Product Approval

North Carolina regulations require that each malt beverage (beer) and wine (fortified and unfortified) product be approved by the Commission prior to being sold in this state.

Select one of the following to view the requirements for product approval:

• Malt beverage GS18B-101 (9) : beer, lager, malt liquor, ale, porter, and any other brewed or fermented beverage containing at least one-half of one percent (.5%), and not more than fifteen percent (15.0%), alcohol by volume.  Any malt beverage containing more than six percent (6.0%) alcohol by volume shall bear a label clearly indicating the alcohol content of the malt beverage.
• Unfortified wine GS 18B-101 (7) : any wine of sixteen percent (16%) or less alcohol by volume, made by fermentation from grapes, fruits, berries, rice, or honey; or by the addition of pure cane, beet, or dextrose sugar; or by the addition of pure brandy from the same type of grape, fruit, berry, rice, or honey that is contained in the base wine and produced in accordance with the regulations of the United States.
• Fortified wine GS 18B-101 (15): any wine, of more than sixteen percent (16%) and no more than twenty-four percent (24%) alcohol by volume, made by fermentation from grapes, fruits, berries, rice, or honey; or by the addition of pure cane, beet, or dextrose sugar; or by the addition of pure brandy from the same type of grape, fruit, berry, rice, or honey that is contained in the base wine and produced in accordance with the regulations of the United States.

All Containers Must Have an Approved Label (Label approvals take approximately three weeks from the date received.)

Every container of wine or malt beverages, including bottles, barrels, casks, kegs, cans or other closed receptacles, irrespective of size or of the material from which made, that is sold or offered for sale in this State or that is used for the transportation, importation or sale of malt beverages or wine shall bear a brand label (and other permitted labels) containing the required information.

The supplier (unfortified winery, fortified winery, brewery, bottler, wine importer, malt beverage importer, nonresident wine vendor or nonresident malt beverage vendor) is responsible for ensuring label compliance.

Please be advised that as of January 1, 2022, all product and label approval requests should be sent to the ABC Commission via email to product@abc.nc.gov. Email attachments should be in Adobe PDF format. Approval requests should no longer be sent by mail or express mail. Thank you for your support and cooperation.

Beginning October 2023, Quarterly Reports will no longer be accepted by mail. Please email reports to product.reports@abc.nc.gov.