Selling kombucha takes the ordinary business layers, a state food processing license for the kitchen or brewery where it's made, FDA food facility registration if you sell beyond your own customers, and one rule that's kombucha's own: it has to stay under 0.5% alcohol by volume at any time, including after bottling. At 0.5% or more, TTB treats it as an alcohol beverage, with federal and state alcohol permits, taxes and labels. Kombucha keeps fermenting in the bottle, especially if it warms up, so brewers test for alcohol and keep bottles cold. It isn't an acidified food: those are low-acid foods with acid added, and the rule excludes carbonated drinks and foods kept refrigerated. A home kitchen often can't sell it, because cottage food laws tend to exclude kombucha. In the example below, a Portland brewer sorts its licenses. Below are the layers, the alcohol rule, the example, and a free checklist.
The short version
- Business layers: a business name, and sales tax where your state has one.
- A state food processing license for where it's made; in Oregon, from the Department of Agriculture.
- FDA facility registration, unless you sell mostly to consumers directly.
- Under 0.5% alcohol by volume at any time, including after bottling, or it's an alcohol beverage.
- Test for alcohol and keep bottles cold, because kombucha keeps fermenting.
- Not an acidified food: carbonated drinks and refrigerated foods are excluded from that rule.
- Cottage food laws often exclude kombucha, so a home kitchen doesn't qualify.
- TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and readings, and where every keg went. More below.
The layers
| Layer | Who issues it | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Business name | State | An LLC filing, or an assumed name |
| Sales tax | State revenue department | Where your state has a sales tax |
| Food processing license | State department of agriculture or health | For the kitchen or brewery that makes it |
| FDA facility registration | FDA | For a plant that makes, packs or holds food, unless it's a retail food establishment |
| Alcohol | TTB and the state alcohol agency | Under 0.5% at all times; at 0.5% or more, alcohol permits, taxes and labels |
| Food safety plan | FDA, 21 CFR part 117 | Preventive controls, or modified requirements for a qualified facility |
| Labels | FDA, 21 CFR part 101 | Name, net contents, ingredients, name and place, Nutrition Facts unless exempt |
TTB's rules are on its kombucha page. The acidified foods definition and its exclusions are in 21 CFR 114.3, and why fermented foods are their own category in acid food vs acidified food. This is general information, not legal advice.
The alcohol rule
TTB looks at the kombucha at every point, not when it left the brewery: a bottle that reaches 0.5% on a warm shelf is an alcohol beverage on that shelf. So the controls are a recipe and fermentation that stop short, a test of each batch, cold storage and cold delivery, and a best-by date that reflects how long it stays under the limit. How a brewer builds those into a plan is in kombucha HACCP plan.
An example: a Portland brewer
Brightwater Ferments, the made-up fermentation company in Portland, Oregon, I use in these examples, brews about 500 gallons of kombucha a month for markets, shops and restaurant kegs:
| Layer | Status |
|---|---|
| Business name, an LLC | Done, May 2024 |
| Sales tax | Not needed: Oregon has none |
| Food establishment license, ORS 616.706 | Renewed July 1, 2026; expires June 30, 2027 |
| FDA facility registration | Done; renew this fall, between October and December |
| Alcohol under 0.5% | Each batch tested before bottling, with bottles held cold |
| Acidified foods rule | Not needed |
| Food safety plan | To check: preventive controls or a qualified facility's modified requirements |
| Labels | Done |
| Product liability insurance | Done May 1, 2026; renews May 1, 2027 |
Oregon's license expires every June 30, so the renewal goes on the calendar with the FDA registration, which renews in the fall of even years. Oregon's law is ORS 616.706, and the business in kombucha business plan.
Get the checklist
Download the kombucha license checklist. One sheet: each layer, who issues it, what it is, whether you need it, the cost, the date done and the renewal date; the status and the total cost fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Every batch needs its alcohol reading and its date, kegs come back and go out again, and a shop that finds a fizzy bottle needs to know which batch it came from. A checklist doesn't keep any of that.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each batch's lot and readings, and where every keg went.
Readings on the batch record. Printable batch-record forms carry your own fields, such as pH, alcohol reading and temperature, with a sign-off.
Each batch a lot. A batch records the tea, sugar and culture lots it used, automatically, gets a lot with its best-by date, and lot labels print for the bottles and kegs.
Where it went. Each shop's and restaurant's order records the lots it got, so one recall report shows every customer a batch reached.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| A batch's alcohol reading | A clipboard | A field on the batch record, signed |
| Which batch is in a keg | Chalk on the keg | The lot on its label and order |
| Which shops got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
Lots, batches and recipes are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.