states, changing ownership, or cleaning up existing permits. Licensing is ongoing, not one-and-done.
Typically your business entity details, ownership structure, the type of operation and where it will be located, and the states or activities you are targeting. From there we build the filing plan and tell you exactly what documentation each application requires. The initial consultation is the fastest way to scope your project.