Label registrations let states know which alcohol products you're going to sell in their territory.

Some states want to know what you're going to sell in their state, and in most cases, they want to approve it before it's offered for sale. States may want to know which wholesalers or territories you're selling to, or if you change anything on your label - an image for example. All of this is part of ShipCompliant Registrations.

In this article, the term label registration is used to describe a registration requirement for a COLA, a label, a product, a brand, or all of these. The level of detail needed varies from state to state.

You don't always need a COLA to do a label registration. For spirits, most wine, and some beer, you need to have an approved COLA before you register your label with the state. But for some beer, for example, you'll register your label without having a COLA to reference. Read more about COLAs.

While product registrations are more common in wholesale distribution, registrations are also required for direct-to-consumer distribution in some states. States may allow for a registration to apply to both distribution types. The process for registering a label is similar for both types.