27 CFR § 5.202 - Standard liquor containers.
---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t27/s5.202"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "27 CFR § 5.202 - Standard liquor containers."
title_number: 27
title_name: "Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms"
section_number: "5.202"
section_name: "Standard liquor containers."
chapter_name: "ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY"
subchapter_number: "A"
subchapter_name: "ALCOHOL"
part_number: "5"
part_name: "LABELING AND ADVERTISING OF DISTILLED SPIRITS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "26 U.S.C. 5301, 7805, 27 U.S.C. 205 and 207."
regulatory_source: "T.D. TTB-176, 87 7579, Feb. 9, 2022, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "5"
---
# 5.202 Standard liquor containers.
(a) *General.* Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section and in § 5.205, distilled spirits must be bottled in standard liquor containers, as defined in this paragraph. A standard liquor container is a container that is made, formed, and filled in such a way that it does not mislead purchasers as regards its contents. An individual carton or other container of a bottle may not be so designed as to mislead purchasers as to the size of the bottle it contains.
(b) *Headspace.* A filled liquor container of a capacity of 200 milliliters (6.8 fl. oz.) or more is deemed to mislead the purchaser if it has a headspace in excess of 8 percent of the total capacity of the container after closure.
(c) *Design.* Regardless of the correctness of the stated net contents, a liquor container is deemed to mislead the purchaser if it is made and formed in such a way that its actual capacity is substantially less than the capacity it appears to have upon visual examination under ordinary conditions of purchase or use.
(d) *Exception for distinctive liquor bottles.* The provisions of paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section do not apply to liquor bottles for which a distinctive liquor bottle approval has been issued pursuant to § 5.205.