Frequently Asked Questions

PlainAlcohol covers 30,000+ federally licensed alcohol producers — breweries, distilleries, wineries, importers, and wholesalers — from the TTB federal registry.

The TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. It regulates and collects federal taxes on the production, importation, and wholesale distribution of alcohol in the United States. Every commercial alcohol producer, importer, and wholesaler must hold a TTB permit.

A Brewer's Notice (BN) is the federal permit issued by TTB authorizing a business to produce and sell beer. Any brewery operating legally in the United States must hold an active Brewer's Notice.

No. PlainAlcohol only includes federally permitted commercial producers. Home brewers for personal use do not require a TTB permit and are not in the registry.

We update our database when the TTB releases new permittee data. Permit status can change — new permits are issued and existing ones may be revoked, surrendered, or suspended. For the most current status of any specific permit, verify directly with TTB at ttb.gov.

No. PlainAlcohol covers only federal TTB permits. State-level licenses (e.g., state distributor licenses, retail liquor licenses) are issued by state alcohol control boards and are not included in this database.

No. PlainAlcohol is an independent data portal presenting publicly available TTB registry data. We are not affiliated with the TTB, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, or any government agency.