Do You Need a License to Sell Non-Alcoholic Beer in Tennessee?

No for a beer under 0.5% ABV, on the statute's text, and yes for wine. Tennessee's beer definition sets no minimum alcohol content, but the definition of "alcoholic beverage" that governs the whole title says products under 0.5% alcohol by volume, "other than wine," are not alcoholic beverages and are not subject to regulation or taxation under chapters 1 to 6 and 9 of Title 57, and chapter 5 is the beer chapter. The exception for wine keeps a dealcoholized wine inside the licensing system. Non-alcoholic spirits alternatives under 0.5% ABV are outside it. No Tennessee agency has published a ruling on a 0.0% beer, so confirm before you rely on this.

What Tennessee law says

T.C.A. § 57-5-101(b) defines beer as a product of the normal alcoholic fermentation of malt or other cereal grains, with an 8% alcohol-by-weight ceiling and no floor. Under § 57-5-103, operating a business that sells, distributes or stores beer without a permit from the local beer board is unlawful, as the University of Tennessee's MTAS guide to Tennessee alcohol and beer laws (January 2026) sets out. The floor comes from a different section. T.C.A. § 57-3-101(a)(1)(A), the title's definition of "alcoholic beverage," ends: "products or beverages containing less than one-half of one percent (0.5%) alcohol by volume, other than wine as defined in this section, shall not be considered to be alcoholic beverages, and shall not be subject to regulation or taxation pursuant to chapters 1-6 and 9 of this title." The Department of Revenue's Alcohol Tax Manual (June 2026) reads it the same way: beverages under 0.5% ABV, other than wine, "are not considered alcoholic beverages and are not subject to regulation or taxation." We have found no ruling from the Alcoholic Beverage Commission or a beer board applying that sentence to a 0.0% beer.

What that means for an out-of-state brand

On that text, a beer under 0.5% ABV needs no beer permit to sell, distribute or store. Because no agency has published a ruling, put the question to the local beer board for the county you are entering before you ship. The exposure sits with wine: the 0.5% exclusion does not cover it, so treat a dealcoholized wine as wine for licensing until the Alcoholic Beverage Commission tells you otherwise in writing.

What it does not cover

Non-alcoholic spirits alternatives under 0.5% ABV fall within the same exclusion as beer. Wine does not: the exclusion says "other than wine," and the wine definition in § 57-3-101 sets a ceiling and no floor. A beer at or above 0.5% ABV is beer and needs the local permit.

Before you ship

Tennessee is one row in our state-by-state table of 0.0% beverage rules, which classifies non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits alternatives for every state and records the source and the date each row was verified. For the brands we run, we confirm the lane for each product and each state before the first shipment, as part of holding the importer of record. This page is general information, verified 11 October 2026. Confirm with counsel and with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the local beer board before acting on it.

Sources

• T.C.A. § 57-5-101(b)
• MTAS guide to Tennessee alcohol and beer laws, January 2026
• T.C.A. § 57-3-101, title definitions
• Tennessee Department of Revenue, Alcohol Tax Manual, June 2026
• Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission