Check if you need an alcoholic products producer approval (APPA)
You'll need approval from HMRC to produce beer, cider, spirits, wine, and other fermented products in the UK.
This guidance has been published early and is for information only. It will apply from 1 February 2025.
Until then, you must follow the existing guidance for alcohol production, outlined in excise notices 39, 162, 163 and 226.
Read more about the upcoming changes to alcohol approvals, returns and payments.
If you’re already registered or licensed to produce alcoholic products by 1 February 2025, we’ll automatically migrate your separate registrations or licenses across to a single alcoholic products producer approval (APPA).
We’ll send you a letter to confirm the details of your new approval. If the letter has not arrived by 25 February 2025, you should contact [email protected].
Who must apply
You must hold an alcoholic products producer approval (APPA) from HMRC before you start to produce alcoholic products in the UK.
Producing alcoholic products includes carrying out activities on alcoholic products, which:
- change their alcohol by volume (ABV)
- change their product classification
- produce an alternative product
This includes compounding or rectifying spirits, using duty-suspended alcoholic products.
Importing finished alcoholic products and bottling bulk product without altering it is not classified as production.
From 1 February 2025 you must have an alcoholic products producer approval (APPA) to produce cider, even if you were exempt from seeking approval before.
Exemptions
You will not need approval to produce alcoholic products for:
- domestic use (this excludes spirits)
- research or experimental purposes
How the alcoholic products producer approval (APPA) works
You will have a single alcoholic products producer approval (APPA). This will cover all of the:
- categories of alcoholic products you can produce
- types of production-related activities you can carry out, like holding alcoholic products in duty suspension
- premises where you can produce alcoholic products and hold them in duty suspension
You can apply for approval of more than one premises, or category of alcoholic products, at the same time. You can also update your existing approval, to add new premises, or categories of alcoholic products. You can only produce alcoholic products we’ve approved, on premises we’ve approved.
It is an offence to produce alcoholic products without the appropriate approval, or on premises that we have not approved. You may have to pay a penalty if you do. We can also confiscate any alcoholic products, packaging, equipment or substances used in the production of alcoholic products.
How to apply
Apply for an alcoholic products producer approval from HMRC, using our online service.
More information
For more detailed information about alcoholic products producer approval, read the alcoholic products technical guide.
Updates to this page
Published 11 December 2024Last updated 18 December 2024 + show all updates
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Updated to say that users should only contact HMRC about their alcoholic products producer approval (APPA) ID if they have not received it by 25 February 2025.
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Added translation
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