TTB, state and town licenses for every taproom, on one calendar.
A brewery license is really a stack: a TTB Brewer's Notice, a bond, excise returns, an FDA registration, a state manufacturer license and town permits for every taproom. Each runs on its own clock, and some never expire but must be amended within 30 days of a change. ExpiryEdge files each one by level, assigns an owner and a backup, and reminds them at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days.
Last updated · ExpiryEdge editorial team
Federal, state and town obligations, filed the way regulators issue them
Town, State and Federal folders for every location
One renewal checklist reused for every license
Photo proof that the renewed permit is on the wall
Amendment triggers for items that never expire
Quick answer
Brewery compliance software tracks every federal, state and local license as a record with its issuer, number, location, expiry or review date, owner and proof. A US brewery needs a TTB Brewer's Notice, FDA food facility registration renewed between October 1 and December 31 of even years, a state manufacturer license and town permits per taproom. ExpiryEdge files these by level and sends reminders at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days.
What a brewery or distillery keeps current
TTB Brewer's Notice, or DSP registration and basic permit
Brewer's or distiller's bond
Federal excise tax returns and Reports of Operations
Label approvals (COLAs)
FDA food facility registration
State manufacturer, farm or pub brewery licenses
Taproom pouring and retail permits per location
Town business certificates (DBA)
Food service, entertainment and outdoor seating licenses
Fire, elevator and building inspection certificates
Transportation and distribution permits
Liquor liability, property and workers' comp insurance
Federal brewery and distillery license rules at a glance
| What renews, and when | Where it is written | Checked | |
|---|---|---|---|
| TTB Brewer's Notice | No renewal date. File an amended notice within 30 days of most changes; get approval before using a new location or extended premises. | 27 CFR 25.71, 25.78 | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
| Brewer's bond | Expires every four years; the renewal must be approved before the current bond expires. Brewers eligible for quarterly or annual returns may be exempt. | TTB; 27 CFR 25.91 | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
| Excise tax return (TTB F 5000.24) | Semimonthly by default; quarterly at $50,000 or less a year; annual at $1,000 or less. Due the 14th day after the period, even with nothing removed. Next quarterly and annual due date: January 14, 2027. | 27 CFR 25.164; TTB due dates | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
| Brewer's Report of Operations | Monthly; quarterly if tax liability is $50,000 or less. | 27 CFR 25.297 | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
| Stockholder list (corporate brewers) | Changes submitted annually on July 1. | 27 CFR 25.74 | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
| Label approval (COLA) for malt beverages | Needed before bottling beer shipped into a state that requires federal-standard labels; not needed for beer sold only in-state. | 27 CFR 7.21 | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
| FDA food facility registration | Renew between October 1 and December 31 of each even year; the 2026 window closes 11:59 PM on December 31, 2026. Free. Applies to breweries, distilled spirits plants and bonded wine premises. | FDA; 21 CFR 1.241; TTB guidance | Verified 12 Oct 2026 |
| Basic permit (distillers, wineries, importers, wholesalers) | No expiry date: continues until suspended, revoked, surrendered or terminated. A change of control ends it after 30 days unless a new application is filed; a new trade name needs an amended permit first. | 27 CFR 1.40, 1.43, 1.44 | Verified 12 Oct 2026 |
How state alcohol licenses renew: six states compared
| How it renews | Agency | Checked | |
|---|---|---|---|
| California (Type 23 small beer manufacturer) | Active about one year from issue. Renew whether or not ABC's notice arrives. Late: +50% within 60 days, +100% from 60 to 90 days, then automatic revocation. | Dept. of Alcoholic Beverage Control | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
| Massachusetts (manufacturer, farmer and pub brewery) | Renew through ePLACE; renewal requires your FDA registration and a current surety bond. Local section 12 licenses: apply to renew during November. | ABCC; M.G.L. c.138 §16A | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
| Michigan | Annual. The renewal portal accepts payments from March 1, and licenses must be renewed by April 30. | Liquor Control Commission | Verified 12 Oct 2026 |
| New York (manufacturers) | Term depends on license type. A renewal advisory arrives about three months before expiry; file before the license period ends or you cannot sell once it expires. | State Liquor Authority | Verified 12 Oct 2026 |
| North Carolina | Brewery, distillery and other commercial permits under G.S. 18B-1100 stay valid indefinitely. Retail malt beverage permits also need annual registration and a $400 fee by May 1. A 25% ownership change ends an establishment's permits. | G.S. 18B-903; NC ABC Commission | Verified 12 Oct 2026 |
| Washington | Renewed annually through the Department of Revenue Business Licensing Service. Notice arrives about 45 days before expiry; pay on or before the expiry date to avoid late penalties. | Liquor and Cannabis Board | Verified 12 Oct 2026 |
| Local example: Massachusetts business certificate (DBA) | Valid four years and lapses unless renewed; fine of up to $300 for each month in violation. | M.G.L. c.110 §5 | Verified 11 Oct 2026 |
Who uses it
Brewery owners
Hold the Brewer's Notice and the liability, and want the payment receipt the moment a renewal is filed rather than a question three months later.
Operations and compliance managers
Run the license calendar across production, taprooms and events, and file the TTB, FDA and state renewals on time.
Taproom and site managers
Get reminders for their own town permits and inspections, and upload a photo of the renewed permit where it is posted.
Distillery and winery teams
Track DSP or bonded winery permits, bonds, label approvals and state licenses alongside the brewery side of the business.
Multi-location groups
See every site on one screen by Town, State and Federal, and spot the location that is behind before an inspector does.
A brewery license calendar you can build in a spreadsheet in two hours
File every license by who issues it: Town, State or Federal
Walk the walls and photograph every posted license, then check TTB Permits Online, FDA Industry Systems, your state portal and your email for the rest. Ask the town clerk for every license on file for each address; it catches permits nobody posted. Put one row per license per location, and add a Level column with three values: Town, State, Federal. Town permits are the easiest to forget because each town works differently.
Columns: License, Issuer, Level, Number, Location, Expiry or review date
Then: Renewal opens, Fee, Bond required, Owner and backup, Submission method, Proof link
Shared folder per level, with a subfolder per location
Date maths for renewals, bonds and items that never expire
With the expiry date in column F, these formulas work in Excel, Google Sheets and LibreOffice. For items with no expiry, such as a Brewer's Notice or a basic permit, enter a review date instead (for example every quarter) and a note: "amend within 30 days of any change". Format Days left red below 30 and amber below 90, and sort by it every Monday.
Days left: =F2-TODAY()
Renewal opens, when the agency publishes no window: =F2-60 (a working buffer, our advice)
Four-year items (TTB bond, Massachusetts DBA): =EDATE(issue_date,48)
FDA: a fixed row for December 31, 2026, the end of the renewal window
Reuse one 10-step renewal checklist, ending with a photo
Every renewal, whichever license it is, can follow the same steps. Write them once and copy them into each renewal. The last step matters most: a renewed license in a drawer does not help during an inspection, so ask the person on site for a photo of the new permit where it is displayed, and link it in the Proof column.
1 Confirm the expiry date and renewal window · 2 Book any inspection first, such as the fire marshal · 3 Check the bond · 4 Gather documents · 5 Submit and pay
6 Send the receipt to the owners · 7 Record the new expiry date · 8 Receive the license · 9 Display it · 10 Photograph it in place and file the photo
Add "check TTB and FDA filings" to your ownership-change and new-location checklists
The same structure, with reminders, document requests and an audit trail
Town, State and Federal folders, with the same fields on every license
One multi-location craft brewery we work with files its licenses in three folders: Town, State and Federal. A custom template puts the same fields on every record, including license type, location, license number, bond required, last inspection, cost and submission method. Which licenses need a bond, which are still filed on paper and what the town licenses cost last year are each one filter away.
Folders by level and by location
Custom fields for bond, cost, last inspection and submission method
Owner and backup owner on every license
A 10-step renewal workflow and a "picture of permit" request
The same brewery runs every renewal through one 10-step workflow checklist. One step reads "submit renewal online, pay fee, send receipt to the owners", and the last is a document collection request that asks on-site staff for a photo of the renewed permit hanging in place. Head office can see every site's permits without visiting.
Reusable workflow checklists with owners and progress
Document requests to site staff, no login needed
Reminders by email, SMS, Slack or Teams at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days
Renew as a copy, and show who renewed what and when
Annual and four-year licenses renew as a copy with the new dates, so the next cycle's reminders start at once and the old certificate stays on file. Every reminder, upload and receipt is timestamped. When an inspector or the state asks for proof, export by location or level as CSV, PDF or XLSX.
Renew-as-copy for recurring licenses
Timestamped history of reminders, receipts and photos
Export by location, level or owner
What changes for the operations manager
The Brewer's Notice is in a TTB portal, the state renewal arrives by email if it arrives at all, the town permits hang on the taproom walls, and the only reminder system is whoever happens to remember.
Every license sits in a Town, State or Federal folder with its number, fee and owner. Reminders reach the owner and the backup at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days, the receipt goes to the owners at payment, and the permit photo closes each renewal.
Spreadsheet or software? An honest comparison
| ExpiryEdge | Spreadsheet | Calendar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| One row per license per location | Manual | ||
| Reminders to each site's owner and backup | Manual | ||
| Reusable 10-step renewal checklist | Copy and paste | ||
| Permit photo collected from site staff | |||
| Review dates for items that never expire | Manual | Manual | |
| Timestamped audit trail and export | |||
| Free | 14-day trial |
At the federal level, a TTB Brewer's Notice, a brewer's bond unless exempt, excise returns, Reports of Operations, label approvals for beer shipped across state lines and an FDA food facility registration. At state level, a manufacturer license and often taproom permits. At town level, business certificates, food, entertainment and inspection certificates for each location. Distilleries and wineries add a TTB basic permit.
No renewal date is set for it. Instead, you file an amended notice within 30 days of most changes, such as new officers or a new trade name, and get approval before using a new location or extended premises (27 CFR 25.71 and 25.78). Track it with a review date and a list of change triggers rather than an expiry date.
The renewal window runs from October 1 to December 31, 2026, and 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. TTB guidance says the rule covers breweries, distilled spirits plants and bonded wine premises; restaurants serving consumers directly are generally exempt.
It depends on the license. An FDA registration not renewed by December 31, 2026 is treated as a failure to register and FDA will cancel it. In California, ABC adds a 50% penalty within 60 days of the deadline and 100% from 60 to 90 days, then revokes the license. In New York, you cannot sell once the license expires without a filed renewal.
File every license by who issues it, Town, State or Federal, with a subfolder per location. Give each one an owner and a backup, use the same fields on every record and run every renewal through one reusable checklist. Ask site staff for a photo of each renewed permit where it is posted, so head office can see proof without visiting.
For one brewery with one taproom, yes: use the columns and formulas on this page, or the free brewery license calendar template, and sort by days left every Monday. It stops being enough with several locations, when each taproom manager needs their own reminders and you need proof of who renewed what. That is where reminders, document requests and an audit trail earn their place.
Restaurants mainly hold retail licenses: a liquor license, a health permit and staff food safety certificates. A brewery, distillery or winery adds manufacturer obligations: a TTB Brewer's Notice or basic permit, bonds, excise returns, label approvals and a state manufacturer license, on top of retail permits for each taproom. Our restaurant and hospitality page covers the retail side.
Every license for every taproom on one calendar
Import your license spreadsheet, set up Town, State and Federal folders and your renewal checklist. Free 14-day trial, no credit card.