United States

Market status

Licensed — federal permission is only the first layer. States separately regulate import, manufacture, wholesale and retail. The three-tier model separates suppliers, distributors/wholesalers and retailers, with state-specific exceptions. Control states place government in the wholesale and sometimes retail channel, especially for spirits. Business buyers must use the authorised channel for their state and product. Pennsylvania’s Liquor Control Board wholesales wine and spirits; Virginia’s control system operates at the spirits wholesale and retail levels. A federal permit does not permit a foreign seller to supply every retailer directly. Other control-state details and all local rules: Not yet sourced.

Sources

• https://www.ttb.gov/business-central/alcohol-beverage-authorities-in-united-states-canada-and-puerto-rico
• https://www.tabc.texas.gov/faqs/tabc-license-permit-faqs/
• https://www.abc.virginia.gov/about
• https://www.pa.gov/agencies/lcb
• https://www.pa.gov/agencies/lcb/shop-wine-spirits/wholesale-wine-and-spirits-sales

Who can trade

Federal import and wholesale: The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) requires a Federal Basic Importer’s Permit for distilled spirits, wine and malt beverages within the Federal Alcohol Administration Act. The importer needs a staffed business office in the United States or must use an existing licensed importer. A separate Wholesaler’s Basic Permit is required to wholesale covered products not directly imported under the importer’s own permit. Alcohol-dealer registration and applicable Food and Drug Administration (FDA) facility registration also apply. Imported covered labels require a Certificate of Label Approval (COLA), with formula or other pre-approval where applicable.

California: Separate beer/wine and spirits importer and wholesaler licences. Basic importer licences have no independent selling privilege; general-importer licences authorise defined sales to supply-tier licensees.

Texas: A Wholesaler’s Permit covers wine and spirits distribution, importation, transport and storage. Wine-only wholesale is a separate permit category. The state enforces the manufacturing, wholesale/distribution and retail tiers. Malt-beverage permit details: Not yet sourced.

Florida: The importer licence supplies licensed manufacturers and distributors. Beer/wine distributors and spirits distributors have different privileges; wholesalers supply licensed vendors/distributors within those privileges.

New York: Importer privileges cover import and sale to licensed wholesalers. Wine, liquor, beer and cider wholesale permissions differ. Wine and liquor are subject to filed wholesale and retailer sale schedules; relevant labels require state approval/registration.

Pennsylvania: Wine/spirits suppliers need the applicable licences and board supplier registration. Licensed business customers order through the board’s wholesale system; this includes online ordering. Beer-channel and ready-to-drink exceptions: Not yet sourced.

Business-to-business (B2B) online sale: An electronic order must remain within the authorised seller, recipient and distribution channel. Specific independent platform, broker, payment-intermediary and interstate electronic-sale permissions, other states and county/city rules: Not yet sourced.

Sources

• https://www.ttb.gov/import-export/itd/importing-bottled-alcohol-beverages-into-the-united-states
• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wholesaler/permit-application
• https://www.abc.ca.gov/licensing/license-types/
• https://www.tabc.texas.gov/services/tabc-licenses-permits/tabc-license-permit-types/
• https://openmyfloridabusiness.gov/business/42/wholesale-trade-alcoholic-beverages/
• https://sla.ny.gov/wholesale-license-fee-chart
• https://sla.ny.gov/node/1141
• https://www.pa.gov/agencies/lcb/supplier-vendors/wine-and-spirits-suppliers
• https://www.pa.gov/agencies/lcb/shop-wine-spirits/wholesale-wine-and-spirits-sales

Customs and duty

Classification: Heading 2203 covers malt beer, 2204 grape wine, 2206 cider and other fermented beverages, and 2208 spirits. Use the current Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) at the full tariff line and origin level, including applicable additional duties. Customs duty is separate from federal alcohol excise. The United States International Trade Commission maintains the tariff; Customs and Border Protection collects import duties and federal excise. Exact origin-specific tariffs, additional duties and exclusions for a proposed shipment: Not yet sourced.

Excise: Beer is assessed per barrel, wine per wine gallon by strength and carbonation class, and distilled spirits per proof gallon. Hard-cider treatment requires its own composition, strength and carbonation tests. Reduced rates or credits are conditional; foreign-producer assignments and importer eligibility must be established. Do not assume every 2206 drink qualifies as hard cider. State alcohol taxes and control-board charges are additional, jurisdiction-specific layers. Their complete calculation for California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania: Not yet sourced.

Territorial treatment: Insular possessions can sit outside the federal customs territory and have separate entry treatment. Detailed Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, other territory, tribal and foreign-trade-zone rules: Not yet sourced.

Sources

• https://www.usitc.gov/harmonized_tariff_information
• https://dataweb.usitc.gov/tariff/database
• https://www.ttb.gov/import-export/itd/importing-bottled-alcohol-beverages-into-the-united-states
• https://www.ttb.gov/taxes/tax-audit/tax-and-fee-rates
• https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Vol_48_No_4_Title.pdf

Labelling

Federal labels: Mandatory wine and spirits information is generally in English, with specified territorial exceptions. Product identity/class or type, required business details, net contents and applicable alcohol-strength and origin statements must comply with the relevant category rules. Spirits require alcohol strength. Malt-beverage strength declaration can be mandatory or optional depending on the product and applicable rules. Imported products require origin information.

All beverages containing at least 0.5% alcohol by volume require the prescribed government health warning about pregnancy, driving or operating machinery and health risks. The exact prescribed text and layout must be used.

Wine: Include the applicable class/type, strength, importer details, net contents, country of origin and sulphite declaration. Appellation particulars are triggered by claims including vintage, grape variety and estate bottling. Wine below 7% alcohol follows a different federal label route; its complete FDA requirements: Not yet sourced.

Allergens: Current TTB guidance does not make major-food-allergen disclosure universally mandatory for products under its alcohol rules; voluntary declarations must meet its standards. Sulphite and specified additive declarations remain separate requirements.

State layer: New York has additional label registration/approval rules, with different treatment for wine above 7%. Complete state label overlays, California warning obligations and local exceptions: Not yet sourced.

Sources

• https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-5/subpart-D/section-5.55
• https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-4/subpart-D/section-4.38
• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/distilled-spirits/ds-labeling-home/ds-brand-label
• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/beer/labeling
• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wine/labeling-wine/wine-labeling-health-warning-statement
• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wine/labeling/
• https://www.ttb.gov/faqs/allergen-labeling/print
• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wine/labeling-wine/wine-labeling-appellation-of-origin
• https://sla.ny.gov/node/1141

Age and sale limits

Minimum purchase age is 21 in every state and the District of Columbia. This does not establish identical staff-age or handling rules.

California: Retail sales are generally permitted from 06:00 to 02:00, subject to licence restrictions.

Texas: Liquor package stores operate 10:00–21:00 Monday–Saturday and close Sundays and specified holidays. Ordinary off-premise beer/wine hours differ, including Sunday sales from 10:00.

Florida: Full-liquor retail licences are generally quota-limited, with statutory special-licence exceptions; beer/wine licences differ. Precise sale hours: Not yet sourced.

New York: Grocery permissions cover beer, cider, mead and specified wine products, rather than an unrestricted wine-and-spirits range. Sale hours vary by county.

Pennsylvania: The board’s wine/spirits wholesale channel constrains business sourcing. Detailed beer, wine-expanded-permit and ready-to-drink channels and hours: Not yet sourced.

Wholesale delivery hours, dry-area rules, other states, county/city conditions and individual licence restrictions: Not yet sourced.

Sources

• https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/alcohol-impaired-driving/countermeasures/legislation-and-licensing-5
• https://www.abc.ca.gov/enforcement/frequently-asked-questions/
• https://www.tabc.texas.gov/faqs/
• https://www2.myfloridalicense.com/alcoholic-beverages-and-tobacco/faqs/
• https://sla.ny.gov/grocery-storedrug-store-license-quick-reference-0
• https://www.pa.gov/agencies/lcb/shop-wine-spirits/wholesale-wine-and-spirits-sales

Protected names

Wine appellations include approved American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), states and counties, each with its own qualifying rules. Examples of established AVAs include Napa Valley, Sonoma Valley and Santa Maria Valley. An AVA claim generally requires at least 85% of the grapes from that area plus the applicable finishing requirements. Imported wine bearing a foreign appellation must comply with the relevant origin-country production rules. TTB also maintains agreement-based foreign wine-name resources. Complete foreign spirit-name protections, wine-name grandfathering exceptions and state-specific additional origin rules: Not yet sourced. Examples are not exhaustive.

Sources

• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wine/appellations-of-origin/
• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wine/ava-establishment-dates
• https://www.ttb.gov/regulated-commodities/beverage-alcohol/wine/labeling-wine/wine-labeling-appellation-of-origin

GTIN authority

GS1 US is the national GS1 member organisation for obtaining Global Trade Item Numbers (GTINs) and the associated GS1 identification capacity.

Sources

• https://www.gs1us.org/upcs-barcodes-prefixes

Not yet sourced

Not yet sourced: Detailed states beyond California, Texas, Florida, New York and Pennsylvania; all county/city and individual-licence rules; Texas malt permits; Pennsylvania beer/ready-to-drink exceptions; independent online B2B platform/broker/payment permissions; exact shipment tariffs/additional duties and state-tax calculations; territorial/tribal/free-zone rules; low-strength wine FDA details, state label overlays and California warnings; complete hours, delivery and dry-area rules; foreign spirits names and wine-name grandfathering.