Brewery License Checklist 2026: Federal, State and Local Permits

A brewery license is not one document. To brew and sell beer legally in the US, you need a federal TTB Brewer's Notice, an FDA food facility registration, a state manufacturer license and local permits for each taproom. Each runs on its own cycle, and FDA registrations must be renewed between October 1 and December 31, 2026.

Sound familiar? Your Brewer's Notice sits in a TTB portal, the state renewal arrives by email (if at all), the town permits hang on the taproom wall, and the reminder system is whoever remembers. This guide gives you a license matrix with official links, a two-hour inventory, a spreadsheet to copy and every federal date to January 2027.

Key takeaways

• FDA food facility registrations must be renewed between October 1 and December 31, 2026, or FDA treats them as expired. Renewal is free.
• The next quarterly and annual TTB excise returns are due January 14, 2027.
• The TTB Brewer's Notice has no renewal date, but most changes need an amended notice within 30 days, and a new location needs approval first.
• A TTB brewer's bond expires every four years, and the renewal must be approved before the current bond expires. Quarterly and annual filers may be exempt.
• In Massachusetts, section 12 on-premises licenses (held by pub breweries) are renewed by applying during November.
• TTB emails free reminders about a week before each quarterly or annual return and operational report is due, if you sign up.

Every brewery license sits in one of three layers: federal, state or local.

What brewery licenses and permits do you need in 2026?

Every US brewery needs approvals at three levels. Federal approval comes from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Your state alcohol agency issues the manufacturer license. Your city or town handles the taproom, the building and the business name.

Some renew on a date, some on an anniversary, and some never expire but must be amended. We compiled this matrix from the official pages and checked every row on 12 October 2026. State rows use Massachusetts and California as examples; confirm yours with your own state agency.

For a deeper look at the federal rows, see our guide to TTB Brewer's Notice amendments. For pouring permits by state, see our taproom license requirements guide.

What brewery license deadlines are due before January 2027?

Work through this list in order, adding your own state and local anniversaries.

1. This week: test your FDA login. Sign in to FDA Industry Systems and confirm your DUNS number, which FDA accepts as the facility identifier. The free renewal window closes at 11:59 PM on December 31.
2. This week: sign up for TTB's free reminders. They arrive about a week before quarterly and annual returns and operational reports, and 3 days before semimonthly returns.
3. October 14, 2026: third-quarter return. Quarterly filers owe the July to September return. If it has not gone out, file it now.
4. November, Massachusetts only. If your pub brewery or taproom holds a section 12 on-premises license, apply to renew it during November.
5. By December 31: renew FDA registration. Do it early so a lost password cannot cost you the registration.
6. January 14, 2027: file the excise return. Quarterly filers owe October to December; annual filers owe 2026. Pay.gov ACH payments must be completed by 8:55 p.m. ET one business day before the due date.
7. Look ahead. Start any state or local renewal expiring before April 2027, and if your brewer's bond expires within six months, file the renewal now.

Verified federal dates for a brewery license calendar, October 2026 to January 2027.

Which federal brewery licenses need renewing or amending?

When does a TTB Brewer's Notice need an amendment?

Any change to the information on your Brewer's Notice needs an amended notice within 30 days under 27 CFR 25.71, and a new location needs approval first. You file free through TTB's Permits Online system. TTB proposed relaxing these rules in 2022 (Notice No. 212), but as of October 2026 no final rule has been published and the 30-day rule still applies.

How often do you file the excise tax return and Report of Operations?

The excise tax return is semimonthly by default, quarterly if your beer tax is $50,000 or less a year, and annual at $1,000 or less. It is due on the 14th day after the period ends, even if you removed no beer, or the business day before if that falls on a weekend or holiday. Brewers eligible for quarterly or annual returns do not need a brewer's bond for that part of the year (27 CFR 25.91(e)).

When does a brewery need label approval (COLA)?

You need a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA) before bottling beer shipped into a state that requires federal-standard malt beverage labels, under 27 CFR 7.21. TTB's Public COLA Registry helps fill gaps in your records.

Does a brewery need FDA food facility registration?

Yes, in most cases. Under the Bioterrorism Act, alcohol counts as food, and TTB's guidance says the rule affects breweries, including brewpubs that pack any beverages for off-site sale. Restaurants that serve consumers directly are generally exempt.

What state and local brewery licenses do you need?

Your state alcohol agency issues the manufacturer license, and your city or town issues the rest. Two examples show how different the cycles are.

Massachusetts. The Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) issues manufacturer, farmer-brewery and pub brewery licenses. Renewals run through the ePLACE portal and need your FDA registration and a current surety bond. A farmer-brewery taproom needs a local pouring permit approved by the ABCC; our Massachusetts farmer brewery license guide covers fees and pouring permits in detail.

California. The Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) issues the Type 23 Small Beer Manufacturer license to breweries producing fewer than 60,000 barrels a year. Each license is active for about one year from issue, so each has its own anniversary. ABC sends a renewal notice, but you must renew whether or not it arrives.

Local permits vary by city, so ask your clerk for the full set at each address. In Massachusetts, a business certificate (DBA) lasts four years and lapses if not renewed, with a fine of up to $300 for each month in violation.

Do this now: build a brewery license inventory in two hours

Open a blank spreadsheet and work through these eight sources. Times are our estimates for one brewery with one taproom.

1. Walk the walls (20 minutes). Photograph every posted license and certificate. Each photo gives the number, the issuer and often the expiry date.
2. Log in to TTB Permits Online (15 minutes). Compare the officers, trade names and premises on your Brewer's Notice with reality. Any mismatch is an amendment you owe.
3. Check excise and bond paperwork (15 minutes). Note your return period. If you hold a bond, record its effective date; it expires four years later.
4. Log in to FDA Industry Systems (10 minutes). Record the registration number, DUNS number and whether the 2026 renewal is done.
5. Open your state agency portal (15 minutes). In Massachusetts that is ePLACE. Record each license number, expiry date and fee.
6. Search your email (20 minutes). Try your state agency, your town's name, "renewal", "license" and "permit".
7. List your labels (15 minutes). Record the COLA ID for every label sold across state lines.
8. Email the clerk (10 minutes). Ask: "Please list every license and permit on file for [address], with expiry dates."

What columns should a brewery license spreadsheet have?

Use one row per license per location, with these columns in row 1 of Google Sheets or Excel. The example values are illustrative.

Use the agency's window in column G where it publishes one; otherwise 60 days is our suggested working buffer. For four-year items such as a TTB bond or a Massachusetts business certificate, calculate expiry with =EDATE(issue_date,48). For a Brewer's Notice, which never expires, enter your own review date.

Color column L red below 30 and amber below 90, turn on filters so each taproom manager can filter column E to their site, and sort column L smallest first every Monday. If you would rather not build it, the free brewery license calendar has these columns, a per-location dashboard and a bond calculator ready to fill in.

What do you need to file before opening a new taproom or changing owners?

File before the change happens. Federal approval for a new location comes first, and 30-day clocks start on the day of the change.

How can a brewery make license renewals less stressful?

Spread the work, keep proof in one place and catch changes where they start. These tips go beyond the legal minimum:

• One owner per level. Federal filings to one person, state licenses to another, local permits to each taproom manager, each with a backup.
• Photograph every posted license after renewal. File it with the receipt. It proves the new certificate is up.
• One shared folder. Subfolders for Federal, State and Local, with one per location under State and Local. Name files "License - Location - Expiry date".
• Add change triggers to other checklists. Put "check TTB and FDA filings" on your ownership-change, new-officer and construction checklists.

Spreadsheet or software for brewery license tracking?

If you run one brewery with one taproom and a short list of licenses, a spreadsheet is enough. Sort it every Monday and the days-left column does the work.

It strains with several locations. Each taproom adds its own town permits, and a spreadsheet cannot remind the taproom manager when their permit is 30 days out. Our guide to tracking business license renewals across 50 states covers organizing many jurisdictions.

That is the point where a tool such as ExpiryEdge earns its place: reminders at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days by email, SMS, Slack or Teams to each owner and backup, recurring records renewed as a copy, and an audit trail of who renewed what. See license tracking for breweries and distilleries.

The fields worth capturing on every brewery license record, in a spreadsheet or a tool.

Frequently asked questions

Does a TTB Brewer's Notice expire?

No renewal date is set for it in 27 CFR Part 25. Instead, you file an amended notice within 30 days of most changes, such as new officers, and get approval before using a new location or extended premises. A brewer's bond, if you hold one, expires every four years.

When is the 2026 FDA food facility registration renewal deadline?

The window runs from October 1 to December 31, 2026. FDA treats any registration not renewed by 11:59 PM on December 31 as expired. Renewal is free and done online through FDA Industry Systems.

How often does a brewery file federal excise tax returns?

Semimonthly by default, quarterly at $50,000 or less in beer tax a year, or annually at $1,000 or less. Each return is due on the 14th day after the period ends, so the next quarterly and annual returns are due January 14, 2027.

When do Massachusetts brewery licenses renew?

State licenses such as manufacturer, farmer-series and pub brewery licenses renew in the ABCC's ePLACE portal, with your FDA registration and a current surety bond. Check each expiry in ePLACE. Section 12 on-premises licenses, which pub breweries hold, are renewed by applying during November.

Is there a free brewery license calendar or tracker?

Yes. Our free brewery license calendar is an Excel and Google Sheets file with one row per license per location, days-left formulas, color warnings at 90 and 30 days, and a sheet of verified federal dates. It needs no sign-up.

Sources

• eCFR, 27 CFR Part 25 (Beer)
• TTB, Changes after Original Qualification: Brewery
• TTB, Brewer's Notice and Permits Online
• TTB, Due Dates for Tax Returns (2026)
• TTB, Automated Reminders for Filing
• TTB, Notice No. 212 (Brewer's Notice modernization proposal)
• eCFR, 27 CFR 7.21 (COLAs for malt beverages)
• TTB, Public COLA Registry
• TTB, The Bioterrorism Act and the Alcohol Beverage Industry
• eCFR, 21 CFR Part 1 Subpart H (Registration of Food Facilities)
• FDA, Food Facility Registration User Guide: Biennial Renewal
• FDA, biennial renewal reminder (September 29, 2026)
• Mass.gov, ABCC State License Renewal Requirements
• Mass.gov, ABCC State License FAQs (re-issued December 15, 2025)
• Mass. General Laws ch. 138, section 16A (renewal of annual licenses)
• Mass. General Laws ch. 138, section 19C (farmer-brewery licenses)
• Mass. General Laws ch. 138, section 19D (pub brewery licenses)
• Mass. General Laws ch. 110, section 5 (business certificates)
• Mass. General Laws ch. 140, section 2 (common victuallers)
• Mass. General Laws ch. 140, section 183A (entertainment licenses)
• California ABC, Licensing FAQs
• California ABC, License Fees
• California ABC, License Types
• California ABC, Transfer or Change a License

Last reviewed: 12 October 2026