For craft distilleries, processors & bottlers
Distillery Compliance, Done for You.
You sign one authorization. We prepare and file your DSP permit, label and formula approvals, state registrations and monthly TTB reports at published prices, and nothing goes in until you approve it.
- Flat, published pricesCOLAs $59 per label ($49 each for 5+) · monthly TTB reports $249/mo.
- No software to learnKeep your spreadsheet. You sign once and approve every filing.
- Rejection-fix guaranteeOur error, we fix and refile free.
What we take off your plate
Three times you’d normally be doing paperwork.
After you sign one limited TTB authorization, each of these comes to you prepared, checked by a second person and ready to approve.
Opening or changing your distillery
DSP qualification (TTB F 5110.41) with still registration and the bond election, amendments for owner, address or name changes, and out-of-state licenses.
How the 5110.41 worksEvery new label
Spirits COLA or certificate of exemption, formulas for flavored or blended spirits, and state brand registrations.
$59 per label · $49 each for 5+
How the COLA worksEvery month
Monthly reports of production, storage and processing (TTB F 5110.40, 5110.11, 5110.28) plus excise tax returns (5000.24).
$249/mo · founding clients $199/mo
How the 5110 reports work
Nothing is submitted until you approve it in writing. Government fees are paid by you directly to the agency.
What we file
The federal and state paperwork a distillery runs on.
Published flat prices. Every quote is fixed and in writing before work begins.
- DSP qualificationRegistration (TTB F 5110.41) and permits, prepared and submitted for you under your authorization (or you submit it yourself), including the bond or bond-exemption election.$1,595per plant; paid $795 at start and $800 when ready to submit
- Spirits COLAsLabel approval, or a certificate of exemption for in-state-only products, with a pre-check against 27 CFR parts 5 and 16.$59per label; $49 each for 5+
- FormulasTTB F 5100.51 in Formulas Online for flavored, blended and other products that need formula approval.$179per formula
- State brand registrationBrand and label registrations in the states where you sell, tracked to approval.$45per brand, per state
- Monthly reports & exciseTTB F 5110.40, 5110.11 and 5110.28 every month, plus your 5000.24 excise returns.$249/mo$2,490/yr paid yearly; founding clients $199/mo locked 12 months (first 10)
- FDA renewalFood facility registration renewal, due by Dec 31, 2026 for registered distilleries.$119per facility; $79 each additional
Multiple states, a large label batch, catch-up on missed reports, or an unusual setup (alternating proprietorship, custom crush, ownership change)? Ask for a custom quote
Government fees, bonds and state fees are extra and paid by you directly to the agency. Full price list, including Permit Review ($395), amendments ($295) and in-state licensing (from $695).
How it works
Five steps: you sign one authorization; we prepare and file, with your approval before anything goes in.
Who does what, and how long TTB usually takes once a filing is in.
What we need from you
You · about 15 minutes- A short intake form: your distillery, states and what you produce or bottle
- Label artwork, and formulas or process details where TTB requires formula approval
- Owner, premises and equipment details for a DSP application; your monthly production, storage and processing records for reports
- Your signature on one limited TTB F 5000.8 that we prefill (before a notary or two witnesses)
Sign one authorization
You · once, about 15 minutesWe prefill a limited TTB F 5000.8 for you. You sign it once, before a notary or two witnesses: a remote online notary, or two witnesses at your office. It lets us prepare and submit your permits and amendments, COLAs and formulas, and Pay.gov returns and reports, and receive TTB notices for you. It excludes conferences, hearings and offers in compromise, and you can revoke it any time. TTB’s official Form 5000.8 (PDF).
Prefer to submit permits yourself? You can, from your own Permits Online account.
What our team prepares
Our team · permit paperwork within 5 business daysA trained preparer drafts each filing against a written checklist for that form, and a second person reviews it. You receive the prepared filing, with anything we’d flag explained in plain English, to approve in writing. Permit paperwork is ready for your approval within 5 business days of complete documents.
Filed
After your written approvalUnder your authorization we submit everything: permits and amendments in Permits Online, COLAs and formulas in COLAs Online and Formulas Online, and returns and reports in Pay.gov. TTB notices come to us and we forward them to you promptly. If you chose to submit permits yourself, we hand you the finished package. For FDA, your designated filer submits, or adds our filer as a subaccount user. We never use your login, password or PIN.
Tracked
Through to a decisionWe track each filing until the agency decides, answer the agency’s factual questions with you copied (legal issues go to your own counsel), and add renewal and report due dates to your compliance calendar.
Typical TTB review times
| Filing | TTB median | TTB’s own service goal |
|---|---|---|
| Distilled spirits label approval (COLA) | 8 days | 85% within 15 days |
| Distilled spirits formula | 11 days | 85% within 15 days; +15 if a sample is analyzed |
| Distilled spirits plant (DSP) permit (new) | 44 days | 85% within 75 days |
Rules checked Oct 2026
Five rules every distillery should know.
Each rule links to the regulation or TTB page it comes from. Full federal & state overview.
Register the plant before you operate
A distilled spirits plant must be registered with TTB (TTB F 5110.41) and hold an operating permit and/or basic permit. There’s no federal fee.
Source: 27 CFR 19.71 · TTB: Applying for a permit
Small distillers may skip the bond
A bond (TTB F 5110.56) is required unless you qualify for the exemption for proprietors with $50,000 or less in spirits tax who pay on a deferred basis.
Source: 27 CFR 19.151
Reports are monthly, due the 15th
Production (5110.40), storage (5110.11) and processing (5110.28) reports are due by the 15th of the following month.
Source: 27 CFR 19.632
Every bottled product needs a COLA or exemption
No one may bottle spirits without a COLA, unless TTB grants a certificate of exemption for products sold only in-state.
Source: 27 CFR 5.21 · 27 CFR 5.23
Flavoring or blending can trigger a formula
Operations that change a spirit’s class or type, such as adding flavoring or coloring, need an approved formula first.
Source: 27 CFR 5.192–5.193
Our standards
Plain commitments, in writing.
We would rather tell you what we are, and what we aren’t, than make claims we can’t support.
- Who we are
Distillers Desk is a trade name of Voraus LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company operated from Seattle, Washington. We are a private company, not a government agency, and not affiliated with or endorsed by TTB, the FDA or any state.
- What we do, and don’t
We prepare and file your paperwork. We are not a law firm, and we are not attorneys, CPAs or practitioners enrolled before TTB under 31 CFR Part 8, so we don’t take part in conferences, hearings, appeals or permit proceedings. Our correspondence with TTB is factual, about filings we prepared, and you are always copied. If TTB raises a legal issue, we tell you promptly so your own counsel can handle it.
- Your accounts stay yours
You sign one limited TTB F 5000.8, and we prepare and submit your filings under it. It never covers conferences, hearings or offers in compromise, and you can revoke it. You can choose to submit permits from your own Permits Online account instead. We never ask for your login, password or PIN for any government or bank account. You approve every filing before it is submitted.
- Secure intake
Requests on this site travel over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection and are stored privately. Once you engage us, we keep your documents in a private folder for your business only, shared with your email address alone (view or comment access, link sharing off), so you can see everything we have prepared and filed. Please never send passwords, bank details or tax payments; we won’t ask for them. See our privacy notice.
- Rules checked Oct 2026
Our rules summaries were checked against the Code of Federal Regulations (ecfr.gov) and ttb.gov in October 2026, and each links to its source. See the sources.
- Our guarantee
If TTB or a state rejects a filing because of our preparation error, we fix and refile it free. Permit paperwork is ready for your approval within 5 business days of complete information, or $100 off (never more than that service’s fee). If we miss any other deadline we committed to in writing, we credit the lesser of $100 or that service’s fee. We never promise approval and never cover TTB penalties. Read the full wording.
- Fees and taxes
Our prices are published and quoted in writing before any work starts. Government fees and excise taxes are paid by you directly to the agency; we never hold your tax money.
Can’t I file these myself for free?
Yes. TTB charges no fee for DSP qualification, COLAs or formulas, and you can file reports and returns yourself. Our fee covers preparation, checks, reconciliation, tracking and follow-up.
When do you open?
We’re taking waitlist and quote requests now and will confirm your start date in your quote. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you when we open; no newsletter.
Can I file DSP reports quarterly?
No. DSP operations reports (5110.40, 5110.11, 5110.28) are monthly under 27 CFR 19.632. Excise returns (5000.24) can be quarterly or annual if your tax is small enough.
Do I need a distilled spirits bond?
Not if you pay tax on a deferred basis and were, and expect to be, liable for $50,000 or less in spirits tax a year (27 CFR 19.151). Otherwise a bond is required before TTB approves your registration.
Does every product need a formula?
No. A formula is needed when production changes the class or type, for example flavored spirits or certain blends (27 CFR 5.193). We check each product before quoting.
Get started in about two minutes.
Three short steps. We reply by email within 1 business day to confirm the published price and send a checklist of what we’d need. No obligation, no sales call.
Nothing is filed and nothing is charged until you approve a written quote. Private filing service; not a government agency.