TTB Brewer's Notice Amendments: What to File, When and How

A TTB Brewer's Notice (TTB F 5130.10) is the federal approval every US brewery needs before brewing beer for sale. It has no renewal date, but you must file an amended notice within 30 days of most changes, and get approval before using new premises, moving or operating under a new owner. Filing through Permits Online is free.

The notice was approved years ago, and since then you added an investor, swapped an officer, refinanced the building and started brewing for a friend's label. Each of those may be an amendment you owe. This guide sorts every common change into "file within 30 days" or "approval first", walks through Permits Online, and gives you a change log to keep from today.

Key takeaways

• Under 27 CFR 25.71, you must file an amended Brewer's Notice within 30 days of any change to the information on it, unless the rules say otherwise.
• Some changes need approval before you act: extended premises cannot be used until approved (25.78), a brewery may not begin operations at a new location until approved, and a new owner must qualify like a new brewery first (25.72).
• If a change in proprietorship happens before TTB approves the new application, TTB says all regulated operations must stop until approval.
• Changes to the list of stockholders are due annually on July 1, and a stock sale that changes control needs an amended notice within 30 days (25.74).
• A brewer's bond expires every four years and its renewal must be approved before the current bond expires, unless the brewer is bond-exempt under 25.91(e).
• TTB's median time to process an original brewery application was 34 to 43 days from June to August 2026; TTB aims to issue 85% of permits within 75 days.
• TTB proposed relaxing these rules in Notice No. 212 (2022), but as of October 2026 no final rule has been published and the 30-day rule still applies.

Every Brewer's Notice change falls into one of two lanes: file within 30 days, or get approval first.

What is a TTB Brewer's Notice?

A TTB Brewer's Notice is the registration of your brewery with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Under 27 CFR 25.61, operations as a brewer may be conducted only by a person who has given notice, and 25.63 says that once approved the notice "will constitute the notice of registration of the brewery".

The notice is more than a form. Under 25.62 it includes your name and address, the business structure and the people with an interest in it, a description of the premises, your trade names, the owner of the land or buildings and any mortgagee, and whether you must hold a bond. You must keep the approved notice and all its documents at the brewery, "in complete and current condition" (25.64).

TTB says there is "no fee at the federal level to apply for or maintain approval". For the state and local licenses that sit beside it, see our brewery license checklist.

Which changes need an amended TTB Brewer's Notice?

Any change to the information on your notice needs an amended notice, and the only question is whether you file within 30 days or must wait for approval. This table compiles the rules from 27 CFR Part 25 and TTB's "Changes after Original Qualification" page.

Two rows surprise people. A new landlord, a sale of the building or a new mortgage changes information shown on the notice under 25.62(a)(8), so it falls under the 30-day rule. And the stockholder list has its own annual date of July 1, separate from the 30-day rule for changes in control. Under 25.71(a)(2), TTB can also require you to file an amendment immediately.

How do you file a Brewer's Notice amendment in Permits Online?

You file a Brewer's Notice amendment in Permits Online by choosing "Amend approved permits, registrations or notices" and answering the amendment wizard, which builds the package of applications you need. TTB's help pages describe these steps:

1. Check you have authority to submit. If a colleague or consultant filed the original, TTB can link those records to your account; request this first.
2. Prepare Personnel Questionnaires. If new owners or officers will submit their own PQs, TTB recommends submitting them before you start the package, because you will need their tracking numbers.
3. Choose the record to amend. Pick the entity record for business-only changes (owners, officers, signing authority, name), or the brewery operation if the premises or operations change. Entity changes apply to every permit, registration and notice under the same EIN once approved.
4. Answer the wizard carefully. TTB warns that once you leave the review screen you cannot change your answers; if you spot an error you must start over.
5. Complete each application in one sitting if you can. TTB strongly recommends not going back to earlier screens or using "Save and Resume Later" on amendments, because previously filed information can be lost. Permits Online also logs you out two hours after login, active or not.
6. Submit the package. Mailing-address amendments are approved automatically on submission, and most trade name amendments are approved automatically if they pass TTB's checks.
7. Watch the status. TTB emails you when it has questions or when the package is approved. Print the approval and file it with the notice at the brewery.

From change to approval in Permits Online, with the two-hour timeout in mind.

How long does TTB take to approve a Brewer's Notice?

TTB's published median for original brewery applications was 43 days in June, 35 in July and 34 in August 2026, and its service goal is to issue 85% of permits or registrations within 75 days. Half of applications take longer than the median, and TTB's page publishes times for original applications, not amendments.

Use these numbers to plan anything that needs approval first: a new location, a new owner or extended premises. Our working advice is to file approval-first changes at least 75 days before you want to operate, and earlier if you can. TTB says to file proprietorship changes "well in advance of the proposed effective date".

When does the brewer's bond need attention?

The brewer's bond needs attention every four years, and whenever your tax level, bond amount or location changes. Each Brewer's Bond or Brewer's Collateral Bond expires every four years, and TTB requires the renewal to be approved before the current bond expires.

• Bond-exempt brewers. Under 25.91(e), a brewer eligible for quarterly or annual excise returns does not need a bond for that part of the year.
• Crossing $50,000. Under 25.95(b), a bond-exempt brewer whose tax in a calendar year passes $50,000 must furnish a bond and file an amended notice. There is a 30-day grace period for submitting the bond, but it does not cover tax-deferred removals, which must wait for approval.
• Penal sum. For quarterly or annual filers who hold a bond, the penal sum is $1,000 (25.93).
• Location change. A bonded brewer moving location must also file a new bond or a consent of surety covering the new address (25.77).

Do this now: a 30-minute Brewer's Notice audit

Spend 30 minutes comparing the notice on file with how your business looks today; any mismatch is an amendment you owe. The times are our estimates for a single-site brewery.

Then keep a change log so future changes start their 30-day clock on paper. Put these columns in row 1 of a sheet:

Color column E red below 7 and amber below 14, and sort by it weekly. For approval-first changes, put the date you want to operate in column B and work back from it. For bond and excise dates, the free brewery license calendar template includes a brewer's bond calculator and a sheet of verified federal dates.

How can a brewery stop missing Brewer's Notice amendments?

Most missed amendments start outside the compliance folder, so put the TTB question into the processes where changes begin. These tips go beyond the legal minimum:

• Board and cap table. Add "Does this change the Brewer's Notice?" to the checklist for any new officer, director, investor or share transfer.
• Property. Add the same step to lease renewals, building sales and refinancing, because the landowner and mortgagee are on the notice.
• Sales and marketing. New brand names and contract-brewing deals add trade names. Clear them with whoever owns TTB filings before launch.
• Construction. Any build-out that changes the premises goes on the project plan with the amendment and approval as a milestone.
• One person per filing. Name an owner and a backup for federal filings, and keep the PQ details for every officer on file.

If you also distill or open a taproom, those permits follow different rules. See our planned guides to the distillery license and the taproom license.

Spreadsheet or software for Brewer's Notice tracking?

For one brewery with a stable ownership, the audit plus the change log above is enough. Changes are rare, and the log's 30-day formula does the counting.

It gets harder with several sites, investors coming and going, or a bond and state licenses renewing on different dates. That is where a tool such as ExpiryEdge helps: each filing gets an owner and a backup, reminders go out at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days by email, SMS, Slack or Teams, and checklists carry the "check TTB filings" step into every ownership change. See license tracking for breweries and distilleries.

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 and get approval before a new location, extended premises or a new owner. A bond, if you hold one, expires every four years.

How long do I have to amend my Brewer's Notice?

Within 30 days of the change for most changes, such as new officers or directors, a change in control or a new trade name (27 CFR 25.71, 25.74, 25.75). Changes to premises, location or ownership need approval before you act on them.

Is there a fee to amend a Brewer's Notice?

No. TTB says there is no fee at the federal level to apply for or maintain approval, and amendments are filed free through Permits Online.

What happens if I change owners before TTB approves?

TTB says all regulated operations must stop until approval is granted in writing, and that operating anyway may lead to adverse action and significant tax consequences. The new owner must qualify like a new brewery before operating.

How long does TTB take to approve a Brewer's Notice?

For original brewery applications, TTB's median was 34 to 43 days between June and August 2026, and its goal is to issue 85% of permits within 75 days. Half of applications take longer than the median.

Do I need a Personnel Questionnaire for a new officer?

Yes, for each new person added, unless TTB already has a PQ (or older OOI form) on file for them and their name and criminal history have not changed. Submit separately filed PQs before starting the amendment, because the package asks for their tracking numbers.

Has TTB changed the Brewer's Notice amendment rules?

TTB proposed relaxing them in Notice No. 212, published in June 2022. As of October 2026 no final rule has been published, and the eCFR still requires amended notices within 30 days.

Sources

• eCFR, 27 CFR Part 25 (Beer), Subparts G and H
• TTB, Changes after Original Qualification: Brewery
• TTB, Brewer's Notice
• TTB, How to Amend an Approved Permit, Registration, or Notice (Permits Online)
• TTB, Overview of the Amended Application Process
• TTB, Personnel Questionnaires
• TTB, Permits Online two-hour system timeout
• TTB, Processing Times for Original Permit Applications
• TTB, Notice No. 212 (Brewer's Notice modernization proposal)
• Federal Register, Modernization of Qualification Requirements for Brewer's Notices (June 8, 2022)

Last reviewed: 12 October 2026