COLAs and Formulas Online FAQs

COLAs Online is an Internet-based system that allows registered industry members to apply online for a certificate of label approval (COLA), certificate of exemption from label approval, or distinctive liquor bottle approval.  See TTB Form 5100.31, Application For And Certification/Exemption of Label/Bottle Approval. COLAs Online also gives registered industry members the ability to track the status of their electronic label submissions. COLAs Online does not allow for the tracking of paper submissions of COLAs.

In addition, COLAs Online serves as the sole internal database for TTB's Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division (ALFD) to track all work-related documentation, including all COLA submissions received for approval either on paper or electronically through our COLAs Online system. COLAs Online also stores all approved COLAs in our Public COLA Registry, a public module that provides the general public with detailed information on approved COLAs, along with a printable version of the COLAs, if available.

COLAs Online is the authenticated part of the COLAs Online system, accessible by username and password.  This system allows industry members to access their own applications, but maintains the confidentiality of pending applications that have not been approved, in accordance with the regulations in 27 CFR 13.61.  The system allows registered users to electronically submit label applications to TTB or to check the status of previously e-filed label applications.  The status of paper submissions is not available to applicants through COLAs Online. 

ThePublic COLA Registryis the public module of the COLAs Online system, and it requires no username or password.  Copies of approved electronic and paper applications for a COLA, a certificate of exemption from label approval, or a distinctive liquor bottle approval are available in the Public COLA Registry in accordance with the regulations at 27 CFR 13.61.  The system includes printable versions of the approvals, if available.  The system also includes approved applications that subsequently expired or were surrendered or revoked. 

• COLAs Online users may submit label applications to TTB electronically, reducing the time and cost associated with filing paper label applications.
• COLAs Online users receive an immediate electronic confirmation of TTB’s receipt of their label application submission and a unique TTB ID number for tracking purposes.
• COLAs Online users have fewer rejections for omissions of data because the system has business rules that will not allow users to submit electronic applications (eApplications) that have certain incorrect information or incomplete portions.
• COLAs Online users may access the system 22 hours per day, 7 days a week.
• If reasons for denying the label are disclosed during TTB’s initial review of an eApplication, COLAs Online users are given the opportunity to make corrections to the application within 30 calendar days , before TTB takes final action on the application.  After that period of time, if no corrections are made, the system will then automatically deny the application.  The COLAs Online status will show as “rejected.”
• Corrected eApplications receive priority consideration.  Upon receipt they are placed in the queue to be processed before the next set of applications that are still in “received” status.  

The process of human review of the COLA application for compliance with the regulations remains; however, elimination of the time it takes to send paper applications through the mail shortens the process significantly. Also, the online application has built-in validations to prevent many errors that are made by applicants on paper applications. Another feature of COLAs Online is that users are given the opportunity to correct a label application, eliminating the need for most outright rejections and reducing the overall turnaround time for COLA approvals.

Consistency of decisions made relating to label applications can be addressed only to a limited degree by a Web-based system. COLAs Online has business rules that keep many incorrect or incomplete applications from being submitted to ALFD. However, the human element remains part of the label approval process.

We believe COLAs Online enhances our customer service by providing industry members with another option for submitting label applications and by providing several options for contacting us. For example, you may send us questions regarding general or specific labeling issues by email at Submit an Online Inquiry.

In addition, you may view current label processing times and processing times for beverage alcohol formulas on TTB.gov without having to contact ALFD directly.

COLAs Online does not reduce an industry member's ability to interact with our label specialists or supervisors. Industry members or industry representatives may make an appointment to meet with a labeling or formula specialist or a supervisor by contacting ALFD toll free at (866) 927-ALFD (2533) or commercially at (202) 453-2250, between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except Federal Holidays).

Based on our goal of continuous improvement, we welcome your candid comments, suggestions, and concerns. This information assists us in improving the service we provide to our customers.

No. The filing of COLAs electronically is optional. We also accept paper copies of TTB Form 5100.31, Application for and Certification/Exemption of Label/Bottle Approval.

There are two different options available for you to receive a user ID and initial password for COLAs Online:

Register Electronically

You may register electronically by clicking on the following link: Register for TTB Online.  Follow the steps in Create a New Registration to complete and submit your registration electronically.
Links to TTB’s online services may also be found at the TTB Online Portal Page.

Register by Mail

You may also submit a paper COLAs Online Access Request form (TTB F 5013.2) by mail.  If you are submitting a paper request form, we require you to mail us the form with original signatures.
Mail your completed form(s) to: 
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division
1310 G Street, NW, Box 12
Washington, DC 20005

Note:  If you do not have signature authority or a power of attorney that provides you with the authority to sign documents on behalf of the company for which you are filing label applications, the company will need to complete a Signing Authority form (TTB F 5100.1) or Power of Attorney form (TTB F 5000.8).  Follow the instructions on the forms, which require that the forms be submitted to the TTB National Revenue Center (NRC).  If you already have signing authority or a power of attorney that either authorizes you to sign all documents or specifically to sign COLA applications, you must submit a copy of that approved form when you submit your registration application.  You must have either a Signing Authority form or a Power of Attorney form on file prior to submitting your COLAs online registration application.

You can request registration forms by calling ALFD toll-free at 1-866-927-ALFD (2533) or at (202) 453-2250, or by email at Submit an Online Inquiry.

We do not send acknowledgements of receipt for paper applications; however, if you use our online registration system, after your registration is complete you will receive a submission identification number.  You may check the status of a pending paper or electronic registration by contacting us toll-free at 1-866-927-2533, commercially at (202) 453-2250, or by email at Submit an Online Inquiry.

In addition, you may view current processing times for COLAs Online Registrations on TTB.gov without having to contact ALFD directly.

Once we have completed processing your COLAs Online Access Request form, we will send you an email that contains your user ID.  When you first log into the system, you must use your user ID and security questions to set your password through the Password Change Utility.

Yes. Third party filers (trade associations, law firms, and industry representatives and consultants) can submit label applications on your behalf. Since the act of submitting an eApplication equates to signing the COLA form, a third party filer must either have signature authority or power of attorney for each company for which they wish to submit eApplications. Third party filers must also register to use COLAs Online and receive a user ID and password.

You may submit applications in the COLAs Online system using any of the following internet browsers:

• Apple Safari (version 5.1 or later)
• Google Chrome (version 21.0 or later)
• Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 8 or later)
• Mozilla Firefox (version 15.0 or later)

We recommend you use Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 8 or later) on a Windows operating system for the best system performance.  When using other browsers you may notice some pages do not look the same as they do when using Internet Explorer.  We recommend setting your browser to compatibility mode to address this issue.  We will continue to work on these "cosmetic" issues, but COLAs Online does function properly in all of the compatible browsers mentioned above.

In order to receive status notifications about electronically filed applications and other communication from ALFD, users are required to have an active e-mail account. Additionally, a scanner may be required in order to submit image files of paper labels. Users may need image processing software to convert PDF files to JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe) or PNG (.png) files.

The system is accessible 22 hours per day, 7 days a week. Routine maintenance, during which the system will not be available, is scheduled daily between 4:00 and 6:00 AM Eastern Time; additional scheduled system maintenance times may be found on the TTB System Maintenance Schedule calendar.

You may update some of the information associated with your account, including your password, phone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses, by accessing My Profile from the menu which is located in the upper right corner of your computer screen when you are logged into COLAs Online. If you want to add additional permits to your account you must modify your user registration account after accessing My Profile. You may also request access to Formulas Online via COLAs Online through this process.

To delete a user from COLAs Online for any reason, you may contact registration at  866-927-2533, option 3, or complete and mail a COLAs Online Access Request form, check the box “Delete User" in section A, and provide relevant information in the appropriate fields in the other sections. If you have a new employee filing COLA applications for you, that person must register for his/her own account with TTB. We do not permit people to share accounts under any circumstances for security reasons. If you move to a new company, you must contact us to remove the permit on your account that you will no longer use.

You may reset your forgotten or expired password by answering the security questions correctly through the Password Change Utility. Please be aware that after two failed attempts, your account will be locked. To unlock your account, please see question C18.

Your account can become locked for the following reasons:

1. After incorrectly entering your login credentials three times. You may unlock your account by answering the security questions correctly through the Password Change Utility and resetting your password.
2. After two failed attempts to answer your security questions through the Password Change Utility. To unlock your account, you will have to contact the TTB Helpdesk or call the Helpdesk toll-free at 1-866-927-2533, option 2, between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM Eastern Time on Monday through Friday.

Your password is valid for a period of 120 days from the date that you last changed your password.

Please be aware that the system will not allow you to use a password if it has been used before.

Acceptable passwords must be composed of a combination of characters defined by you for accessing the COLAs Online application.  For security reasons, passwords should not contain identifiers that are common knowledge, such as your name, important dates, spouse/child/pet names, PIN numbers, etc.  Passwords are to be unique and should not be shared with other individuals.  When creating your password, please note that it must conform to the following complexity rules:

• Password must be at least 8 characters long.
• Password must not contain your user ID.
• Password must contain at least 1 UPPERCASE letter, 1 lowercase letter, 1 numeral (0-9), and 1 special character.
• You cannot reuse a password that has been used in the past 10 times or within the past 48 hours.
• You cannot use the following special characters: ' (single-quote), " (double-quote), _ (underscore), = (equal sign), & (ampersand), and @ (at sign).

Follow the steps in Change my Password to create or change your password.

Follow the steps in Create an Application to file electronic COLA applications (eApplications).

Yes; you may view the status of your eApplications in COLAs Online through the "Home: My eApplications" page. You may also view the status of your eApplications through the "Search Results: eApplications" page by performing a "Search for eApplications." The system also allows you to search for all eApplications that you submitted and identify their current status, whether "Received," "Approved," “Conditionally Approved,” "Needs Correction," or "Rejected." You cannot see information about other companies' submissions or about your paper applications. We send e-mail notification of status changes in eApplications to the submitter. Therefore, if you use a third party filer to submit applications, that party receives the notifications.

EApplications that TTB cannot approve as submitted may be returned to the submitter with the status of “Needs Correction.”  This is an intermediate step that affords the submitter the opportunity to make corrections to bring their eApplication into compliance prior to a final action on the application.  This step is not available with paper submissions.

TTB will return the eApplication to the submitter with a list of corrections that need to be made to the application, the label, or both.  From that date, the submitter has 30 calendar days to make the corrections.  If the eApplication is not corrected and resubmitted to TTB within that time period, TTB will automatically deny the label application and the status within COLAs Online will state that the COLA was “Rejected.”  

The “Rejected” status indicates that TTB has made a final decision to deny the application.  Paper applications enter this status when the initial TTB review discloses that either the application or the label does not comply with Federal requirements.  These applications are rejected and returned to the submitter by either email or postal mail.  As discussed above, eApplications are afforded an intermediate step and are generally returned for correction before a final action is taken; however, an eApplication may be rejected (denied) if all the necessary corrections are not made to an application that was returned for correction, or when the application that was returned for “Needs Correction” is not resubmitted to TTB within 30 calendar days.  

If your label is rejected, you may still resubmit a new application with corrected labels at a later date. However, this application will not receive priority consideration over other applications received at that time. 

Yes. Since January 2011, authorized users may file formula and pre-import applications electronically by using Formulas Online. You must register to use Formulas Online.

• If you are a current COLAs Online user, you will need to modify your account to add Formulas Online access to your profile. When your registration is confirmed, you will use the same username and password to log on to both systems.
• If you are not a current COLAs Online user, you need to register online at http://www.ttbonline.gov. Once TTB processes your application, you will receive your user name and password from TTB Online registrars and you will be able to submit formula and pre-import applications electronically.
• Visit the Formulas Online Homepage to learn more about it.

You will need to submit any additional documentation by scanning the document(s) and saving it as a file. Then use the upload other attachments option in Step 3 of the application process to upload the file. Acceptable file types include DOC(.doc, .docx), TEXT(.txt), PDF(.pdf), JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe).. You can attach up to 10 files, but each file must not exceed 750KB.

No. This phase of COLAs Online does not interact with State or Customs systems. However, all approved COLAs and images of electronically filed labels are posted on the COLA Public Registry at:https://www.ttbonline.gov/colasonline/publicSearchColasBasic.do, available for viewing by anyone, including the States, USCBP, and other federal agencies. There is a 48 hour delay before posting approved COLAs to the website. Users of COLAs Online and the public are able to print copies of electronically approved labels from the web page that can be submitted to the States or USCBP. We are looking at a future enhancement to the system that will provide an auto-notification to the States and USCBP when a COLA is approved.

The e-filed COLA contains the statement "Application was e-filed" in the applicant signature box. The applicant's name appears in the adjacent box, as it does on a paper COLA. A facsimile of the signature of the TTB approving official appears on the approved COLA.

COLAs Online will accept label images in either JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg) or PNG (.png) file formats. COLAs Online does not accept images in the TIFF file format; trying to upload an image saved as a TIFF will result in an error.  For acceptable file formats for other attachments, see C29.

Last reviewed/updated July 10, 2020

Attachments that you may need to upload to COLAs Online in support of your label application, such as any letterhead documents or an organic certification, may be uploaded using the following file formats: DOC (.doc, .docx), TEXT (.txt), PDF (.pdf), or JPEG (.jpg, .jpeg, .jpe) file formats. See also acceptable file formats for label images at C28.

Last reviewed/updated July 10, 2020

No single label image file may exceed 1.5 MB.  To ensure that the label specialists can read every word on label images, we recommend that you save each image (e.g., brand label, back label, etc.) that is part of your submission at a resolution of at least 120-170 dpi.  JPEG files should generally have a compression/quality ratio set at “Medium,” which may be represented as 7 out of 10 or 70 out of 100.

You can typically find compression and resolution assistance by going into the software’s Help menu and selecting “Index “and then “Compression Method” or “Resolution.” You should always review the compression and resolution settings prior to saving your image file and prior to uploading images to COLAs Online.

Last reviewed/updated July 10, 2020

In addition to ensuring that each label image doesn’t exceed 1.5MB (see C30) in size and is saved as a JPEG or PNG file format (see C28), here are additional guidelines to help you prepare the label image files for your submission:

• Each label on your container (e.g. brand, back, neck, etc.) must be uploaded as a separate file.

• For reasons outlined below, make sure the image is cropped to show only the label itself.  If you scanned your label or used a phone to take a picture of it, the image you start with likely has white space or other background around the label.  Be sure to crop all extra background out of the image, so the edges of the image just touch the edges of the label, before you upload it.  You can use any photo editing software for this.
  
   

  

• Make sure the image’s width and height that you enter in Step 3 of your COLAs Online application are accurate.  Inaccurate entry of the image’s dimensions can result in distorted images, which our label specialists will have difficulty reviewing, and which may delay approval.  In addition, entering an inaccurate width and height may result in the label image displaying incorrectly on TTB’s Public COLA Registry.
  
  If the dimensions of your label image (with extra background cropped out) differ from the dimensions of the actual, printed label, that is acceptable – but in Step 3, be sure you enter the dimensions of the label as it will be printed (not the dimensions of the label image itself). 
  
   

  

Last reviewed/updated July 10, 2020

Images saved at lower resolutions can result in text that is blurry or pixelated, especially when magnified.  As a rule of thumb, shoot for a resolution of at least 120 to 170 dpi (while also ensuring that the image file size does not exceed 1.5MB).

If you find the label text is still hard to read after increasing the resolution, try saving the image using the PNG file format.
 

Last reviewed/updated July 10, 2020

If you entered incorrect image dimensions under Step 3 of your COLAs Online application, or if your label images included extra background (e.g., white space) around the image itself that was not accounted for in the label dimensions you entered, the image will appear distorted on the printable version.  The printable version is used by our specialists to process your application; it is also uploaded into the Public COLA Registry, so it is important that your image displays correctly on the printable version.

• If your image file includes additional background, please crop it out, resave the image, and upload the new image to your application (after removing the old image).
• If your image already excludes additional background, simply remove the old image and upload it again with the proper dimensions.

Learn more about preparing your label image properly, see C31.

Last reviewed/updated July 10, 2020

After uploading files to COLAs Online, you should click on the “Verify Uploaded Images” link on the “Verify Application” step to ensure that the all files were uploaded and display correctly. Occasionally, due to glitches during the data transfer from your workstation to the TTB server, uploaded label image files become corrupted. When this occurs, please try to save the file again on your workstation and then after removing the first image file, re-attempt the upload on Step 3. If problems persist, you may contact the Alcohol Labeling and Formulation Division (ALFD) at 1-866-927-ALFD (2533) or Submit an Online Inquiry to ALFD for further assistance.

Last reviewed/updated July 10, 2020

The image displayed on a web page sometimes is not the "correct" image because of the way your browser stores or "caches" images. If you clear your browser cache, you should be able to see the latest image.

We suggest following these steps to clear your cache in the following browsers:

Internet Explorer:

1. Click on the cog-symbol in the upper right corner of the browser.
2. Select the item "Internet options".
3. In the tab "General" you can find a section "Browser history". When you click on the button "Delete" a new Window opens.
4. Remove all checks except the selection "Temporary Internet files and website files".
5. Click on the Button "Delete" to empty the browser cache.
6. Reload the page.

Chrome:

1. Click the ellipsis in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Scroll down to Clear browsing data under Privacy and security
3. Click Clear browsing data
4. At the top, choose a time range. To delete everything, select All time.
5. Uncheck Cookies and other site data
6. Click Clear data
7. Reload the page.

Edge:

1. Click the ellipsis in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Select Settings
3. Select Privacy and services on the left-hand side
4. Select Choose what to clear
5. Uncheck Cookies and other site data
6. Click Clear now
7. Reload the page.

Last reviewed/updated July 10, 2020

The Formulas Online System is TTB's efficient, and secure method for drafting, submitting, and tracking formula applications electronically. Formulas Online was designed to include step-by-step guidance and validation checks to ensure that formula applications are accurate. Also, a single user ID may be used to access both Formulas Online and COLAs Online. If you submit COLAs electronically, you will be required to add Formulas Online to your current COLAs Online profile. For more information about Formulas Online visit the Formulas Online Customer Support page.

You may register electronically for Formulas Online by going to Register for TTB Online.  Follow the steps in Create a New Registration to complete and submit your registration electronically.
Links to TTB’s online services may also be found at the TTB Online Portal Page.

As an existing user of COLAs Online, you must modify your registration to add Formulas Online access to your profile.  Access to the Formulas Online system is not automatic and registration is not instantaneous.  Follow the steps in Modify my User Registration, by accessing My Profile from the menu which is located in the upper right corner of your computer screen when you are logged into COLAs Online.  
You may view current processing times for COLAs Online registrations and Formulas Online registrations on TTB.gov without having to contact ALFD directly.

No, TTB does not charge a fee related to COLA applications or formula submissions.