Methodology & Data Sources

Data Source

PlainAlcohol uses one source: the TTB List of Permittees, published by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The TTB regulates and collects federal taxes on the production, importation, and wholesale distribution of alcohol.

The list is released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and is in the public domain. The file PlainAlcohol uses was published in April 2025. Source: TTB List of Permittees.

What We Cover

The List of Permittees covers four categories of TTB-permitted business:

• Wineries - Bonded Winery (BW) permit holders that produce or blend wine
• Distilleries - Distilled Spirits Plant (DSP) registrants that produce or bottle spirits
• Importers - FAA Basic Permit holders authorized to import beverage alcohol
• Wholesalers - FAA Basic Permit holders authorized to wholesale and distribute

As of the April 2025 file, that is 83,590 permits, 18,038 wineries, 5,590 distilleries, 21,314 importers, and 38,648 wholesalers, across 52 states and territories (the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico) and 11,147 cities. The TTB registry is the federal layer; states maintain separate licensing systems for retail and on-premises sales.

Reading a Federal Alcohol Permit Record

A federal Basic Permit is not the same as a state license, and the distinction matters. The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau issues this permit under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act to authorize an entity to produce wine or spirits, import beverage alcohol, or operate as an alcohol wholesaler in interstate commerce. It identifies the operating business, the premises, and the class of activity, but it does not, by itself, authorize retail sale. Almost every permit holder also needs a separate state Alcoholic Beverage Control license to actually sell within a given state, and most states route product through licensed wholesalers before it reaches a store shelf.

The permit number is federally standardized, which is what lets this directory compare holders cleanly across state lines. A permit remains in effect until it is surrendered, suspended, or revoked, so a record on a producer page reflects the entity's status as published in the TTB List of Permittees. Because permit status can change between publications, treat a producer page as a federal reference point and confirm the current status against the official TTB Public Permit Search before relying on it for a transaction.

Why Breweries Are Excluded

Breweries do not appear in this directory. A brewery operates under a Brewer's Notice, and the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 6103) treats that registration differently from the FAA Basic Permits and DSP registrations that make up the public List of Permittees. Brewery information is not part of the public file, so PlainAlcohol honestly excludes it, we publish no brewery counts and no brewery pages, only the four permit types TTB releases publicly.

How We Process the Data

1. Read the public TTB List of Permittees (April 2025 release)
2. Parse permit type, permit number, business name, and address fields
3. Normalize business names and state/city fields for consistent browsing
4. Classify each permit into one of the four industry types using the TTB permit class
5. Compute state and city totals, type breakdowns, and per-capita rates
6. Load into a search-optimized database that serves the site

We reformat the public file without altering the underlying records, and re-publish whenever the TTB issues a new edition. Individual permits are not hand-verified against any other registry, the TTB list is reproduced faithfully and cited as the single source.

Per-Capita Rates

Where we show permit holders "per 100,000 population," the denominator is each state's resident population from the U.S. Census Bureau's Vintage-2023 population estimates. This is a density measure for comparison across states of different sizes, it is not a measure of production volume or market value.

Data Currency & Verification

PlainAlcohol reflects the April 2025 List of Permittees. TTB releases updated lists periodically, and a permit's status can change between releases, new permits are issued and existing ones may be surrendered, revoked, or modified. We refresh the directory when TTB publishes a new file. For the current, authoritative status of any specific permit, use the official TTB Public Permit Search before relying on it for legal or commercial purposes.

Limitations

• Federal permits only, state distributor and retail licenses are not included
• Brewery data is not in the public source and is not covered here
• Status shown may not reflect changes filed after the April 2025 release
• Some businesses hold multiple permit types and may appear in more than one category
• For informational use, not a substitute for official TTB verification

Not Affiliated

PlainAlcohol is not affiliated with the TTB, the Department of the Treasury, any alcohol producer, distributor, retailer, or trade association. This site is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal, regulatory, or business advice.

Frequently Asked Questions