In order to apply for a distillery license, the distillery must be located in Montana. If the business is located outside of Montana, it is considered a distilled spirits supplier (contact the Liquor Distribution Bureau).

Distillery Permissions

A distillery license lets you:

• Import necessary products in bulk;
• Bottle, produce, blend, store, transport, or export liquor you produce; and
• Perform operations permitted by TTB.

If you are a microdistillery, meaning you produce no more than 200,000 proof gallons of liquor each year, you may also sell limited quantities of your products at your facility in an approved sample room.

Montana distilleries may not obtain a special permit.

By Production Level

200,000 Proof Gallons Or Less Per Year

If you produce no more than 200,000 proof gallons per year, you may:

• Provide two ounces of distilled spirits to each customer for on-premises consumption from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM and allow customers to finish consuming until 9:00 PM.
• Sell up to 4.5 liters of your product per customer per day at your distillery for them to take home from 8:00 AM to 2:00 AM.
• Sell and deliver distilled spirits to the Montana Department of Revenue Alcoholic Beverage Control Division.
• Deliver to an agency liquor store using your own equipment, trucks, and employees (see ARM 42.13.807 for specifics).
• Use a common carrier to deliver to the department.
• Apply to the department to have a premises that includes more than one building for manufacturing purposes under 27 CFR 19.53 and is operated under a federal basic permit. 

Over 200,000 Proof Gallons Per Year

If you produce more than 200,000 proof gallons of distilled spirits each year, you may:

• Sell and deliver distilled spirits to the Montana Department of Revenue Alcoholic Beverage Control Division (ABCD).
• Use a common carrier to ship to the ABCD warehouse.

Domestic Distillery Storage Depot

A domestic distillery may operate a storage depot on a separate property from its manufacturing premises if the storage depot is used exclusively for storage.

To be approved for a storage depot, a distillery must submit:

• Domestic Distillery Storage Depot application (call ABCD for the new application)
• Verification of Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approval for the storage depot

Distilleries may request more than one storage depot. However, each storage depot must have its own domestic distillery storage depot license. 

All storage depots must meet suitability requirements in ARM 41.12.149 before approval.

Fees

New Distillery License Fee	$600
Distillery Application Processing Fee	$200
Distillery Renewal Fee	$600
New Distillery Storage Depot License Fee	$400
Distillery Storage Depot Application Processing Fee	$100
Distillery Storage Depot Renewal Fee	$400

 

The application processing fee only applies to original applications and is not applied to renewals.

License Requirements

Label Review and Approval

All distilled spirit labels must be approved by the Montana Department of Revenue before selling and shipping into Montana.

You may register your labels for approval through our TransAction Portal (TAP).

Location Requirements

All distillery locations must follow certain rules, including:

• Your business must be recognizable as a distillery.
• Your business must be physically separated from any business not directly related to making distilled spirits.
• You may not operate under a concession agreement.
• You may not let customers buy alcohol through automatic vending machines or self-service devices.
• You must keep unauthorized people from your manufacturing area.
• You must have an employee directly involved in any alcohol service at your distillery.
• You must have an approved designated sample room if you plan on providing samples for on-premises consumption. This may include a deck or patio if it is enclosed and only accessible from the sample room.
• You may only serve samples in the appropriate amounts and in the designated areas.

For a detailed list of requirements, please see ARM 42.12.149 and 42.13.802.

Application Options and Dates

Apply for a Distillery License using the Domestic Distillery License (Form MDLA), available in our TransAction Portal (TAP).

A distillery license must be renewed every year by June 30.

Distilled Spirits Supplier

If you are a distilled spirit supplier located outside Montana, please contact our ABCD Liquor Distribution team for more information: DORLiquorDist@mt.gov