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July 13, 2017

TABC Reduces Wait Times for Malt Beverage Label Approvals

AUSTIN, Texas – A new effort by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission to reduce the wait time for malt beverage label applications has brought the average processing time down from 40 days to less than six days.

Under Texas law, any alcoholic beverage sold in Texas must have its container label approved by TABC before it can be introduced to the market. Growth in the state's malt beverage industry since 2011 resulted in a 300 percent increase in the number of label approval applications at the agency, contributing to a backlog which increased application wait times for breweries and beer manufacturers.

In order to reduce the wait time and improve customer service, TABC redirected resources within the agency to work through the backlog, which reduced the overall wait time for all beverage types. At the beginning of 2017, the agency reported an average wait time of about 40 days for malt beverage labels. For the month of June, the processing time for label approval applications with no errors was just 5.74 days.

"We're extremely pleased that we've been able to reduce the wait times for these applications and improve our customer service," said Thomas Graham, TABC's director of marketing practices. "We understand the importance of timing when it comes to breweries getting their seasonal products on store shelves. Moving forward, we will commit to finding new ways to increase efficiency and make it easier for industry members to get their products to Texas consumers."

For more information on label approval, or to apply for label approval online, visit our Label Approval page.

Media contact:
Chris Porter
TABC Public Information Officer
(512) 206-3462