Government Shutdown: TTB Guidance on Allowable COLA Changes

With no end in sight, the federal government shutdown continues to have direct implications for industry members that rely on federal agencies like the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). Even though industry members can still electronically submit new Certificate of Label Approval (COLA), formula and permit applications, please note these won’t be reviewed or approved until the TTB resumes full operations. This means that the longer the federal government is shutdown, the greater the queue will be for applications to be processed.

If you submit applications to TTB in the interim, make sure your COLAs, permits and formulas are complete, accurate and free of errors. Industry members may want to consider withdrawing duplicate or non-essential submissions to ease the inevitable backlog. Regarding COLA applications specifically, members are reminded to review TTB’s list of Allowable Revisions to Approved Labels to see if you can make a change to a previously approved label without needing to submit a new COLA application.

In terms of product launches, market plans and bottlings, plan for delays, recognizing that federal approvals will be delayed once the shutdown ends.

We Want to Hear from You

To strengthen our advocacy efforts, we are collecting examples of how the government shutdown is affecting winery operations. If your business has been directly impacted — whether through delayed label approvals, stalled product launches, disrupted bottling schedules or other operational setbacks — please share your story with us.

Your input helps us highlight the consequences of the shutdown and advocate more effectively on your behalf.