{
 "dataset": "food-handler",
 "version": "2026-09-05",
 "records": 51,
 "columns": [
  "page_id",
  "state",
  "certification",
  "cluster",
  "mandate_level",
  "mandate_detail",
  "who_must_get",
  "exemptions",
  "issuing_authority",
  "approved_provider_rule",
  "cost_range",
  "validity_years",
  "county_exceptions",
  "legal_basis",
  "last_verified",
  "source_urls",
  "page_url"
 ],
 "terms": "Free to cite and reuse with attribution to LicensingAtlas. Every value is verified against the official source named in its source_urls and dated in last_verified.",
 "rows": [
  {
   "page_id": "ak-food-handler",
   "state": "Alaska",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "Any \"food worker\" — anyone working with unpackaged food, potentially hazardous food, or food-contact surfaces (chefs, cooks, servers, bartenders, meat cutters, food counter workers, dishwashers) — must obtain a food worker card within 30 days of the date of hire (18 AAC 31.330). Not required for people who only greet/seat customers, process payment, work solely with pre-packaged food (cashiers, baggers, delivery drivers, stockers), assist patients/residents with meals, children under 18 assisting with school meal service, or volunteers.",
   "exemptions": "Alaska exempts food workers both by role and by facility.\n\nBy role — the Alaska DEC food worker card program page (\"Food Worker Card is Not Required\") states a card is not needed if the role does not involve unpackaged or potentially hazardous food or food-contact surfaces, and gives these examples: greeting or seating customers; processing payment for food or other purchases; working only with pre-packaged food (cashiers, grocery baggers, delivery drivers, warehouse workers, shelf stockers); assisting patients or residents with their meals at a hospital, assisted living home, or rehabilitation center; children under 18 assisting with school meal service in a school kitchen; and volunteer activities.\n\nCredential that displaces the card — DEC states plainly: \"A food worker card is not required for those who have a current, valid Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) certificate\" (18 AAC 31.325). Holding the manager credential therefore removes the handler-card duty; you do not need both.\n\nBy activity and facility — 18 AAC 31.012 (“Exempt activities and facilities”; current text — former subsection (a) repealed 5/11/2025, Register 254) makes whole categories “not subject to this chapter,” and because the card mandate lives in that same chapter (18 AAC 31.330), no food worker card is required for them.\n\nExempt activities (18 AAC 31.012(b)): the sale, extraction, or packaging of raw honey; custom processing of an individual’s sport-caught seafood or game meat (except 18 AAC 34 smoking/thermal processing of seafood); the packaging and sale of raw, whole vegetables, herbs, microgreens, and fruit offered in their natural state or after rinsing, trimming of unnecessary parts, or separating greens from roots; the harvesting and evaporation of tree sap (further processing for wholesale distribution is covered); the harvesting or cleaving of glacier ice exported from the state without further processing; and the preparation and serving of food at a licensed foster home or foster group home, food at a licensed child care home or child care group home, snacks at a licensed child care facility, food at an assisted living home with five or fewer residents, and food at a camp set up for no more than 14 days at a single location to support a group of 24 individuals or less.\n\nExempt facilities and events (18 AAC 31.012(c)): a business (including a gas station, gift shop, video store, student store, or packaged liquor store) that sells only prepackaged non-potentially-hazardous food, fresh uncut and unpeeled fruit or vegetables, popcorn (including seasoned or caramel popcorn), cotton candy, prepackaged ice cream novelties, non-potentially-hazardous beverages prepackaged or dispensed directly from commercial containers or into single-service containers, or coffee and tea with creamers and single-service items; a restricted food service transient occupancy establishment; a vending machine dispensing only non-potentially-hazardous food; a family-operated business that employs only family members, prepares and serves food only to those family members, and does not serve food to the public; social events where food is prepared or provided by or for members of an organization, association or club, a church or other religious congregation, a neighborhood/community/family/office gathering such as a party, picnic or potluck, or a traditional Native potlatch, and that group’s invited guests; an event advertised to the general public whose primary purpose is to raise money for a political campaign or one individual’s medical or other personal needs, if the food is cooked and immediately served, the event lasts no more than one day, and no more than three such events are held in a 90-day period; a public open house where ready-to-eat, commercially processed appetizers are offered for self-service (subject to handwashing-facility and hot/cold-holding temperature conditions); a temporary food service lasting one day or less serving pre-cooked, packaged, ready-to-eat, or commercially processed foods requiring no more than limited preparation and minimal handling (subject to the same handwashing and temperature conditions); a bake sale — defined as the occasional sale to the public by an organization at a fundraising or seasonal event (including a fair or bazaar) of bakery-type items such as fruit or berry pies and cobblers, cakes, cookies, pastries, and breads (items with potentially hazardous fillings or toppings such as custard, whipped cream, or meringue must be kept refrigerated at 41°F or below, and potentially hazardous foods such as sandwiches, stuffed breads, meat pies, and pizza may not be sold at a bake sale); and a food establishment located within a national park, federal military installation, public health service hospital, or other federal facility where inspections and regulatory oversight are provided by the federal government.\n\nPartial exemptions — read these carefully, they cut both ways. Under 18 AAC 31.012(d), a food service with a maximum capacity of 12 that serves 12 or fewer individuals per day, and under (f), a business manufacturing ice for onsite retail sale, are — if the subsection’s conditions are met — subject only to 18 AAC 31.900, 31.905, and 31.915, not to the card provisions. But under (e), a food service serving 24 or fewer individuals each day AT A CAMP remains subject to 18 AAC 31.050 and 18 AAC 31.320–31.330 — the food worker card provisions — so workers at an ongoing camp food service still need cards; only the short-term camp in (b)(6)(E) (set up no more than 14 days at a single location, group of 24 or less) is outside the chapter entirely. And under (g), an exemption from this chapter does not relieve the operator from other applicable statutes and regulations.\n\nNot an exemption — working in the Municipality of Anchorage does not exempt you: MOA runs its own food worker card program and does not accept State-issued cards, so an MOA card is required instead (see the county and city exception details on this page).\n\nSources: 18 AAC 31.012 and 18 AAC 31.330, Alaska Food Code (DEC official PDF, as amended through May 11, 2025, Register 254); current 18 AAC 31.012 text as of 2026-07-23, from the Alaska State Legislature’s Administrative Code publication (akleg.gov basis); Alaska DEC “Food Worker Cards” program page.",
   "issuing_authority": "Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Division of Environmental Health, Food Safety & Sanitation Program (state-issued card/exam). Within the Municipality of Anchorage, the Anchorage Health Department runs its own separate food worker card program.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Card and exam are issued directly by the government, not by private accredited providers. The State DEC administers the food worker card examination itself (18 AAC 31.330: \"an examination conducted by the department\") and issues the card. Within the Municipality of Anchorage, the Anchorage Health Department issues its own food worker card and does not accept State-issued cards. There is no ANSI/private-accredited-provider regime for the Alaska handler card.",
   "cost_range": "$10 application fee, set by the State (18 AAC 31.050(v)); the Municipality of Anchorage card also costs $10. Government-administered exam/card, so there is no separate private-provider pricing.",
   "validity_years": "3",
   "county_exceptions": "Municipality of Anchorage: runs its own food worker card program and does not accept State-issued food worker cards. Workers in MOA-regulated facilities must hold an Anchorage-issued card (also $10, valid 3 years). Anchorage is the only Alaska jurisdiction with a separate program; everywhere else the State DEC card applies.",
   "legal_basis": "18 AAC 31.330 (Food worker cards) — the operative statewide requirement (30-day-after-hire card, department-conducted exam, 3-year validity); fee set by 18 AAC 31.050(v) ($10). Both are part of the Alaska Food Code (18 AAC Chapter 31), adopted under the Alaska Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (AS 17.20). Exemptions: 18 AAC 31.012 (Exempt activities and facilities) removes listed facilities/activities from the whole chapter, and DEC's official program page states a valid Certified Food Protection Manager certificate (18 AAC 31.325) removes the food worker card requirement.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"18 AAC 31.330 — Food worker cards (Alaska Food Code, 18 AAC ch. 31, DEC official PDF): 30-day-after-hire mandate, department-conducted exam, 3-year validity\", \"url\": \"https://dec.alaska.gov/media/51tb5co0/18-aac-31.pdf#page=67\"}, {\"label\": \"18 AAC 31.050 — Fees (Alaska Food Code, 18 AAC ch. 31, DEC official PDF): subsection (v) sets the $10 food worker card fee\", \"url\": \"https://dec.alaska.gov/media/51tb5co0/18-aac-31.pdf#page=26\"}, {\"label\": \"Alaska DEC — Food Worker Cards (official state program page): who needs a card, exceptions, $10 fee, 3-year validity, State-vs-Anchorage two-program structure\", \"url\": \"https://dec.alaska.gov/eh/fss/food-worker-card/\"}, {\"label\": \"Municipality of Anchorage — Obtain MOA Food Worker Card (Anchorage Health Dept, official): MOA card required, $10, valid 3 years\", \"url\": \"https://www.muni.org/Departments/health/Admin/environment/FSS/Pages/Obtain-MOA-Food-Worker-Card.aspx\"}, {\"label\": \"18 AAC 31.012 — Exempt activities and facilities (Alaska Food Code, DEC official PDF, as amended through May 11, 2025, Register 254): facilities/activities not subject to ch. 31, so no food worker card duty\", \"url\": \"https://dec.alaska.gov/media/51tb5co0/18-aac-31.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"18 AAC 31.012 — Exempt activities and facilities (current text, Alaska State Legislature basis Administrative Code print view — text-readable official alternative to the DEC PDF)\", \"url\": \"https://www.akleg.gov/basis/aac.asp?media=print&secStart=18.31.012&secEnd=18.31.012\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ak-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "al-food-handler",
   "state": "Alabama",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "no statewide handler-card law; required in Jefferson & Mobile counties",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide requirement for individual food handlers. Jefferson County: JCDH requires all food employees (anyone who handles, prepares, serves, sells, or gives away food) to complete food-safety training within 21 days of hire. Mobile County: any employee who serves/prepares unpackaged food or works in food prep/service/storage/warewashing areas must hold a food handler card (plus a beverage handler card to serve/sell alcohol). Statewide, only a certified person-in-charge / food protection manager is required, and only at Priority Category 3 & 4 establishments — not individual handlers.",
   "exemptions": "The single biggest exemption is geographic: Alabama has no statewide food-handler-card law, so a food employee working anywhere outside Jefferson County and Mobile County needs no handler card at all (Ala. Admin. Code ch. 420-3-22 contains no handler-card mandate).\n\nStatewide — Excluded from the food rules entirely. \"Food establishment\" (Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.01(4)(a)14) expressly \"does not include\": (i) a kitchen in a private home if only non-time/temperature-controlled-for-safety food is prepared for sale or service at a function such as a charitable, religious, civic, or not-for-profit organization's food sale, or at a state-sanctioned farmer's market, where consumers are informed by a clearly visible label, tag or placard that the food is prepared in an uninspected kitchen; (ii) private gatherings with a limited and identifiable membership where no sale of food takes place; and (iii) a Cottage Food Production Operation. Separately, Bed and Breakfast establishments (owner-occupied, no more than ten guest rooms, breakfast only) are expressly \"exempt from ... the Rules for Food Service Sanitation, 420-3-22\" (r. 420-3-22-.01(4)(a)1).\n\nTemporary events — a temporary event sponsored by a political subdivision of the state, or by an agency or organization exempt from taxes or business-license requirements, \"shall be issued an exemption from the requirements of these rules\" for an event of not more than three days (72 hours), provided all food operations finish within 72 hours and the event/vendor/food details are filed at least five days in advance, and the list of foods meets the restriction of Section (2)(d) (no low-acid foods in hermetically sealed containers, and no home-canned goods not prepared in a permitted establishment) (r. 420-3-22-.12(2)(a)).\n\nJefferson County — In-house alternative to the card. JCDH states the food handler training \"may be completed in person, online, or through a Certified Food Safety Manager who is on duty at all times.\" An establishment with an always-on-duty Certified Food Safety Manager can therefore train its own food employees in-house instead of buying the classroom/online card.\n\nCovered but often ASSUMED exempt — the statewide manager rule and the county handler card are different credentials. Priority category 1 and 2 establishments and temporary food establishments are exempt from the certified-manager requirement of subpart 2-102.11(B) (r. 420-3-22-.02(2)(b)) — but that exemption is from the manager certification only and does not exempt a Jefferson or Mobile County food employee from the county handler card.\n\nMobile county — None found. Searched the Mobile County Health Department permits/inspection-services page and the MCHD FAQ; MCHD lists \"Approved Food Handler Cards\" as an inspection requirement but publishes no exemption from it.",
   "issuing_authority": "County health departments — Jefferson County Department of Health (JCDH) and Mobile County Health Department (MCHD). There is no statewide handler-card issuer; the Alabama Dept. of Public Health (ADPH) Division of Food, Milk & Lodging administers the state Food Establishment Sanitation rules but does not issue an employee food-handler card.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "No statewide approved-provider list (no statewide handler card). County-administered: Jefferson Co. — JCDH's own classroom course or its exclusive approved online provider (jcdhfoodhandler.com). Mobile Co. — MCHD in-person class or the MCHD-approved online course at mchd.statefoodsafety.com.",
   "cost_range": "No statewide card/cost cap. Jefferson County: $15 in-person (JCDH class) or $20 online ($10 training + $10 processing, jcdhfoodhandler.com). Mobile County: $23 online ($8 course + $15 MCHD processing fee).",
   "validity_years": "No statewide card. Jefferson County: 2; Mobile County: 1",
   "county_exceptions": "Jefferson County (Birmingham) and Mobile County require individual food handler cards; the majority of Alabama counties do not mandate an employee handler card. Local Health Officers may impose additional requirements under Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.02(3), so other counties could adopt local rules.",
   "legal_basis": "No statewide food-handler-card statute or rule. The only statewide food-safety certification is the certified person-in-charge / food protection manager: Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.02 (Management and Personnel; adopts FDA Food Code §2-102.11(B); permit holder/designee must hold accredited-program certification issued within the previous 5 years for Priority Category 3 & 4 establishments), statutory authority Code of Ala. 1975 §§22-2-2(6), 22-20-5. County handler-card mandates rest on local county board-of-health / Health Officer authority. Exemptions: Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.01(4)(a)14 ('food establishment' does not include private-home non-TCS food for charitable/religious/civic/nonprofit sales or state-sanctioned farmer's markets, private gatherings with no food sale, or a Cottage Food Production Operation) and r. 420-3-22-.01(4)(a)1 (Bed and Breakfast establishments exempt from 420-3-22); r. 420-3-22-.12(2)(a) (≤72-hour temporary-event exemption); r. 420-3-22-.02(2)(b) (Priority category 1 & 2 and temporary food establishments exempt from the 2-102.11(B) manager certification — not from any county handler card).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.02 (Management and Personnel — statewide person-in-charge/manager cert requirement; no food-handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/administrative-code/420-3-22-.02\"}, {\"label\": \"Official chapter text used to verify (legislature admin-code API — full Chapter 420-3-22 PDF; searched: 0 occurrences of 'handler'/'food employee'/'health card')\", \"url\": \"https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/api/chapter/420-3-22\"}, {\"label\": \"ADPH Division of Food, Milk & Lodging — state food-safety oversight; county health departments enforce\", \"url\": \"https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/foodsafety/\"}, {\"label\": \"Jefferson County Dept. of Health — Food Handler Classes (requires all food employees; $15 classroom / $20 online; within 21 days of hire)\", \"url\": \"https://www.jcdh.org/SitePages/Programs-Services/EnvironmentalHealth/FoodProtection/FoodHandClasses.aspx\"}, {\"label\": \"Jefferson County official online food-handler portal — card valid 2 years; $20 online ($10 training + $10 processing)\", \"url\": \"http://www.jcdhfoodhandler.com/\"}, {\"label\": \"Mobile County Health Department — Permits / Inspection Services ('Approved Food Handler Cards' required at inspection)\", \"url\": \"https://mchd.org/permits/\"}, {\"label\": \"Mobile County official food-handler card portal (MCHD-approved) — $23 total ($8 course + $15 MCHD fee); valid 1 year; beverage handler card for alcohol\", \"url\": \"https://mchd.statefoodsafety.com/\"}, {\"label\": \"Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.01 (General Provisions — 'food establishment' definition exclusions: private-home charitable/religious/farmer's-market non-TCS food, private gatherings, cottage food; Bed & Breakfast exempt from 420-3-22)\", \"url\": \"https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/administrative-code/420-3-22-.01\"}, {\"label\": \"Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.12 (Temporary Food Service Establishments — (2)(a) exemption for ≤3-day (72-hour) events sponsored by a political subdivision or a tax/business-license-exempt organization)\", \"url\": \"https://admincode.legislature.state.al.us/administrative-code/420-3-22-.12\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/al-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ar-food-handler",
   "state": "Arkansas",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "statewide, only a Certified Food Protection Manager is required — one per establishment; no individual food-handler card mandate",
   "who_must_get": "No Arkansas food employee is required by state law to obtain a food handler card. The only statewide food-safety credential mandate is that each retail food establishment have at least one Certified Food Protection Manager — a supervisory/management employee who passes a test that is part of an accredited program (Rules Pertaining to Retail Food Establishments §2-102.11). This is the one-per-establishment manager certification, not an employee handler card.",
   "exemptions": "None — there is nothing to be exempt from. Arkansas imposes no individual food-handler-card duty on any food employee, so no exemption from such a card exists or could exist.\n\nSources checked: (1) the statute — Ark. Code Ann. Title 20, ch. 57 (as cross-referenced in the rules for the bake-sale and Food Freedom Act exclusions); (2) the administrative rule — the Arkansas State Board of Health \"Rules Pertaining to Retail Food Establishments\" in full (173 pp.), where the term \"food handler\" appears zero times; (3) the agency FAQ — the Arkansas Department of Health Food Protection FAQ, which is silent on any employee handler card. No provision requiring an employee food-handler card appears in any of these sources, and therefore no exemption from one is stated anywhere.\n\nWhat is excluded from the food rules entirely (so no state food-safety credential duty attaches at all): \"Retail Food Establishment\" (Rules §1-201.10(B)(xcix)(3)) \"does not include\": an establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not time/temperature control for safety foods; a produce stand that only offers whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; a food processing plant; a kitchen in a private home if only non-TCS food is prepared for sale or service at a function such as a religious or charitable organization's bake sale (Ark. Code Ann. §§20-57-201, 20-57-506); a kitchen in a private home preparing only non-TCS food under the Food Freedom Act (Ark. Code Ann. §20-57-504); an area where such home-prepared food is sold or offered; a kitchen in a private home such as a small family day-care provider, or a bed-and-breakfast that is owner-occupied with no more than 6 guest bedrooms serving breakfast only to no more than 10 guests with the required uninspected-kitchen notice; and a private home that receives catered or home-delivered food.\n\nExemptions from the only credential Arkansas does require (the Certified Food Protection Manager — one per establishment, not a handler card): §2-102.11(B) states the manager requirement \"does not apply to certain types of RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS deemed by the REGULATORY AUTHORITY to pose minimal risk ...\", including retail food establishments that only provide commercially prepackaged foods, and retail food establishments providing only low-risk non-time/temperature-control-for-safety foods that are approved by the regulatory authority.\n\nSource: Arkansas State Board of Health, Rules Pertaining to Retail Food Establishments (official ADH rule PDF); Arkansas Department of Health Food Protection FAQ.",
   "issuing_authority": "",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Arkansas State Board of Health, Rules Pertaining to Retail Food Establishments, §2-102.11 (Certified Food Protection Manager) — the only statewide food-safety credential mandate. No provision requires an individual food handler card; the term \"food handler\" does not appear anywhere in the 173-page rule. Manager-certification mandate effective Sept 7, 2019 (existing establishments had until Sept 7, 2020 to comply), per the Arkansas Department of Health Food Protection FAQ. Exemption provisions: Rules §1-201.10(B)(xcix)(3) excludes prepackaged-only establishments, whole-uncut-produce stands, food processing plants, private-home kitchens (charitable bake sales; Food Freedom Act, Ark. Code Ann. §20-57-504; small family day-care; qualifying bed-and-breakfasts) and private homes receiving catered food; §2-102.11(B) exempts minimal-risk establishments (commercially prepackaged only, or approved low-risk non-TCS) from the manager certification. Neither creates nor excuses any handler-card duty, because none exists.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Arkansas State Board of Health — Rules Pertaining to Retail Food Establishments (official admin rule PDF, 173 pp; §2-102.11 Certified Food Protection Manager; term 'food handler' absent from entire rule)\", \"url\": \"https://healthy.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/Retail_Food_Establishment_Rule_.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Arkansas Department of Health — Food Protection FAQ (confirms a certified food protection manager is required as of Sept 7, 2019; silent on any employee food-handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://healthy.arkansas.gov/programs-services/public-health-safety/food-protection-inspection-portal/food-protection-faq/\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ar-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "az-food-handler",
   "state": "Arizona",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "no statewide handler-card law; ARS 11-269.12 sets standards only, and only \"if a county requires\" one",
   "who_must_get": "In a county that requires a card, every \"food employee\" — any person who handles, prepares, serves, sells, or gives away non-prepackaged food, or handles related utensils/equipment (ARS 11-269.12 definition, adopted verbatim in Maricopa County Environmental Health Code Ch. VII, Reg. 1(c)). Maricopa requires the card within 30 days of first performing food-employee activity (Ch. VII, Reg. 2(a)). No statewide requirement exists — in counties without a handler-card rule, only the state's Certified Food Protection Manager requirement (one per establishment) applies.",
   "exemptions": "The largest exemption is geographic: there is no statewide Arizona handler-card duty. ARS 11-269.12 applies only \"[i]f a county requires food handler training and a certificate for employment in the food service industry\" — it sets the standard for such a card but does not itself require anyone to hold one. In an Arizona county with no handler-card rule, no food employee needs a card.\n\nExcluded from the definition that triggers the duty — \"Food Employee\" (Maricopa County Environmental Health Code ch. VII, Reg. 1(c), which adopts the ARS 11-269.12 \"food handler\" meaning) covers a person handling food \"for consumption by persons other than his or her immediate family,\" and expressly states: \"The term does not include persons in establishments regulated under this code who handle food or drink exclusively in closed crates, cartons, packages, bottles or similar containers in which no portion of the food or drink is exposed to contamination through such handling.\" Prepackaged-only handlers are therefore not food employees and need no card.\n\nIn-house / alternative routes that displace a new card: (a) ARS 11-269.12(G) — \"If a county government that provides food service has an in-house food service training program, a certificate by that county training program is valid for food service that is provided for that county's facilities or operations\"; (b) ARS 11-269.12(H) grandfathers county-created or county-approved courses predating the section that do not meet ASTM E2659-09, deeming them accredited; (c) ARS 11-269.12(E) — a card issued by any Arizona county is valid in every other Arizona county that requires one until it expires, so no second card is needed after a move.\n\nCovered but often ASSUMED exempt — Maricopa County's Chapter VII heading \"REGULATION 6. Exemptions\" is narrower than it looks: it exempts an establishment exclusively serving non-time/temperature-control-for-safety foods from \"Regulation 2 Paragraph e.\" Only — that is the Certified Food Protection manager requirement. It does not exempt that establishment's food employees from the training/card duty in Reg. 2(a). Temporary, Seasonal and Special Event food establishments are likewise not exempt — their food employees must be trained before the event starts (Reg. 2(b)).\n\nAccommodations, not exemptions — Maricopa Reg. 3 provides a Limited Use Food Employee Certificate to accommodate a person with a disability (specific low-risk activities), and a Fee Waived Food Employee Certificate for employees under a Maricopa County Board of Health fee waiver (charitable/nonprofit status) or enrolled in a K-12 culinary arts or similar curriculum-based program. These waive cost or narrow scope; they do not waive the training itself.\n\nSources: ARS 11-269.12 (Arizona Legislature); Maricopa County Environmental Health Code, Chapter VII.",
   "issuing_authority": "County health departments, each acting under the framework of ARS 11-269.12 — e.g., Maricopa County Environmental Services Department; Pima County Consumer Health & Food Safety; Coconino County Public Health Services District. The Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS) does not issue food handler cards. A card issued by any one AZ county is valid in every other AZ county that requires one, until it expires (ARS 11-269.12).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "A county-required food handler course must be ANSI/ANAB-accredited to ASTM International Standard E2659-09 (ARS 11-269.12; echoed in Maricopa County Environmental Health Code Ch. VII, Reg. 4(a)(3), which accepts a third-party course \"that meets all State of Arizona statutory requirements, including compliance with the American National Standards Institute/ASTM International Standard E2659-09\"). Courses may be online, computer-based, or classroom, with no required proctor (ARS 11-269.12). Counties also accept their own department-issued courses and cards issued by any other Arizona county.",
   "cost_range": "No statewide fee (no state handler-card law). Set at the county/provider level. Maricopa County sets no price for the standard Food Employee card — it is purchased from private ANSI/ANAB-accredited training providers at their own rates; the only county-set fee in the Maricopa materials is $5 for the disability \"Limited Use\" certificate (maricopa.gov). Other counties (e.g., Pima, Coconino) run or accept their own courses at varying fees; exact per-county amounts were not confirmable from official text.",
   "validity_years": "3 (county-set; Maricopa County Environmental Health Code Ch. VII Reg. 4(b) — \"shall expire three (3) years from the date of issue\". State statute does not fix a term.)",
   "county_exceptions": "Requirement is set county-by-county, not statewide. Officially confirmed: Maricopa County (Environmental Health Code Ch. VII) requires all food employees to hold a card within 30 days of hire; Pima County (pima.gov) runs its own food handler class/card. Coconino County also issues a Food Service Worker card (its official Certifications page could not be read directly, so its details are not source-verified here). Some rural counties may require only the state Certified Food Protection Manager. Users must check their specific county health department.",
   "legal_basis": "Arizona Revised Statutes 11-269.12 (Food handler training and certificate) — a conditional statewide standard: it applies only \"if a county requires food handler training and a certificate,\" mandates ASTM E2659-09-compliant training and cross-county card reciprocity, and does not itself require handlers to be carded. The operative mandate is county code, e.g., Maricopa County Environmental Health Code, Chapter VII (Food Employees/Certified Food Protection Managers), Regs. 1(c), 2(a), 3-4. Separately, the state food code (A.A.C. Title 9, Ch. 8, adopting the FDA Food Code) requires one Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment statewide — a 5-year manager certificate (Maricopa Ch. VII Reg. 2(e),(g)), distinct from and not the same as the employee food-handler card. Exemptions: ARS 11-269.12 is conditional (it binds only 'if a county requires' a card); Maricopa County Environmental Health Code ch. VII Reg. 1(c) excludes from 'Food Employee' anyone handling food only in closed, unopened containers; ARS 11-269.12(G) validates a county's in-house training program for that county's own operations, (H) grandfathers pre-existing county courses, and (E) makes any Arizona county's card valid statewide until expiry. Maricopa Reg. 6 ('Exemptions') exempts non-TCS-only establishments from Reg. 2(e) — the manager requirement only, not the food-employee card.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"ARS 11-269.12 — Food handler training and certificate (Arizona Legislature, official statute)\", \"url\": \"https://www.azleg.gov/ars/11/00269-12.htm\"}, {\"label\": \"Maricopa County Environmental Health Code, Chapter VII — Food Employees/Certified Food Protection Managers (official county code PDF: definition, 30-day rule, 3-yr validity, ASTM E2659-09 provider rule, manager cert)\", \"url\": \"https://www.maricopa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/5475/Chapter-7---Food-Employees-Certified-Food-Protection-Managers\"}, {\"label\": \"Maricopa County — Food & Restaurants (food handler certificate requirement; $5 disability Limited-Use fee; ANSI-accredited providers)\", \"url\": \"https://www.maricopa.gov/5114/Food-Restaurants\"}, {\"label\": \"Maricopa County — ANSI-Accredited Providers (approved food handler card training providers)\", \"url\": \"https://www.maricopa.gov/2268/ANSI-Accredited-Providers\"}, {\"label\": \"Pima County — Food & Pool Certification (county-run food handler class/card)\", \"url\": \"https://www.pima.gov/2053/Food-Pool-Certification\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/az-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ca-food-handler",
   "state": "California",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "A food handler hired on or after June 1, 2011 by a food facility or organized camp must obtain a food handler card within 30 days of the date of hire (statutory exemptions apply). Separate establishment-level mandate -- the handler card is not California's only required food-safety credential. Health & Safety Code sec. 113947.1: \"There shall be at least one food safety certified owner or employee at each food facility.\" The certificate (issued per sec. 113947.3) \"shall be retained on file at the food facility at all times,\" and certified individuals \"shall be recertified every five years by passing an approved and accredited food safety certification examination.\" CDPH's Retail Food Safety Training fact sheet treats the two credentials as distinct courses and certifications -- the sec. 113948 food handler card does not satisfy the sec. 113947.1 facility certification.",
   "exemptions": "California's exemptions are extensive and statutory — Health & Safety Code §113948(e) lists twelve categories of employer whose food handlers are exempt outright: \"This section shall not apply to a food handler who is employed by any of the following: (1) Certified farmer's markets. (2) Commissaries. (3) Grocery stores, except for separately owned food facilities ... located in the grocery store\" — and \"grocery store\" is defined to include convenience stores and any not-separately-owned in-store bakery, deli, and meat and seafood counter; \"(4) Licensed health care facilities. (5) Mobile support units. (6) Public and private school cafeterias. (7) Restricted food service facilities. (8) Retail stores in which a majority of sales are from a pharmacy ... and venues with snack bar service in which the majority of sales are from admission tickets, but excluding any area in which restaurant-style sit-down service is provided. (9) A food facility that provides in-house food safety training to all employees involved in the preparation, storage, or service of food\" — if the course is one approved for use in another state that adopted Subpart 2-103.11 of the 2001 model Food Code, the facility shows the local enforcement officer evidence of that approval on request, and the training is given during normal work hours at no cost to the employee; \"(10) A food facility that is subject to a collective bargaining agreement with its food handlers. (11) Any city, county, city and county, state, or regional facility used for the confinement of adults or minors, including ... a county jail, juvenile hall, camp, ranch, or residential facility. (12) An elderly nutrition program, administered by the California Department of Aging, pursuant to the Older Americans Act of 1965.\"\n\nConditional statutory switch-off — §113948(h)(2): at least one food handler course and examination must cost no more than $15 including the card, and \"[i]f a food handler training course and examination is not available at that cost, the requirement to obtain a food handler card imposed by this section shall not apply.\"\n\nExcluded from the definition that triggers the duty — the duty reaches only a food handler employed by a \"food facility\" (§113790) or an organized camp (§18897) per §113948(d). Under §113789(c), \"food facility\" does not include: a cooperative arrangement where no permanent facilities are used for storing or handling food; a private home used for private, noncommercial purposes or as a registered/permitted cottage food operation (§114365); a church, private club, or other nonprofit association that gives or sells food to its members and guests, and not to the general public, at an event occurring not more than three days in any 90-day period; a for-profit entity giving or selling food at an event of not more than three days in a 90-day period for a nonprofit's benefit where it receives no monetary benefit; wine- or beer-tasting premises serving only limited non-potentially-hazardous food; a producer's outlet selling only whole produce it grew or shell eggs; a commercial food processing establishment (§111955); a child day care facility (§1596.750); a community care facility (§1502); a residential care facility for the elderly (§1569.2); a residential care facility for the chronically ill (§1568.01); an intermediate care facility for the developmentally disabled with six beds or fewer; a community food producer (§113752); and a limited service charitable feeding operation (§113819).\n\nLocal-program carve-out (not a free pass) — §113948(f): the requirements of §113948 (except subdivision (i)) do not apply to a food handler subject to an existing local food handler program that took effect prior to January 1, 2009. Those workers are not card-free; they follow their local program's card instead, and a state card is not recognized there (§113948(a)(3)). The statute does not name those jurisdictions.\n\nSources: Cal. Health & Safety Code §113948 (as amended by Stats. 2023, ch. 610 (SB 476), effective Jan. 1, 2024) and §113789 (as amended by Stats. 2018, ch. 493, effective Jan. 1, 2019), California Legislative Information. The separate food-safety-certified-person mandate (HSC 113947.1) carries its own exemptions: temporary food facilities are exempt from the certification requirement of subdivision (a), and a food facility that serves only nonprepackaged, non-potentially-hazardous food may instead demonstrate adequate employee food-safety knowledge (subdivision (b)).",
   "issuing_authority": "Issued by ANSI-accredited training providers meeting ASTM International E2659-09; the requirement is established by California statute (Health & Safety Code §113948) and enforced by local environmental health agencies. There is no single state-issued card — the card comes from the accredited provider whose course you complete.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Since January 1, 2012, a food handler may obtain a card only from an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited training provider that meets the ASTM International E2659-09 Standard Practice.",
   "cost_range": "At least one state-approved food handler course and examination must cost no more than $15, including the food handler card (Health & Safety Code §113948); other providers may charge more.",
   "validity_years": 3,
   "county_exceptions": "Jurisdictions that operated their own approved local food handler program predating January 1, 2009 are exempt from the ANSI-accredited-provider requirement (Health & Safety Code §113948(f)); this section does not name them individually.",
   "legal_basis": "California Health & Safety Code §113948 (added by SB 602, 2010; food handler card requirement). Exemptions: §113948(e) exempts food handlers employed by twelve categories of employer (certified farmers' markets, commissaries, grocery/convenience stores, licensed health care facilities, mobile support units, public and private school cafeterias, restricted food service facilities, pharmacy-majority retail stores and ticket-majority snack-bar venues, facilities running qualifying in-house training, facilities under a collective bargaining agreement with their food handlers, adult/juvenile confinement facilities, and California Department of Aging elderly nutrition programs); §113948(h)(2) switches the requirement off entirely if no course and exam is available for $15 or less; §113948(f) removes handlers subject to a pre-2009 local food handler program; and §113948(d) limits the duty to handlers employed by a 'food facility' (§113790), which under §113789(c) excludes private homes/cottage food operations, churches and nonprofits at ≤3-day events, licensed care facilities, community food producers, and limited service charitable feeding operations, among others. Separate establishment-level mandate: HSC sec. 113947 (person-in-charge food-safety knowledge duty), sec. 113947.1 (at least one food safety certified owner or employee per food facility; certificate on file at all times; recertification every 5 years), sec. 113947.3 (approved certification examination) -- distinct from the sec. 113948 handler card (CDPH Retail Food Safety Training fact sheet states them as separate credentials).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"California Health & Safety Code §113948 (food handler card requirement, validity, $15 cap, ANSI/ASTM provider rule)\", \"url\": \"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=113948.\"}, {\"label\": \"California Health & Safety Code §113789 (definition of 'food facility'; subdivision (c) lists the exclusions — private homes/cottage food, churches & nonprofits at ≤3-day events, care facilities, community food producers, limited service charitable feeding operations, etc.)\", \"url\": \"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=113789.\"}, {\"label\": \"Cal. Health & Safety Code sec. 113947.1 (official leginfo) -- \\\"There shall be at least one food safety certified owner or employee at each food facility\\\"; certificate on file; 5-year recertification; temporary-facility and non-PHF-demonstration exemptions\", \"url\": \"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=113947.1.\"}, {\"label\": \"CDPH Retail Food Safety Training fact sheet -- distinguishes the sec. 113948 food handler card from the sec. 113947 Certified Food Manager requirement as two distinct credentials\", \"url\": \"https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CEH/DFDCS/CDPH%20Document%20Library/FDB/FoodSafetyProgram/RetailFood/RetailFoodSafetyTraining.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ca-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "co-food-handler",
   "state": "Colorado",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "statewide, Colorado mandates only a Certified Food Protection Manager — a per-establishment manager credential — not an individual employee food handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler is required to hold a card under Colorado state law. Statewide, the only mandated food-safety credential is the Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM): beginning March 1, 2025 the on-duty person-in-charge must be a CFPM at most retail food establishments during hours of operation (with exceptions for low-risk/limited food prep). That is a separate manager certification (one per establishment), not an employee handler card.",
   "exemptions": "None — and there is nothing to be exempt from. Colorado imposes no individual food-handler-card duty on any food worker, so no exemption from such a card exists or could exist.\n\nSources checked: (1) the statute — the Colorado Food Protection Act, C.R.S. title 25, art. 4, part 16 (including the §25-4-1602 definitions); (2) the administrative rule — the Colorado Retail Food Establishment Regulations, 6 CCR 1010-2 (adopted by the Board of Health Jan. 17, 2024; effective Mar. 16, 2024), together with the FDA 2022 Food Code it incorporates by reference; and (3) the agency guidance — CDPHE's Certified Food Protection Manager guidance (updated 3/1/25) and its retail-food resources pages. No employee handler-card requirement appears in any of these sources, and therefore no exemption from one is stated anywhere.\n\nExcluded from the food rules entirely — 6 CCR 1010-2 §2.2(C) states: \"This regulation does not apply to facilities or conditions listed in Section 25-4-1602(14)(a)-(m), C.R.S.\" That statutory list removes from \"retail food establishment\": (a) any private home; (b) private boarding houses; (c) hospital and health facility patient feeding operations licensed by the department; (d) child care centers and other child care facilities licensed by the department of human services; (e) hunting camps and other outdoor recreation locations where food is prepared in the field rather than at a fixed base of operation; (f) food or beverage wholesale manufacturing, processing, or packaging plants subject to other state or federal regulatory control; (g) motor vehicles used only for the transport of food; (h) establishments preparing and serving only hot coffee, hot tea, instant hot beverages, and non-potentially-hazardous doughnuts or pastries from complying sources; (i) establishments that handle only non-potentially-hazardous prepackaged food, and operations serving only commercially prepared, prepackaged foods requiring no preparation other than heating within the original container; (j) farmers markets and roadside markets that offer only uncut fresh fruit and vegetables; (k) automated food merchandising (vending) enterprises supplying only prepackaged non-potentially-hazardous food or drink in bottles, cans or cartons, and gum or salted-nut dispensers; (l) the donation, preparation, sale, or service of food by a nonprofit or charitable organization in conjunction with an event or celebration, if it does not exceed the event's duration or a maximum of 52 days within a calendar year and takes place in the county where the organization resides or is principally located; and (m) a home, commercial, private, or public kitchen producing food sold directly to consumers under the Colorado Cottage Foods Act (C.R.S. §25-4-1614).\n\nExemptions from the only credential Colorado does require (the Certified Food Protection Manager — the on-duty person-in-charge, beginning March 1, 2025; not a handler card): CDPHE's official CFPM guidance states the exceptions \"include but are not limited to\" facilities with limited food preparation or grocery stores with no food service operations; some operating times with minimal or no food preparation; a bartender or barista making drinks before or after the kitchen opens or closes; satellite facilities that only hold and serve food from a central kitchen, such as schools; and low-risk food preparation outside of prime operating hours where the facility can actively manage food safety activities.\n\nSources: C.R.S. §25-4-1602(14)(a)-(m) (Colorado General Assembly); 6 CCR 1010-2 (Colorado Secretary of State); CDPHE Certified Food Protection Manager guidance.",
   "issuing_authority": "None for a food handler card — Colorado issues/ mandates no statewide employee handler card. Retail food safety is regulated by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), Division of Environmental Health and Sustainability, under 6 CCR 1010-2.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "None verified statewide. Colorado has no state handler-card law; individual counties/cities or employers may impose their own food-handler training — users should confirm with their local health department. No specific current county food-handler-card mandate was confirmed from an official source.",
   "legal_basis": "Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations, 6 CCR 1010-2 (2024 edition, adopting the FDA 2022 Food Code; effective March 16, 2024) — contains no individual food-handler-card mandate. Statutory authority: C.R.S. §§ 25-1-108(1)(c)(I), 25-4-1603, 25-4-1604(1)(b)(I), and 25-5-420. The only mandated food-safety credential is the Certified Food Protection Manager (FDA Food Code §2-102.12 as adopted; on-duty person-in-charge must be a CFPM beginning March 1, 2025). Exemption provisions: 6 CCR 1010-2 §2.2(C) makes the regulation inapplicable to the facilities and conditions listed in C.R.S. §25-4-1602(14)(a)-(m) (private homes, boarding houses, licensed hospital/child-care feeding, field/hunting camps, wholesale plants, food-transport vehicles, hot-beverage-and-pastry-only establishments, prepackaged-non-PHF-only operations, uncut-produce farmers/roadside markets, vending, nonprofit/charitable event food up to 52 days a year, and Colorado Cottage Foods Act kitchens); CDPHE's CFPM guidance lists exceptions to the manager requirement. Neither creates nor excuses any handler-card duty, because none exists.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"CDPHE — Retail food resources (hosts the 2024 Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules & Regulations, 6 CCR 1010-2, and the CFPM guidance)\", \"url\": \"https://cdphe.colorado.gov/dehs/rf/resources\"}, {\"label\": \"CDPHE — Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) guidance PDF, updated 3/1/25 (person-in-charge must be a CFPM beginning Mar 1 2025; no employee handler card mentioned)\", \"url\": \"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bQruydQCz3fOh5oSIi6AuOuLpvKmRpyS/view\"}, {\"label\": \"CDPHE — Top 5 changes to the Colorado Food Code, issued 3/16/24 (2024 code adopts FDA 2022 Food Code; CFPM is the mandated credential)\", \"url\": \"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TyLIj95hKitT-MOsjlEC35rW1xeXviLz/view\"}, {\"label\": \"CDPHE — Food safety and licensing (state program landing page)\", \"url\": \"https://cdphe.colorado.gov/dehs/food-safety-and-licensing\"}, {\"label\": \"6 CCR 1010-2 §2.1 Authority — C.R.S. §§ 25-1-108(1)(c)(I), 25-4-1603, 25-4-1604(1)(b)(I), 25-5-420\", \"url\": \"https://www.sos.state.co.us/CCR/GenerateRulePdf.do?ruleVersionId=11372&fileName=6%20CCR%201010-2\"}, {\"label\": \"Alamosa County, CO (official county government) FAQ — 'food safety training is not required of food workers in Colorado'\", \"url\": \"https://alamosacounty.org/FAQ.aspx?QID=153\"}, {\"label\": \"C.R.S. §25-4-1602 (Colorado Food Protection Act definitions — subsection (14)(a)-(m) lists what is not a 'retail food establishment'; 6 CCR 1010-2 §2.2(C) makes the food rules inapplicable to them). Official CRS Title 25, Colorado General Assembly\", \"url\": \"https://leg.colorado.gov/sites/default/files/images/olls/crs2023-title-25.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/co-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ct-food-handler",
   "state": "Connecticut",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "state requires only a per-establishment Certified Food Protection Manager in Class 2-4 establishments (see the food manager page), not an individual employee food-handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food-service employee is required by Connecticut law to hold a food-handler card. The state's food-safety credential duty sits on the establishment instead: every Class 2, 3 and 4 food establishment must have a person in charge who is a Certified Food Protection Manager (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 19a-36i(c); Conn. Agencies Regs. Sec. 19a-36h-4). Which classes, the presence rule, the alternate person in charge, the accreditation standard and the statutory exceptions are on the [Connecticut food manager certification page](/food-manager/ct-food-manager/).",
   "exemptions": "Every food employee is \"exempt\" in the only sense that matters: Connecticut law requires no individual food-handler card of anyone, so no food-service employee needs one. There is no card to be exempted from. Searched Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 368a (secs. 19a-36g to 19a-36r), the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies adopted under it (sec. 19a-36h-4), and the CT DPH Food Protection Program pages: no provision mandates an employee food-handler card.\n\nThe credential Connecticut does mandate is the establishment-level Certified Food Protection Manager; who is exempt from it (Class 1 establishments, the non-peak-hours alternate person in charge, and the statutory exceptions in Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 19a-36m(c)) is stated on the [Connecticut food manager certification page](/food-manager/ct-food-manager/).",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide food-handler card is issued in Connecticut. The CT Department of Public Health Food Protection Program administers the state Food Code and local health departments and districts enforce it. The only mandated food-safety credential is the Certified Food Protection Manager -- covered on the [Connecticut food manager certification page](/food-manager/ct-food-manager/).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 368a (secs. 19a-36g to 19a-36r) and the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies adopted under it (secs. 19a-36h-1 to 19a-36h-7): no provision requires an individual employee food-handler card. The establishment-level Certified Food Protection Manager duty (Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 19a-36i(c); Conn. Agencies Regs. Sec. 19a-36h-4, effective February 17, 2023) and its exceptions (Sec. 19a-36m(c)) are set out on the food manager page. Connecticut adopts the FDA Food Code by reference as its state Food Code under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 19a-36h.",
   "last_verified": "2026-09-05",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Conn. Agencies Regs. Sec. 19a-36h-4 — Certified Food Protection Manager (official CT eRegulations portal; operative rule, no handler-card requirement)\", \"url\": \"https://eregulations.ct.gov/eRegsPortal/Browse/RCSA/Title_19aSubtitle_19a-36hSection_19a-36h-4/\"}, {\"label\": \"Conn. Agencies Regs. Sec. 19a-36h-4 — full readable text\", \"url\": \"https://eregulations.ct.gov/eRegsPortal/Browse/getDocument?guid=%7B00C8F792-0100-CA1D-AD7C-AFF3AA2AFA88%7D\"}, {\"label\": \"CT DPH Food Protection Program — main page (official; confirms CT uses the 2022 FDA Food Code)\", \"url\": \"https://portal.ct.gov/dph/food-protection-program/main-page\"}, {\"label\": \"Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 19a-36g — Food code; definitions and Class 1–4 establishment classification\", \"url\": \"https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368a.htm#sec_19a-36g\"}, {\"label\": \"Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 368a — sec. 19a-36m (CFPM exceptions: volunteer soup kitchens, nonprofit volunteers, congregate meal sites; residential care homes, B&Bs, noncommercial bake sales/potlucks), sec. 19a-36i(c) (only Class 2/3/4 must employ a CFPM), sec. 19a-36g (Class 1-4 definitions; \\\"food establishment\\\" excludes vending machines, cottage-food private dwellings, food manufacturing establishments) — official CT General Assembly\", \"url\": \"https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_368a.htm\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ct-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "dc-food-handler",
   "state": "District of Columbia",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "no handler card; a food-safety manager cert is required instead",
   "who_must_get": "No one — the District of Columbia does not require individual food handlers / food employees to hold a food handler card. DC's Food Code instead mandates only a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM), one per establishment: each \"person in charge\" must be a CFPM and hold a DC Health-issued Food Protection Manager ID Card, present during all hours of operation (25-A DCMR 200.3, 203). Rank-and-file food employees need no card; the person in charge is responsible for training them in food safety (25-A DCMR 202.12). Employers may provide voluntary handler training.",
   "exemptions": "Every food employee is \"exempt\" in the only sense that matters: the District requires no individual food-handler card of anyone, so no food employee needs one. Searched the operative administrative code (25-A DCMR, the DC Food Code) in full, plus DC Health's Certified Food Protection Manager programme pages: the word \"handler\" appears nowhere in the Code and no provision mandates an employee card. Rank-and-file food employees are trained by the person in charge (25-A DCMR 202.12).\n\nThe credential the District does mandate is the Certified Food Protection Manager: each person in charge must be a CFPM (25-A DCMR 200.3, 203.1), re-certified every three years (203.2) and holding a District-issued Food Protection Manager ID Card renewed every three years (203.3).\n\nOutside the definition of \"FOOD ESTABLISHMENT\" — the DC Food Code does not reach these operations at all, so neither the CFPM duty nor any food-employee duty attaches. 25-A DCMR (Definitions) provides that \"food establishment\" \"does not include\", among others: an establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous (time/temperature control for safety) foods; a food processing plant, including one located on the premises of a food establishment; a kitchen in a private home where only non-potentially-hazardous food is prepared for sale or service at a function such as a religious or charitable organization's bake sale, where the consumer is informed by a clearly visible placard that the food is prepared in a kitchen not subject to regulation and inspection by the Department; an area where food so prepared is sold or offered for human consumption; a kitchen in a private home, including a child development home, a community residential home, or a bed-and-breakfast operation that prepares and offers food to guests if the home is owner-occupied, the number of available guest bedrooms does not exceed three (3), breakfast is the only meal offered, the number of guests served does not exceed nine (9), and the consumer is informed by published advertisements, mailed brochures and placards posted at the registration area that the food is prepared in an unregulated kitchen; a private home that receives catered or home-delivered food; a private club, or a church, which serves occasional meals at not more than twenty-four (24) events during a twelve (12) month period; and United States Senate and House of Representatives restaurants (D.C. Official Code sec. 7-2701(b)).\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: (a) The DC Food Code states no exemption from the CFPM requirement for small, mobile or temporary operations. A mobile food vendor must possess a Food Protection Manager Certificate and a Department-issued Certified Food Protection Manager Identification Card (25-A DCMR 3700.4, 3713.1), and \"[n]o person shall operate as a caterer without a Food Protection Manager Certificate and a Department-Issued Certified Food Protection Manager Identification Card in accordance with sec. 203\" (25-A DCMR 3900.4). (b) Restaurants, coffee shops and cafeterias operating in the District on premises owned or leased by the federal government are expressly included as food establishments, whether or not operated by a federal agency and whether or not operated for profit (25-A DCMR (Definitions), citing D.C. Official Code sec. 7-2701(a)). (c) The Code's \"food employee\" definition reaches owners, family members, volunteers and contractors working with unpackaged food — such a person is a food employee (though still needs no card; the person in charge trains them).",
   "issuing_authority": "",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "No food-handler-card provision exists — the term \"handler\" appears nowhere in the DC Food Code (25-A DCMR). The Code requires only a Certified Food Protection Manager: 25-A DCMR sec. 200.3 (each person in charge shall be a CFPM), sec. 203.1 (accredited-program certification), sec. 203.2 (re-certify every 3 years), sec. 203.3 (DC Health-issued Food Protection Manager ID Card, renewed every 3 years); sec. 202.12 (person in charge trains food employees). The Code states no exemption from the CFPM duty, and expressly extends it to mobile food vendors (sec. 3700.4, sec. 3713.1) and caterers (sec. 3900.4); the exclusions from the duty run instead through the definition of \"food establishment\" (25-A DCMR, Definitions), which excludes prepackaged-only non-hazardous operations, food processing plants, private-home bake-sale kitchens, qualifying child development / community residential / bed-and-breakfast home kitchens, private homes receiving catered food, a private club or church serving occasional meals at not more than 24 events in 12 months, and US Senate and House restaurants. Adopted DC Register Vol. 59, No. 48, Nov. 30, 2012.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"DC Food Code (25-A DCMR) — official final rulemaking, DC Register Vol. 59 No. 48 (Nov 30 2012). Ch. 2 sec 200.3 & 203 require a Certified Food Protection Manager (person in charge), re-cert + DC Health ID card every 3 yrs; sec 202.12 makes the person in charge train food employees. No section anywhere requires an individual food handler card ('handler' appears 0 times in the Code)\", \"url\": \"https://doh.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/publication/attachments/DC%20Register_Nov_30_2012_Final%20Rulemaking_DOH%20-%2025A%20DCMR%20-%20Food%20and%20Food%20Operationspdf.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"DC Health — Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) Certificate (official program page). Describes the CFPM/person-in-charge requirement (CFPM must be present during all hours of operation); makes no mention of any employee food handler card\", \"url\": \"https://dchealth.dc.gov/page/certified-food-protection-manager-cfpm-certificate\"}, {\"label\": \"DC Health — Acceptable Organizations for CFPM Examination (official accredited-exam-provider list for the manager cert; confirms the credential DC regulates is the manager cert, not a handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://dchealth.dc.gov/publication/acceptable-organizations-cfpm-examination\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/dc-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "de-food-handler",
   "state": "Delaware",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "no individual food-handler-card mandate; Delaware requires only that each permitted establishment have one Certified Food Protection Manager — a manager-level cert, one per establishment",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler is required to obtain a food handler card in Delaware. The only mandated food-safety credential is the Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM): each permitted food establishment must have a minimum of one employee — the person in charge (PIC) present at the time of inspection — who is a CFPM (effective April 1, 2016). Very-low, low, and medium-risk establishments may qualify for a DPH variance that substitutes a CFPM on staff or DPH-approved food safety training for the other PICs; high-risk establishments are ineligible for a variance.",
   "exemptions": "Every food employee is \"exempt\" in the only sense that matters: Delaware requires no individual food-handler card of anyone, so no food employee needs one. Searched the State of Delaware Food Code (16 Del. Admin. C. 4458, as amended at 29 DE Reg. 313, eff. Oct. 1, 2025), the FDA 2022 Food Code it adopts by reference, and the DE Division of Public Health Office of Food Protection CFPM pages: no provision mandates an employee food-handler card.\n\nThe credential Delaware does mandate is the establishment-level Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM). Its exemptions are as follows.\n\nCFPM variances by risk category (DE DPH, Office of Food Protection): \"Variances from the CFPM requirement are allowed under certain circumstances, based on the risk of causing or contributing to a foodborne illness outbreak.\" Establishments DPH categorises as very low risk are eligible for a statewide variance from the CFPM requirement. Establishments rated low risk or medium risk may request a variance, evaluated case by case. Establishments rated high risk are ineligible for a variance. Any establishment operating under a variance must still meet one of three minimum training standards: have a CFPM on-site during all hours of operation; or have a CFPM on staff to train the other persons in charge and be available by telephone; or have all persons in charge complete DPH-approved food safety training.\n\nMinimal-risk establishments: the person-in-charge section of the adopted code \"does not apply to certain types of FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS deemed by the REGULATORY AUTHORITY to pose minimal risk of causing, or contributing to, foodborne illness based on the nature of the operation and extent of the FOOD preparation\" (FDA 2022 Food Code sec. 2-101.11(C), adopted unamended by 16 Del. Admin. C. 4458).\n\nOutside the definition of \"FOOD ESTABLISHMENT\" — the Food Code does not reach these operations at all. As adopted by Delaware (FDA 2022 Food Code sec. 1-201.10(B), as amended by 16 Del. Admin. C. 4458 sec. 2.1.3.2), \"food establishment\" does not include: an establishment that offers only prepackaged foods (Delaware broadened this exclusion by deleting the FDA's limiting words \"that are not TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOODS\"); a produce stand that only offers whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; a food processing plant; a kitchen in a private home if only non-TCS food is prepared for sale or service at a function such as a religious or charitable organization's bake sale, with a clearly visible placard stating the kitchen is not regulated or inspected; an area where such food is sold or offered; a kitchen in a private home, such as a small family day-care provider, or a bed-and-breakfast operation that prepares and offers food to guests if the home is owner-occupied, the guest bedrooms do not exceed 6, breakfast is the only meal offered, guests served do not exceed 18, and consumers are informed by advertisements, brochures and registration-area placards that the kitchen is unregulated; a private home that receives catered or home-delivered food; and — added by Delaware — \"(h) A private catered event\" and \"(i) A Cottage Food Establishment.\"\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: temporary food establishments are not excluded — Delaware's amended definition provides that a temporary food establishment \"results in a TFE permit\" and prepares food for the public \"free or for a cost,\" with sanctioned events allowed up to 14 consecutive days and vendors limited to 14 event permits per calendar year (4458 sec. 2.1.3.2). Also note: the widely-repeated claim that Delaware food handlers must get a card \"within 30 days of hire,\" pass a test at 70%, and pay no more than $15 is CALIFORNIA law (Cal. Health & Safety Code 113948) reproduced on course-seller sites; it appears in no Delaware statute or rule and is not Delaware law.",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide food handler card exists or is issued by any authority. Food-safety regulation is administered by the Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH), Office of Food Protection. The credential Delaware does require (Certified Food Protection Manager) is issued by ANSI-CFP-accredited programs such as ServSafe, not by the state.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "16 Del. Admin. C. sec. 4458 (State of Delaware Food Code), which adopts the U.S. Public Health Service / FDA 2022 Food Code as amended (current version as amended at 29 DE Reg. 313, eff. Oct. 1, 2025) — the Delaware amendments contain no food-handler-card provision. The manager requirement derives from the adopted FDA Food Code (person in charge / Certified Food Protection Manager), implemented statewide by the Delaware Division of Public Health effective April 1, 2016. Exemptions run through (a) DPH risk-based CFPM variances (statewide variance for very-low-risk establishments; case-by-case for low and medium risk; high risk ineligible), (b) FDA 2022 Food Code sec. 2-101.11(C) (minimal-risk establishments), and (c) the exclusions from the definition of \"food establishment\" in FDA 2022 Food Code sec. 1-201.10(B) as amended by 4458 sec. 2.1.3.2, which Delaware broadened (prepackaged-only) and extended (private catered events; cottage food establishments). No Delaware statute or administrative rule mandates an individual food handler card.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"State of Delaware Food Code, 16 Del. Admin. C. 4458 (adopts FDA 2022 Food Code; amendments contain no food-handler-card provision; § 2-102 unamended)\", \"url\": \"https://regulations.delaware.gov/AdminCode/title16/4458\"}, {\"label\": \"DE Division of Public Health, Office of Food Protection — Certified Food Protection Manager Requirements and Variances (CFPM required Apr 1, 2016; minimum one PIC per establishment via accredited program e.g. ServSafe; no individual handler card mentioned)\", \"url\": \"https://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dph/hsp/ofpcfpm.html\"}, {\"label\": \"FDA 2022 Food Code (adopted by reference by DE; § 2-102.12 Certified Food Protection Manager)\", \"url\": \"https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2022\"}, {\"label\": \"FDA 2022 Food Code sec. 1-201.10(B) (\\\"Food establishment\\\" — the exclusions Delaware adopts and adds to) and sec. 2-101.11(C) (person-in-charge section does not apply to establishments the regulatory authority deems minimal risk) — official FDA text adopted by reference by 16 Del. Admin. C. 4458\", \"url\": \"https://www.fda.gov/media/164194/download\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/de-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "fl-food-handler",
   "state": "Florida",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "All food service employees who are responsible for the storage, preparation, display, or serving of food to the public at public food service establishments regulated under Chapter 509 (Fla. Stat. 509.049(1),(5)).",
   "exemptions": "In-house approved program (no card issued): a public food service establishment \"that trains its employees using its own in-house, proprietary food safety training program approved by the division, and which uses its own employees to provide this training, shall be exempt from the electronic reporting requirements of this paragraph, and from the card or certificate requirement of paragraph (a)\" (Fla. Stat. 509.049(6)(b)). Employees of such an establishment must still be trained under 509.049(5) — what is waived is the card/certificate, not the training.\n\nNew hires — 60-DAY WINDOW: \"Food service employees must receive certification within 60 days after employment\" (Fla. Stat. 509.049(5)). A newly hired employee is therefore not required to hold certification during the first 60 days of employment.\n\nNot a \"PUBLIC FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT\" at all — Chapter 509 (and so the 509.049 training/card duty) does not reach these workplaces. Fla. Stat. 509.013(5)(b) excludes from the definition: (1) any place maintained and operated by a public or private school, college, or university for the use of students and faculty, or temporarily to serve events such as fairs, carnivals, food contests, cook-offs and athletic contests; (2) any eating place maintained and operated by a church or a religious, nonprofit fraternal, or nonprofit civic organization for the use of members and associates, or temporarily to serve such events (documentation of status must be provided to the division on request); (3) any eating place at a food contest, cook-off, or a temporary event lasting from 1 to 3 days hosted by a church or a religious, nonprofit fraternal, or nonprofit civic organization; (4) any eating place located on an airplane, train, bus, or watercraft which is a common carrier; (5) any eating place maintained by a facility certified or licensed and regulated by the Agency for Health Care Administration or the Department of Children and Families, or other similar place regulated under s. 381.0072; (6) any place of business issued a permit or inspected by the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services under s. 500.12 (grocery and convenience stores); (7) any place where the food available for consumption is limited to ice, beverages with or without garnishment, popcorn, or prepackaged items sold without additions or preparation; (8) any theater, if the primary use is as a theater and patron service is limited to food items customarily served to theater admittees; (9) any vending machine that dispenses food or beverages other than potentially hazardous foods; (10) any vending machine dispensing potentially hazardous food which is located in a facility regulated under s. 381.0072; and (11) any research and development test kitchen limited to the use of employees and not open to the general public.\n\nPractical effect: a school-cafeteria worker, a nursing-home or assisted-living worker (AHCA-licensed), a child-care food worker (DCF-licensed), a grocery or convenience-store deli worker (FDACS-permitted under s. 500.12), and a worker at a prepackaged-only or popcorn/beverage-only counter are not covered by Chapter 509 and need no Florida food handler card.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: (a) Certified food service managers are not exempt from employee training — 509.049(5) merely lets an establishment \"designate any certified food service manager to perform this function,\" i.e. to deliver the training; it does not excuse anyone from being trained. (b) A culinary education program that offers, prepares, serves, or sells food to the general public is a public food service establishment \"regardless of whether it is inspected by another state agency for compliance with sanitation standards\" (Fla. Stat. 509.013(5)(a)).",
   "issuing_authority": "Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), Division of Hotels and Restaurants. The Division adopts the minimum food-safety training standards and approves the training program(s); the certificate and the employee \"card\" are issued by a Division-approved third-party provider (Fla. Stat. 509.049(1),(2),(4),(6)(a)).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Training must be completed through a food-safety training program approved by the DBPR Division of Hotels and Restaurants. The Division adopts minimum food-safety protection standards by rule, chooses a provider through competitive sealed proposals, contracts with a provider on a 4-year basis, and may approve other programs that meet its standards (Fla. Stat. 509.049(1)-(4)); the rule requires the program used to be \"approved by the division\" (Fla. Admin. Code 61C-4.023(4)). No specific provider is named as the current contractor here because neither cited source states one in present tense.",
   "cost_range": "No state-set fee; training is priced by the division-approved provider under Fla. Stat. 509.049",
   "validity_years": "3",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Fla. Stat. 509.049 (Food service employee training) — training duty and 60-day deadline at 509.049(5); card/certificate issuance at 509.049(6)(a); in-house division-approved-program exemption from the card/certificate requirement at 509.049(6)(b). Fla. Stat. 509.013(5) (Definitions) — \"public food service establishment\" at (5)(a) and the 11 exclusions from that definition at (5)(b), which set the outer limit of who the training duty can reach. Fla. Admin. Code 61C-4.023 (Food Protection Manager Certification and Public Food Service Employee Training).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Fla. Stat. 509.049 (Food service employee training) — Online Sunshine, official Florida Legislature\", \"url\": \"http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0509/Sections/0509.049.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Fla. Stat. 509.049 — Florida Senate (2023, official; text unchanged since 2018 amendment)\", \"url\": \"https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2023/509.049\"}, {\"label\": \"Fla. Admin. Code 61C-4.023 — Florida Administrative Code (official flrules.org)\", \"url\": \"https://www.flrules.org/gateway/ruleNo.asp?id=61C-4.023\"}, {\"label\": \"Fla. Admin. Code 61C-4.023\", \"url\": \"https://www.flrules.org/gateway/readFile.asp?sid=0&tid=15898220&type=1&file=61C-4.023.doc\"}, {\"label\": \"Fla. Stat. 509.013 (Definitions) — \\\"Public food service establishment\\\" and the 11 exclusions at 509.013(5)(b) (Florida Senate, official)\", \"url\": \"https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2024/509.013\"}, {\"label\": \"Fla. Stat. 509.013 — Online Sunshine, official Florida Legislature\", \"url\": \"http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0509/Sections/0509.013.html\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/fl-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ga-food-handler",
   "state": "Georgia",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "state mandates an establishment-level Certified Food Safety Manager, not an individual employee handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler card is required of Georgia food service employees. Statewide, each food service establishment must employ at least one Certified Food Safety Manager (a supervisory/management employee who passes an accredited-program exam; one per establishment; 60 days to replace after a vacancy). All employees must be trained in food safety, including food-allergy awareness, as it relates to their assigned duties (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-1-.03(2)(n), (3)) — but this training obligation does not take the form of a mandated per-employee card. Exempt establishments for the CFSM requirement: mobile units that do not process food, limited-preparation non-time/temperature-control operations, and temporary food service establishments.",
   "exemptions": "Every food service employee is \"exempt\" in the only sense that matters: Georgia requires no individual food-handler card of anyone, so no food service employee needs one. Searched Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. Chapter 511-6-1 (the Food Service Rules) in full and the Georgia DPH Food Service pages: no provision mandates an employee food-handler card. Employees must be \"properly trained in food safety, including food allergy awareness, as it relates to their assigned duties\" (511-6-1-.03(2)(n)) — an employer duty, not a card.\n\nThe credential Georgia does mandate is the establishment-level Certified Food Safety Manager (CFSM). Its exemptions are as follows.\n\nOperations not required to have a certified owner or manager — Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-1-.03(3)(b)1: \"(i) A mobile food service unit that does not process foods; (ii) Food service establishments that serve non-time/temperature control for safety food that requires limited preparation, or those time/temperature control for safety foods which have been previously prepared in a permitted food service establishment; and (iii) Temporary food service establishments in accordance with DPH Rule 511-6-1-.08(2)(a).\"\n\n60-day replacement WINDOW: an establishment \"will have sixty days from the date of initial permit issuance, change of ownership permit issuance, or termination of employment of its CFSM to employ a new CFSM\" (511-6-1-.03(3)(b)2), and must notify the Health Authority within thirty days of ceasing to employ one (511-6-1-.03(3)(b)3). An establishment is therefore not out of compliance for lacking a CFSM during that window.\n\nOutside the definition of \"FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT\" — Chapter 511-6-1 does not reach these operations at all. Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-1-.01(64) provides that the term \"shall not include\": (a) a \"food sales establishment\" as defined in O.C.G.A. sec. 26-2-21 and subject to regulation by the Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture (grocery and convenience stores); (b) the food service component of any such food sales establishment; (c) any outdoor recreation activity sponsored by the state, a county, a municipality, or any department or entity thereof, any outdoor or indoor public school function \"(other than school cafeteria food service)\", or any outdoor private school function; (d) an organization exempt from taxes under O.C.G.A. sec. 48-7-25(a)(1) or under IRC sec. 501(d) or sec. 501(c)(1)-(8) or (10), operating on its own property (or property used with written consent), for the purpose of operating a house or other residential structure where seriously ill or injured children and their families are provided temporary accommodations near their treatment hospitals and where food is prepared, served, transported or stored by volunteer personnel; (e) establishments preparing or serving food where that is an authorized part of, and occurs on the site of, an event which is sponsored by a political subdivision of the state, is held on the sponsor's property (or property used with written consent), and lasts 120 hours or less; (f) nonprofit food sales and food service provided under a permit issued pursuant to O.C.G.A. sec. 26-2-391; and (g) a \"cottage food operator\" or \"cottage food production operation\" as defined in O.C.G.A. sec. 26-2-470.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: School cafeteria workers are expressly carved back IN. Exclusion (c) covers public school functions \"other than school cafeteria food service\" — so a school cafeteria remains a food service establishment subject to Chapter 511-6-1 and to the CFSM requirement. Also note: the widely-repeated claims that a Georgia food handler card must cost no more than $15 and be obtained within 30 days of hire appear only on course-seller sites; they mirror California law (Cal. Health & Safety Code 113948) and appear nowhere in Chapter 511-6-1.",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide food handler card is issued. Food Service Rules are promulgated by the Georgia Department of Public Health (Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-1); food service permits are issued and enforced by County Environmental Health offices (county boards of health). The one credential the rule does require — the Certified Food Safety Manager — is obtained through an accredited program that conforms to national standards for certifying organizations (e.g., ANSI-CFP accredited exams), not from a state-issued handler card.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-6-1-.03 (Food Service — Management and Personnel): Certified Food Safety Manager requirement at .03(3)(a)-(b); the operations not required to have a certified owner or manager at .03(3)(b)1(i)-(iii) (mobile units that do not process foods; limited-preparation non-TCS or previously prepared TCS operations; temporary food service establishments); the 60-day window to employ a new CFSM at .03(3)(b)2 and the 30-day notice duty at .03(3)(b)3; employee food-safety training duty at .03(2)(n); person-in-charge demonstration of knowledge at .03(1)(b). Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 511-6-1-.01(64) (definition of \"food service establishment\" and the exclusions at (64)(a)-(g), which set the outer limit of the Chapter's reach). No provision in Chapter 511-6-1 requires an individual food handler card or certificate.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-1-.03 — Management and Personnel\", \"url\": \"https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/511-6-1-.03\"}, {\"label\": \"Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-1-.03 — full readable text incl. CFSM requirement .03(3) and employee training .03(2)(n)\", \"url\": \"https://dph.georgia.gov/document/document/envhealthfoodfoodservice-rulespdf/download\"}, {\"label\": \"Georgia Food Service Rules Chapter 511-6-1 — CFSM definition .01(16) (official GA SOS)\", \"url\": \"https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/511-6-1\"}, {\"label\": \"Georgia Department of Public Health — Food Service (no handler-card requirement; permits via County Environmental Health)\", \"url\": \"https://dph.georgia.gov/environmental-health/food-service\"}, {\"label\": \"Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. 511-6-1-.01 — Definitions; \\\"Food service establishment\\\" at .01(64), including the exclusions at (64)(a)-(g) (food sales establishments regulated by Agriculture; public/private school functions other than school cafeteria food service; qualifying tax-exempt hospitality houses; political-subdivision events of 120 hours or less; nonprofit permits under O.C.G.A. 26-2-391; cottage food operators) — official Georgia Secretary of State rules portal\", \"url\": \"https://rules.sos.ga.gov/gac/511-6-1-.01\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ga-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "hi-food-handler",
   "state": "Hawaii",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "person-in-charge only, not every employee",
   "who_must_get": "The \"person in charge\" (PIC) — the owner/operator or a designated individual who must be present at the food establishment during all hours of operation — must complete food protection certification (HAR 11-50-20(a) and (c)). Hawaii does not require every food employee to hold an individual food handler card; the statewide mandate is only that at least one certified PIC is present whenever the establishment operates. The same certification requirement also applies to special-event food vendors and homemade/cottage-food producers (HAR 11-50-3(c)). Proof of certification has been required at health inspections since Sept 4, 2018. Note: Hawaii deliberately requires only a food-handler-level certification for PICs and, per the Aug 24, 2025 rule amendments, expressly declined to adopt the 2022 FDA Model Food Code's Certified Food Protection Manager requirement.",
   "exemptions": "Not the person in charge = not required: Hawaii's mandate reaches only the \"person in charge\" (the owner/operator or a designated individual present during all hours of operation). An ordinary food employee who is not the person in charge is not required to hold the food protection certification (HAR 11-50-20(a), (c)). Hawaii is not an every-employee card state.\n\nMinimal-risk waiver: \"The requirements of this section may be waived by the department for any food establishments deemed by the director to pose minimal risk of causing, or contributing to, foodborne illness based on the nature of the operation and extent of food preparation\" (HAR 11-50-20(c)(2)). Where the director grants that waiver, even the person in charge need not be certified.\n\nEstablishments exempt from the chapter — HAR 11-50-3(d) (as amended and compiled effective Aug. 24, 2025) provides that the following \"shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter\", remaining subject only to inspection under 11-50-8 and to sections 11-50-10, 11-50-11 and 11-50-14. Because 11-50-20 is not among the sections they remain subject to, the person-in-charge certification requirement does not apply to them: (1) a food establishment inspected by another federal, state or county regulatory agency, provided that agency has a memorandum of understanding or agreement with the director and maintains regulatory responsibility; (2) a food establishment that sells or otherwise distributes only prepackaged foods that are not time/temperature control for safety food, manufactured and packaged in a food establishment permitted by the director or approved by an equivalent agency in another jurisdiction; (3) a food establishment that sells or otherwise distributes only pre-packaged frozen confections produced in a permitted or equivalently approved food establishment; and (4) a food establishment that sells or otherwise distributes only non-time/temperature-control-for-safety hot beverages served directly into sanitary single-service articles.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not — in each of these cases the certification is a condition of the exemption, not something the exemption removes:\n(a) home kitchens of a child-care provider serving no more than twelve children, or of an adult-care provider or bed-and-breakfast serving no more than six guests, are exempt from the chapter under HAR 11-50-3(d)(5) only \"so long as the person in charge obtains food protection certification pursuant to section 11-50-20(c)\", food operations stay within the risk categories in 11-50-7(e)(1)-(4), and signage with lettering no smaller than one inch is posted at the kitchen entrance stating the food is \"Made in a home kitchen not routinely inspected by the Department of Health\".\n(b) homemade-food (cottage food) and hand-pounded-poi operators are exempt from most of the chapter under HAR 11-50-3(c) but must still \"[o]btain food safety certification in accordance with section 11-50-20(c)\" (11-50-3(c)(1)).\n(c) special-event vendors operating under a special event permit \"shall comply with all the requirements of this chapter except sections 11-50-70, 11-50-71, 11-50-72(d)-(k), 11-50-73 and 11-50-74\" (HAR 11-50-3(b)(5)) — those are the physical-facilities sections, so the person-in-charge certification requirement still applies.\n\nNo certified-food-protection-manager mandate: in adopting the 2022 FDA Model Food Code effective Aug. 24, 2025, the DOH Food Safety Branch expressly declined to adopt the requirement that all persons in charge be Certified Food Protection Managers, retaining instead \"the mandatory Food Handlers Education Certification for all PIC's\" (DOH, Highlights of Approved Amendments to HAR Title 11, Chapter 50, Aug. 24, 2025). A Hawaii person in charge therefore does not need a manager-level certification.",
   "issuing_authority": "Hawaii State Department of Health, Sanitation Branch / Food Safety Branch — administers the free \"Food Safety Class (Food Handler Level)\"; the completion certificate is issued by DOH or by any DOH-approved / ANSI (ANAB)-accredited course provider.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Must successfully complete a food safety course that is part of a DOH food safety program or another program approved by the department; DOH accepts certification recognized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI / ANAB-accredited food handler programs). Completion may be shown by any valid document the approved program issues for that purpose. (HAR 11-50-20(c)(1),(3))",
   "cost_range": "$0 for the DOH Food Safety Class (food handler level, offered statewide at no charge); online ANSI/ANAB-accredited vendors usually cost less than $15 (per 2018 DOH release)",
   "validity_years": "3",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) Title 11, Chapter 50 (Food Safety Code), as amended and compiled effective Aug. 24, 2025: sec. 11-50-20 \"Supervision\" — person in charge at (a)-(b) and food protection certification at (c), including the minimal-risk waiver at 11-50-20(c)(2); sec. 11-50-3 \"Permits, special events, homemade food products and hand-pounded poi, and exemptions\" — special-event vendors at (b)(5), homemade food / hand-pounded poi (certification required as a condition) at (c)(1), and the exemptions from the chapter at (d)(1)-(5). Rule originally effective Sept. 2, 2017 (enforced at inspection from Sept. 4, 2018); the Aug. 24, 2025 compilation adopts the 2022 FDA Model Food Code but expressly declines the Certified Food Protection Manager mandate, retaining the person-in-charge food-handler-level certification. Per that compilation's own summary, secs. 11-50-2 to 11-50-4 and secs. 11-50-20 to 11-50-23 were amended.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"HAR Title 11, Chapter 50 (Food Safety Code) — Current official text, amended and compiled effective Aug. 24, 2025 (DOH \\\"FOOD - HAR Chapter 11-50 (2025) [Searchable version]\\\"). Contains 11-50-3(b)-(d) (special events; homemade food/hand-pounded poi; exemptions) and 11-50-20(c) (food protection certification, incl. the minimal-risk waiver at (c)(2)). Its own summary states that secs. 11-50-2 to 11-50-4 and secs. 11-50-20 to 11-50-23 were amended in this compilation\", \"url\": \"https://health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2025/09/HAR-11-50-2025-searchable.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"HAR Title 11 Chapter 50 — 2017 amended rule (superseded by the Aug. 24, 2025 amendment and compilation; retained for history only, do not cite for current requirements)\", \"url\": \"https://health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2017/09/HAR-11-50-amended-9.1.2017.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"HAR Chapter 11-50 standard-format text, 2017 vintage (superseded — secs. 11-50-2 to 11-50-4 and 11-50-20 to 11-50-23 were amended effective Aug. 24, 2025; retained for history only)\", \"url\": \"https://health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2013/04/Ch-50-draft-standard-format-6.1.2017.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"DOH Sanitation Branch news release 18-069 — food handlers certification required statewide (quotes 11-50-20(c); effective/enforcement dates; classes free, online <$15)\", \"url\": \"https://health.hawaii.gov/news/files/2018/08/18-069-DOH-food-handlers-cert.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"DOH Food Safety Education page — free Food Safety Class (food handler level), 3-year validity, ANSI-accredited alternative accepted\", \"url\": \"https://health.hawaii.gov/san/food-safety-education/\"}, {\"label\": \"DOH highlights of the Aug 24, 2025 HAR 11-50 amendments — declined Certified Food Protection Manager requirement; retains mandatory Food Handlers Education Certification for all PICs\", \"url\": \"https://health.hawaii.gov/san/files/2025/09/Food-Code-Changes-08242025-1.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"HI DOH Sanitation Branch — Rules index (links the current HAR Chapter 11-50 (2025))\", \"url\": \"https://health.hawaii.gov/san/rules\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/hi-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ia-food-handler",
   "state": "Iowa",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "only a Certified Food Protection Manager / person-in-charge is required statewide, not an individual employee handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual employee food handler card is required anywhere in Iowa. Iowa instead requires each food establishment to have a person in charge who is a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) — one per establishment, who need not be present during all hours of operation — per FDA Food Code section 2-102.12 as adopted and amended by Iowa Admin. Code r. 481—31.1(2). Newly licensed establishments (and those whose CFPM departs) have six months to comply. Establishments that sell only prepackaged food, temporary/farmers-market establishments, and certain limited-service operations (ice/beverages/prepackaged snacks/popcorn/peanuts/reheated commercially prepared foods) are exempt from even the CFPM requirement. Optional \"food handler\" training courses exist and satisfy the separate training requirement for Home Food Processing Establishments (HFPEs), but are not a mandated employee card.",
   "exemptions": "No individual food-handler card is required of anyone in Iowa, so there is no card to be exempt from. The credential Iowa does require -- a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) as the establishment's person in charge -- is expressly not required of three classes of establishment under Iowa Admin. Code r. 481-31.1(2)\"c\" (IAC 2/4/26 edition): (1) temporary or farmers market food establishments; (2) establishments at which food is not prepared, where customers may purchase beverages and service is limited to ice, beverages, prepackaged snack foods, popcorn or peanuts, and the reheating of commercially prepared foods for immediate service that do not require assembly, such as frozen pizza or prepackaged sandwiches; and (3) establishments at which food is not prepared and customers may purchase only commercially prepared non-time/temperature-control-for-safety foods, dispensed unpackaged or packaged, intended for off-premises consumption. Whole operations fall outside the food code entirely because they are excluded from the statutory definition of \"food establishment\" at Iowa Code sec. 137F.1(9), which \"does not include\": a food processing plant; an establishment offering only prepackaged foods that are not TCS foods; a produce stand or facility selling only whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; a home food processing establishment (ch. 137D); premises operating a farmers market where unpackaged TCS foods are not sold; a residence producing cottage food under sec. 137F.20; a kitchen in a private home preparing food for family consumption or in a bed and breakfast home; a private home receiving catered or home-delivered food; child care facilities and food establishments inside hospitals or health care facilities inspected by other state agencies; supply vehicles, vending machine locations, or boardinghouses for permanent guests; establishments exclusively processing meat and poultry licensed under sec. 189A.3; premises under a class \"A\" beer permit; a residence storing/packaging honey; a stand operated by a minor; and raw milk dairies under ch. 195. Commonly ASSUMED exempt but not: schools, summer camps, correctional facilities and the state training school are expressly included in the definition of \"food establishment\" (Iowa Code sec. 137F.1(9)), so their food operations are covered. Two provisions look like exemptions but are not: the single CFPM need not be present during all hours of operation (r. 481-31.1(2)\"a\"), and newly licensed establishments -- or those whose CFPM leaves -- get six months to comply (r. 481-31.1(2)\"d\"); those are grace/coverage rules, not exemptions. Separately, Home Food Processing Establishments carry their own training requirement, which an optional \"food handler\" course satisfies.",
   "issuing_authority": "",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Iowa Admin. Code r. 481—31.1 (adopts the 2017 FDA Food Code with Supplement as the state food code; Certified Food Protection Manager / person-in-charge requirement at 481—31.1(2), incorporating FDA Food Code sec. 2-102.12, with exceptions and six-month compliance windows). Enabling statute: Iowa Code ch. 137F (Food Establishments and Food Processing Plants).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Iowa Admin. Code r. 481—31.1 — official operative rule PDF (legis.iowa.gov): adopts 2017 FDA Food Code; sec. 31.1(2) sets the Certified Food Protection Manager / person-in-charge requirement, exceptions, and compliance timeframes; contains no individual food-handler-card mandate\", \"url\": \"https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/rule/481.31.1.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Iowa Admin. Code ch. 481—31 — official full chapter PDF (legis.iowa.gov)\", \"url\": \"https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/iac/chapter/481.31.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Iowa DIAL (Dept. of Inspections, Appeals & Licensing) — Food Resources / Food & Handler Training: state authority confirms CFPM required for person in charge per FDA Food Code 2-102.12; lists 'food handler' courses as optional training that meet the HFPE training requirement\", \"url\": \"https://dial.iowa.gov/licenses/food-establishments-hotels/food-resources\"}, {\"label\": \"Iowa Code ch. 137F — Food Establishments and Food Processing Plants (enabling statute)\", \"url\": \"https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/ico/chapter/137F.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ia-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "id-food-handler",
   "state": "Idaho",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "employer-optional; Idaho requires only an establishment-level Certified Food Protection Manager, not an individual handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food worker is required by Idaho state law to hold a food handler card/permit, but at the establishment level Idaho does require a certified food protection manager (CFPM). IDAPA 16.02.19.002 adopts the 2013 FDA Food Code by reference, whose sec. 2-102.12(A) requires \"at least one employee that has supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control food preparation and service\" to be a certified food protection manager \"who has shown proficiency of required information through passing a test that is part of an accredited program\"; sec. 2-102.12(B) exempts food establishments the regulatory authority deems to pose minimal risk based on the nature of the operation and extent of food preparation. Idaho did not modify or strike 2-102.12 (it appears nowhere in IDAPA 16.02.19), so that mandate applies as adopted -- which is why the Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare food-safety page states that \"Food establishments must have at least one manager or supervisor who becomes a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM),\" and that the Idaho Food Safety Exam \"does not meet the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement.\" This CFPM mandate is separate from the person-in-charge demonstration-of-knowledge duty: IDAPA 16.02.19.210 (Idaho's modification of Food Code sec. 2-102.11) lets the person in charge demonstrate knowledge by one of three routes -- no priority violations at inspection, completing the Idaho Food Safety Exam or an equivalent course, or being a certified food protection manager. The voluntary Idaho Food Safety Exam certificate (sometimes called an \"Idaho food handler's card\") satisfies that demonstration option but does not by itself satisfy the establishment's 2-102.12 CFPM requirement. Local public health districts license and enforce. See exemptions.",
   "exemptions": "No individual food handler card is required by Idaho law; the state's \"Idaho food handler's card\" (the Idaho Food Safety Exam certificate) is voluntary for individual workers. At the establishment level, Idaho requires a certified food protection manager: IDAPA 16.02.19.002 adopts the 2013 FDA Food Code by reference, whose sec. 2-102.12(A) requires at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility to be a CFPM. The one carve-out from the CFPM mandate itself is sec. 2-102.12(B), which exempts establishments the regulatory authority deems to pose minimal risk based on the nature of the operation and extent of food preparation. (This is separate from the person-in-charge duty under IDAPA 16.02.19.210, Idaho's modification of Food Code sec. 2-102.11, which lets the person in charge demonstrate knowledge by \"(01) Complying with the incorporated Food Code by not having any priority violations at the time of inspection\"; \"(02) Completion of the Idaho Food Safety Exam, or an equivalent course\"; or \"(03) Being a certified food protection manager\" -- the Idaho Food Safety Exam satisfies option 02 but, per the Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare, \"does not meet the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement\" of 2-102.12.) Establishments outside the rules entirely -- IDAPA 16.02.19.010.02 (rule text of 4-6-23, which tracked the statutory exemptions as they stood before the 2026 amendment noted below) lists: agricultural markets; bed-and-breakfast operations preparing and offering food for breakfast only to guests, with no more than ten (10) guest beds; day care facilities regulated by Idaho Code secs. 39-1101 through 39-1119; licensed outfitters and guides (secs. 36-2101 through 36-2119); low-risk food establishments offering only non-TCS foods; farmers market vendors and roadside stands offering or selling only non-TCS foods or cottage foods; non-profit charitable, fraternal, or benevolent organizations that do not prepare or serve food on a regular basis -- defined as food served for no more than five (5) consecutive days on no more than three (3) occasions per year for non-TCS foods, and for all other food no more than one (1) meal per week; private homes where food is prepared or served for family consumption or which receive catered or home-delivered food; and cottage food operations — which the rule's 4-6-23 text conditions on the consumer being informed by label or placard that the food was prepared in an unregulated home kitchen. Superseded by statute (2026): per the Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare, Senate Bill 1283 (2026 ch. 91, signed and effective March 20, 2026) 'replaces and supersedes the cottage food rule that was defined previously in IDAPA 16.02.19,' enacting the Idaho Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act as Idaho Code Title 37, ch. 2. The act reaches further than the old non-TCS-only cottage-food exemption: 'homemade' means foods or nonalcoholic drinks 'grown, prepared, or processed at a private or leased farm, home kitchen, or other non-licensed facility' (sec. 37-203), including 'perishable food', which sec. 37-203(7) defines as homemade food and drinks that require time or temperature control at 41 degrees F or below for cold foods or 135 degrees F or above for hot foods, sold directly by the producer to the end consumer. In place of the old label-or-placard wording, sec. 37-205 requires each transaction to carry the disclosure 'This product is not subject to government food safety inspection or licensing requirements. It may contain allergens.' plus the producer's name and contact information, an ingredient list when the product contains two or more ingredients, and safe storage and preparation instructions for perishable foods. Under sec. 37-204(3), homemade products may not be used as ingredients in a food establishment as defined in sec. 39-1602 (including public school kitchens), and the act allows no sale of dairy, raw milk or their products unless the producer complies with the applicable chapters of title 37. Idaho Code sec. 39-1602 was amended by the same act (2026 ch. 91, sec. 9): its exclusion list from the definition of 'food establishment' now runs (a) through (h) -- private homes, non-regular nonprofit service, bed-and-breakfasts with ten or fewer beds, establishments offering only factory-sealed non-hazardous foods, certain non-retail activity registered under the federal FSMA, agricultural markets, harvest/extraction equipment -- and paragraph (h) excludes 'those operating pursuant to chapter 2, title 37, Idaho Code', i.e. producers under the Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act. The words 'cottage food' do not appear in the amended statute; the exclusion is carried by that cross-reference to the new act. IDAPA 16.02.19's published text (4-6-23 edition) still carries the old cottage-food provisions; the statute controls, and H&W says updated guidance for foods under the act is forthcoming. Commonly ASSUMED exempt but not: the Idaho Food Code expressly applies to schools, senior centers, hospitals, residential care and treatment facilities, nursing homes, correctional facilities, camps, food banks and church facilities (IDAPA 16.02.19, \"Who does this rule apply to?\").",
   "issuing_authority": "None for a mandated handler card (no such card is required). The Idaho Food Code (IDAPA 16.02.19) is administered by the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare and enforced by the seven local public health districts; the state's voluntary food safety certificate is offered through the Department of Health & Welfare, but it is not a required credential.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "IDAPA 16.02.19 (Idaho Food Code) -- contains no statewide individual food handler card requirement (the string \"food handler\" appears zero times in the rule). Section 002 adopts the 2013 FDA Food Code by reference (Publication PB2013-110462). That code's sec. 2-102.12(A) requires at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility to be a certified food protection manager (proficiency shown by passing an accredited-program test), subject to a sec. 2-102.12(B) exemption for establishments the regulatory authority deems minimal-risk. Idaho did not modify or strike 2-102.12 (it appears nowhere in IDAPA 16.02.19), so the establishment-level CFPM mandate applies as adopted. Separately, Section 210 (Demonstration of Knowledge, Idaho's modification of FDA sec. 2-102.11) lets the person in charge demonstrate knowledge by one of three alternatives: no priority violations at the time of inspection, completion of the Idaho Food Safety Exam or an equivalent course, or being a certified food protection manager. The Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare food-safety page confirms the mandate: establishments \"must have at least one manager or supervisor who becomes a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM),\" and the Idaho Food Safety Exam \"does not meet the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement.\" Statutory exemptions from the food-establishment definition: Idaho Code sec. 39-1602; rule-level exemptions at IDAPA 16.02.19.010.02.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-27",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Idaho Dept. of Health & Welfare — Food Safety (official state health authority): the Idaho Food Code does not require individual workers to hold a food handler card; establishments must have a Certified Food Protection Manager; the state's voluntary food safety exam yields a certificate (sometimes called an Idaho food handler's card) valid 5 years; code = IDAPA 16.02.19\", \"url\": \"https://healthandwelfare.idaho.gov/health-wellness/community-health/food-safety\"}, {\"label\": \"Central District Health (Ada County / Boise — Idaho's largest county): only a Certified Food Protection Manager is required per establishment; the state food handler's card is voluntary and does not fulfill the accredited manager requirement — confirms no county-level individual handler-card mandate\", \"url\": \"https://cdh.idaho.gov/licenses-permits-inspections/food-establishments/\"}, {\"label\": \"Idaho Food Code, IDAPA 16.02.19 -- official current rule PDF (adminrules.idaho.gov), full text as of 2026-07-11: sec. 002 adopts the 2013 FDA Food Code by reference (whose sec. 2-102.12 mandates an establishment CFPM); sec. 210 'Demonstration of Knowledge' gives the person in charge three alternatives (no priority violations / Idaho Food Safety Exam / CFPM); sec. 010.02 lists the establishments the rules do not apply to. String 'food handler' appears zero times\", \"url\": \"https://adminrules.idaho.gov/rules/current/16/160219.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Idaho Code sec. 39-1602 (Food Establishment Act, definitions) -- official legislature.idaho.gov: the statutory exclusions from 'food establishment' (private homes; nonprofit charitable/fraternal/benevolent orgs not serving on a regular basis; B&Bs with 10 or fewer beds; factory-sealed non-hazardous foods only; agricultural markets); as amended by SB 1283 (2026 ch. 91, sec. 9, eff. 3/20/2026) — the amended list now excludes, at paragraph (h), 'those operating pursuant to chapter 2, title 37, Idaho Code' (producers under the Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act); the words 'cottage food' do not appear in the statute\", \"url\": \"https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title39/T39CH16/SECT39-1602/\"}, {\"label\": \"Idaho Code Title 37, ch. 2 — Idaho Direct-to-Consumer Commerce Act (SB 1283, 2026 ch. 91, signed and effective March 20, 2026): sec. 37-203 definitions ('homemade', shelf-stable vs. perishable), sec. 37-204 preemption/applicability, sec. 37-205 transaction and disclosure requirements. Supersedes IDAPA 16.02.19's cottage-food rule per Idaho DH&W.\", \"url\": \"https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title37/T37CH2/\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/id-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "il-food-handler",
   "state": "Illinois",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "Every food handler (an individual working with unpackaged food, food equipment/utensils, or food-contact surfaces), in both restaurants and non-restaurants, must receive or obtain training within 30 days after employment; restaurant food handlers must renew ANSI-accredited training every 3 years. Exempt: anyone holding a valid CFPM certification, unpaid volunteers, and temporary food establishment employees. Separate establishment-level mandate -- the CFPM is not just a training-exemption category: IDPH states plainly that \"In Illinois, food establishments are required to be under the supervision of a certified food protection manager in accordance with the state Food Code and adopted FDA Food Code\" (77 Ill. Adm. Code 750.115(b), which adopts and incorporates by reference the FDA 2022 Food Code including Chapter 2, Management and Personnel; FDA Food Code Section 2-102.12(A): \"The PERSON IN CHARGE shall be a certified FOOD protection manager who has shown proficiency of required information through passing a test that is part of an ACCREDITED PROGRAM.\" Section 2-102.12(B) lets the regulatory authority deem certain minimal-risk establishments outside that section. IDPH's page still cites former Section 750.540 -- a section repealed December 7, 2018, when the current Food Code Part replaced the prior Food Service Sanitation Code (42 Ill. Reg. 24242/24245)). Since January 1, 2018 the credential is the ANSI-accredited CFPM certification itself (course + exam, valid 5 years); the separate Illinois FSSMC certificate application was retired.",
   "exemptions": "Illinois mandates food handler training statewide, and the exemptions are specific. In the statute: the duty falls on every food handler \"other than someone holding a food service sanitation manager certificate\" -- 410 ILCS 625/3.05(a) (non-restaurant food handlers) and 410 ILCS 625/3.06(b) (restaurant food handlers). A valid food service sanitation manager certificate (the Certified Food Protection Manager / CFPM credential) is the only exemption written into the Act itself. The Act also suspends itself on price: \"There must be at least one commercially available, approved food handler training module at a cost of no more than $15 per employee; if an approved food handler training module is not available at that cost, then the provisions of this Section shall not apply\" (410 ILCS 625/3.05(c) and 625/3.06(g)). PER IDPH (agency FAQ, dph.illinois.gov): \"Who is NOT required to have food handler training? Anyone working in a facility who is not a food handler (as defined above), unpaid volunteers, or any food handler who has a valid Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) certification are not required to have training. Temporary food establishment employees are also exempt from the food handler training requirement.\" The definition itself carries the exclusion: \"Food employee or food handler means an individual working with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces. Food employee or food handler does not include unpaid volunteers or temporary events.\" IDPH also states that nursing and therapy staff in hospitals and nursing homes are \"not required to have food handler training\" even though some deliver trays or assist patients with feeding (it is encouraged), and that teachers in day care and child care centers are not required, \"because the classrooms do not fall under the Illinois Food Code\" (also encouraged). Grocery stockers and cashiers who never touch unpackaged food, equipment/utensils or food-contact surfaces fall outside the definition -- but deli and produce staff who cut fruit and vegetables do not, and must train. Commonly ASSUMED exempt but not (all per the IDPH FAQ): MOBILE food establishment employees must train -- only temporary events are exempt; summer food site workers must train; paid employees of churches and clubs (Lions, Elks, Masonic lodges) with permitted kitchens must train (only their unpaid volunteers, and a church doing purely temporary events, are exempt); an establishment that is not inspected by a local health department still needs training if it falls under the Illinois Food Code; and food handlers in nursing homes, licensed early care and education homes and locations, hospitals, schools, and long-term care facilities are expressly covered and must renew every 3 years (410 ILCS 625/3.06(b)). No local variation exists: \"The regulation of food handler training is considered to be an exclusive function of the State, and local regulation is prohibited\" (410 ILCS 625/3.05(d) and 625/3.06(h)) -- so no Illinois county or city may add an exemption or take one away. Note on the separate CFPM-supervision mandate: the handler-training exemptions above do not exempt an establishment from the distinct requirement to operate under a certified food protection manager's supervision (IDPH; 77 Ill. Adm. Code 750.115(b), incorporating FDA 2022 Food Code Section 2-102.12(A)). Holding the CFPM credential exempts that individual from handler training -- it does not make the establishment-level supervision requirement optional.",
   "issuing_authority": "Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) sets, registers, and approves the food-handler training requirement. Illinois has no state-issued card: the training certificate is issued by the ANSI-accredited or IDPH-approved training provider that delivers the course. IDPH oversight per the Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Restaurant food handlers must complete ANSI-accredited training (an ANSI-accredited program is automatically approved), an IDPH-approved local health department program, or an IDPH-approved internal business program. Non-restaurant food handlers may use any food handler training course registered/approved by IDPH. Holders of a valid Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) / food service sanitation manager certificate and unpaid volunteers are exempt.",
   "cost_range": "Statute caps the low end, not the high: there must be at least one commercially available, approved food handler training module costing no more than $15 per employee (410 ILCS 625/3.05(c)). Other approved providers may charge more; IDPH notes multiple ANSI-approved options at or below $15.",
   "validity_years": "3",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Illinois Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, 410 ILCS 625/3.05 (non-restaurant food handlers) and 410 ILCS 625/3.06 (restaurant food handlers). Food-handler training added by P.A. 98-566 (eff. 8-27-13); restaurant provisions amended by P.A. 99-62, 99-78, and 100-367. The Act expressly preempts local rules: \"The regulation of food handler training is considered to be an exclusive function of the State, and local regulation is prohibited\" (625/3.05(d), 625/3.06(h)). Separate establishment-level mandate: 77 Ill. Adm. Code 750.115(b) (Food Code, as amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 5339, effective March 22, 2024) adopts and incorporates by reference the FDA 2022 Food Code, including Chapter 2 (Management and Personnel); FDA Food Code Section 2-102.12(A) requires: \"The PERSON IN CHARGE shall be a certified FOOD protection manager who has shown proficiency of required information through passing a test that is part of an ACCREDITED PROGRAM.\" IDPH states it plainly: food establishments \"are required to be under the supervision of a certified food protection manager in accordance with the state Food Code and adopted FDA Food Code\" (IDPH's page cites former Section 750.540, repealed December 7, 2018, together with the rest of the prior Food Service Sanitation Code).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, 410 ILCS 625 (official statute, IL General Assembly) — 30-day training, $15 module cap, ANSI accreditation, State-preemption clause; §§3.05 & 3.06\", \"url\": \"https://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=1578&ChapterID=35\"}, {\"label\": \"IDPH Food Handler FAQ — who must train, CFPM/volunteer/temporary-event exemptions, ANSI 3-year certificate validity, restaurant vs non-restaurant provider rules, $15-or-less options\", \"url\": \"https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/food-safety/food-handler-training/food-handler-faq.html\"}, {\"label\": \"IDPH Food Handler Training landing page — 30-days-of-hire deadline, ANSI-accredited/IDPH-approved requirement, ~3-year renewal\", \"url\": \"https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/food-safety/food-handler-training.html\"}, {\"label\": \"IDPH -- Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM)/Food Service Sanitation Manager (FSSMC): \\\"food establishments are required to be under the supervision of a certified food protection manager in accordance with the state Food Code and adopted FDA Food Code\\\"\", \"url\": \"https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/food-safety/cfpm-fssmc.html\"}, {\"label\": \"77 Ill. Adm. Code Part 750 -- Food Code, current official text (IL General Assembly/JCAR): 750.115(b) incorporates the FDA 2022 Food Code incl. Chapter 2 Management and Personnel; former Part (incl. 750.540) repealed eff. Dec 7, 2018; last amended 48 Ill. Reg. 5339, eff. Mar 22, 2024\", \"url\": \"https://www.ilga.gov/agencies/JCAR/EntirePart?titlepart=07700750\"}, {\"label\": \"FDA 2022 Food Code (the edition Illinois incorporates; Section 2-102.12(A) person in charge shall be a certified food protection manager; Section 2-102.20 accredited program)\", \"url\": \"https://www.fda.gov/media/164194/download?attachment\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/il-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "in-food-handler",
   "state": "Indiana",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "no employee food handler card; state instead requires one Certified Food Protection Manager per non-exempt establishment",
   "who_must_get": "No individual employee is required by Indiana law to hold a food handler card. Instead, each non-exempt retail food establishment must have at least one Certified Food Protection Manager — a manager-level certificate that must be renewed every five years. Ind. Code 16-42-5.2-3.7 defines it as a certificate that “verifies that the individual has passed an accreditation examination given by an accredited testing service recognized by the Conference for Food Protection or an equivalent nationally recognized certification program as determined by the state department”; the Indiana Department of Health points to the ANAB (ANSI) accredited Food Protection Manager programs list. A general food handler certificate is a different, lower-level credential and does not satisfy this requirement — HEA 1210 (2020) renamed Indiana’s credential from “Certified Food Handler” to “Certified Food Protection Manager” precisely to “eliminate confusion over similarly named, differing levels of food handler training.” One narrow category does need an individual certificate, and it is statutory rather than local: under Ind. Code 16-42-5.3-7 a home based vendor (a cottage-food seller) “shall obtain a food handler certificate from a certificate issuer that is accredited by the American National Standards Institute,” must provide a copy to the state department or an end consumer on request, and must file a copy with the local health department in the county where the vendor’s residence is located. That accreditation carries a testing condition the Indiana Code does not spell out. The CFP Standard for Accreditation of Food Protection Manager Certification Programs (approved at the 2025 CFP Biennial Meeting) provides at §4.14 that “All examinations shall be delivered and administered in a format that ensures the security of the examination. Un-proctored examinations are not acceptable regardless of the mode of administration.” An online exam still qualifies if it is remotely proctored — §1.42 defines remote proctoring as supervision by “a proctor who is in a different location,” with the examinee “monitored by a human proctor using online monitoring software and artificial intelligence software.” What does not qualify is an unproctored, self-administered certificate.",
   "exemptions": "No employee food-handler card exists in Indiana, and no local government may invent one: \"a corporation or local health department may not impose any registration, certification, or licensing requirements on food handling or certified food protection managers\" (IC 16-42-5.2-1). Indiana's only mandate is one Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) per non-exempt establishment, and the chapter carries three express exemption sections. Exempt food establishments -- IC 16-42-5.2-2: the chapter \"does not apply to a food establishment when the food establishment's food handling activities do not include the cooking of raw food of an animal origin or are limited to one (1) or more of the following: (1) Heating or serving precooked foods. (2) Preparing or serving a continental breakfast such as rolls, coffee, juice, milk, and cold cereal. (3) Preparing or serving beverages or ice. (4) Preparing or serving packaged or unpackaged low hazard foods, including elephant ears, funnel cakes, cotton candy, confectionaries, baked goods, popcorn, and chips and grinding coffee beans. (5) Providing prepackaged food in its original package.\" Exempt entities -- IC 16-42-5.2-3: hospitals licensed under IC 16-21; health facilities licensed under IC 16-28; housing with services establishments filing disclosure statements under IC 12-10-15; continuing care retirement communities under IC 23-2-4; community mental health centers; private mental health institutions licensed under IC 12-25; an area agency on aging providing food under a nutrition service program; and a food pantry operated by or affiliated with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that distributes food to needy persons. Exempt organizations -- IC 16-42-5.2-3.5: an organization exempt from the state gross retail tax under IC 6-2.5-5-25(a)(1)(B), (C), or (D) \"is exempt from complying with the requirements of this chapter,\" though it may waive the exemption and use a CFPM voluntarily. Commonly ASSUMED exempt but not -- the statute claws back two cases in the same breath as granting them: \"the premises where the food is prepared is not exempt\" for an area agency on aging (IC 16-42-5.2-3(7)), and \"a food bank or other facility that distributes donated food to other organizations is not exempt\" (IC 16-42-5.2-3(8)) -- so a food bank supplying other charities is covered even though a food pantry serving needy persons directly is not. Relief short of exemption: the CFPM \"need not be present at the food establishment during all hours of operation\" (IC 16-42-5.2-8(a)); only one CFPM is required where the same individual operates multiple establishments on the same or contiguous property (IC 16-42-5.2-11); a new or newly-sold establishment has six months to comply (IC 16-42-5.2-9), and three months after a CFPM leaves (IC 16-42-5.2-10). Verified against IC 16-42-5.2 as published in the 2026 Indiana Code (iga.in.gov) -- not the rule 410 IAC 7-22, which is superseded on this point in any case: HEA 1210 (2020) was “formatted to include sections of 410 IAC 7-22 … to eliminate the need to promulgate a separate rule,” so the operative requirements now sit in IC 16-42-5.2 itself, and the Indiana Department of Health has said it would repeal the rule. IDOH’s Laws, Rules and Regulations page still lists 410 IAC 7-22 and still serves the 2006 rule document, and we could not reach the Indiana Administrative Code publisher (iac.iga.in.gov) by any means available to us, so this page does not say whether that rule has formally expired. A related 2026 category: Ind. Code 16-42-5.4, added by P.L.163-2026, provides that a homestead vendor or small-farm owner needs no certificate to sell on their own property or at a farmers market, but under Ind. Code 16-42-5.4-8 only one who holds a food handler’s certificate “from a certificate issuer that is accredited by the American National Standards Institute” may ship or deliver a food product or meat product in a sealed package to an end consumer; one who does not “may not ship or deliver a food product or meat product.” And the next subsection limits even that: Ind. Code 16-42-5.4-8(c) provides that a homestead vendor or small-farm owner “may not ship or deliver a food product or meat product to an end consumer who is located outside Indiana,” certificate or not. One limit on the relief above: under Ind. Code 16-42-5.2-8(b), where the state department and the establishment enter into a variance, the certified food protection manager may be required to be present during all hours of operation if the variance so provides — and 410 IAC 7-26-134 separately requires a person in charge to be present during all hours of operation.",
   "issuing_authority": "None for an employee food handler card — Indiana does not issue or require one. The Indiana Department of Health, Food Protection Program regulates retail food establishments and requires a Certified Food Protection Manager (manager-level) certificate instead, issued by Conference for Food Protection / ANSI-accredited exam providers (not the state).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "No Indiana statute or rule requires an individual employee food handler card. The operative law is Indiana Code 16-42-5.2 (Food Handlers): IC 16-42-5.2-8 requires a food establishment to have at least one (1) certified food protection manager responsible for all periods of operation (that manager need not be present during all hours), and IC 16-42-5.2-11 requires only one manager where the same individual operates establishments on the same or contiguous property. IC 16-42-5.2-7.1 requires the manager to obtain a valid certificate every five (5) years and bars working with an expired one. Note: the older rule 410 IAC 7-22 (Certification of Food Handlers), long cited for this requirement, is superseded on this point — HEA 1210 (2020) folded its sections into IC 16-42-5.2 and the Indiana Department of Health has said it will be repealed; its formal status could not be verified, because we could not reach the Indiana Administrative Code publisher (iac.iga.in.gov) by any means available to us, including from a United States connection; the current retail food rule is 410 IAC 7-26, whose 7-26-135 (Demonstration of Knowledge) has the person in charge demonstrate knowledge by being or having a certified food protection manager. No provision in current Indiana law requires a per-employee food handler card. Ind. Code 16-42-5.3-7 separately requires a home based vendor to obtain a food handler certificate from an ANSI-accredited certificate issuer, provide a copy on request, and file a copy with the local health department. Ind. Code 16-42-5.2-3.7 defines the certificate as an accreditation examination from a testing service recognized by the Conference for Food Protection or an equivalent nationally recognized certification program as determined by the state department. Ind. Code 16-42-5.4, added by P.L.163-2026, governs homestead vendors and small-farm owners; 16-42-5.4-8 bars shipping or delivery without an ANSI-accredited food handler's certificate. 410 IAC 7-26-135 gives a second route to demonstrating knowledge where the establishment is exempt from IC 16-42-5.2 - no priority-item violations at the current inspection, or answering the inspector's questions - and 410 IAC 7-26-134 requires a person in charge present during all hours of operation.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Indiana DOH — Certification of Food Handler Requirements (official state page; still references the superseded 410 IAC 7-22 (formal status unverified — iac.iga.in.gov is unreachable) — the operative law is IC 16-42-5.2)\", \"url\": \"https://www.in.gov/health/food-protection/retail/certification-of-food-handler-requirements/\"}, {\"label\": \"IC 16-42-5.2-8 — a food establishment must have at least one certified food protection manager (one per establishment; CFP-recognized exam). Formerly stated in the now-superseded 410 IAC 7-22-15 (formal status unverified — iac.iga.in.gov is unreachable)\", \"url\": \"https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_16.html\"}, {\"label\": \"IC 16-42-5.2-7.1 — CFPM must obtain a valid certificate every five (5) years; may not work with expired certificate\", \"url\": \"https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_16.html\"}, {\"label\": \"IC 16-42-5.2-8.5 — food establishment duties: provide/remove the CFPM certificate + photo ID\", \"url\": \"https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_16.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Indiana DOH — Food Protection Manager Certification (HEA 1210 renamed Certified Food Handler -> CFPM; official)\", \"url\": \"https://www.in.gov/health/food-protection/retail/food-protection-manager-certification/\"}, {\"label\": \"Porter County Health Dept — employee food handler certificate is 'recommended'; only Home Based Vendors required; enforces state rule (official in.gov LHD page)\", \"url\": \"https://www.in.gov/localhealth/portercounty/food-service-division/food-handler-certification/\"}, {\"label\": \"Dearborn County Health Dept — enforces the state Certified Food Handler/CFPM rule (410 IAC 7-22) only; no separate county employee handler card\", \"url\": \"https://www.dearborncounty.org/topic/index.php?topicid=196&structureid=23\"}, {\"label\": \"IC 16-42-5.2 (Food Handlers), 2026 Indiana Code -- official iga.in.gov. The exemption sections: 16-42-5.2-1 (local registration/certification/licensing of food handling precluded), -2 'Exempt food establishments', -3 'Exempt entities', -3.5 'Exempt organizations'. Full text as of 2026-07-11.\", \"url\": \"https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_16.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Ind. Code 16-42-5.3-7 — a home based vendor shall obtain a food handler certificate from an ANSI-accredited certificate issuer, provide a copy on request, and file a copy with the local health department\", \"url\": \"https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_16.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Ind. Code 16-42-5.2-3.7 — definition of the certificate: an accreditation examination from a testing service recognized by the Conference for Food Protection or an equivalent nationally recognized certification program as determined by the state department\", \"url\": \"https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_16.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Ind. Code 16-42-5.4 (added by P.L.163-2026) — homestead vendors and small-farm owners; 16-42-5.4-8 bars shipping or delivery without an ANSI-accredited food handler’s certificate\", \"url\": \"https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_16.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Conference for Food Protection — Standard for Accreditation of Food Protection Manager Certification Programs (approved at the 2025 CFP Biennial Meeting). The standard IC 16-42-5.2-3.7 incorporates by reference: §4.14 bars un-proctored examinations; §1.42 defines remote proctoring, which is permitted\", \"url\": \"https://www.foodprotect.org/resources/Documents/EA%20Admin/Manager%20Certification%20documents/CFP%20Standard%20for%20Accreditation%20of%20Food%20Protection%20Managers%20%20Approved%20at%202025%20CFP.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/in-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ks-food-handler",
   "state": "Kansas",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "No one is required by the state to hold a food handler card. The Kansas Food Code obligates only the establishment's person in charge to demonstrate food-safety knowledge to the inspector (Kansas Food Code 2-102.11) -- an establishment-level duty, not an individual employee card, and one that a manager certification can satisfy but is not required to; that credential is covered on the [Kansas food manager certification page](/food-manager/ks-food-manager/). Regular food employees need no state credential. The City of Wichita's official food page confirms: \"There is currently no citywide or statewide requirement for food handlers cards.\"",
   "exemptions": "No individual food-safety credential is required anywhere in Kansas by state law -- not a food handler card, and not a Certified Food Protection Manager either: the Kansas Food Code (adopted by K.A.R. 4-28-8) contains no food-handler provision and does not adopt the FDA section that mandates a manager certification. The person-in-charge knowledge duty and the optional manager-certification route are explained on the [Kansas food manager certification page](/food-manager/ks-food-manager/). Whole operations need no license -- K.S.A. 65-689(d): a plant or facility already registered or licensed by the Kansas Department of Agriculture (article 7 or article 6a of chapter 65), where those inspections encompass all the facility's operations, need not obtain a separate food establishment license; a registered nonprofit providing food without charge solely to people who are food insecure, including soup kitchens and food pantries; a location distributing prepackaged individual meals to persons eligible under the federal Older Americans Act; a person producing food for distribution directly to the end consumer where the food needs no time/temperature control for safety or specialized processing; \"a person who serves food exclusively on interstate conveyances or common carriers\"; \"a person operating a food establishment for less than seven days in any calendar year\"; \"a person who prepares, serves or sells food for the sole purpose of soliciting funds to be used for community or humanitarian purposes or educational or youth activities\"; food vending machine operators (where the vending company is itself licensed and keeps location records); a person providing only complimentary coffee whose primary business is unrelated to food; a farm winery offering no food but its own wine; a retailer selling only alcoholic liquors and cereal malt beverages; a food establishment under 200 cubic feet selling only non-hazardous packaged foods received from a licensed producer; a person providing free food samples to promote a sale; and a guest house. Separately, a food establishment operated inside premises licensed by KDHE, DCF, Corrections or KDADS requires no KDA license (K.S.A. 65-689(f)). The definition itself excludes \"roadside markets that offer only whole fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables for sale\" (K.S.A. 65-656(v)). Commonly ASSUMED exempt but not: \"any other private, public or nonprofit organizations routinely serving food\" are expressly inside the definition of \"food establishment\" (K.S.A. 65-656(v)) -- a nonprofit that routinely serves food is regulated, even though a one-off fundraiser is exempt. And an exempt entity \"shall not be exempt from inspection or regulation when a violation is observed or reported to the secretary\" (K.S.A. 65-689(e)). Local: the City of Leavenworth does require a city-issued food handler card for all food employees; the City of Wichita expressly does not (\"There is currently no citywide or statewide requirement for food handlers cards\").",
   "issuing_authority": "None statewide — no state food handler card is issued. Food safety in retail food establishments is regulated by the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Food Safety & Lodging Program (Kansas Food Code). Where a local card is required, the issuer is the local authority (e.g., City of Leavenworth).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "City of Leavenworth requires a city-issued food handler card for all employees who handle food, obtained via a StateFoodSafety.com online course (confirmed on the official City of Leavenworth Food Handler/Health Permits page; cost and expiration are not stated on that official page). By contrast, the City of Wichita (Sedgwick County) has no requirement — its official page states there is no citywide or statewide requirement (a prior Wichita ordinance was repealed in 2018 per secondary sources). No statewide handler-card mandate exists; local requirements vary, so each locality routes to its own health/city authority.",
   "legal_basis": "K.A.R. 4-28-8 adopts the Kansas Food Code (based on the FDA 2017 Model Food Code; current version effective June 2, 2023). The operative individual-knowledge provision is the person-in-charge \"Demonstration\" requirement at Kansas Food Code 2-102.11 (detail on the food manager page). No Kansas statute or administrative rule mandates an individual food handler card or a Certified Food Protection Manager.",
   "last_verified": "2026-09-05",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Kansas Dept. of Agriculture — Laws, Regulations & Code for Food Safety & Lodging (Kansas Food Code eff. June 2, 2023; adopted under K.A.R. 4-28-8, based on FDA 2017 Model Food Code)\", \"url\": \"https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/divisions-programs/food-safety-and-lodging/laws-regulations-code-for-food-safety-lodging\"}, {\"label\": \"Kansas Dept. of Agriculture — Educational Materials, Food Safety (KDA 'encourages' establishments to have managers obtain Food Protection Manager Certification — encouraged, not required; no handler-card mandate)\", \"url\": \"https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/divisions-programs/food-safety-and-lodging/educational-materials-food-safety\"}, {\"label\": \"Kansas Food Code proposed-regulation filing (KS Legislative Research) — K.A.R. 4-28-8 adopts FDA 2017 Model Food Code by reference; person-in-charge duties at 2-103.11\", \"url\": \"https://www.kslegresearch.org/KLRD-web/Publications/Resources/Documents/Rules&Regs/2023-03-10/Agriculture-4_proposed_20230209_20230417-Kansas-food-code.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"City of Wichita — Food page: 'There is currently no citywide or statewide requirement for food handlers cards' (free voluntary course offered)\", \"url\": \"https://www.wichita.gov/466/Food\"}, {\"label\": \"City of Leavenworth — Food Handler/Health Permits: city-issued food handler card required for all food employees (StateFoodSafety.com course) — the documented local exception\", \"url\": \"https://www.leavenworthks.gov/cityclerk/page/food-handlerhealth-permits\"}, {\"label\": \"K.S.A. 65-689 (official Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes) -- subsection (d) lists the 14 classes needing no food establishment license (nonprofit food-insecurity feeding, Older Americans Act meals, direct-to-consumer non-TCS food, common carriers/interstate conveyances, operating fewer than 7 days a year, fundraising for community/humanitarian/educational/youth purposes, vending machines, complimentary coffee, farm wineries, liquor-only retailers, small packaged-food-only establishments, free samples, guest houses); (e) exemption ends when a violation is observed; (f) premises licensed by KDHE/DCF/Corrections/KDADS need no KDA license\", \"url\": \"https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch65/065_006_0089.html\"}, {\"label\": \"K.S.A. 65-656 (official Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes) -- definition (v) 'Food establishment': excludes roadside markets offering only whole fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables, but expressly includes 'any other private, public or nonprofit organizations routinely serving food'\", \"url\": \"https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch65/065_006_0056.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Kansas Food Code 2022 (K.A.R. 4-28-8), official KDA published document, Oct 20 2022, based on the 2017 FDA Model Food Code -- full text as of 2026-07-11: sec. 2-102.11 lets the person in charge demonstrate knowledge by no priority violations or being a CFPM OR answering the inspector's questions; FDA sec. 2-102.12 (the CFPM mandate) is not adopted; the phrase 'food handler' appears zero times\", \"url\": \"https://www.agriculture.ks.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/912/638444897243330000\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ks-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ky-food-handler",
   "state": "Kentucky",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide requirement for individual food handlers -- Kentucky's food code (902 KAR 45:005) contains no food-handler-card requirement. But at the establishment level Kentucky does require a certified food protection manager (CFPM): 902 KAR 45:005 Section 9 incorporates the 2013 FDA Food Code by reference, and the code's sec. 2-102.12(A) requires at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control food preparation and service to be a certified food protection manager. Kentucky never modified or struck 2-102.12 (it appears nowhere in the rule), so the mandate applies as adopted. Kentucky's one change in this area is to replace subparagraph 2-102.11(B) so that CFPM proficiency may be shown by passing a test that is part of an accredited program or a local health department class (902 KAR 45:005 Section 2(1)). Kentucky's own local health departments state the mandate plainly -- Boyle County Health Department: \"each establishment shall have a certified food protection manager who is able to direct and control food preparation and service\"; Green River District Health Department publishes the same requirement. Where individual counties require a handler card, all food-service employees who handle food (cooks, servers, bartenders, dishwashers, kitchen staff) must obtain the county-issued food handler card -- e.g., Fayette County (Lexington) and Madison County; in both, certified food managers are exempt from the handler card.",
   "exemptions": "Statewide, no individual worker in Kentucky needs a food handler card -- 902 KAR 45:005 contains no handler-card requirement. The establishment-level CFPM mandate is different: 2013 FDA Food Code sec. 2-102.12(A), incorporated by 902 KAR 45:005 Section 9 and never modified or struck, requires at least one supervisory employee per establishment to be a certified food protection manager. The one carve-out from the CFPM mandate itself is sec. 2-102.12(B), which exempts establishments the regulatory authority deems to pose minimal risk based on the nature of the operation and extent of food preparation. (The person-in-charge demonstration-of-knowledge routes under sec. 2-102.11 are a separate requirement -- they do not substitute for the 2-102.12 establishment mandate.) Where a county does require a card, certified food managers are exempt from it -- verified live 2026-07-11 on both county sources: Lexington-Fayette County Health Dept., \"Certified food managers are not required to obtain a food handler card\"; Madison County Health Dept., \"Certified food managers are not required to have a food handler card.\" County cards are also jurisdiction-limited: Madison's page states its certification \"is valid in Madison County, Kentucky only,\" and only cards issued by the LFCHD are valid in Fayette County. Outside the Food Code entirely: a bed and breakfast \"shall not be subject to this administrative regulation\" if it is in a one-family, privately owned residential dwelling, the owner or caretaker resides on or adjacent to the premises during occupancy, guest rooms do not exceed nine (9), overnight guests do not exceed eighteen (18), and guests are informed by placards that the food is prepared in a kitchen not regulated or inspected by the regulatory authority (902 KAR 45:005 Section 5). Statutory definition exclusions (KRS 217.015): \"food service establishment\" \"does not include food vending machines, establishments serving beverages only in single service or original containers, or retail food stores which only cut, slice, and prepare cold-cut sandwiches for individual consumption\" (KRS 217.015(21)); \"retail food store\" does not include establishments handling only prepackaged, snack-type, nonpotentially hazardous foods, markets offering only fresh fruits and vegetables, food service establishments, food and beverage vending machines, vending machine commissaries, food processing establishments, or home-based processors (KRS 217.015(40)). Commonly ASSUMED exempt but not: \"private, public or nonprofit organizations or institutions routinely serving food\" and \"charitable food kitchens\" are expressly inside the definition of \"food service establishment\" (KRS 217.015(21)) -- they are regulated, whether or not they charge for the food. Note also that Louisville Metro/Jefferson County, the state's largest county, requires no handler card at all, so a Louisville food worker needs none.",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide issuer of food handler cards. Where required, cards are issued by the local county/district health department (e.g., Lexington-Fayette County Health Department; Madison County Health Department). Statewide food-safety oversight and the manager-certification rule sit with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Public Health, Food Safety Branch, under 902 KAR 45:005.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "No statewide handler card, but multiple counties require their own. Verified from official county sources: (1) Fayette County / Lexington-Fayette County Health Department — all food-service personnel must hold a valid food handler card issued by the health department; food handler test $23 (certified food managers exempt); requirement dates to a 1987 Board of Health rule; only cards issued by the LFCHD are valid in Fayette County. (2) Madison County Health Department — all food-service workers must have a health-department-issued food handler card; test $15, valid 3 years, replacement cards $5, effective July 1, 2019; valid in Madison County only. Negative/nuance (verified): Louisville Metro / Jefferson County (the state's largest county) does not require an individual handler card — its Metro Code § 118.06 \"Requirements for Food Handlers\" only covers handwashing and bare-hand-contact rules; Louisville requires a certified food manager on duty, not employee cards. Third-party aggregators list ~20 additional Kentucky counties/health districts (e.g., Bullitt, Clark, Franklin, Jessamine, Woodford, and several eastern-KY districts) as requiring handler training, but those were not individually verified against official sources — treat as unconfirmed until each county health department page is checked. County cards are jurisdiction-specific and generally not reciprocal.",
   "legal_basis": "902 KAR 45:005 (Kentucky food code) -- statewide rule; it does not mandate an individual food handler card. It does carry an establishment-level CFPM mandate: Section 9 incorporates the 2013 FDA Food Code by reference, whose sec. 2-102.12(A) requires at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility to be a certified food protection manager, subject to the sec. 2-102.12(B) minimal-risk exemption. The Kentucky rule never mentions 2-102.12, so the section applies as adopted -- a provision incorporated by reference and left unamended is in force. 902 KAR 45:005 Section 2(1) replaces only subparagraph 2-102.11(B), broadening how CFPM proficiency is shown: a test that is part of an accredited program or a local health department class. Sec. 2-102.11 (person-in-charge demonstration of knowledge, three routes) and sec. 2-102.12 (the establishment CFPM mandate) are separate requirements -- the demonstration routes do not repeal the mandate. Bed-and-breakfast exemption at Section 5. Statutory definitions and their exclusions: KRS 217.015 (esp. (21) and (40)); enabling authority KRS 217.125. County handler-card requirements rest on separate local board-of-health regulations (e.g., Fayette County Board of Health rule in force since 1987; Madison County Health Regulation 400 series).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"902 KAR 45:005 Kentucky food code (Legislative Research Commission) -- statewide rule; Section 9 incorporates the 2013 FDA Food Code (whose sec. 2-102.12 mandates an establishment CFPM, applying as adopted); Section 2(1) replaces only 2-102.11(B); no statewide food handler card\", \"url\": \"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/902/045/005/\"}, {\"label\": \"Lexington-Fayette County Health Department — Food Handler & Manager Certification (Fayette County handler-card mandate, $23 test, since 1987)\", \"url\": \"https://www.lfchd.org/food-handler-certification/\"}, {\"label\": \"Madison County Health Department — Food Safety (Madison County handler-card mandate: $15, valid 3 years, eff. Jul 1 2019, county-only)\", \"url\": \"https://madisoncohd.com/food-safety/\"}, {\"label\": \"Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Code of Ordinances § 118.06 Requirements for Food Handlers (handwashing/bare-hand rules only — No handler card in KY's largest county)\", \"url\": \"https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/louisvillemetro/latest/loukymetro/0-0-0-29496\"}, {\"label\": \"KRS 217.015 (Definitions for KRS 217.005 to 217.215) -- official apps.legislature.ky.gov: (21) 'food service establishment' excludes food vending machines, beverage-only single-service/original-container service, and retail food stores that only cut/slice/prepare cold-cut sandwiches -- but expressly includes nonprofit organizations routinely serving food and charitable food kitchens; (40) 'retail food store' exclusions\", \"url\": \"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=57381\"}, {\"label\": \"Boyle County Health Department -- Food Certifications: \\\"each establishment shall have a certified food protection manager who is able to direct and control food preparation and service\\\" (agency statement of the 2-102.12 mandate, checked 2026-07-17)\", \"url\": \"https://www.boylehealth.com/portfolio/food-certifications/\"}, {\"label\": \"Green River District Health Department -- Food Certifications: states the same establishment CFPM requirement plus a person-in-charge present during all operating hours (agency statement, checked 2026-07-17)\", \"url\": \"https://healthdepartment.org/food-certifications/\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ky-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "la-food-handler",
   "state": "Louisiana",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "state requires only a one-per-establishment food-safety manager certificate, not an individual employee handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food-handler card is required of employees anywhere statewide. Louisiana law instead requires that the owner or one designated person (owner, manager, or employee) per retail food establishment obtain, post, and maintain a state Food Safety Certificate (manager-level). Per LDH: \"One person, either an owner, manager or employee, in each retail food establishment is required to obtain and post a state food safety certificate,\" and \"The Food Handler Certification is not the correct certification needed for the LDH Food Safety Certificate.\"",
   "exemptions": "No individual employee needs a food handler card anywhere in Louisiana — no such credential exists in state law (LDH: \"The Food Handler Certification is not the correct certification needed for the LDH Food Safety Certificate\"). The duty that does exist — one Food Safety Certificate per establishment — is itself expressly waived for a list of operations. La. Admin. Code tit. 51, Part XXIII, §305.A.1: \"For the purposes of this Section and §1901.D only, the term food establishment as defined in §101 of this Part shall additionally not include the following: a. private clubs where food is prepared and served exclusively for member consumption; b. religious or charitable food sales; c. any establishment that heats or prepares boudin or sausage for personal consumption; d. a bar or lounge that serves beverages only; e. temporary and seasonal establishments; f. nursing facilities; g. public, private, or parochial schools; h. elderly nutrition meal sites which do not prepare meals; and i. child care facilities.\" In-house alternative for child care: instead of the certificate, the owner or a designated food service employee of a child care facility \"shall be required to complete one hour of food safety training each year\" as part of the three hours of mandatory yearly training under LAC 51:XXI.301.A.9; holding a valid Food Safety Certificate credits three years of that training (§305.A.2). Outside the definition entirely (LAC 51:XXIII.101, \"Food Establishment\" — the term \"does not include\"): private homes preparing or serving food for individual family consumption, and a private-home kitchen preparing only non-potentially-hazardous food for a religious or charitable organization's bake sale where a clearly visible placard tells the consumer the kitchen is not regulated or inspected; and an owner-occupied bed-and-breakfast with no more than six guest bedrooms serving breakfast only to no more than 18 guests, with the required disclosure in advertisements, brochures and a placard at registration. Not exempt (commonly assumed to be): a bar or lounge is exempt only if it \"serves beverages only\" — start serving food and the certificate is required; restaurants, cafeterias, caterers, delicatessens and retail grocers/markets are all \"food establishments\" under §101 and need a certificate holder. In every case the exemption is from the establishment's manager-level certificate — it never converts into an employee handler-card duty, because Louisiana has none.",
   "issuing_authority": "",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "La. Admin. Code tit. 51 (Public Health–Sanitary Code), Part XXIII (Retail Food Establishments), Section 305 — Food Safety Certification; promulgated under La. R.S. 40:4 and 40:5.5. This rule mandates only a single owner/designated-employee (manager-level) Food Safety Certificate per establishment (renewed every 5 years); it imposes no statewide individual food-handler card. Exemptions (added 2026-07-11 from the rule text): §305.A.1 removes nine categories from the certificate duty (private clubs, religious/charitable food sales, boudin/sausage heated for personal consumption, beverage-only bars/lounges, temporary and seasonal establishments, nursing facilities, public/private/parochial schools, elderly nutrition meal sites that do not prepare meals, child care facilities), and §305.A.2 substitutes 1 hour of annual food-safety training for child care facilities under LAC 51:XXI.301.A.9; LAC 51:XXIII.101 further excludes private-home family cooking, non-TCS bake-sale kitchens with placard notice, and qualifying owner-occupied bed-and-breakfasts from \"food establishment.\"",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"La. Admin. Code tit. 51, Part XXIII, Sec. 305 (DOA/OSR official LAC Title 51 doc) - Food Safety Certification (operative statewide rule; owner/one designated employee per establishment, 5-yr renewal, $25 fee; authority R.S. 40:4 & 40:5.5)\", \"url\": \"https://www.doa.la.gov/media/dtxju50z/51.docx\"}, {\"label\": \"Louisiana Department of Health - Food Safety Certification (official state agency page; explicitly rejects a 'Food Handler Certificate' - only ANSI manager cert accepted)\", \"url\": \"https://ldh.la.gov/page/food-safety-certification\"}, {\"label\": \"Louisiana Department of Health - Food Safety Certification FAQ (PDF; 'One person... per establishment'; 'Food Handler Certification is not the correct certification'; 5-yr renewal; $25 fee; ANSI provider list)\", \"url\": \"https://ldh.la.gov/assets/oph/Center-EH/sanitarian/retailfood/FSCFAQs.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/la-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ma-food-handler",
   "state": "Massachusetts",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "only a Certified Food Protection Manager — one per establishment — is mandated; no individual handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide requirement that individual food handlers/employees hold a card. Instead, each food establishment must employ at least one on-site person-in-charge, age 18+, who is a Certified Food Protection Manager — having \"shown proficiency of required information through passing a certification examination that is part of an accredited program recognized by the Department\" (105 CMR 590.002(A), amending FC 2-101.11(A) Assignment). Certain operations are exempt from even the manager requirement (e.g., non-profit temporary events, snack-only daycares, prepackaged/limited-prep establishments, satellite feeding and elderly meal sites).",
   "exemptions": "No individual food handler/employee needs a card anywhere in Massachusetts — the state issues none. The credential that is mandated (one Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment) is expressly waived for five categories. 105 CMR 590.002(C) adds paragraph (C) to FC 2-102.12: \"FC 2-102.12(A) shall not apply to: (a) Temporary food establishments operated by non-profit organizations such as, but not limited to, school sporting events, firemen's picnics, grange and church suppers and fairs; (b) Daycare operations which serve only snacks; (c) Food establishments restricted to the sale of pre-packaged food and limited preparation of non-time/temperature control for safety food and meat and poultry products processed under USDA supervision with a nitrite level of at least 120 PPM and a minimum brine concentration of 3.5%; (d) Satellite feeding sites, which receive prepared meals from commissaries for immediate service; (e) Elderly meal site locations where each Nutrition Project serves congregate meals in compliance with 651 CMR 4.00\" (with prep limited to reheating IQF entrees, cooking dry pasta for immediate service, and preparing salads/side dishes from fresh or frozen produce). No board-of-health permit at all — so outside the code's establishment duties — under 105 CMR 590.010: a mobile food operation that transports only whole uncut fresh fruits and vegetables, unprocessed honey, pure maple products or farm-fresh eggs held at 45°F or less, or that only delivers (home grocery/restaurant takeout delivery, common carriers, jobbers) (590.010(B)(1)); a temporary food establishment selling only those same items (590.010(C)(1)); sales of those items at a public or farmers market (590.010(D)(1)); an owner-occupied bed-and-breakfast with no more than six guest bedrooms, breakfast the only meal, no more than 18 guests, and the required unregulated-kitchen disclosure (590.010(E)(1)); and exempt cottage food operations (590.010(F)(1)). Partial allergen carve-outs (105 CMR 590.011(C) Exemptions): USDA Child Nutrition Program schools, educational institutions, summer camps and childcare programs; institutional food service (hospitals, non-profits, Older Americans Act elderly nutrition programs, charitable food facilities) with written allergy procedures; and temporary food establishments operated by nonprofits. Not exempt: a prepackaged-only establishment loses the CFPM exemption as soon as it does more than the \"limited preparation\" described in (c); and none of these exemptions creates an employee card requirement — no exemption is needed from a credential Massachusetts does not have.",
   "issuing_authority": "N/A — Massachusetts issues no employee food handler card. Food-establishment sanitation is administered by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Division of Food Protection under 105 CMR 590.000; the one mandatory individual credential is the Certified Food Protection Manager, earned through an accredited (ANSI-CFP) program recognized by MA DPH, not issued by the state.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "105 CMR 590.000 (State Sanitary Code Chapter X — Minimum Sanitation Standards for Food Establishments), adopting the 2013 FDA Food Code. Operative manager provisions: 105 CMR 590.002(A) amending FC 2-101.11 (Assignment — the person in charge must be a certified food protection manager), and 105 CMR 590.002(C) amending FC 2-102.12 (Certified Food Protection Manager — supervisory employee certification and its exemptions). No provision mandates an individual food handler card. Exemptions (added 2026-07-11 from the regulation text): 105 CMR 590.002(C) adds FC 2-102.12(C), exempting five categories from the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement (nonprofit temporary food establishments, snack-only daycare, prepackaged/limited-prep establishments, satellite feeding sites, and 651 CMR 4.00 elderly meal sites); 105 CMR 590.010(B)–(F) exempt specified mobile, temporary, farmers-market, bed-and-breakfast and cottage food operations from any board-of-health permit; 105 CMR 590.011(C) carries partial allergen-training exemptions.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"105 CMR 590.000 — State Sanitary Code Ch. X, Minimum Sanitation Standards for Food Establishments (official MA DPH regulation PDF; §590.002 amends FC 2-102.12 to require a Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment; no handler-card provision)\", \"url\": \"https://www.mass.gov/doc/105-cmr-590-state-sanitary-code-chapter-x-minimum-sanitation-standards-for-food-establishments/download\"}, {\"label\": \"105 CMR 590.002 — Management and Personnel\", \"url\": \"https://www.mass.gov/doc/merged-food-code-111618/download\"}, {\"label\": \"Massachusetts Food Safety — MA DPH Division of Food Protection hub (official; regulations, forms, guidance)\", \"url\": \"https://www.mass.gov/food-safety\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ma-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "md-food-handler",
   "state": "Maryland",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler card is required of employees anywhere in Maryland. Statewide, the only employee-level requirement is that the person-in-charge ensure each employee \"receives training in proper food handling and sanitation as it relates to assigned duties\" (COMAR 10.15.03.14K) — employer/PIC-provided training, with no card, exam, or state-approved provider.",
   "exemptions": "No individual employee needs a food handler card anywhere in Maryland — none is issued. The only statewide employee-level duty is COMAR 10.15.03.14K (the person-in-charge ensures \"an employee receives training in proper food handling and sanitation as it relates to assigned duties\"), and that duty reaches only operations that are \"food service facilities\" under the chapter. Out of scope of the chapter: COMAR 10.15.03.01C — the chapter \"is not intended to govern the food service operations in a child care center as defined in Family Law Article, §5-570, or a family day care home as defined in Family Law Article, §5-501, unless the food service operation is conducted in conjunction with another institution that is governed by this chapter.\" NOT A \"FOOD SERVICE FACILITY\" at all (COMAR 10.15.03.02B(34)(c) — the term \"does not include\"): a facility offering only prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous; a kitchen in a private home where food is prepared at no charge for guests in the home, for guests at a social gathering that is not a public event, or for service to unemployed, homeless, or another disadvantaged population; a food preparation or serving area where food is prepared or served only by an \"excluded organization\"; a hotel, lodging, or rooming house that serves only a continental breakfast; a farmer's market or a public event selling the specified food products; a bake sale where only non-potentially-hazardous bakery goods are sold in conjunction with a fundraising event; and a cottage food business. \"Excluded organization\" is defined at COMAR 10.15.03.02B(28) as \"a volunteer fire company or bona fide nonprofit fraternal, civic, war veterans', religious, or charitable organization or corporation that does not serve food to the public more often than 4 days per week, except that once a year an organization may serve food to the public for up to 30 consecutive days.\" Not exempt (commonly assumed): being a nonprofit, church, school, club, camp, institution or health care facility is not by itself an exemption — COMAR 10.15.03.02B(34)(b)(ii) puts \"a food operation in an industry, institution, health care facility, club, school, camp, church, catering kitchen, commissary, or a similar place\" squarely inside the definition; a religious or charitable organization escapes only by staying within the 4-days-a-week (plus one 30-day run a year) limit of the \"excluded organization\" definition. Employees of covered facilities still owe the §.14K training — but it is employer/PIC-delivered, with no card, no exam and no state-approved provider.",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide handler card is issued. Food service facilities are regulated by the Maryland Department of Health, Office of Food Protection under COMAR 10.15.03, with day-to-day licensing and administration delegated to local (county) health departments.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "None — no Maryland county requires an individual employee food handler card (verified: the official Prince George's County food-safety page requires only a Certified Food Service manager on duty at all times, not employee cards; commercial card-seller sites that claim otherwise conflate the manager cert with a handler card). Separately — and distinct from a handler card — county-level Certified Food Service manager requirements exist (e.g., Prince George's, Montgomery, Baltimore City/County, Howard, Anne Arundel); Frederick County does not require even the manager cert. These are one-per-establishment manager certifications, not employee food handler cards.",
   "legal_basis": "COMAR 10.15.03 (Food Service Facilities) — no statewide food handler card is required; the only relevant statewide provision is COMAR 10.15.03.14K, requiring the person-in-charge to ensure each employee receives training in proper food handling and sanitation as it relates to assigned duties. COMAR 10.15.03 contains no Certified Food Service Manager mandate either; manager certification is set by local (county) authorities. Exemptions (added 2026-07-11 from the regulation text): COMAR 10.15.03.01C (chapter does not govern child care center / family day care home food service unless conducted with another governed institution); COMAR 10.15.03.02B(34)(c) (operations excluded from the definition of \"food service facility\": prepackaged non-PHF only, private-home kitchens serving guests/social gatherings/disadvantaged populations at no charge, food served only by an \"excluded organization,\" continental-breakfast-only lodging, farmer's markets and public events, fundraising bake sales, cottage food businesses); COMAR 10.15.03.02B(28) (\"excluded organization\" = volunteer fire company or bona fide nonprofit fraternal/civic/veterans'/religious/charitable body serving the public no more than 4 days per week, plus one 30-consecutive-day run per year).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"COMAR 10.15.03 Food Service Facilities — full official regulation text (Library of Maryland Regulations / Division of State Documents); contains no handler-card and no manager-certification requirement, only the §.14K employee-training duty\", \"url\": \"https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/10.15.03/index.full.html\"}, {\"label\": \"COMAR 10.15.03.14 Personnel Health and Sanitation — the operative statewide language: person-in-charge shall ensure an employee receives food-handling/sanitation training for assigned duties; no card required\", \"url\": \"https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/10.15.03.14\"}, {\"label\": \"Maryland Department of Health, Office of Food Protection — statewide food-safety regulatory authority\", \"url\": \"https://health.maryland.gov/phpa/OEHFP/OFPCHS/pages/home.aspx\"}, {\"label\": \"Prince George's County (official) Food Service Manager Certification — county requires a Certified Food Service manager on duty at all times, not an employee handler card (rebuts card-seller claims of a county handler-card mandate)\", \"url\": \"https://www.princegeorgescountymd.gov/departments-offices/health/environmental-health/food-safety-permits-inspections/food-service-manager-certification\"}, {\"label\": \"Frederick County Health Department FAQ (official) — a certified food manager is not required there, showing county-level variation and that the credential in question is a manager cert, not an employee handler card\", \"url\": \"https://health.frederickcountymd.gov/Faq.aspx?QID=154\"}, {\"label\": \"COMAR 10.15.03.01 Scope — the chapter does not govern child care center / family day care home food service unless conducted with another governed institution\", \"url\": \"https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/10.15.03.01\"}, {\"label\": \"COMAR 10.15.03.02 Definitions — B(34)(c) lists what is not a \\\"food service facility\\\" (exemptions) and B(28) defines \\\"excluded organization\\\" (nonprofit/religious/charitable 4-days-a-week limit)\", \"url\": \"https://regs.maryland.gov/us/md/exec/comar/10.15.03.02\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/md-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "me-food-handler",
   "state": "Maine",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "No one — Maine has no statewide requirement for individual food handlers/employees to hold a food handler card. Instead, statewide, each eating establishment must have at least one employee (with supervisory/management responsibility) designated as a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) — the manager/person-in-charge credential, one per establishment (10-144 CMR Ch. 201 §2(A)). Line staff/food handlers themselves have no card mandate. The FDA-model \"person in charge\" demonstration-of-knowledge duty applies under the Maine Food Code (10-144 CMR Ch. 200 §2-102.11), but that is not an individual card either.",
   "exemptions": "No individual food handler needs a card anywhere in Maine — the term \"food handler\" appears nowhere in the operative rules. The credential that is required (one Certified Food Protection Manager per eating establishment) has an express exemption list. 10-144 CMR Ch. 201 §2(D) (Last Amended June 3, 2024): \"The following establishments are exempt from the CFPM requirement: 1. Bed and breakfasts and lodging establishments that serve only a continental breakfast, as defined in Section 1 of this rule…; 2. Temporary eating establishments that operate fewer than 14 days; 3. Establishments that prepare, serve or sell only non-potentially hazardous pre-packaged foods (non-TCS foods); 4. Establishments that prepare only non-potentially hazardous foods (non-TCS foods); 5. Establishments that heat only commercially-processed, potentially hazardous foods (TCS foods) for hot holding…; 6. Sporting/recreational camps operating 90 days or fewer per year and serving only their own guests; and 7. Eating establishments which pose minimal risk of causing or contributing to foodborne illness… and are Category 1 Eating Establishments within Section 6(B)(2)(a) of this rule.\" Outside the definition of \"eating establishment\" (22 M.R.S. §2491(7), eff. Aug. 1, 2018): \"A place preparing and serving food that is licensed pursuant to state law by a state agency other than the department as long as the licensing of the place includes regular food safety inspections\"; \"A place serving food only to residents, such as a boarding home, a retirement home or an independent living place\"; and \"A farm stand that offers only whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables.\" Two official sources differ on a fourth item: the Department's rule (10-144 CMR Ch. 201 §1(30)(b)(iv)) also excludes \"Personal chefs,\" while the current statutory text of 22 M.R.S. §2491(7) (as enacted by PL 2017, c. 322, §3) lists only the three exclusions above. Rule = personal chefs excluded; statute = silent. Not exempt (commonly assumed): reheating is exempt but cooling is not — §2(D)(5) states \"Cooling of potentially hazardous foods (TCS foods) are not exempt from the CFPM requirement.\" And the exemption can be taken away: under §2(B), if the person in charge cannot make the demonstration of knowledge required by the Maine Food Code (10-144 CMR Ch. 200, §2-102.11), or multiple critical violations are found, the Department \"may thereafter require every person in charge for such eating establishment to be a certified food protection manager\" — more people certified, not fewer.",
   "issuing_authority": "",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "No statewide food handler card exists in Maine law. What is required (manager, not handler): 10-144 CMR Ch. 201 (Health Inspection Program Administration Rule), §2 \"Certified Food Protection Managers,\" Last Amended June 3, 2024 — §2(A) requires at least one CFPM per eating establishment; §2(C)(2) requires CFPM renewal by re-training/re-testing every five years; §2(C)(1) ties the exam to ANSI-CFP accreditation standards. Related: Maine Food Code 10-144 CMR Ch. 200 §2-102.11 (person-in-charge demonstration of knowledge). Neither rule contains the term \"food handler\" (0 occurrences in both the 39-pp Ch. 201 rule and the 170-pp Ch. 200 Food Code). Exemptions (added 2026-07-11 from the rule and statute): 10-144 CMR Ch. 201 §2(D) exempts seven categories from the CFPM requirement (continental-breakfast-only B&Bs/lodging, temporary establishments operating fewer than 14 days, non-TCS prepackaged-only sellers, non-TCS-only preparers, establishments that only heat commercially-processed TCS food for hot holding, sporting/recreational camps of 90 days or fewer serving only their own guests, and Category 1 minimal-risk establishments under §6(B)(2)(a)) — while expressly stating that COOLING TCS food is not exempt; 22 M.R.S. §2491(7) excludes other-agency-licensed inspected places, residents-only facilities, and whole-uncut-produce farm stands from \"eating establishment\" (the Department's rule, Ch. 201 §1(30)(b)(iv), adds \"personal chefs,\" which the statute does not list); §2(B) lets the Department require every person in charge to be a CFPM after a failed knowledge demonstration or multiple critical violations.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Maine Health Inspection Program Administration Rule, 10-144 CMR Ch. 201 (official PDF, Last Amended June 3, 2024) — Section 2 Certified Food Protection Managers; no food handler card provision\", \"url\": \"https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/sites/maine.gov.dhhs.mecdc/files/rules/HIP%20Admin%20Rule%20Ch%20201%20-%20Eff%20June%203%202024.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"State of Maine Food Code, 10-144 CMR Ch. 200 (official PDF, Oct 2013) — person-in-charge duty (§2-102.11); zero 'food handler'/handler-card provisions\", \"url\": \"https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/sites/maine.gov.dhhs.mecdc/files/rules/Food%20Code%20October%202013%20PDF.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Maine CDC Health Inspection Program (official program page) — links to Food Code and Ch. 201; regulates eating establishment licensing\", \"url\": \"https://www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/environmental-health/el/index.htm\"}, {\"label\": \"10-144 C.M.R. ch. 201 §2 certified food protection managers\", \"url\": \"https://www.maine.gov/sos/sites/maine.gov.sos/files/inline-files/144c201-2024-133%20%28AMD%29.docx\"}, {\"label\": \"22 M.R.S. §2491(7) — statutory definition of \\\"eating establishment\\\" and its exclusions (other-agency-licensed inspected places, residents-only facilities, whole-uncut-produce farm stands); PL 2017, c. 322, §3\", \"url\": \"https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/22/title22sec2491.html\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/me-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "mi-food-handler",
   "state": "Michigan",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide requirement for individual food handlers/employees to hold a card. Instead, under the Michigan Food Law of 2000 each food service establishment (except licensed temporary food service establishments) must employ at least one managerial employee as a Certified Food Safety Manager. A \"person in charge\" must also be present during all hours of operation and demonstrate food-safety knowledge, but that is a manager/PIC duty, not an employee handler-card mandate.",
   "exemptions": "No individual employee needs a food handler card anywhere in Michigan — the Food Law of 2000 creates none. The credential that is required (a certified food safety manager) reaches only three kinds of operation, and one is exempted by name. MCL 289.2129(1): the requirement applies to \"(a) A food service establishment unless it is a licensed temporary food service establishment. (b) An extended retail food establishment. (c) A food service establishment operated within a retail grocery.\" So a licensed temporary food service establishment is expressly exempt, and an ordinary retail food establishment (a grocery or convenience store with no food service operation and that is not an \"extended\" retail food establishment) is outside the manager requirement altogether. Exempt from licensure under the act entirely — and therefore from its manager duty — under MCL 289.4105(1) (as amended by 2025 PA 42 and 2025 PA 43, eff. Mar. 24, 2026): \"(b) A person that is offering only whole uncut fresh fruits and vegetables directly to consumers\"; \"(f) A temporary food establishment with no food preparation using only single-service articles and serving only non-potentially-hazardous food or beverage\"; \"(g) A retail food establishment that … (i) Only sells prepackaged, non-potentially-hazardous foods [and] (ii) Offers only an incidental amount of food\"; \"(h) A mobile food establishment, such as an ice cream truck, that offers only prepackaged, single-serving frozen desserts\"; \"(k) A person that owns or operates a device that dispenses only bottled or canned soft drinks; other packaged nonperishable foods or beverages; or bulk gum, nuts, and panned candies\" (vending); \"(l) Feeding operations set up in response to an emergency or disaster\"; \"(m) A person that operates as a food warehouse or food processor that contains or handles only uncut fruits or vegetables and meets all of the criteria listed in the statute\"; \"(n) An individual who operates a location under 1978 PA 260 (the Business Enterprise Program)\"; \"(i) An event not open to the general public held by a nonprofit trade association … where limited food preparation takes place for … advertising, displaying, promoting, and sampling\"; \"(j) A commercial fishing guide service that serves lunch to a party of not more than 12 clients\"; consumer nonprofit cooperatives providing product for their own use (c) and grower/producer cooperatives (d); producer-run retail outlets for prepackaged Michigan honey or maple syrup (e); and establishments already licensed under the named acts in (a) (grain dealers act, Grade A milk law of 2001, manufacturing milk law of 2001, and others). Separately, MCL 289.4102(1): \"A cottage food operation is exempt from the licensing and evaluation provisions of this act.\" Not exempt — Read this before ASSUMING no card is ever needed: MCL 289.2129(6) provides that \"This section does not prohibit a local legislative body from implementing a food handler program, an employee health certification program, or a manager certification program, if it is not in conflict with this section.\" The absence of a state card is therefore not a guarantee of no local card; confirm with the local health department. No Michigan county or city imposing an individual employee handler card was found in official sources as of 2026-07-11.",
   "issuing_authority": "N/A — no statewide food handler card is issued. Food establishments are regulated by the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development (MDARD) and delegated local health departments; the applicable statewide individual credential is the Certified Food Safety Manager (ANSI/CFP-accredited exam).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Michigan Food Law of 2000, MCL 289.2129 (certified food safety manager requirement — ANSI/CFP-accredited). No Michigan statute or administrative rule requires an individual employee food handler card. Exemptions (added 2026-07-11 from the statute): MCL 289.2129(1)(a) exempts licensed temporary food service establishments from the certified food safety manager requirement, and confines that requirement to food service establishments, extended retail food establishments, and food service operations inside a retail grocery; MCL 289.4105(1) (am. 2025 PA 42 & 43, eff. Mar. 24, 2026) exempts a further list of persons/establishments from licensure under the act entirely; MCL 289.4102(1) exempts cottage food operations from licensing and evaluation. MCL 289.2129(6) expressly preserves a local legislative body's power to implement a food handler program, so a local card requirement is not foreclosed by state law.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Michigan Food Law of 2000, MCL 289.2129 — food service establishments must employ a certified food safety manager (ANSI/CFP); no food handler card provision\", \"url\": \"https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-289-2129\"}, {\"label\": \"MDARD — Food Safety Manager Knowledge, \\\"Person in Charge\\\" fact sheet (frames the individual knowledge requirement as the PIC/certified manager per Food Code part 2-1, not a handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://www.michigan.gov/mdard/food-dairy/foodlaw/changesfactsheets/factsheets/food-safety-manager-knowledge-person-in-charge\"}, {\"label\": \"MCL 289.4105 — Person, establishment, or organization exempt from licensure (Michigan Food Law of 2000; the operative exemption list, as amended by 2025 PA 42 & 43, eff. Mar. 24, 2026)\", \"url\": \"https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-289-4105\"}, {\"label\": \"MCL 289.4102 — Cottage food operation; exemption from licensing and evaluation provisions\", \"url\": \"https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-289-4102\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/mi-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "mn-food-handler",
   "state": "Minnesota",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "individual handler card not required; a Certified Food Protection Manager is required per establishment instead",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler is required to hold a food handler card statewide in Minnesota. Instead, each licensed food establishment must employ at least one Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM), except establishments that qualify for a listed exemption (e.g., low-risk / non-TCS operations, certain special-event and limited-preparation facilities).",
   "exemptions": "No individual food handler needs a card anywhere in Minnesota — the statute that mentions handler certification, Minn. Stat. 31.96, is permissive (the commissioner may require it) and routes to the manager program; no rule imposes an employee card. The credential that is required (one Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment) has an express exemption list. Minnesota Rules, part 4626.0033, item B: \"A food establishment does not need to employ a CFPM: (1) where the method of food preparation meets the definition of a low-risk food establishment in Minnesota Statutes, section 157.20; (2) where the food establishment is licensed as a special event food stand; (3) where the establishment operates as a retail food vehicle, portable structure, or cart as defined in part 4626.0020, subpart 73; or (4) where food preparation activities are solely limited to one or more of the following: (a) preparing or packaging non-TCS foods that are made from ingredients that are not TCS; (b) processing raw meat, poultry, fish, or game animals intended for cooking by the consumer; or (c) heating or serving precooked hot dog or sausage products, popcorn, nachos, pretzels, or frozen pizza.\" A \"low-risk establishment\" is defined at Minn. Stat. 157.20, subd. 2a(c) as one \"that is not a high-risk or medium-risk establishment.\" In-house / grace alternatives: on opening or reopening, a licensee may employ one full-time employee who meets the training requirement in item G(1) at the time of opening and becomes a CFPM within 60 days (4626.0033, item C); and a licensee that ceases to employ a CFPM has 60 days to employ a new one (item E). Not exempt (commonly assumed): reheating does not buy you out — item A applies to every licensee \"including a food establishment that reheats ready-to-eat TCS foods for hot holding.\" Also, MDA's \"Retail Food Handler License\" is a business license for the establishment, not a personal card, and no exemption from it doubles as an employee credential.",
   "issuing_authority": "",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "No statute or rule mandates an individual food handler card. The operative statewide requirement instead is Minnesota Rules part 4626.0033 (each food establishment must employ a Certified Food Protection Manager), enabled by Minn. Stat. 157.011, subd. 2 (manager certification program) and referenced by Minn. Stat. 31.96 (food handler certification — permissive/discretionary, ties to the manager certification program). Exemptions (added 2026-07-11 from the rule and statute): Minnesota Rules 4626.0033, item B exempts four categories from the CFPM requirement (low-risk establishments as defined in Minn. Stat. 157.20, special event food stands, retail food vehicles/portable structures/carts under part 4626.0020 subp. 73, and establishments whose preparation is limited to non-TCS foods, raw meat/poultry/fish/game intended for consumer cooking, or heating/serving precooked hot dogs or sausage, popcorn, nachos, pretzels or frozen pizza); \"low-risk establishment\" is defined at Minn. Stat. 157.20, subd. 2a(c). Items C and E give 60-day grace windows at opening/reopening and on loss of a CFPM.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Minnesota Rules 4626.0033 (Certified Food Protection Manager required per establishment — operative admin rule)\", \"url\": \"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/rules/4626.0033/\"}, {\"label\": \"Minn. Stat. 157.011 (manager certification program — enabling statute, subd. 2)\", \"url\": \"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/157.011\"}, {\"label\": \"Minn. Stat. 31.96 (food handler certification — permissive; commissioner may require certification, ties to manager cert program)\", \"url\": \"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/31.96\"}, {\"label\": \"MDH — CFPM Requirements for Food Establishments (all establishments must employ a CFPM; exemptions; 60-day replacement)\", \"url\": \"https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/food/cfpm/require.html\"}, {\"label\": \"MDH — CFPM Fact Sheet (3-year validity, renewal = 4+ hrs approved training, exam from ANSI-CFP accredited provider; cites Rules 4626.0033)\", \"url\": \"https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/environment/food/cfpm/cfmfs.html\"}, {\"label\": \"MDA — Retail Food Handler License (establishment/business license, not an individual employee card — disambiguation)\", \"url\": \"https://www.mda.state.mn.us/retail-food-handler\"}, {\"label\": \"Minn. Stat. 157.20, subd. 2a — risk categories; defines the \\\"low-risk establishment\\\" that Minnesota Rules 4626.0033 item B(1) exempts from the CFPM requirement\", \"url\": \"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/157.20\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/mn-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "mo-food-handler",
   "state": "Missouri",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "no statewide handler-card mandate; required by many major city/county health jurisdictions",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide requirement. Where locally mandated, individuals who prepare, handle, dispense, or serve food to the public must obtain a food handler card. Example (Clay County): \"Anyone engaged in food preparation, handling, dispensing, or service to the public must possess either a valid food handler card or food manager certificate,\" obtained no later than 30 days from hire. Example (Kansas City): required unless a certified food service operations manager is present and on duty at all times (city allows either a certified on-site manager OR 80% of food-handler staff holding a 3-year food handler card).",
   "exemptions": "Statewide there is no Missouri food handler card to be exempt from, and no manager certificate is compulsory either. The Missouri Food Code (adopted by 19 CSR 20-1.025; DHSS \"Missouri Food Code,\" publication date June 3, 2013) has no employee handler-card provision and no Certified Food Protection Manager section (FDA 2-102.12 is absent from it). It requires only that the person in charge demonstrate knowledge, and Missouri Food Code Sec. 2-102.11 lets the PIC do that in ANY of three ways: \"(A) Complying with this Code by having no violations of priority items during the current inspection; (B) Being a certified food protection manager who has shown proficiency of required information through passing a test that is part of an accredited program; or (C) Responding correctly to the inspector's questions as they relate to the specific food operation.\" A manager certificate is therefore one option, never a requirement. OPERATIONS OUTSIDE THE CODE ENTIRELY - Missouri Food Code Sec. 1-201.10 provides that \"'Food establishment' does not include: (a) An establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous foods; (b) A produce stand that only offers whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; (c) A food processing plant; (d) A kitchen in a private home if only food that is not potentially hazardous food, is prepared for sale or service at a function such as a religious or charitable organization's bake sale if allowed by law and if the consumer is informed by a clearly visible placard ... that the food is prepared in a kitchen that is not subject to regulation and inspection by the regulatory authority; (e) An area where food that is prepared as specified in Subparagraph (3)(d) ... is sold or offered for human consumption; (f) A kitchen in a private home, such as a small family day-care provider; or a bed-and-breakfast operation, that prepares and offers food to guests if the home is owner occupied, the number of available guest bedrooms does not exceed four (4), and breakfast is the only meal offered; (g) A private home that receives catered or home-delivered food; or (h) Where local codes allow, individual stands in which only [non-potentially hazardous] foods ... are sold, sampled or served.\" Workers in these operations are outside the food code, so no food-code-based card duty reaches them. WHERE A LOCAL CARD IS REQUIRED, THE LOCAL CARVE-OUTS DECIDE IT - Kansas City (KCMO Health Dept.): no food handler cards are needed at all if the establishment picks the certified-manager option. Verbatim: \"A certified food service operations manager must be present in the food service area and on duty at all times of business operations, and must present a food manager permit or card to the authorized regulatory authority inspector at the time of inspection, or ... For food service operations where no manager is certified, 80 percent of required food handler staff shall obtain a three-year food handler card from KCHD.\" Even under the second option the threshold is 80 percent of required food handler staff, not 100 percent - but \"Establishments must select one of the two options above; they may not alternate between them.\" Clay County: a card from another listed jurisdiction is accepted instead of a Clay County card - Clay County Public Health Center's Food Handlers page lists reciprocity with Cass County, the City of Independence, Jackson County, the City of Kansas City, and Platte County. NOT EXEMPT (commonly assumed otherwise): neither Kansas City's nor Clay County's published rules exempt volunteers, part-time staff, or short-term/temporary-event workers from the handler-card duty; in Kansas City the only lawful escape from cards is the certified-manager-on-duty option above.",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide issuer — Missouri Dept. of Health & Senior Services (DHSS) confirms there is no statewide food handler certification. Where required, cards are issued/administered by local city or county health departments (e.g., Kansas City Health Department, Clay County Public Health Center, Cass County Public Health, plus Platte County, Jackson County, and the City of Independence per Clay County's reciprocity list).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "Statewide there is no handler-card mandate, but numerous jurisdictions require it. Verified from official pages: Kansas City (3-year food handler card OR certified manager on duty; card $25 incl. online training) — kcmo.gov; Clay County (food handler card required within 30 days of hire; valid 3 years; $20 in-person, cash only; accepts cards from Cass County, City of Independence, Jackson County, City of KCMO, and Platte County) — clayhealth.com; Cass County (requires certification under the Cass County Food Code; in-person class $20 / online $25) — casscounty.com. Additional Missouri jurisdictions commonly requiring food handler cards (per state and secondary references, confirm at each local health dept before publishing figures): Platte County, Jackson County, City of Independence, Boone County/City of Columbia, Jefferson County, St. Charles County, Lafayette County, and Cape Girardeau County.",
   "legal_basis": "No statewide food-handler mandate. The Missouri Food Code — adopted by reference under 19 CSR 20-1.025 (DHSS Missouri Food Code manual) — requires only that the \"person in charge\" be able to demonstrate food-safety knowledge (foodborne-disease prevention, HACCP, food-code requirements, staff training/monitoring); it does NOT require a certified food protection manager or an individual employee food handler card. Handler-card requirements exist only under local county/city food codes (e.g., Clay County Missouri Food Code; Cass County Food Code; Kansas City Health Department food regulations). EXEMPTIONS (added 2026-07-11): the Missouri Food Code incorporated by 19 CSR 20-1.025 (DHSS, pub. June 3, 2013) supplies the operative negatives - Sec. 1-201.10(3)(a)-(h) lists what is NOT a food establishment, and Sec. 2-102.11 gives the person in charge three alternative ways to demonstrate knowledge, so not even a manager certificate is compulsory.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-27",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"MO DHSS Food Safety hub — DHSS restructured health.mo.gov in July 2026 and retired the former Food Safety FAQ and Retail Food Safety Training pages; this hub is the agency's live food-safety front door (retail food contact: RetailFood@health.mo.gov). The no-statewide-card fact rests on the Missouri Food Code and 19 CSR 20-1 themselves — neither contains a handler-card mandate — plus the county sources below.\", \"url\": \"https://health.mo.gov/business-professionals/food-safety\"}, {\"label\": \"Missouri Food Code sec. 2-102.11 Demonstration of Knowledge — no certified-manager mandate: the person in charge may satisfy the knowledge duty in three alternative ways (no priority violations at inspection; being a certified food protection manager; or answering the inspector's questions correctly). Re-verified 2026-07-27 at the relocated Food Code URL.\", \"url\": \"https://health.mo.gov/sites/health/files/media/pdf/2025/11/missourifoodcode_0.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Missouri Secretary of State — official 19 CSR 20-1 rule text (PDF)\", \"url\": \"https://www.sos.mo.gov/cmsimages/adrules/csr/current/19csr/19c20-1.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Clay County Public Health — Food Handlers: card required, valid 3 years, within 30 days of hire, $20 in-person; reciprocity list\", \"url\": \"https://www.clayhealth.com/337/Food-Handlers\"}, {\"label\": \"Cass County — Food Handler Classes: certification required under Cass County Food Code; $20 in-person / $25 online\", \"url\": \"https://www.casscounty.com/2414/Food-Handler-Classes\"}, {\"label\": \"City of Kansas City — Online Food Handler Training: 3-year food handler card OR certified on-site manager; $25\", \"url\": \"https://www.kcmo.gov/city-hall/departments/health/online-food-handler-training\"}, {\"label\": \"Missouri DHSS - Missouri Food Code (the document incorporated by reference in 19 CSR 20-1.025; publication date June 3, 2013): Sec. 1-201.10 'Food establishment does not include' exclusions (3)(a)-(h); Sec. 2-102.11 Demonstration of Knowledge gives the person in charge THREE alternatives (no manager certificate is compulsory); contains no Sec. 2-102.12 Certified Food Protection Manager provision. Verified live 2026-07-11; PDF relocated in the July 2026 DHSS site restructure and re-verified at the new URL 2026-07-27 (same June 3, 2013 publication)\", \"url\": \"https://health.mo.gov/sites/health/files/media/pdf/2025/11/missourifoodcode_0.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/mo-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ms-food-handler",
   "state": "Mississippi",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "state requires a certified food manager per establishment, not an employee handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No employee is required to hold an individual food handler card in Mississippi. Instead, every licensed food establishment must have a person in charge — the permit holder or a designee — who has successfully completed an approved manager certification course (Miss. Admin. Code Rule 2.2.3 / FDA Food Code 2-101.11 Assignment; effective for new facilities Jul 1, 1998 and existing facilities Jan 1999). MSDH recognizes ANSI-CFP/ANAB-accredited manager programs (e.g., ServSafe). This manager requirement is a separate credential and is out of scope for this handler-card page.",
   "exemptions": "Mississippi issues no employee food handler card, so no food employee is exempt from one - there is nothing to be exempt from. Cooks, servers, dishwashers and other staff need no individual certificate anywhere in the state. The only mandated credential is the manager certification for the permit holder / person in charge (MSDH Food Code, Rule 2.2.3, amending FDA Food Code 2-101.11 Assignment: \"The permit holder, or his/her designee, must have successfully completed a manager certification course approved by the Regulatory Authority\"), and that duty attaches only to a permitted food establishment. Exempt from the permit (and therefore from the manager duty and any credential) - MSDH states verbatim on its Retail Food Permits Q&A: \"If you prepare, hold, transport and/or serve food for pay you are required by state law to have a food permit. Charitable, non-profit organizations and private schools are not required to have a food permit.\" Two exemptions follow from that single sentence: (1) charitable / non-profit organizations and private schools need no food permit; (2) the permit trigger is activity \"for pay\" - unpaid food activity is outside it. Not exempt (commonly assumed otherwise): once an establishment is permitted, it cannot escape the manager certificate by being small, seasonal, or temporary - MSDH says flatly on the same page, \"A certified food manager is required in all food facilities.\" The exemption runs to the permit, not to the manager rule. Also note the widely-marketed claim that Mississippi food workers must get a handler card \"within 30 days of hire\" appears in no MSDH rule or page; it is vendor marketing, not law.",
   "issuing_authority": "Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), Food Protection Division — the sole statewide regulatory authority for retail food establishments (permits are issued by MSDH, not counties). MSDH operates no employee food-handler-card program; it requires a Certified Food Protection Manager / person in charge per establishment instead.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Mississippi Administrative Code Title 15, Part 13, Subpart 75 (Food Safety), Chapter 2 (Food Code): Rule 2.1.3 adopts the FDA Food Code by reference; Rule 2.2.3 (adopting FDA Food Code §2-101.11 Assignment) requires the permit holder or a designated person in charge to have completed an approved manager certification course. No provision requires individual employee handler cards. Statutory authority: Miss. Code Ann. § 75-29-19. Exemptions (added 2026-07-11): MSDH's Retail Food Permits Q&A supplies the operative exemption - \"Charitable, non-profit organizations and private schools are not required to have a food permit\" - and the permit trigger is preparing/holding/transporting/serving food \"for pay.\" No permit means no Rule 2.2.3 manager-certification duty.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Miss. Admin. Code Title 15, Part 13, Subpart 75 (Food Safety / Food Code) — Rule 2.1.3 adopts FDA Food Code; Rule 2.2.3 requires a manager-certified person in charge, no handler-card provision\", \"url\": \"https://www.sos.ms.gov/adminsearch/ACCode/00000207c.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"MSDH Retail Food Permits Q&A — 'A certified food manager is required in all food facilities'; no employee handler-card requirement mentioned; MSDH issues permits statewide\", \"url\": \"https://msdh.ms.gov/page/30,3432,77,311.html\"}, {\"label\": \"MSDH Food Facilities and Permits — MSDH is the statewide regulatory authority; Mississippi Food Code follows the FDA national standard\", \"url\": \"https://msdh.ms.gov/page/30,0,77.html\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ms-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "mt-food-handler",
   "state": "Montana",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "No one — Montana has no statewide requirement that individual food handlers/employees obtain a food handler card or permit. Instead, state rule requires each licensed retail food establishment to have at least one Certified Food Protection Manager (a per-establishment manager credential, not a per-employee handler card): a NEW licensee must have a CFPM within 90 days of license issuance, and an existing licensee has 45 days to replace a CFPM who leaves (ARM 37.110.262). Certain low-risk temporary food establishments are exempt from the CFPM requirement.",
   "exemptions": "Montana has no statewide food handler card, so no Montana food employee needs one. The state's only mandated food-safety credential is the establishment's Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM), and the rule exempts some establishments from even that. CFPM EXEMPTION - ARM 37.110.262(2)(a), verbatim: \"Temporary food establishments engaged in the following activities are exempt from having a certified food protection manager: (i) serving non-TCS (time/temperature controlled for safety) foods; (ii) serving nonalcoholic or alcoholic beverages with or without beverage ice; (iii) serving commercially pre-cooked, pre-packaged ready-to-eat, TCS foods, such as hot dogs, sausages, FDA and United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) registered canned food products, frozen pizzas.\" A \"temporary food establishment\" is one that \"operates at a fixed location for a period of no more than 21 days in a licensing year in conjunction with a single event or celebration\" (ARM 37.110.261(24)). ARM 37.110.262(3) adds that the regulatory authority \"may require or exempt additional food safety training for temporary food establishments\" under Food Code 8-102.10 - so a local authority may impose or lift training beyond the state floor. Operations outside the retail food rules entirely - Mont. Code Ann. Sec. 50-50-102(24)(c) provides that \"retail food establishment\" \"does not include\": milk producers'/pasteurization/milk-product plants; slaughterhouses, meat packing plants or meat depots; growers or harvesters of raw agricultural commodities; a cottage food operation; \"a person that sells or serves only commercially prepackaged foods that are not potentially hazardous\"; a food stand that offers raw agricultural commodities; wholesale food establishments; a kitchen in a domestic residence used to prepare food to sell or serve at a nonprofit function; certain custom meat and game animal processors; \"private, religious, fraternal, youth, patriotic, or civic organizations that serve or sell food to the public over no more than 4 days in a 12-month period\"; \"a private organization that serves food only to its members and their guests\"; a bed and breakfast, roominghouse, guest ranch, outfitting and guide facility, boardinghouse or tourist home \"that serves food only to registered guests and day visitors\"; \"a nonprofit organization that operates a temporary food establishment under a permit as provided in 50-50-120\"; persons selling at a farmer's market or food stand whole shell eggs, hot coffee, hot tea, homemade food under Title 50 ch. 49, or other non-potentially-hazardous food; day-care centers/providers under 52-2-721(1)(a); \"a private domestic residence that receives catered or home-delivered food\"; \"a contract cook\"; and providers of free samples as a marketing activity by a licensed wholesale food establishment, cottage food operation, or farmer's-market seller. Workers in these operations fall outside the retail food rules altogether. Local - Sanders County is the one verified Montana county requiring an individual employee credential, and it carries its own carve-out: employees must complete a four-hour DPHHS-approved food safety course and pass a proficiency test, but \"Unless the employee has a valid training certificate, training must be obtained within ninety (90) days of being hired by the current establishment\" (Sanders County Food Establishment Regulations, eff. Jan. 6, 2016, Sec. 12(B)(1)) - an employee who already holds a valid training certificate need not retake it.",
   "issuing_authority": "None for a food handler card — Montana operates no statewide handler-card program, so no state body issues one. Retail food safety is regulated by the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS), Food & Consumer Safety Section, with day-to-day enforcement and inspections by county/local boards of health under cooperative agreement (ARM 37.110.238–.243). The only individual-linked credential the state mandates is the establishment's Certified Food Protection Manager, obtained from a private ANSI-CFP-accredited program (e.g., ServSafe, Prometric, National Registry), not from the state.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "Sanders County requires all food establishment employees to complete a 4-hour DPHHS-approved food safety training course and pass a proficiency test within 90 days of hire (unless the employee already holds a valid training certificate) — Sanders County Food Establishment Regulations, eff. Jan 6, 2016, §12(B); the county also requires the establishment-level CFPM per §12(A)/ARM 37.110.260. This is a local training-certificate requirement, not a statewide card, and Sanders is a small rural county. No major Montana county was found to impose a general employee handler-card mandate; most counties enforce only the state rule (establishment CFPM). County-by-county requirements beyond Sanders have not been exhaustively verified.",
   "legal_basis": "No statewide food-handler-card statute or rule exists. Governing retail food authority: Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) Title 37, Chapter 110, Subchapter 2 — Retail Food Establishments (adopted 2014 MAR p. 2957, eff. 1/1/2015), promulgated under Title 50, chapter 50, MCA (50-50-103). The state's only individual food-safety credential mandate is the Certified Food Protection Manager under ARM 37.110.262 and ARM 37.110.261(4), incorporating FDA Food Code (2013) section 2-102.12(A) via ARM 37.110.260. No ARM provision requires an individual food handler card. Exemptions (added 2026-07-11): the CFPM exemption for temporary food establishments is ARM 37.110.262(2)(a) (with 'temporary food establishment' defined at ARM 37.110.261(24) as <=21 days at a fixed location for a single event); operations outside the retail food rules entirely are listed at Mont. Code Ann. Sec. 50-50-102(24)(c).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Montana DPHHS Food & Consumer Safety — Retail Food Rule (ARM Title 37, Ch. 110, Subch. 2), full official text: CFPM requirement in 37.110.261(4) & 37.110.262; no handler-card provision anywhere\", \"url\": \"https://dphhs.mt.gov/assets/publichealth/FCS/RetailFood/FinalRetailRule.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Montana DPHHS — Retail Food Establishments program page (adopts 2013 FDA Food Code; links the ARM rule and Certified Food Protection Manager trainings)\", \"url\": \"https://dphhs.mt.gov/publichealth/ehfs/RetailFood/\"}, {\"label\": \"Sanders County Food Establishment Regulations (eff. Jan 6, 2016) — §12(B) local 4-hour employee food-safety training requirement; §12(A) establishment CFPM\", \"url\": \"https://co.sanders.mt.us/DocumentCenter/View/239/Local-Food-Establishment-Regulations-2016-PDF\"}, {\"label\": \"Mont. Code Ann. Sec. 50-50-102 (official MCA, Montana Legislature) - definitions; subsection (24)(c) lists what 'retail food establishment' does not include (cottage food, prepackaged-only sellers, religious/fraternal/civic orgs serving <=4 days per 12 months, private organizations serving only members and guests, B&Bs/guest ranches serving only registered guests, nonprofit temporary food establishments under 50-50-120, farmers-market sellers, contract cooks, free-sample providers, etc.). Verified live 2026-07-11\", \"url\": \"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0500/chapter_0500/part_0010/section_0020/0500-0500-0010-0020.html\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/mt-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "nc-food-handler",
   "state": "North Carolina",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "statewide rule requires only a Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment — the manager/person-in-charge credential — not an individual employee food-handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food employee is required to hold a food-handler card under North Carolina law. Statewide, each food establishment must have at least one person in charge who is a Certified Food Protection Manager (FDA Food Code Section 2-102.12 as adopted by 15A NCAC 18A .2650/.2652); congregate nutrition sites and Risk Category I food establishments are exempt from the CFPM requirement. Employers may voluntarily require handler training, but no card is mandated by the state.",
   "exemptions": "North Carolina requires no employee food handler card, so no food employee is exempt from one. The exemptions that matter run to the credential the state does require - the Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) who serves as the person in charge - and to whole establishments that fall outside the food rules. Two express CFPM exemptions - 15A NCAC 18A .2652(3) amends FDA Food Code Paragraph 2-102.12(B) to read, verbatim: \"This section does not apply to congregate nutrition sites and Risk Category I food establishments as defined in 10A NCAC 46 .0213.\" So (1) congregate nutrition sites (group-meal sites, e.g. senior nutrition/community meal sites) and (2) risk category I food establishments need no Certified Food Protection Manager at all. What \"RISK CATEGORY I\" actually means - 10A NCAC 46 .0213(a)(1) defines it verbatim: \"Risk Category I applies to food service establishments that prepare only non-potentially hazardous foods.\" (The same rule sets the contrast: Risk Category II = cook and cool no more than two potentially hazardous foods; Category III = no more than three; Category IV = an unlimited number, or specialized processes, or service to a highly susceptible population.) An establishment that prepares only non-potentially-hazardous food is therefore outside the CFPM requirement entirely. Whole establishments outside the food rules - N.C.G.S. Sec. 130A-250 exempts from the Part (and so from the rules adopted under G.S. 130A-248, which include the CFPM rule), among others: establishments serving only regular boarders or permanent houseguests; private clubs; bars as defined in G.S. 130A-247(1); curb markets operated by the State Agricultural Extension Service; nonprofit corporations, federally tax-exempt organizations and political committees \"that prepare or serve food or drink for pay no more frequently than once a month for a period not to exceed two consecutive days\"; establishments that hand out only single-service, non-potentially-hazardous beverages; establishments where meat or poultry products are prepared and sold under NCDA&CS or USDA inspection; markets selling uncooked cured country ham or salted pork with only minimal preparation; \"traditional country stores\" (for-profit, in continuous operation at least 75 years) that make uncooked sandwiches with minimal preparation; bona fide cooking schools; breweries, distilleries and wineries; and the bar area of an establishment where only alcoholic beverages (and their garnishes) are prepared. Not exempt (commonly assumed otherwise): \"no handler card\" does not mean \"no credential in the building.\" Any establishment in Risk Category II, III or IV - i.e. any operation that cooks and cools potentially hazardous food - must still have a Certified Food Protection Manager as its person in charge.",
   "issuing_authority": "N/A for a handler card — North Carolina issues no state employee food-handler card. The food-establishment program is set by rule (15A NCAC 18A .2600), adopted by the NC DHHS Division of Public Health / Commission for Public Health under N.C.G.S. 130A-248 and enforced by local county/district health departments. The credential that is required — the Certified Food Protection Manager — is earned by passing a test from an ANSI-CFP-accredited program. NC DPH does not endorse vendors: verify any program against the official ANAB-CFP accredited-program directory before paying, and note DPH's own warning that some listed organisations also sell food-handler courses whose certificates carry the same logo but do not satisfy the manager requirement, not issued by the state.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "15A NCAC 18A .2650 (adopts the 2017 FDA Food Code by reference) and 15A NCAC 18A .2652 (Management and Personnel), implementing FDA Food Code Section 2-102.12 (Certified Food Protection Manager); statutory authority N.C.G.S. 130A-248. No North Carolina statute or administrative rule requires an individual food-handler card/certificate for food employees. Exemptions (added 2026-07-11): 15A NCAC 18A .2652(3) amends FDA Food Code 2-102.12(B) to read \"This section does not apply to congregate nutrition sites and Risk Category I food establishments as defined in 10A NCAC 46 .0213\"; 10A NCAC 46 .0213(a)(1) defines Risk Category I as \"food service establishments that prepare only non-potentially hazardous foods.\" Whole establishments are exempted from the Part (and thus from the rules under G.S. 130A-248) by N.C.G.S. 130A-250.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"15A NCAC 18A .2652 Management and Personnel — official NC Administrative Code (OAH); amends FDA Food Code Ch. 2 incl. §2-102.12 Certified Food Protection Manager provisions\", \"url\": \"http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2015a%20-%20environmental%20quality/chapter%2018%20-%20environmental%20health/subchapter%20a/15a%20ncac%2018a%20.2652.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"15A NCAC 18A .2650 General — Adoption by Reference (official NC Administrative Code, OAH): incorporates the 2017 FDA Food Code; Authority G.S. 130A-248\", \"url\": \"http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2015a%20-%20environmental%20quality/chapter%2018%20-%20environmental%20health/subchapter%20a/15a%20ncac%2018a%20.2650.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"NC DPH Environmental Health — Certified Food Protection Manager Requirement (implementation guidance; confirms manager-only mandate, effective Jan 1, 2014; no employee handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://ehs.dph.ncdhhs.gov/docs/position/CertifiedFoodProtectionManagerRequirementFINAL.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"10A NCAC 46 .0213 (official NC Administrative Code, OAH) - DEFINES the Risk Categories that 15A NCAC 18A .2652(3) uses to exempt establishments from the Certified Food Protection Manager rule: 'Risk Category I applies to food service establishments that prepare only non-potentially hazardous foods.' Verified live 2026-07-11. Note: reports.oah.state.nc.us is served over an unsecured http connection, not https\", \"url\": \"http://reports.oah.state.nc.us/ncac/title%2010a%20-%20health%20and%20human%20services/chapter%2046%20-%20local%20standards/10a%20ncac%2046%20.0213.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"N.C.G.S. Sec. 130A-250 'Exemptions' (official NC General Assembly) - statutory list of establishments exempt from the food/lodging Part, and therefore from the rules adopted under G.S. 130A-248 (incl. the CFPM rule): private clubs, bars, curb markets, nonprofit/tax-exempt orgs serving for pay no more than once a month for <=2 consecutive days, USDA/NCDA&CS-inspected meat and poultry establishments, traditional country stores, bona fide cooking schools, breweries/distilleries/wineries, and more. Verified live 2026-07-11\", \"url\": \"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_130A/GS_130A-250.html\"}, {\"label\": \"ANAB-CFP directory of accredited Food Protection Manager certification programs — the directory NC DPH directs applicants to\", \"url\": \"https://www.ansi.org/Accreditation/credentialing/personnel-certification/food-protection-manager/ALLdirectoryListing.aspx?menuID=8&prgID=8&statusID=4\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/nc-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "nd-food-handler",
   "state": "North Dakota",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "no statewide requirement — North Dakota mandates no statewide food handler card; individual food-handler training is required only where a local public health unit imposes it. Verified: the First District Health Unit requires all food employees to complete and pass an approved food education course.",
   "who_must_get": "Statewide: no individual is required to hold a food handler card — North Dakota has no statewide food-handler-card mandate. Locally, the First District Health Unit (Minot-area public health district) requires that \"Employees at licensed food establishments who cook, prepare or handle food, wash dishes or clean food contact equipment, are required to complete and pass an approved food education course.\" FDHU deadlines by employee type: managerial/supervisory employees \"prior to performing any supervisory tasks in the establishment\"; regular food employees at non-seasonal establishments \"within 30 days of starting work\"; seasonal employees (or any employee at a mobile food establishment) \"prior to performing any food handling tasks in the establishment.\"",
   "exemptions": "Statewide, North Dakota requires no food-safety credential of anyone - not a handler card and not a manager certificate. N.D. Admin. Code Sec. 33-33-04.1-01 adopts the 2017 FDA Model Food Code but expressly excludes both credential provisions: subsection (2), \"Paragraph 2-102.12 Certified Food Protection Manager. For the purposes of this chapter, is excluded,\" and subsection (3), \"Paragraph 2-102.20 (B) Food Protection Manager Certification. For the purposes of this chapter, is excluded.\" (Chapter effective Jan. 1, 2018; amended effective Jan. 1, 2024; authority NDCC 23-09.) There is therefore nothing statewide to be exempt from. Operations outside the code - N.D. Admin. Code Sec. 33-33-04.1-01(1) revises the \"food establishment\" definition at FDA Food Code 1-201.10, subparagraph (3)(f), to exclude \"A kitchen in a private home, such as a self-declared child care provider or an early childhood program licensed for thirty or fewer children pursuant to North Dakota Century Code chapter 50-11.1; or a bed-and-breakfast operation that prepares and offers food to guests if the home is owner occupied, the number of available guests bedrooms does not exceed six, breakfast is the only meal offered, the number of guests served does not exceed eighteen, and the consumer is informed ... that the food is prepared in a kitchen that is not regulated and inspected by the regulatory authority.\" Where a local public health unit does require the credential, read its carve-outs narrowly. For the First District Health Unit (Minot; Bottineau, Burke, McHenry, McLean, Renville, Sheridan and Ward counties): (1) The duty reaches only employees at licensed food establishments \"who cook, prepare or handle food, wash dishes or clean food contact equipment\" - staff who do none of those things are outside it. (2) volunteers are not exempt - this is the exemption people wrongly assume. FDHU states verbatim: \"all food employees (including those that are volunteers) who work at food establishments at the ND State Fair are required to have food safety cards prior to performing any tasks, and must have those cards on their person at all times while in the food establishment.\" (3) Temporary-event workers are not exempt either, but they get a cheaper route rather than a pass: FDHU's free \"Food Safety in Temporary Establishments\" course satisfies the requirement and \"is only valid for employees at temporary establishments that operate for 14 days or less at a single event.\" (4) FDHU's separate Certified Food Protection manager rule is itself limited: it is \"required ... for all establishments that are classified as risk level 2 or higher with 10 or more food employees, and recommended at all other establishments\" - establishments below that threshold need no CFPM.",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide food handler card is issued (none exists). Statewide food-safety regulator: North Dakota Department of Health & Human Services, Food and Lodging Unit (Public Health Division); local public health units license and inspect establishments and may impose their own employee-training requirements. Where the First District Health Unit's requirement applies, the approved course is completed through FDHU's own \"Food Safety for Food Service Employees\" course or another course on FDHU's approved/ANSI-accredited list.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "No statewide approved-provider rule (no statewide card). At the local level the First District Health Unit requires an \"approved food education course\" and accepts only courses on its published approved list — it warns that \"there are food education courses available on the internet that claim to be approved for North Dakota but are not. The only approved courses are those listed on this page.\" Listed approved options: FDHU's own \"Food Safety for Food Service Employees\" online course, the Tacoma-Pierce County \"Do It Right, Serve It Safe!\" course (recommended for non-English-speaking employees), and ANSI-accredited food handler training programs (First District Health Unit source).",
   "cost_range": "No state-set fee — North Dakota has no statewide food handler card. Where a local public health unit requires the course, pricing is provider-/district-set: the First District Health Unit's in-person class fee is $15.00, and other approved (ANSI-accredited) courses are provider-priced (First District Health Unit source).",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "Yes — county rules diverge. The First District Health Unit (a multi-county local public health district headquartered in Minot; serves Bottineau, Burke, McHenry, McLean, Renville, Sheridan, and Ward counties) mandates an individual food-employee credential: employees who \"cook, prepare or handle food, wash dishes or clean food contact equipment, are required to complete and pass an approved food education course\" (deadlines by employee type — see the who-must-get details on this page). Separately and additionally, FDHU requires a Certified Food Protection manager — \"a person in charge at all times who has taken and passed an approved Certified Food Protection Manager course ... for all establishments that are classified as risk level 2 or higher with 10 or more food employees, and recommended at all other establishments\" — which is a manager/person-in-charge certification, not the employee food-education course. Other North Dakota local public health units may set their own requirements; only the First District Health Unit was independently verified here.",
   "legal_basis": "Statewide: North Dakota Administrative Code § 33-33-04.1 (ND Food Code) adopts the 2017 FDA Food Code by reference effective Jan 1, 2024; per the ND HHS adoption memo the requirement that the person in charge be a Certified Food Protection Manager (FDA paragraphs 2-102.12 and 2-102.20(B)) is \"excluded from the ND Food Code\" and is \"not required unless otherwise specified under local ordinance.\" The adopted code contains no individual food-handler-card mandate. County: the First District Health Unit imposes its employee food-education-course requirement under that local-ordinance authority. Exemptions (added 2026-07-11): the operative rule text is N.D. Admin. Code Sec. 33-33-04.1-01 (ndlegis.gov), which excludes FDA Food Code 2-102.12 (CFPM) at subsection (2) and 2-102.20(B) at subsection (3), and revises the food establishment definition at 1-201.10(3)(f). Effective Jan 1 2018; amended effective Jan 1 2024.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"ND Dept. of Health & Human Services, Food and Lodging Unit — official memo: Adoption of the 2017 FDA Food Code (N.D.A.C. § 33-33-04.1, effective Jan 1 2024); states the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement is excluded and 'not required unless otherwise specified under local ordinance' — statewide legal basis (live, application/pdf, )\", \"url\": \"https://www.hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/DOH%20Legacy/FL/F&L%20PDF/MEMO-ND_Food_Code_Changes.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"ND Dept. of Health & Human Services — Food and Lodging program page: offers only a voluntary 'North Dakota Food Code: A Guide for Food Handlers' booklet; no statewide food-handler-card mandate stated (live, )\", \"url\": \"https://www.hhs.nd.gov/health/food-and-lodging\"}, {\"label\": \"First District Health Unit — Food Safety Certification page: county mandate that food employees complete and pass an approved food education course (deadlines by employee type), the approved-course list + internet-course warning, the $15.00 in-person class fee, and the separate Certified Food Protection Manager rule for risk-level-2+ establishments with 10+ employees\", \"url\": \"https://fdhu.org/environmental-health-division/food-safety-certification/\"}, {\"label\": \"N.D. Admin. Code ch. 33-33-04.1 'Food Code' - official rule text (ND Legislative Branch). Sec. 33-33-04.1-01 adopts the 2017 FDA Model Food Code and expressly excludes Paragraph 2-102.12 (Certified Food Protection Manager) and Paragraph 2-102.20(B) (Food Protection Manager Certification), and revises the 'food establishment' definition at 1-201.10(3)(f) (private-home kitchens, self-declared child care, small owner-occupied B&Bs). Effective Jan 1 2018; amended effective Jan 1 2024. Verified live 2026-07-11 (, application/pdf)\", \"url\": \"https://www.ndlegis.gov/information/acdata/pdf/33-33-04.1.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/nd-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ne-food-handler",
   "state": "Nebraska",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "no statewide food-handler-card requirement; individual employee handler cards are mandated only in Lincoln-Lancaster County and in the City of Omaha/Douglas County. Statewide, Nebraska requires only a Certified Food Protection Manager — a per-establishment MANAGER credential — not an employee handler card.",
   "who_must_get": "Statewide: no individual employee is required to hold a food handler card; each establishment must have a Certified Food Protection Manager (person in charge), which is a manager credential, not an employee handler card. Lincoln-Lancaster County: the Lincoln Food Code states that everyone who works in a food establishment must have a food handler or manager permit; per LLCHD, \"employees must have a food handler permit before starting to work,\" and \"one-hundred percent (100%) of employees ... must have current and appropriate permits\" (a missing permit is a critical-item violation). Handler-permit tiers are assigned by job duties — Serve/Clean, Prep/Cook, and Restricted/Shift Manager — with a separate Food Protection Manager permit for the person in charge. City of Omaha (Douglas County): per DCHD, \"all food handlers in the City of Omaha must obtain a Food Handler's Certification within 30 days of employment,\" at one of three levels (Serve Clean, Prep Cook, Shift Manager) determined by job duties. The only exemption DCHD states is verbatim: \"Volunteers and employees of educational institutions that have received training in proper food safety practices and that are supervised by a CFPM are exempt from the food handler certification requirements.\"",
   "exemptions": "There is no statewide Nebraska food handler card, so outside Lincoln and Omaha no employee needs one. Statewide the only mandated credential is the Certified Food Protection Manager: LB245 (2025) amended Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 81-2,244.01 so that the Nebraska Food Code is now the 2022 FDA Food Code AND struck sections 2-102.12 and 2-102.20(B) from the list of excluded provisions - i.e. the CFPM requirement, previously excluded from Nebraska law, now applies. (This is the requirement DCHD describes as \"passed by the Nebraska State Legislature in April of 2025.\") OPERATIONS OUTSIDE THE STATE FOOD LAW ENTIRELY - Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 81-2,245.01 provides that \"food establishment\" \"does not include\": (1) an establishment or vending machine operation offering only listed non-TCS prepackaged items (soft drinks, canned/bottled juices, prepackaged ice, candy, chewing gum, potato or corn chips, pretzels, cheese puffs and curls, crackers, popped popcorn, nuts and edible seeds, and cookies, cakes, pies and other pastries); (2) a produce stand offering only whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; (3) a food processing plant; (4) a salvage operation; (5) \"a private home where food is prepared or served for personal use, a small day care in the home, or a hunting lodge, guest ranch, or other operation where no more than ten paying guests eat meals in the home\"; (6) a private home or other area preparing non-TCS food \"for sale or service at a religious, charitable, or fraternal organization's bake sale or similar function\"; (7) a private home producing cottage food that meets Sec. 81-2,280, sold direct to the consumer (farmers market, fair, festival, craft show, pick-up or delivery); (8) a private home or other area preparing food for a charitable fundraising event, with the required not-inspected placard (this does not cover a paid caterer); (9) the location where a caterer's food is served if the caterer \"only minimally handles the food at the serving location\"; (10) \"Educational institutions, health care facilities, nursing homes, and governmental organizations which are inspected by a state agency or a political subdivision other than the regulatory authority\"; (11) a pharmacy (Sec. 71-425) or similar facility selling only non-TCS/listed foods; and (12) a non-commercial establishment selling only commercially packaged non-TCS foods. CITY OF OMAHA (Douglas County) - the ONLY stated exemption from the food handler certification, verbatim from DCHD: \"Volunteers and employees of educational institutions that have received training in proper food safety practices and that are supervised by a CFPM are exempt from the food handler certification requirements.\" Everyone else handling food must certify within 30 days of employment. CITY OF LINCOLN - Lincoln Municipal Code Sec. 8.20.235 (\"Food Handler Permits; Exemption\") is the single handler-permit exemption, verbatim: \"A food handler permit shall not be required for any volunteer person(s) who only serves food at an itinerant temporary food establishment or itinerant temporary event if, prior to working, the volunteer food server: a. Receives training in proper hand washing, no bare hand contact, and safe food practices by the Food Protection Manager in charge using training approved by the Health Director, and b. Signs a form affirming that he or she has not had diarrhea or vomiting in the past 48 hours, and that he or she understands and will practice no bare hand contact.\" (Ord. 21680 Sec. 16, Dec. 9, 2024.) Note how narrow it is: it covers volunteers who ONLY SERVE, and only at an itinerant temporary establishment/event - a paid employee, or a volunteer who preps or cooks, is NOT exempt. Separately, LMC Sec. 8.20.120 exempts certain nonprofit operations from needing a food establishment permit at all: occasional bake sales of non-TCS food; sales of manufactured, prepackaged non-TCS food prepared in an approved facility; service of non-TCS food limited to the organization's members and guests; and occasional TCS service on the nonprofit's own premises or at a permanent food service facility (a kitchen at \"a church, meeting hall, or other place of public assembly\") - though a nonprofit selling TCS food to the public where there is no permanent food service facility must still get an itinerant temporary food establishment permit. NOT EXEMPT (commonly assumed otherwise): in Lincoln, front-of-house staff are NOT exempt. The Serve/Clean permit expressly covers \"bakers, bussing staff, dishwashers, wait staff, convenience store clerks who do not prepare or cook potentially hazardous foods, bartenders, hosting staff, and baristas,\" LLCHD requires \"One-hundred percent (100%) of employees\" to hold current and appropriate permits, and \"Employees must have a food handler permit before starting to work at a food establishment.\"",
   "issuing_authority": "No state-issued food handler card exists. Statewide food safety is regulated by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, which adopts the 2022 FDA Food Code as the Nebraska Food Code and requires a Certified Food Protection Manager (person in charge) — a manager credential, not an individual handler card. Where a county mandate applies, the handler credential is issued by the county health department: the Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department (LLCHD) issues the Lincoln food handler permit, and the Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) — in partnership with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln — provides the City of Omaha food handler certification.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "No statewide rule. Lincoln-Lancaster: the food handler permit is issued by LLCHD and obtained through LLCHD's own training — live classes at the LLCHD training center (3131 O Street) or online through LLCHD's web pages (foodhandlers.unl.edu). (The separate Food Protection Manager permit — the manager credential, NOT the handler permit — requires passing an accredited ANSI/CFP exam such as ServSafe, Prometric, or National Registry, plus a $30 LLCHD fee; the ANSI/CFP-accreditation rule applies to that manager permit, not to the food handler permit.) City of Omaha (Douglas County): per DCHD, \"food handler certifications must be obtained through the training provided by the Douglas County Health Department\" (delivered online via the DCHD/University of Nebraska-Lincoln platform at foodhandlers.douglascountyhealth.com).",
   "cost_range": "No state-set fee. County-set: Lincoln-Lancaster — $20 for a Prep/Cook (PC) food handler permit (LLCHD class schedule). City of Omaha (Douglas County) — $20 for the DCHD food handler certification (a single $20 payment covers all three levels; the $20 cost may be waived for applicants under 18) (DCHD).",
   "validity_years": "No statewide card. County handler credentials are valid 2 years — Lincoln-Lancaster Prep/Cook (PC) food handler permit \"good for 2 years\" (LLCHD class schedule); City of Omaha food handler certification \"valid for two years\" (DCHD).",
   "county_exceptions": "Lincoln-Lancaster County (Lincoln): under the Lincoln Food Code, enforced by LLCHD, everyone working in a food establishment must hold a food handler or manager permit; the food handler permit is required before starting work and 100% employee compliance is enforced (a missing permit is a critical-item violation and, per LLCHD, the number-one reason establishments receive Notices of Violation). The Prep/Cook (PC) food handler permit costs $20, is good for 2 years, and is earned in an ~1.5-hour LLCHD class (also available online at foodhandlers.unl.edu); handler tiers are Serve/Clean, Prep/Cook, and Restricted/Shift Manager. City of Omaha (Douglas County): an Aug 26, 2025 Omaha City Council update to the Omaha Municipal Code requires all food handlers in the City of Omaha to obtain a DCHD Food Handler's Certification within 30 days of employment — $20 (one payment covers all three levels; waived for applicants under 18), valid 2 years, with three levels (Serve Clean, Prep Cook, Shift Manager) assigned by job duties, obtained only through DCHD/UNL training. Only stated exemption: volunteers and employees of educational institutions who have received food-safety training and are supervised by a CFPM. Separately, starting January 2026, any NEW food-permit application requires proof of a staff member holding a CFPM certification. These requirements are set out in Omaha Municipal Code ch. 11 (Food and Food Handlers), § 11-264, as linked by the official DCHD page.",
   "legal_basis": "No statewide food-handler-card statute. State framework: the Nebraska Department of Agriculture adopts the 2022 FDA Food Code as the Nebraska Food Code (named verbatim on the NDA food-safety program page) under the Nebraska Pure Food Act (named on the NDA Regulations page); the FDA Food Code requires the person in charge to be a Certified Food Protection Manager (FDA Food Code § 2-102.12) — a manager credential, not an employee handler card. (Per DCHD, a CFPM requirement was also enacted by the Nebraska Legislature in April 2025.) County mandates: Lincoln — the Lincoln Food Code, enforced by LLCHD (\"everyone who works in a food establishment must have a food handler or manager permit\"); Omaha — Omaha Municipal Code ch. 11 (Food and Food Handlers), § 11-264, updated by the Aug 26, 2025 Omaha City Council ordinance (as cited by the official DCHD page). EXEMPTIONS / CFPM (added 2026-07-11): the statewide CFPM mandate is traced to Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 81-2,244.01 as amended by Laws 2025, LB245 - the Food Code is now the 2022 FDA edition and sections 2-102.12 and 2-102.20(B) were STRUCK from the excluded-sections list, so the CFPM requirement now applies. Operations outside the state food law are listed at Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 81-2,245.01. The Lincoln handler-permit exemption is Lincoln Municipal Code Sec. 8.20.235 (Ord. 21680 Sec. 16, Dec. 9 2024); Lincoln establishment-permit exemptions are at LMC Sec. 8.20.120.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Nebraska Dept. of Agriculture — Regulations (state regulator; lists 'Nebraska Food Code' and 'Nebraska Pure Food Act')\", \"url\": \"https://nda.nebraska.gov/regulations\"}, {\"label\": \"Nebraska Dept. of Agriculture — Food Safety and Consumer Protection program (states verbatim it uses the '2022 FDA Food Code' and 'Nebraska Pure Food Act')\", \"url\": \"https://nda.nebraska.gov/fscp/foods/food_safety_program\"}, {\"label\": \"FDA Food Code 2022 (adopted as the Nebraska Food Code; § 2-102.12 requires the person in charge to be a Certified Food Protection Manager — the MANAGER credential, not a handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2022\"}, {\"label\": \"Douglas County Health Department — Food Handler Training and Certifications (Omaha mandate: 'within 30 days of employment,' '$20 ... valid for two years,' under-18 waiver, three levels Serve Clean/Prep Cook/Shift Manager, DCHD training only, only exemption = volunteers/educational-institution staff supervised by a CFPM, Aug 26 2025 ordinance, 'Starting in January of 2026' new food-permit CFPM proof)\", \"url\": \"https://www.douglascountyhealth.com/food-handler-training-and-certifications\"}, {\"label\": \"Douglas County Health Department — official food handler training portal (DCHD/UNL platform)\", \"url\": \"https://foodhandlers.douglascountyhealth.com/\"}, {\"label\": \"Omaha Municipal Code ch. 11 'Food and Food Handlers,' § 11-264 (Food Establishment Staffing Requirements and Responsibilities) — the section the official DCHD page links its requirements to (Municode)\", \"url\": \"https://library.municode.com/ne/omaha/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIIMUCO_CH11FOFOHA_ARTVIIFOES_S11-264FOESSTRERE\"}, {\"label\": \"Lincoln-Lancaster County Health Department — Food Safety hub\", \"url\": \"https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/Health-Department/Environmental/Food-Safety\"}, {\"label\": \"LLCHD — Food Handler and Food Protection Manager Permits (PDF): handler tiers Serve/Clean, Prep/Cook, Restricted/Shift Manager; '100% of employees ... must have current and appropriate permits. Employees must have a food handler permit before starting to work'; the separate Food Protection Manager (FPM) permit = accredited ANSI/CFP exam + $30, 3-year\", \"url\": \"https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/health-dept/environmental/food-safety/management/handlermanagerpermits.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"LLCHD — 100 Percent Food Handler Permit Compliance Required (PDF): 'The Lincoln Food Code states that everyone who works in a food establishment must have a food handler or manager permit. All violations ... are critical item violations.'\", \"url\": \"https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/health-dept/environmental/food-safety/management/100compliancereqd.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"LLCHD — Food Handler Permit Class Schedule (PDF): 'English Prep/Cook (PC) permit good for 2 years, costs $20'; 'Class usually lasts around one and one-half hours'; online handler permit at https://foodhandlers.unl.edu; FPM permit = accredited ANSI/CFP exam + $30/3 yrs\", \"url\": \"https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/9/health-dept/environmental/food-safety/fhclassschedule.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"LLCHD — online City of Lincoln food handler permit portal (named verbatim in the LLCHD class schedule)\", \"url\": \"https://foodhandlers.unl.edu\"}, {\"label\": \"Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 81-2,245.01 (official Nebraska Legislature) - 'Food establishment' definition and its twelve exclusions (prepackaged non-TCS sellers and vending, produce stands, food processing plants, salvage operations, private homes/small day care/lodges with <=10 paying guests, religious-charitable-fraternal bake sales, cottage food under Sec. 81-2,280, charitable fundraisers with placard, caterer serving locations, educational institutions / health care facilities / nursing homes / governmental organizations inspected by another agency, pharmacies, non-commercial prepackaged-only sellers). Verified live 2026-07-11\", \"url\": \"https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-2,245.01\"}, {\"label\": \"Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 81-2,244.01 (official Nebraska Legislature) - 'Food Code' now means the 2022 FDA Recommendations; sections 2-102.12 and 2-102.20(B) are NO LONGER on the excluded list, so the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement applies statewide. Amended by Laws 2025, LB245. Verified live 2026-07-11\", \"url\": \"https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-2,244.01\"}, {\"label\": \"Nebraska Legislature - LB245 (2025) slip law: amends Sec. 81-2,244.01 to adopt the 2022 Food Code and strikes 2-102.12 / 2-102.20(B) from the exclusions (the April-2025 CFPM enactment DCHD refers to), and amends the Sec. 81-2,245.01 food establishment definition. Verified live 2026-07-11\", \"url\": \"https://nebraskalegislature.gov/FloorDocs/109/PDF/Slip/LB245.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Lincoln Municipal Code Sec. 8.20.235 'Food Handler Permits; Exemption' (official City of Lincoln code, enCodePlus) - the ONLY Lincoln food-handler-permit exemption: volunteers who ONLY SERVE food at an itinerant temporary food establishment/event, conditioned on FPM-delivered training approved by the Health Director and a signed illness / no-bare-hand-contact affirmation. Ord. 21680 Sec. 16, Dec. 9, 2024. Verified live 2026-07-11\", \"url\": \"https://online.encodeplus.com/regs/lincoln-ne/doc-view.aspx?secid=12696\"}, {\"label\": \"Lincoln Municipal Code Sec. 8.20.120 'Food Establishment; Exemptions' (official City of Lincoln code, enCodePlus) - state/federally permitted operations and listed nonprofit operations (occasional non-TCS bake sales; prepackaged non-TCS sales; non-TCS service limited to members and guests; occasional TCS service on the nonprofit's own premises or at a permanent food service facility) that need no Lincoln food establishment permit. Ord. 21680 Sec. 9, Dec. 9, 2024. Verified live 2026-07-11\", \"url\": \"https://online.encodeplus.com/regs/lincoln-ne/doc-view.aspx?secid=8306\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ne-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "nh-food-handler",
   "state": "New Hampshire",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "no statewide employee food-handler card; NH instead requires each licensed establishment's Person-in-Charge to be a Certified Food Protection Manager — a manager-level, one-per-establishment credential",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler/employee is required by New Hampshire state law to hold a food-handler card. Statewide, each licensed food establishment must have a Person in Charge (PIC) who is a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM); establishments with 5 or fewer food employees on duty need only one available CFPM on staff (not necessarily present), and a newly licensed establishment must have a CFPM within 45 days of its initial licensing inspection. This is a manager-level, one-per-establishment requirement — not an every-employee handler card. (Employees do complete an Employee Health Reporting Agreement per He-P 2307 / Food Code, but that is not a card or certification.)",
   "exemptions": "New Hampshire issues no employee food handler card, so no food employee needs one - and NH DHHS is explicit that a Food Handler Certification does not even satisfy the credential NH does require (CFPM FAQ Q18: \"No, the course needs to be one [of] the accredited programs... it shall be specific to a manager and include a proctored exam\"). The exemptions below are from that credential: the Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) requirement on the Person in Charge.\n\nEstablishment categories exempt from the CFPM requirement - He-P 2303.02(a), as readopted with amendment effective August 25, 2026 (adopted rule #14678, Notice NN 2026-107), which runs to twenty categories: (1) Category A-1, food processing plants which commercially process 100,000 packages of food or more, per year; (2) Category C-5, food processing plants which commercially process less than 100,000 packages of TCS food per year; (3) Category C-6, cold storage or refrigerating warehouse; (4) Category D-4, retail food stores that allow self-service of food, including coffee, hot dogs, or soft drinks; (5) Category D-6, servicing areas; (6) Category E-1, bed and breakfasts; (7) Category E-3, lodging facilities serving continental breakfasts; (8) Category F-1, home delivery services of packaged frozen food; (9) Category F-2, pushcarts and other mobile food units, including those serving packaged food and non-TCS unwrapped foods only; (10) Category F-3, retail food stores with no food preparation areas; (11) Category F-4, wholesalers or distributors of TCS food; (12) Category F-5, on-site vending machines or unattended markets, which serve TCS food; (13) Category F-6, bakeries which do not serve TCS food and have no seats; (14) Category F-7, farm store; (15) Category G-1, bars or lounges without a food preparation area; (16) Category G-2, arena or theater concessions serving non-TCS food; (17) Category G-3, retail food stores serving pre-packaged ice cream; (18) Category G-7, sellers of pre-packaged frozen meat or poultry that is processed in a USDA-inspected plant; (19) Category G-8, food processing plants that manufacture or package non-TCS food; or (20) Category I-1, food pantries. Food pantries were added as an exempt category by the August 25, 2026 readoption; before that date nineteen categories were listed. Two official New Hampshire sources still print a shorter list than the readopted rule, and they do not agree with each other, so read both with their dates attached. (1) the codified rule page at gc.nh.gov still serves the pre-readoption text of He-P 2303.02(a) - nineteen categories, no food pantries, under the source note \"#12852, eff 8-20-19; ss by #13428, eff 8-5-22\" - because New Hampshire posts rules there after certification, and the readoption is filed as \"awaiting certification\". (2) the food protection section's certified food protection manager FAQ prints eighteen, omitting both food pantries and \"(14) Category F-7, farm store\"; the FAQ is the older document of the two, dated August 31, 2023 by its own PDF metadata and by the server's last-modified header, notwithstanding the \"2021-11\" folder in its web address. Where the FAQ and the rule differ, the rule governs - the FAQ describes the rule, it does not make it. All three documents were read live on September 17, 2026.\n\nUnlicensed, so the CFPM requirement does not apply at all (FAQ Q17): \"occasional\" food service establishments - food served or provided to the public no more than 4 days during a 30-day period (any part of a day counts as a full day) - and \"temporary\" food service establishments - operating at a fixed location for not more than 2 weeks in connection with a fair, carnival, circus, public exhibition or similar transitory gathering - \"are exempt from a food service license by the State of New Hampshire,\" and therefore \"licensing requirements and regulation including the CFPM requirement, do not apply.\"\n\nCFPM required but need not be present (FAQ Q4/Q10): an establishment with at least one CFPM on staff need not have the CFPM present when no food preparation is taking place, or when food preparation is limited to reheating commercially prepared food or ready-to-eat food; and an establishment having 5 food employees or less on duty needs only one CFPM on staff who is \"available, although not required to be present,\" during all hours of operation (Q9: a district or regional supervisor who is a CFPM may serve as that available CFPM). Q16: a licensed caterer needs no CFPM at an off-site event if no food preparation takes place at the event. Q8: the owner does not have to be the CFPM.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: an establishment exempt from the CFPM requirement still must have a Person in Charge during all hours of operation (FAQ Q7) - the exemption is from the manager certification, not from having a PIC. NH's 15 self-inspecting cities/towns (Bedford, Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Derry, Dover, Exeter, Keene, Manchester, Merrimack, Nashua, Plaistow, Portsmouth, Rochester, Salem) may set their own terms; DHHS directs operators there to consult the local authority (FAQ Q15), so an exemption above is not guaranteed to hold in those jurisdictions. Source: NH DHHS Food Protection Section, Certified Food Protection Manager FAQ.",
   "issuing_authority": "No state food-handler card exists, so there is no card-issuing authority. New Hampshire's food-safety regulator is the NH DHHS Food Protection Section (Concord). The credential NH actually mandates — the Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) — is issued not by the state but by third-party programs accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) and recognized by the Conference for Food Protection (CFP).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "New Hampshire has 15 self-inspecting cities/towns (Bedford, Berlin, Claremont, Concord, Derry, Dover, Exeter, Keene, Manchester, Merrimack, Nashua, Plaistow, Portsmouth, Rochester, Salem) that administer their own food-safety programs; NH DHHS directs operators in those jurisdictions to consult the local authority. Their personnel requirement centers on the CFPM (manager) certification, not an individual employee handler card — no self-inspecting town was verified from an official source to mandate an every-employee food-handler card.",
   "legal_basis": "NH Administrative Rules He-P 2300 (Sanitary Production & Distribution of Food) — specifically He-P 2303's incorporation of the 2017 FDA Food Code, which establishes the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement for the Person in Charge; enabling statutes RSA 143 (Sanitary Production & Distribution of Food) and RSA 143-A (Food Service Licensure). No He-P 2300 part or RSA provision mandates an individual employee food-handler card.",
   "last_verified": "2026-09-02",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"NH DHHS Food Protection Section — Certified Food Protection Manager FAQ (official PDF; states the 2017 FDA Food Code incorporation requires the PIC to be a CFPM; Q18 confirms a Food Handler Certification is separate and does not satisfy the requirement). Document dated August 31, 2023 (PDF ModDate and server last-modified agree); the \\\"2021-11\\\" in the address is the upload folder, not a revision date. Its exempt-category list runs to eighteen and predates both \\\"Category F-7, farm store\\\" and the August 25, 2026 addition of \\\"Category I-1, food pantries\\\"; current as of 2026-09-17.\", \"url\": \"https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/fp-cfpm-faqs.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"NH Administrative Rules He-P 2300, Sanitary Production & Distribution of Food (official rule index — parts He-P 2301-2311; no individual handler-card part; CFPM requirement via He-P 2303 Food Code incorporation) note 2026-09-02: this online chapter was still serving the pre-August-2026 text (nineteen exempt categories) eight days after adopted rule #14678 took effect; the adopted-rule filing below is the leading instrument.\", \"url\": \"https://gc.nh.gov/rules/state_agencies/he-p2300.html\"}, {\"label\": \"NH DHHS — Food Protection Laws and Rules (lists He-P 2300, 2017 FDA Food Code, RSA 143, RSA 143-A as the governing authorities)\", \"url\": \"https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/environmental-health-and-you/food-protection/food-protection-laws-and-rules\"}, {\"label\": \"NH DHHS — Food Safety Training Resources (training video/posters offered as voluntary resources for operators to train their food handlers; no mandated employee card)\", \"url\": \"https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/environmental-health-and-you/food-protection/food-safety-training-resources\"}, {\"label\": \"New Hampshire adopted rule #14678 (Notice NN 2026-107), He-P 2300 Sanitary Production and Distribution of Food, effective August 25, 2026 - readopts He-P 2301.01, 2303.02, 2304.01, 2304.04, 2304.05, 2304.12, 2310.01 and 2311.01-2311.06; adds Category I-1 food pantries to the manager-certification exemptions and keeps the 2017 Food Code. Added 2026-09-02.\", \"url\": \"https://gc.nh.gov/rules/adoptions/adoptions/Effective%20Adopted%20Rules%20as%20Filed%20-%20Awaiting%20Certification/14678%20%28NN%202026-107%29%20Sanitary%20Production%20and%20Distribution%20of%20Food%20He-P%202300%20various%20eff%208-25-26.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/nh-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "nj-food-handler",
   "state": "New Jersey",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "state requires a Certified Food Protection Manager per Risk Type 3 establishment instead of an employee handler card; a few municipalities, e.g. Newark, require a local handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler is required by state law to hold a card. Under N.J.A.C. 8:24-2.1(b), at least one person in charge in a Risk Type 3 Food Establishment must be a Certified Food Protection Manager (one per establishment). Under 8:24-2.1(c), the person in charge must ensure that employees are properly trained in food safety as it relates to their assigned duties — a training obligation on the operator, not a mandated card for each handler.",
   "exemptions": "New Jersey requires no statewide employee food handler card, so no food employee needs one: NJ DOH states a Food Handler Certification is \"only appropriate for an individual who intends to handle food under the guidance and oversight of a Food Protection Manager\" - appropriate, not required. The exemptions below are from the credential NJ does require, the Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM).\n\nRisk type - N.J.A.C. 8:24-2.1 requires that \"at least one person in charge in Risk Type 3 Food Establishments shall be a certified food protection manager,\" and NJ DOH's own Chapter 24 FAQ (Q2) confirms one CFPM per establishment is required \"In Risk Type 3 Establishments Only.\" Risk type 1 and risk type 2 establishments therefore need NO CFPM. Risk type 1 (8:24-1.5) = serves or sells only pre-packaged, non-potentially-hazardous foods; or prepares only non-potentially-hazardous foods; or only heats commercially processed potentially hazardous foods for hot holding without cooling them - \"may include, but are not limited to, convenience store operations, hot dog carts, and coffee shops.\" Risk type 2 = prepares, cooks and serves most products immediately, limiting complex preparation of potentially hazardous foods to two or fewer items - \"may include, but are not limited to, retail food store operations, schools that do not serve a highly susceptible population, and quick service operations.\"\n\nPresence - Chapter 24 FAQ Q4: \"The Certified Food Protection Manager need not be present on premises at all times, however, a designated Person-in-Charge (PIC) is required to be present at all times.\"\n\nNOT A \"RETAIL FOOD ESTABLISHMENT\" at all, so Chapter 24's personnel duties do not attach - N.J.A.C. 8:24-1.5 provides that \"retail food establishment\" does not include: a produce stand that only offers whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; a food processing plant; a kitchen in a private home if only food that is not potentially hazardous is prepared for sale or service at a function such as a religious or charitable organization's bake sale, where a clearly visible placard informs the consumer that the food is prepared in a kitchen not subject to regulation and inspection by the health authority; an area where such food is sold or offered for human consumption; a kitchen in a private home, such as a family child-care home (as defined at N.J.A.C. 10:126-1.2), or an owner-occupied bed-and-breakfast guesthouse or homestay (N.J.A.C. 5:70-1.5) where breakfast is the only meal offered; and a private home that receives catered or home-delivered food.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: 8:24-2.1 obliges the person in charge to ensure employees are properly trained in food safety as it relates to their assigned duties - an exemption from the CFPM certification is not an exemption from training. And Newark's municipal Food Handler's Permit is not a general employment card: it applies to public food distribution (including food distributed to the homeless), so it does not reach ordinary restaurant employment. Because NJ retail food safety is enforced by local boards of health, other municipalities may impose their own requirements; none beyond Newark was verified this pass, and absence of a verified local rule is not proof that none exists. Sources: N.J.A.C. 8:24 (NJDOH-published Chapter 24 text); NJDOH Chapter 24 FAQ; NJDOH Food Protection Manager Certification page.",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide food-handler-card issuer — no such employee card exists in New Jersey. The statewide credential that is required, the Certified Food Protection Manager, is issued by Conference for Food Protection-accredited certifying programs (ANAB-CFP recognized, e.g., ServSafe/NRFSP). Retail food safety is regulated and enforced by local (municipal) boards of health under the NJ Department of Health, Public Health & Food Protection Program, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 8:24.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "No statewide handler-card mandate; New Jersey food safety is enforced by local (municipal) boards of health, so a few municipalities impose their own handler requirements. Verified example: City of Newark requires a Food Handler's Permit for public food distribution (including food distributed to the homeless) — employees and volunteers must complete a food-handlers course from the City of Newark Dept. of Health, NRFSP, ServSafe, or Thompson Prometric, renewed every 3 years; the in-person course at the Newark Health Department is $10 (newarknj.gov). Note this Newark rule is narrow (public/charitable distribution), not universal retail employment. The City of Englewood also publishes local food-manager/handler certification requirements, but its document could not be independently verified here.",
   "legal_basis": "N.J.A.C. 8:24-2.1 (Supervision), Chapter 24 of the New Jersey State Sanitary Code — Sanitation in Retail Food Establishments. The operative statewide requirement is a Certified Food Protection Manager for Risk Type 3 establishments (8:24-2.1(b)), not an employee handler card. No statewide food-handler-card statute or administrative rule exists.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"N.J.A.C. 8:24-2.1 (Supervision) — verbatim admin-code text: requires one Certified Food Protection Manager per Risk Type 3 establishment; no employee handler-card mandate\", \"url\": \"https://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/food-drug-safety/chapter24_effective_1207.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"NJ Dept. of Health — Food Protection Manager Certification: state requires CFPM; Food Handler Certification described as only 'appropriate' (not required) for employees under a manager's oversight\", \"url\": \"https://www.nj.gov/health/cottagefood/requirements/food-protection-manager-certification/\"}, {\"label\": \"NJ Dept. of Health — Retail Food program page (Public Health & Food Protection Program; N.J.A.C. 8:24 authority)\", \"url\": \"https://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/phfpp/retailfood/\"}, {\"label\": \"NJ DOH — Accredited Food Protection Manager reminder letter (PDF): manager-cert mandate; no employee handler-card requirement\", \"url\": \"https://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/food-drug-safety/fmc_reminder_letter.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"City of Newark — Food Handler's Course/Permit: municipal handler card for public food distribution; 3-year renewal; $10 in-person course (verified live)\", \"url\": \"https://www.newarknj.gov/213/Food-Handlers-Course\"}, {\"label\": \"NJDOH - Chapter 24 Frequently Asked Questions (official PDF): Q2 one Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment required \\\"In Risk Type 3 Establishments Only\\\"; Q4 the CFPM \\\"need not be present on premises at all times\\\"\", \"url\": \"https://nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/food-drug-safety/cha24_faqs.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/nj-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "nm-food-handler",
   "state": "New Mexico",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "All \"food employees\" — any individual working with unpackaged food, food equipment/utensils, or food-contact surfaces in an NMED-permitted food establishment. Anyone who does not already hold a valid card at hire must obtain one within 30 calendar days from the beginning of employment (7.6.2.8 NMAC D(1)(a)-(b)). Card must be carried on the person or a copy kept on file by the employer (D(1)(c)). Exemptions (D(1)(g)) include those covered by the establishment's Certified Food Protection Manager / person-in-charge, employees who do not function as food employees, and certain temporary-establishment volunteers.",
   "exemptions": "New Mexico does mandate a food handler card, and the rule states its own exemptions. 7.6.2.8 NMAC Subsection D(1)(g) - \"This paragraph does not apply to\": (i) food employees who comply with Paragraph (1) of Subsection B of 7.6.2.8 NMAC - i.e. a food employee who is a certified food protection manager (2-102.12). Note the scope: this exempts the individual who personally holds the manager certification; it does not exempt an establishment's other employees merely because the establishment has a CFPM on staff. (ii) food employees who comply with Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (1) of Subsection D - the 30-day new-hire window: an individual who does not hold a card before employment has 30 calendar days from the beginning of employment to obtain one. (iii) food employees who do not prepare or handle Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) food, provided the permit holder assures the employee complies with the D(1)(e) training duty. (iv) employees or volunteers who occasionally function as a food employee, on the same D(1)(e) training condition. (v) food employees or volunteers working as food employees of temporary food establishments, provided the person in charge during hours of operation is a certified food protection manager or holds a valid food handler card - either obtained before the temporary food establishment permit issues - and the permit holder assures D(1)(e) training. (vi) food employees or volunteers working as food employees for charitable organizations serving the needy, provided the person in charge during hours of operation is a certified food protection manager. (vii) employees who do not function as food employees.\n\nEmployer's approved program in lieu of the card - 7.6.2.8 NMAC D(1)(d): \"The regulatory authority may approve an entity's training program to be used in lieu of requiring a food handler card of its food employees. A food employee must complete the entity's approved training program at least every three years. This exemption is only valid during the food employees' time of employment with the entity that administered the training\" - so it does not travel with the worker to a new employer.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: an exemption from the card is not an exemption from training. Under 7.6.2.8 NMAC D(1)(e), any food employee who does not hold a valid food handler card must be given training in pertinent safe food handling practices before beginning food-handling duties, with a record (instructor, date, employee names) kept for the duration of employment and produced to the regulatory authority on request. Separately, the manager requirement \"does not apply to certain types of food establishments deemed by the regulatory authority to pose minimal risk of causing, or contributing to, foodborne illness based on the nature of the operation and extent of food preparation\" (7.6.2.8 NMAC B(1)(c)).\n\nBernalillo County / City of Albuquerque (outside NMED jurisdiction, own ordinance; cabq.gov, as of 2026-07-11): a food employee who holds a valid Certified Food Protection Manager certification does not need a food handler card. ABQ's own listed exemptions: (1) food employees who only handle non-TCS foods, provided the permit holder provides and records training; (2) food employees or volunteers working as food employees at temporary events, provided the permit holder provides and records training - but the person-in-charge of the temporary event during all hours of operation must have a food handler card or be a CFPM; (3) an entity's training program approved by the Environmental Health Department in lieu of the card (completed at least every three years; valid only during employment with the entity that administered it). ABQ likewise stresses that exempt employees \"must still receive training from their place of employment.\" Sources: 7.6.2 NMAC (NM Environment Department); City of Albuquerque Environmental Health, Food Service and Retail Ordinance.",
   "issuing_authority": "New Mexico Environment Department (Food Program / Environmental Health Bureau) is the \"regulatory authority\" (7.6.2.7 NMAC def. 9); the rule is issued by the NM Environmental Improvement Board (7.6.2.1 NMAC). The card itself is issued by any ANSI/ASTM E2659-09-accredited food handler training program upon a passing exam — not by the state or a county.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Card must come from an ANSI/ASTM E2659-09 accredited food handler training program, and the food employee must pass its test (7.6.2.8 NMAC D(1)(a); \"food handler training program\" defined at 7.6.2.7 NMAC). Alternatively, the regulatory authority may approve an employer's in-house training program in lieu of a card, completed at least every three years (7.6.2.8 NMAC D(1)(d)).",
   "cost_range": "No state-set fee; food handler training/card is provider-priced. 7.6.2 NMAC sets no card fee — it requires only that the course be an \"ANSI/ASTM E2659-09 accredited food handler training certificate program\" (7.6.2.7 NMAC definition), so pricing is set by the accredited provider.",
   "validity_years": "3",
   "county_exceptions": "Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque are outside the NMED Food Program's jurisdiction and administer their own food-safety program. Albuquerque's Food Service and Retail Ordinance (City Council-passed May 6, 2024; effective Aug 1, 2024, with implementing Rules passed Aug 18, 2024 (effective Aug 29, 2024)) independently requires food employees to hold a food handler card unless they hold a valid Certified Food Protection Manager certification; the training program must be accredited or otherwise approved by ABQ Environmental Health.",
   "legal_basis": "7.6.2.8 NMAC, Subsection D(1) (food-code modification 2-104.11, \"Food handler cards\") — validity at D(1)(f), 30-day rule at D(1)(b), effective-date trigger at D(1)(h); term \"food handler training program\" defined at 7.6.2.7 NMAC. Adopted by the NM Environmental Improvement Board under Section 74-1-8 NMSA 1978; NM Environment Department authority under the Food Service Sanitation Act, Chapter 25, Article 1 NMSA 1978 (Sec. 25-1-7). The in-force rule is effective December 1, 2018 (7.6.2.5 NMAC), so the card requirement has applied since March 1, 2019 — three months after the rule's effective date, per D(1)(h). An amendment to Sections 8, 11 and 15 of 7.6.2 NMAC takes effect October 1, 2026 (NM Register, Vol. XXXVII, Issue 12, June 23, 2026); it leaves the D(1) food handler card requirements substantively unchanged.",
   "last_verified": "2026-08-03",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Official compiled 7.6.2 NMAC (NM State Records Center & Archives; in force, eff. Dec 1, 2018) — food handler card requirement at 7.6.2.8 NMAC Subsection D(1)/2-104.11 (who/30-day/3-year validity/effective-date trigger) and 'food handler training program' = ANSI/ASTM E2659-09 accredited at 7.6.2.7 NMAC; statutory authority 74-1-8 NMSA / Food Service Sanitation Act at 7.6.2.3 NMAC\", \"url\": \"https://srca.nm.gov/parts/title07/07.006.0002.html\"}, {\"label\": \"NM Register, Vol. XXXVII, Issue 12 (June 23, 2026) — adopted amendment to 7.6.2 NMAC Sections 8, 11 and 15, effective Oct 1, 2026 (docket EIB 25-32(R)); the D(1) food handler card requirements are substantively unchanged\", \"url\": \"https://www.srca.nm.gov/nmac-home/new-mexico-register/volume-xxxvii-issue-12/\"}, {\"label\": \"City of Albuquerque Environmental Health — Food Service and Retail Ordinance (Bernalillo/ABQ carve-out: separate city food handler card requirement, effective Aug 1 2024 / Rules Aug 18 2024)\", \"url\": \"https://www.cabq.gov/environmentalhealth/food-safety/food-safety-ordinance\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/nm-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "nv-food-handler",
   "state": "Nevada",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "Clark County/Las Vegas requires an individual employee food handler card; there is no statewide handler-card law — the state food code requires only a Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment, not an employee card",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide handler-card requirement. In Clark County (SNHD § 2-601), a person must hold a valid SNHD food handler safety training card prior to employment in a food establishment. Exemptions (§ 2-602): employees who only handle packaged/non-TCS food, temporary trainers/guest chefs working ≤7 days in a 6-month period, Registered Environmental Health Specialists, and certain supervised volunteers/inmates and disabled workers under a Certified Food Protection Manager. (Note: the widely-repeated \"within 30 days of hire\" timing is not in the current SNHD regulation, which requires the card before employment.)",
   "exemptions": "Nevada has no statewide food handler card, so outside the jurisdictions that impose one, no food employee needs one: the state food code (NAC Chapter 446) creates no handler card - it requires only that the person in charge demonstrate food-safety knowledge, e.g. by being a certified food protection manager (NAC 446.051-446.052). Washoe County (Northern Nevada Public Health), Carson City and the rural counties under NV DPBH run on that state code, so a handler card is not required there.\n\nIn Clark County (Las Vegas), where the card is required, the SNHD Regulations Governing the Sanitation of Food Establishments (2023) 2-602 - \"Persons Exempt from Food Handler Safety Training Card Requirements\" - exempt: (A) a person employed in a food establishment who only handles food that is packaged and not TCS food, and only handles TCS foods incidentally, outside the normal and usual course of the person's assigned duties; (B) temporary trainers, guest chefs, and other personnel working at a food establishment for not more than seven calendar days within a 6-month period; (C) persons who are Registered Environmental Health Specialists; (D) volunteers working in a school kitchen under the supervision of a Certified Food Protection Manager; (E) volunteers working for a 501(c)(3) under the supervision of a Certified Food Protection Manager; (F) inmates who work under the management of a Certified Food Protection Manager; and (G) individuals unable to obtain a Food Handler Safety Training Card because of a disability who work under the supervision of a Certified Food Protection Manager.\n\nAlternative credential in lieu of the card - SNHD 2-601(B): \"The food handler may, as an alternative to the food handler safety training card, obtain a Certified Food Protection Manager card issued by SNHD,\" if the applicant completed the training and passed a proctored exam that is part of an accredited program in conformance with 2-102.3.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: there is no new-hire grace period in Clark County. SNHD 2-601(A) requires a valid SNHD food handler safety training card \"prior to employment in a food establishment\" - the widely repeated \"within 30 days of hire\" allowance is not in the current regulation, so a new employee is not exempt during a first month on the job. Volunteers are exempt only in the specific settings listed (school kitchens; 501(c)(3)s) and only under the supervision of a Certified Food Protection Manager - volunteering as such is not a general exemption. Sources: SNHD Regulations Governing the Sanitation of Food Establishments (version 04/28/2023), 2-601 and 2-602; NAC Chapter 446.",
   "issuing_authority": "County/district health authorities — no state-issued card. Clark County (Las Vegas metro, ~73% of NV population): Southern Nevada Health District (SNHD). Other jurisdictions follow the state food code (Northern Nevada Public Health for Washoe/Reno; Carson City Health & Human Services; Nevada DPBH Food Safety Program for the rural counties) — confirm with the local authority.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Set by the local health authority, not the state. In Clark County the card is issued by SNHD itself: first-time applicants must pass SNHD's proctored 20-question food-safety test in person (a valid SNHD-issued Certified Food Protection Manager card is accepted in lieu, per § 2-601(B)); online renewal is allowed at every other cycle. A course-completion certificate from a private/online provider does not substitute for the SNHD card in Clark County (SNHD FAQ: applicants must still pass SNHD's own test).",
   "cost_range": "No statewide fee (each county health authority sets its own). Clark County (SNHD), effective Jan 1 2026: $25 first-time card (SNHD test included in the card fee), $25 renewal ($40 if the card expired within the last 2 years), $20 duplicate/replacement, $5 retest. (The \"no more than $15\" figure repeated by third-party course sites is outdated and not in the current SNHD schedule.)",
   "validity_years": "3 (Clark County / SNHD card)",
   "county_exceptions": "Jurisdiction-dependent: Clark County (SNHD) is the jurisdiction that mandates an individual employee handler card. Washoe County (Northern Nevada Public Health) and the rural counties under NV DPBH follow the statewide food code, which requires a Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment (NAC 446.051–446.052) rather than an individual handler card — no confirmed individual handler-card mandate in those jurisdictions. Always verify with the local health authority.",
   "legal_basis": "No statewide food-handler-card statute. State code (NAC Chapter 446) creates no handler card; it requires only the person in charge to demonstrate food-safety knowledge, e.g., by being a Certified Food Protection Manager (NAC 446.051 \"Person in charge: Generally\"; NAC 446.052 \"Person in charge: Demonstration of knowledge\"). NRS Chapter 446 (Food Establishments) was largely recodified/repealed by Chapter 512, Statutes of Nevada 2025. The Clark County card is required by the SNHD Regulations Governing the Sanitation of Food Establishments (2023) §§ 2-601–2-602, adopted by the Southern Nevada District Board of Health under NRS Ch. 439 authority.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"SNHD Regulations Governing the Sanitation of Food Establishments (2023), §§ 2-601–2-602 — operative rule: valid SNHD food handler safety training card required prior to employment + exemptions (Clark County)\", \"url\": \"https://media.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/download/ferl/2023/SNHD-2023-Food-Regulations.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Southern Nevada Health District — Food Handler Safety Training Card Program (Clark County): 3-year card, $25 first-time fee eff. Jan 1 2026 (test included), 20-question proctored test, online-renewal rule\", \"url\": \"https://www.southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/programs/food-handler-safety-program/\"}, {\"label\": \"NAC Chapter 446 (Nevada state food code) — NAC 446.051–446.052 person-in-charge / Certified Food Protection Manager; contains no statewide food handler card\", \"url\": \"https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nac/nac-446.html\"}, {\"label\": \"NRS Chapter 446 (Food Establishments) — chapter largely recodified/repealed by Chapter 512, Statutes of Nevada 2025; no statewide handler-card statute\", \"url\": \"https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-446.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Northern Nevada Public Health (Washoe County) — Food Protection Services: requires a Certified Food Protection Manager, not an individual employee handler card\", \"url\": \"https://www.nnph.org/programs-and-services/environmental-health/food-protection-services/index.php\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/nv-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ny-food-handler",
   "state": "New York",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "no statewide employee mandate; required where a county health department imposes it (e.g., Monroe County)",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide requirement for rank-and-file food workers. Where a county imposes one: in Monroe County a \"Certified Food Worker\" must be present at all operating times at every food service establishment (including temporary food stands) — a Level 2 Food Handler (3-yr) satisfies low-risk facilities / a single pushcart, and a Level 1 Food Manager (5-yr) is required for high- and medium-risk facilities and operators of 2+ pushcarts. Separately (and not an employee handler card): NYC requires at least one supervisor to hold a Food Protection Certificate on duty during all operating hours.",
   "exemptions": "New York State mandates no food handler card, so no New York food worker needs one under state law. The state rule the counties build on - 10 NYCRR 14-1.73 (Personnel training) - is purely permissive and reaches only management. In full: \"The permit-issuing official may establish and conduct or designate training programs and require that owners and/or operators of food service establishments attend them.\" It imposes no duty on rank-and-file employees, and no duty at all unless the local permit-issuing official chooses to act.\n\nMonroe County (the county verified to require certification): the duty is to have one Certified Food Worker present at all operating times - it is not a per-employee card, so uncertified employees may work alongside the certified food worker. Monroe County DPH's Food Worker Certification sheet (updated 5/2026) states expressly: \"Low risk temporary food stands do not need a certified food worker on site.\" And a Level 1 Food Manager certification \"can also satisfy the requirement of a Level 2 Food Handler,\" so a Level 1 holder need not obtain the Level 2 handler certification.\n\nNew York City: the Food Protection Certificate is a supervisor credential - NYC requires a food establishment to have at least one supervisor holding it on duty during all hours of operation. Ordinary NYC food workers are not required to hold it.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: in Monroe County, \"operators of two or more carts are required to have a certified food worker per cart, with at least one person having a Level 1 Food Manager certification,\" and \"the person on record cannot be designated for multiple establishments\" - so one certified worker cannot cover a second location. Monroe's requirement also reaches temporary food stands that are not low-risk, and \"operating times\" is defined as \"any time when food preparation is being performed and is not limited to the establishment's operating hours.\" Because these requirements are set locally under 14-1.73, other counties may impose their own; none beyond Monroe (certification) and NYC (supervisor certificate) was verified against an official source this pass - absence of a verified county rule is not proof that none exists. Sources: 10 NYCRR 14-1.73; Monroe County DPH Food Worker Certification (updated 5/2026); NYC Business, Food Protection Certificate.",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide issuer for an employee food handler card. Where required, the county/local health department sets the requirement — e.g., the Monroe County Department of Public Health, acting under NYS Sanitary Code §14-1.73. The credential itself is earned through nationally accredited (exam-based) training providers, not issued by a single state board. (NYC's separate supervisor Food Protection Certificate is issued by the NYC Health Department / Health Academy.)",
   "approved_provider_rule": "No statewide approved-provider list (no statewide card). Monroe County requires \"Nationally Accredited Training Providers\" (exam-based) and publishes a non-exhaustive list of sources — e.g., ServSafe, AAA Food Handler, State Food Safety, Foodlink, National Registry of Food Safety Professionals — without endorsing any single one; a subset (marked with an asterisk on the county sheet) offer in-person training. Provider acceptance is a county/local determination, not a state approval scheme.",
   "cost_range": "No state-set fee; provider-priced. Monroe County requires nationally accredited training providers and states costs \"vary depending on courses taken, the purchase of educational material, and exam fees\" (Monroe County DPH Food Worker Certification PDF). No statewide price exists because there is no statewide card.",
   "validity_years": "No statewide value (no statewide card). In Monroe County: Level 2 Food Handler certification is valid 3 years; Level 1 Food Manager certification is valid 5 years (per Monroe County DPH Food Worker Certification sheet, updated 5/2026).",
   "county_exceptions": "Monroe County (requires a food-worker card): Per NYS Sanitary Code §14-1.73, Monroe County DPH requires a Certified Food Worker present at all operating times at every food service establishment, including temporary food stands (\"operating times\" = any time food preparation is performed, not limited to business hours). Two tiers: Level 2 Food Handler (3-yr) for low-risk facilities and single-pushcart operators; Level 1 Food Manager (5-yr) for high-/medium-risk facilities and operators of 2+ pushcarts (a Level 1 also satisfies Level 2). Low-risk temporary food stands need no certified worker on site. Source: Monroe County DPH Food Worker Certification PDF (updated 5/2026). — NYC (NOT an employee handler card): NYC requires that a food establishment have at least one supervisor holding a Food Protection Certificate on duty during all hours of operation (\"The Health Code says food places must have a supervisor with a Food Protection Certificate\"). This is a supervisor / person-in-charge certificate, not a per-employee food handler card, so it is noted here for completeness but does not create an employee handler-card mandate. NYC exam cost: free online course + $24 in-person exam, or $114 in-person course; source: nyc-business.nyc.gov. — Other counties: because these requirements are set locally under the state code, other NY counties may impose their own; none beyond Monroe (mandate) and NYC (supervisor cert) were verified against an official source.",
   "legal_basis": "NYS Sanitary Code (10 NYCRR) §14-1.73 (Personnel Training), within Subpart 14-1 (Food Service Establishments) — the provision Monroe County DPH cites verbatim as the basis for its food worker certification requirement (\"As per Section 14-1.73 of the NYS Sanitary Code, the Monroe County Department of Public Health has established the following requirements\"). NYC's separate supervisor requirement rests on the NYC Health Code (the specific section number was not confirmed verbatim and is therefore not asserted). No New York State statute or regulation creates a statewide employee food handler card. The operative state text of 10 NYCRR 14-1.73 is permissive only (\"The permit-issuing official may establish and conduct or designate training programs and require that owners and/or operators of food service establishments attend them\"), which is why any New York certification duty is county-created.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Monroe County DPH — Food Worker Certification (official PDF, updated 5/2026; cites §14-1.73, Level 1/Level 2 tiers, 5-yr/3-yr validity, provider list)\", \"url\": \"https://www.monroecounty.gov/files/health/eh/food/Food%20Worker%20Certification.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Monroe County DPH — Food Protection (Inspections & Permits) landing page linking the certification PDF\", \"url\": \"https://www.monroecounty.gov/eh-food\"}, {\"label\": \"NYC Business — Food Protection Certificate (verbatim: 'food places must have a supervisor with a Food Protection Certificate'; supervisor on duty all operating hours; $24/$114)\", \"url\": \"https://nyc-business.nyc.gov/nycbusiness/description/food-protection-certificate\"}, {\"label\": \"NYC Health — Food Protection Course (course/exam detail for the supervisor certificate)\", \"url\": \"https://www.nyc.gov/site/doh/business/health-academy/food-protection-online-free.page\"}, {\"label\": \"NYS Dept. of Health — Sanitary Code Subpart 14-1, Food Service Establishments (10 NYCRR; contains §14-1.73 Personnel Training)\", \"url\": \"https://regs.health.ny.gov/volume-title-10/1997429580/subpart-14-1-food-service-establishments\"}, {\"label\": \"10 NYCRR 14-1.73 (Personnel training), NYS Dept. of Health regs portal - full text: the permit-issuing official \\\"may\\\" establish training programs and require \\\"owners and/or operators\\\" to attend; no statewide employee card\", \"url\": \"https://regs.health.ny.gov/content/section-14-173-personnel-training\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ny-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "oh-food-handler",
   "state": "Ohio",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "Ohio mandates only a per-shift Person-in-Charge / \"Level One\" certification and, for higher-risk establishments, a Manager / \"Level Two\" certification — Not an individual employee food handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler/employee is required to obtain a card in Ohio. Instead, per OAC 3701-21-25, the licensor mandates Person-in-Charge (Level One) certification for at least one person in charge per shift in risk level I, II, III and IV food service operations and retail food establishments initially licensed after March 1, 2010 (also triggered by a prior foodborne-illness outbreak or documented sanitation failure). Separately, per OAC 3717-1-02.4(A)(3), each risk level III and IV establishment must have at least one employee holding Manager (Level Two) certification; risk level I and II are exempt from the manager requirement.",
   "exemptions": "Ohio issues no employee food handler card, so no food employee needs one. The exemptions that matter are from the two certifications Ohio does impose.\n\nManager (\"Level Two\") CERTIFICATION - OAC 3717-1-02.4(A)(4) (eff. Sept 5, 2024): \"Temporary, mobile, vending locations, and risk level I and risk level II food service operations and retail food establishments are exempt from paragraph (A)(3) of this rule\" - (A)(3) being the duty of each risk level III and IV operation to have a manager-certified employee. Temporary, mobile and vending are listed as their own categories, separate from the risk levels: a temporary, mobile (e.g. a food truck) or vending operation is exempt from manager certification regardless of its risk level, including risk level III and IV.\n\nPerson-in-charge (\"Level One\") CERTIFICATION - OAC 3701-21-25(K) (eff. Sept 1, 2024): (K)(1) mandates PIC certification only for operations \"initially licensed after March 1, 2010,\" so an operation initially licensed on or before that date is not required to have a PIC-certified person unless (K)(2) applies (implicated in a foodborne disease outbreak, or the licensor has documented a failure to maintain sanitary conditions). Manager certification displaces PIC certification - (K)(3): \"A person in charge of a food service operation or a retail food establishment not subject to paragraph (K)(2) of this rule that provides documentation to the licensor that the person in charge has obtained manager certification in food protection issued by the director of health is not obligated to obtain person in charge certification.\"\n\nPerson-in-charge presence - OAC 3717-1-02.4(A)(2): the duty to ensure a person in charge is present during all hours of operation does not apply to micro markets (rule 3717-1-01(B)(72)) or to vending machine locations (ORC 3717.01(L)).\n\nNot licensed at all, so no certification duty attaches - ORC 3717.42(B) exempts from food service operation licensure, among others: a church, school, fraternal or veterans' organization, volunteer fire organization or volunteer emergency medical service organization preparing or serving food on its premises for not more than seven consecutive days or not more than fifty-two separate days in a licensing period (extending to individuals/groups raising all their funds for those organizations on the same terms); a common carrier regulated by the federal government; a food service operation serving thirteen or fewer individuals daily; type A or type B family child care homes; and vending machine locations dispensing only non-potentially-hazardous prepackaged food, or nuts, panned/wrapped bulk gum or candy. ORC 3717.22(B) likewise exempts from retail food establishment licensure, among others: an establishment whose commercially prepackaged non-potentially-hazardous food displays total less than 200 cubic feet; farmers-market sellers of unprocessed produce, cottage-food products, honey/syrup or small prepackaged displays; roadside stands selling only unprocessed fresh fruits and vegetables; a 501(c)(3) nonprofit raising funds by selling food that would be risk level one, indoors, for not more than seven consecutive or fifty-two separate days in a licensing period; and cottage food production operations selling direct from the production site.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: (1) exemption from manager certification is not exemption from person-in-charge certification - the duties are separate, and (A)(4)'s temporary/mobile/vending carve-out runs only to the manager rule in (A)(3). (2) High-risk mobile operations initially licensed on or after Sept 1, 2024 must have PIC certification for at least one person in charge per license holder at each individual event (OAC 3701-21-25(K)(4)) - so a food truck exempt from the manager rule can still owe PIC certification. Sources: OAC 3717-1-02.4; OAC 3701-21-25; ORC 3717.22; ORC 3717.42.",
   "issuing_authority": "N/A — Ohio issues no employee food handler card. The state's food-protection certification program (person-in-charge and manager certifications) is administered under the Ohio Department of Health: the director of health approves the course providers (OAC 3701-21-25(B)/(C)), the certifications are issued by those ODH-approved providers, and the local licensor (city/general health district) mandates person-in-charge certification.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Ohio Administrative Code 3701-21-25 (Certification in food protection) and 3717-1-02.4 (Person in charge); enabling statute Ohio Revised Code Chapter 3717 (Uniform Food Safety Code) Licensure exemptions (no license = no PIC/manager certification duty) at ORC 3717.42(B) (food service operations) and ORC 3717.22(B) (retail food establishments); manager-certification exemption at OAC 3717-1-02.4(A)(4); PIC-certification displacement by manager certification at OAC 3701-21-25(K)(3).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"OAC 3701-21-25 — Certification in food protection: mandates person-in-charge certification for at least one PIC per shift (risk level I-IV, licensed after Mar 1 2010) and manager certification; sets no per-employee handler card and no fixed fee/validity (fees referenced to ORC 3717.25)\", \"url\": \"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-3701-21-25\"}, {\"label\": \"OAC 3717-1-02.4 — Person in charge: demonstration of knowledge; risk level III/IV must have a manager-certified employee, risk level I/II exempt; no individual handler-card mandate\", \"url\": \"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-administrative-code/rule-3717-1-02.4\"}, {\"label\": \"ORC Chapter 3717 — Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code (enabling statute; fee authority at 3717.25)\", \"url\": \"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-3717\"}, {\"label\": \"ORC 3717.42 - Entities that are not food service operations / exempt from food service operation licensure (churches, schools, fraternal, veterans', volunteer fire & EMS orgs on the 7-consecutive/52-separate-day terms; federally regulated common carriers; operations serving 13 or fewer individuals daily; family child care homes; certain vending machine locations)\", \"url\": \"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3717.42\"}, {\"label\": \"ORC 3717.22 - Exemptions from retail food establishment licensure (small prepackaged non-hazardous displays, farmers markets, roadside stands, 501(c)(3) fundraising food sales, cottage food production operations)\", \"url\": \"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3717.22\"}, {\"label\": \"ORC 3717.01 - Definitions (\\\"vending machine location\\\" at division (L), referenced by OAC 3717-1-02.4(A)(2)(b))\", \"url\": \"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3717.01\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/oh-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ok-food-handler",
   "state": "Oklahoma",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide requirement for individual handlers. Statewide, OAC 310:257-3-2 requires only that the certified food manager or person in charge demonstrate food-safety knowledge to inspectors — not that employees hold a card. Where locally mandated: Tulsa County — food employees who serve, prepare, or handle food or utensils (prepackaged-only staff and hostesses who only seat guests are exempt); Norman & Moore (Cleveland County) — anyone who handles food.",
   "exemptions": "Oklahoma imposes no statewide food handler card duty, so statewide there is nothing to be exempt FROM: the state Food Code requires only that the certified food manager / person in charge demonstrate food-safety knowledge to the inspector (OAC 310:257-3-2, adopting FDA Food Code 2-102.11). The phrase \"food handler\" does not appear in the state code and no Oklahoma statute or rule requires an employee card. Exemptions therefore exist only inside the LOCAL ordinances that create the duty.\n\nTULSA COUNTY (Tulsa Health Department) — two exemptions, stated by THD: \"Food establishments serving only pre-packaged foods and hostesses that only seat guests and provide menus aren't required to have food safety training.\" Note the prepackaged carve-out is written at the ESTABLISHMENT level (a food establishment serving only pre-packaged food), not as a per-employee exemption inside a general-menu restaurant.\n\nNOT EXEMPT IN TULSA — VOLUNTEERS. THD states plainly: \"Volunteers need food safety training too, if they are serving food.\" Unpaid food handlers must hold a volunteer permit; THD issues it at no cost, but it is a permit, not a pass. Assuming unpaid work is exempt is the common error here.\n\nNORMAN AND MOORE (Cleveland County) — NO exemptions; both ordinances are drafted specifically to reach unpaid workers. Norman Municipal Code Sec. 13-807: \"No person shall work, or permit any other person to work in a bakery, cafe, meat market, restaurant, or other place where food is handled or served, WHETHER FOR COMPENSATION OR NOT, unless that person possesses a current and unrevoked permit from the health officer.\" Moore Code Sec. 8-604(A) makes it unlawful to hire \"or permit to work gratis\" any person without a current permit. Volunteers and unpaid staff in Norman and Moore need the card.\n\nOKLAHOMA CITY / OKC-COUNTY (OCCHD) — there is no employee handler card to be exempt from: OCCHD mandates only a nationally certified food protection MANAGER on site per establishment.\n\nTIERS SEARCHED (an explicit negative, not an empty field): Oklahoma Statutes; the state Food Code (OAC Title 310, Chapter 257) read in full — no handler-card provision and therefore no handler-card exemption provision exists to record; the OSDH county health department pages; the Tulsa Health Department food handler programme; the Cleveland County Health Department programme, including the verbatim Norman Sec. 13-807 and Moore Sec. 8-604 ordinance text that OSDH publishes; and the OKC-County Health Department food service page.",
   "issuing_authority": "Local county/city health departments — no statewide issuer. Verified card-issuing jurisdictions: Tulsa Health Department (Tulsa County) and Cleveland County Health Department (cities of Norman & Moore). Oklahoma City / OKC-County (OCCHD) instead mandates a certified food protection MANAGER per establishment — a manager certification, not an employee handler card.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Set locally by the issuing county health department — no statewide approved-provider standard. Tulsa County: complete the Tulsa Health Department Food Handler class/test or other THD-approved training. Cleveland County (Norman/Moore): pass the county-approved online food handler class/test administered by Cleveland County Health Department.",
   "cost_range": "No statewide fee (the state sets none). County-set: $10 in Cleveland County (Norman/Moore; reprints free); $20 in Tulsa County.",
   "validity_years": "3 (both verified card jurisdictions issue a 3-year card: Tulsa County and Cleveland County/Norman & Moore; no statewide card exists)",
   "county_exceptions": "Handler card required only in localities that adopt it. Officially verified here: Tulsa County (Tulsa Health Department) and Cleveland County (cities of Norman & Moore, via Cleveland County Health Department). Non-official aggregators also list Lawton, Altus, Muskogee County, and Cherokee County as requiring cards — not independently verified against those localities' own ordinances. Oklahoma City / OKC-County (OCCHD) requires a certified food protection MANAGER per establishment (manager cert), NOT an employee handler card.",
   "legal_basis": "Oklahoma Administrative Code Title 310, Chapter 257 (Food Establishments), Sec. 310:257-3-2 \"Demonstration\" (adopts FDA Food Code 2-102.11) — requires only the certified food manager/person in charge to demonstrate knowledge; the phrase \"food handler\" does not appear anywhere in the state code and no statewide employee handler card is required. Local handler-card mandates rest on municipal ordinance: Norman Municipal Code Sec. 13-807 (\"Food handling: Work permits required\") and Moore City Code Sec. 8-604 (\"Food handler's permits\") — both now VERIFIED verbatim (Jul 11 2026) from the text published by the Cleveland County Health Department (OSDH), and both expressly reach unpaid/volunteer workers (\"whether for compensation or not\"; \"permit to work gratis\"). Tulsa's permit rests on local city ordinances administered by the Tulsa Health Department.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"OAC 310:257 Food Code (OSDH official copy) — §310:257-3-2 Demonstration; only certified food manager/person in charge must show knowledge, no statewide handler card ('food handler' appears 0 times)\", \"url\": \"https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/omma/docs/201714_oac_310-257_food_code_final_unofficial_version.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Tulsa Health Department — Food Handler Permit required for food employees; valid 3 years; $20; separate from the 5-year certified food manager cert\", \"url\": \"https://tulsa-health.org/permits-inspections/food/food-safety-classes-study-guides-and-permits/\"}, {\"label\": \"Cleveland County Health Department (OSDH) — food handler card required for cities of Norman & Moore; card good for 3 years; cost $10; reprints free\", \"url\": \"https://oklahoma.gov/health/locations/county-health-departments/cleveland-county-health-department/services.html\"}, {\"label\": \"OKC-County Health Department (OCCHD) — establishments must have an on-site Nationally Certified food protection MANAGER (manager cert per establishment, NOT an employee handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://occhd.org/fso/\"}, {\"label\": \"OSDH OAC 310:257 rules copy (health docs) — corroborates §310:257-3-1 Assignment / §310:257-3-2 person-in-charge demonstration of knowledge\", \"url\": \"https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/health/health2/documents/ltc-food-service-estab-rules.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ok-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "or-food-handler",
   "state": "Oregon",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "county-issued",
   "who_must_get": "Any person involved in the preparation or service of food in a restaurant or food service facility — including cooks, wait staff, dishwashers, delivery drivers, and bus persons — must successfully complete an approved food handler training program and earn a certificate within 30 days of the date of hire. Temporary restaurants are excepted (ORS 624.570).\n\nTwo groups do not need a food handler card. Under OAR 333-175-0091(2), a person who holds a current certification from an Authority-approved food manager training program, or who is registered as an Environmental Health Specialist or an Environmental Health Specialist Trainee under ORS chapter 700, need not obtain a food handler certificate. The exemption is conditional: OAR 333-175-0091(3) requires that a food manager certification be renewed every five years to be accepted in lieu of a food handler certificate, and OAR 333-175-0111(2) requires the licensee to make that manager certification available to the inspecting authority. CODIFIED FUTURE MANDATE (not yet in force): food manager certification is not required by Oregon law today -- OHA's food manager page says so plainly -- but the 2025-26 revision of the food sanitation rules (rule text effective Jan. 1, 2026, moving Oregon toward the 2022 FDA Food Code) adds a phased Certified Food Protection Manager requirement: at least one CFPM per food establishment by January 1, 2029, and by January 1, 2031 at least one person in charge working each day must be a CFPM, present during the hours of operation that represent the highest food safety risk. OHA: \"Food Manager Certification will be required in Oregon starting in 2029.\"",
   "exemptions": "Two routes out of the card, plus classes of work the statute never reaches.\n\n1) APPROVED FOOD-MANAGER CERTIFICATE HOLDERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SPECIALISTS. OAR 333-175-0091(2): \"Any person who has a current certification from an Authority-approved food manager training program or is registered as an Environmental Health Specialist or Environmental Health Specialist Trainee as required in ORS Chapter 700 need not obtain a food handler certificate of program completion.\" The substitution is CONDITIONAL: OAR 333-175-0091(3) requires the food manager certification to be renewed every five years to be accepted in lieu of a handler card, and OAR 333-175-0111(2) requires the licensee to make that manager certification available to the inspecting authority.\n\n2) TEMPORARY RESTAURANTS. ORS 624.570(6): persons involved in the preparation or service of food in an intermittent temporary restaurant, seasonal temporary restaurant or single-event temporary restaurant \"are not required to complete a food handler training program\" — but the exemption is not total for the operation: the temporary restaurant \"shall have at least one person who has completed the food handler training program on the premises at all times.\" (Our earlier note that \"temporary restaurants are excepted\" was only half the rule.)\n\n3) OPERATIONS OUTSIDE THE LICENSING SCHEME. The duty in ORS 624.570(1)(a) attaches only to persons working in \"a restaurant or food service facility licensed under ORS 624.020 or 624.320.\" ORS 624.610 places two categories outside ORS 624.010 to 624.121 and 624.310 to 624.430 entirely: (1) food service provided to sleeping room patrons of facilities described in ORS 446.435; and (2) food service provided solely and incidentally to participants in the course of backpacking, hiking, horseback packing, canoeing, rafting or other such expedition as described in ORS 446.435, unless the expedition is part of an organizational camp program.\n\nNOT EXEMPT — holders of another state's food handler card, and cards from any provider not on OHA's approved-provider list: Oregon does not recognise them and there is no interstate reciprocity. (Reciprocity runs only INSIDE Oregon: an Oregon food handler certificate \"is valid statewide\" — OAR 333-175-0091(1).) A related protection: a provider \"shall not require a fee of any food handler listed in OAR 333-175-0091\" (OAR 333-175-0101(2)) — an exempt person must not be charged for a card they do not need.",
   "issuing_authority": "Oregon Health Authority, a local (county) public health authority, or an OHA-designated agent (ORS 624.570; OAR ch. 333, div. 175). Cards are administered/issued at the county level under the statewide rule; a card issued in any county is valid throughout Oregon.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Certificate may be issued ONLY by the Oregon Health Authority, a local public health authority, or an OHA-approved \"designated agent\" (ORS 624.570). Food handler cards issued in other states are NOT valid in Oregon, and any provider not on OHA's Approved Provider list is not accepted — generic out-of-state/ANAB third-party cards do not satisfy the Oregon requirement. To receive a certificate of program completion, a food handler must pass the written assessment with a minimum score of 75% (OAR 333-175-0081(1)).",
   "cost_range": "Statutory program fee capped at $10 (ORS 624.570); OHA states the card cost is $10.00. Duplicate certificate: additional fee up to $5. A provider may not charge any fee to a food handler who is exempt under OAR 333-175-0091 (OAR 333-175-0101(2)). The $10 is not a lifetime cap: under OAR 333-175-0101(4) a provider may assess a new program fee each time a participant takes or retakes all or part of the program or assessment.",
   "validity_years": "3",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "ORS 624.570 (Food handler training requirement; exception; certification; fees; rules) — the duty attaches only to persons in a restaurant or food service facility licensed under ORS 624.020 or 624.320, and ORS 624.570(6) excepts workers at intermittent/seasonal/single-event temporary restaurants (which must still keep one trained person on premises at all times); ORS 624.610 (chapter inapplicable to sleeping-room food service under ORS 446.435 and to food service incidental to backpacking/hiking/horseback/canoeing/rafting expeditions, unless part of an organizational camp program); OAR chapter 333, division 175 (Food Handler Training), including OAR 333-175-0081(1) (75% minimum assessment score), OAR 333-175-0091(1) (Oregon card valid statewide), OAR 333-175-0091(2)-(3) (food manager / Environmental Health Specialist exemption; manager certification renewed every five years), OAR 333-175-0101(2) and (4) (no fee for exempt handlers; new fee permitted per retake), and OAR 333-175-0111(2) (licensee must make the manager certification available to the inspecting authority) FUTURE MANDATE: the OHA food sanitation rules (OAR 333-150 revision, rule text eff. Jan. 1, 2026) add a Food Code sec. 2-102.12 CFPM requirement phased to Jan. 1, 2029 (at least one CFPM) and Jan. 1, 2031 (a CFPM person in charge each day, present during highest-risk hours); OHA's Food Manager Certification page confirms certification is not required today and will be required starting in 2029.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Oregon Health Authority — Food Handler Cards (official .gov; confirms $10 cost, 3-year validity, 30-day rule, county-issued/statewide-valid, out-of-state cards not valid)\", \"url\": \"https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/healthyenvironments/foodsafety/pages/cert.aspx\"}, {\"label\": \"OAR 333-175-0051 — Content of Food Handler Training Programs (admin code, division 175 under OHA Public Health Division)\", \"url\": \"https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/displayDivisionRules.action?selectedDivision=1341\"}, {\"label\": \"Oregon Secretary of State — OAR chapter 333, division 175 (Food Handler Training), official Oregon Administrative Rules compilation: 75% minimum assessment score; food manager / Environmental Health Specialist exemption; provider fee rules\", \"url\": \"https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/displayDivisionRules.action?selectedDivision=1341\"}, {\"label\": \"ORS Chapter 624 — Food Service Facilities (official Oregon Legislature edition): ORS 624.570 food handler training requirement + subsection (6) temporary-restaurant exception; ORS 624.610 food service outside the chapter\", \"url\": \"https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors624.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Oregon Health Authority -- Food Manager Certification page: not required by law today; phased CFPM requirement effective Jan. 1, 2029 (one per establishment) and Jan. 1, 2031 (CFPM person-in-charge each day) (checked 2026-07-17)\", \"url\": \"https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/healthyenvironments/foodsafety/pages/mngcert.aspx\"}, {\"label\": \"Oregon Health Authority -- Food Sanitation Rules (current compilation PDF; ch. 2 sec. 2-102.12 phased CFPM provisions)\", \"url\": \"https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/FOODSAFETY/Documents/foodsanitationrulesweb.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/or-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "pa-food-handler",
   "state": "Pennsylvania",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "manager certification required instead",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler is required to hold a card in Pennsylvania. Statewide, each licensed retail food facility must instead have at least one certified food-safety supervisor (\"person in charge\" / manager) present or immediately accessible during all hours of operation (Food Employee Certification Act, 3 Pa.C.S. §§ 6501-6510; 7 Pa. Code § 46.1201). Employee (handler) training is employer-optional, not state-mandated. Third-party \"PA food handler card\" products are voluntary training, not a state credential.",
   "exemptions": "No individual food handler card exists in Pennsylvania, so no handler-card exemption exists. The mandated credential is the manager-level Food Employee Certification, and the Act contains an express exemptions section — 3 Pa.C.S. Sec. 6510 (text as of 2026-07-11). It exempts the following from the chapter (i.e. from the certified person-in-charge mandate entirely). The PA Department of Agriculture restates it as: \"Exemptions to the Act — The Act does not apply to the following facilities. They are encouraged, but not required, to take a course.\"\n\n(a) prepackaged food. (1) \"Retail food facilities where only commercially prepackaged food is handled and sold are exempt from this chapter.\" (2) Facilities that also sell other food \"are exempt from this chapter during time periods or work shifts when only commercially prepackaged food is sold\" — a shift-level exemption, not just a facility-level one. PDA confirms this covers prepackaged TCS and non-TCS food alike.\n\n(b) nonpotentially hazardous food. (1) \"Retail food facilities that handle only nonpotentially hazardous food are exempt from this chapter.\" (2) Facilities that do handle potentially hazardous food \"are exempt from this chapter during time periods or work shifts when only nonpotentially hazardous food is handled and sold.\" PDA renders this as non-TCS food.\n\n(c) food establishments. \"Food establishments are exempt from this chapter.\" Read this precisely — it does not exempt restaurants. \"Food establishment\" is defined at 3 Pa.C.S. Sec. 5722 as a place used for commercially storing, packaging, making, cooking, mixing, processing, bottling, baking, canning, freezing, packing, preparing, transporting or handling food, and that definition expressly excludes \"retail food facilities, retail food establishments and public eating and drinking places.\" Subsection (c) therefore exempts wholesale/manufacturing operations — PDA calls them \"all food manufacturing facilities\" — while restaurants and public eating or drinking places remain fully covered.\n\n(d) exempt retail food facilities. Except as set forth in Sec. 6504(c)(2), the following retail food facilities are exempt: (1) a retail food facility managed by an organization which is a tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; (2) a retail food facility managed on a not-for-profit basis by an organization which is a volunteer fire company or an ambulance, religious, charitable, fraternal, veterans, civic, agricultural fair or agricultural association, or any separately chartered auxiliary of any of the above; (3) a retail food facility managed by an organization established to promote and encourage participation and support for extracurricular recreational activities for youth of primary and secondary public, private and parochial school systems on a not-for-profit basis (PDA's examples: school booster clubs, Little League and Midget Football associations).\n\nCarve-out inside (d)(3): \"This paragraph does not apply to ORGANIZED CAMPS.\" A youth organized camp is not exempt, even though it is a youth recreational organisation.\n\nThe Sec. 6504(c)(2) cross-reference is a SAVER, not a clawback: it provides that \"a retail food facility exempt under section 6510(d) ... may voluntarily seek certification under this section.\" Being exempt does not bar you from certifying; it means you are not required to. PDA says the same (\"encouraged, but not required\").\n\nNot exempt (commonly assumed): ordinary restaurants and public eating or drinking places — see (c); and any licensed retail food facility handling potentially hazardous food outside prepackaged-only or non-PHF-only shifts. Also note Sec. 6504(a.1): a certified employee may serve as the required certified employee for only one retail food facility — except that a proprietor operating more than one facility at a temporary fair, festival or other temporary event may use a single certified employee for all of them.",
   "issuing_authority": "None — Pennsylvania neither issues nor mandates an individual food handler card. The only mandated credential is the manager-level Food Employee Certification (one certified \"person in charge\" per licensed retail food facility), administered by the PA Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Food Safety & Laboratory Services via Conference for Food Protection / ANSI-accredited programs. Philadelphia (Dept. of Public Health) and Allegheny County (Health Dept.) run their own equivalent manager-certification programs.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "SIX local health jurisdictions run their own food employee certification programmes and must be contacted directly: Allegheny County, Bucks County, Chester County, Montgomery County, Philadelphia County, and State College Borough Health Departments. \"All other local health jurisdictions will follow the state mandated food employee certification requirements\" (PA Department of Agriculture, Food Employee Certification). None of the six mandates an individual employee handler card — each runs a manager/person-in-charge certification (e.g. Philadelphia's \"Food Safety Certificate,\" Allegheny's \"Certified Food Protection Manager\").",
   "legal_basis": "Pennsylvania Food Employee Certification Act, 3 Pa.C.S. Secs. 6501-6510, implemented by 7 Pa. Code Sec. 46.1201 — requires one certified food-safety supervisor/person-in-charge (manager) per licensed retail food facility, from a program accredited by an agency recognized by the Conference for Food Protection (ANSI/ANAB-CFP). Sec. 6504 governs certification of employees (Sec. 6504(a) one certified employee present or immediately accessible at all hours; Sec. 6504(a.1) one facility per certified employee, except multiple stands at a temporary event; Sec. 6504(c)(2) exempt facilities may certify voluntarily; Sec. 6504(d) three months to replace a lost certified employee). Sec. 6510 (Exemptions) exempts prepackaged-only facilities and prepackaged-only shifts, non-potentially-hazardous-food-only facilities and shifts, \"food establishments\" (defined at 3 Pa.C.S. Sec. 5722 as wholesale/ manufacturing operations, a definition that expressly excludes retail food facilities and public eating and drinking places), and 501(c)(3), volunteer-fire, ambulance, religious, charitable, fraternal, veterans, civic, agricultural-fair/association and school-youth-recreation facilities — but not organized camps. Definitions at 3 Pa.C.S. Secs. 6502, 5702 and 5722. No Pennsylvania statute or administrative rule requires an individual food handler (employee) card.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"PA Dept. of Agriculture — Food Employee Certification (official; explicitly instructs 'enroll in a MANAGEMENT course, not a food handler course'; one certified manager per facility)\", \"url\": \"https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/food/food-safety/retail-food/food-employee-certification-\"}, {\"label\": \"7 Pa. Code § 46.1201 — Food Employee Certification Act compliance (official PA Code; the operative statewide rule — 'at least one employee who holds a valid certificate present... who is the person in charge')\", \"url\": \"https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/secure/pacode/data/007/chapter46/s46.1201.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Delaware County Health Dept — PA Food Employee Certification (official county .gov; cites statute 3 Pa.C.S.A. §§ 6501-6510, 'one supervisory employee per food facility')\", \"url\": \"http://delcopa.gov/health/pa-food-employee-certification\"}, {\"label\": \"City of Philadelphia — Food Safety Certification instructions/application (official phila.gov; per-establishment person-in-charge cert, not an individual handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://www.phila.gov/documents/instructions-and-application-form-for-food-safety-certification/\"}, {\"label\": \"Allegheny County Health Dept — Food Protection Manager Certification (official county .gov; 'a Certified Food Protection Manager is required to be on-site during all hours of operation' — manager cert, no handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://www.alleghenycounty.us/Services/Health-Department/Food-Safety/Food-Protection-Manager-Certification\"}, {\"label\": \"3 Pa.C.S. Sec. 6510 — Exemptions (official PA General Assembly consolidated statutes; verbatim: prepackaged-only facilities/shifts, non-PHF-only facilities/shifts, food establishments, 501(c)(3) + volunteer fire/ambulance/religious/charitable/fraternal/veterans/civic/agricultural + school youth-recreation organisations; organized camps not exempt)\", \"url\": \"https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=03&div=0&chpt=65&sctn=10&subsctn=0\"}, {\"label\": \"3 Pa.C.S. Sec. 6504 — Certification of employees (official; Sec. 6504(c)(2) lets facilities exempt under Sec. 6510(d) seek certification voluntarily; Sec. 6504(a.1) one facility per certified employee, temporary-event exception)\", \"url\": \"https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=03&div=0&chpt=65&sctn=04&subsctn=0\"}, {\"label\": \"3 Pa.C.S. Sec. 5722 — Definitions (official; \\\"food establishment\\\" = commercial storing/processing/manufacturing operation, expressly excluding retail food facilities, retail food establishments and public eating and drinking places — this is what Sec. 6510(c) exempts, i.e. manufacturers, not restaurants)\", \"url\": \"https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=03&div=0&chpt=57&sctn=22&subsctn=0\"}, {\"label\": \"3 Pa.C.S. Sec. 6502 — Definitions for the Food Employee Certification Act (official; imports \\\"food establishment\\\" from Sec. 5722 and \\\"potentially hazardous food\\\"/\\\"organized camp\\\"/\\\"person in charge\\\" from Sec. 5702)\", \"url\": \"https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/LI/consCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&ttl=03&div=0&chpt=65&sctn=02&subsctn=0\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/pa-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ri-food-handler",
   "state": "Rhode Island",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "no individual food handler card; a Certified Food Safety Manager is required per establishment instead",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler is required to hold a card. Instead, each food establishment preparing TCS (potentially hazardous) food must employ at least one full-time, on-site Certified Food Safety Manager (two if 10+ full-time-equivalent employees are directly involved in food prep), per 216-RICR-50-10-2. Rank-and-file food employees need only be informed in writing of their health-reporting responsibilities (RI Food Code §1.4, 216-RICR-50-10-1.4) — no individual card or certificate.",
   "exemptions": "Rhode Island requires no individual food handler card, so there is no handler-card exemption to state. The only mandated credential is the Certified Food Safety Manager, and that rule carries both a threshold and an express exemptions section.\n\nThreshold — the duty only attaches where TCS food is prepared. 216-RICR-50-10-2 Sec. 2.3.1(A): a certified manager is required at \"each food establishment where Time Temperature Control for Safety Food (TCS) is prepared.\" An establishment preparing no TCS food is outside the requirement.\n\nExpress exemptions — 216-RICR-50-10-2 Sec. 2.5.1(B) provides that R.I. Gen. Laws Secs. 21-27-11 through 21-27-11.13 and the manager-certification regulations \"shall not apply to\":\n1. Special events sponsored by town or nonprofit civic organizations such as, but not limited to, school sporting events, firemen's picnics, little league food booths, grange and church suppers, and fairs;\n2. Temporary food services which have a frequency of less than six (6) events a year, such as bazaars, bake sales and suppers — Conditional: \"Individuals responsible for temporary food operations preparing TCS shall be required to register with the Center, obtain food safety informational brochures and distribute these materials to the individuals engaged in food preparation for the event\";\n3. Itinerant vendors and other food establishments that serve only commercially pre-packaged foods, beverages and commercially precooked TCS requiring no manual handling of the food product, such as frankfurters;\n4. Retail food stores and delicatessens where only cold foods are prepared, provided that no vacuum packaging or other processes are performed which will support the growth of Clostridium botulinum;\n5. Private homes, and bed and breakfast establishments.\n\nFee exemption — managers/employees of municipal and state food establishments are exempt from payment of the renewal fee (Sec. 2.5.1(A); Sec. 2.3.5(A)).\n\nNot exempt: rank-and-file food employees are not \"exempt\" so much as never covered — they hold no card duty at all. But an establishment that prepares TCS food still needs its certified manager (two full-time on-site certified managers if it employs ten or more full-time-equivalent employees directly involved in food preparation — Sec. 2.3.1(C)), and the person in charge on site during food preparation and serving times must demonstrate knowledge by completing a Center-approved food safety certification course (Sec. 2.3.1(B)).",
   "issuing_authority": "None — no statewide food handler card exists in Rhode Island. The RI Department of Health (RIDOH) licenses/regulates all food establishments statewide and administers the only mandated credential, the Certified Food Safety Manager, under 216-RICR-50-10-2.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "R.I. Gen. Laws Chapters 21-27 (Sanitation in Food Establishments) and 23-1 (Department of Health), implemented by the RI Food Code (216-RICR-50-10-1, esp. Sec. 1.4 Management & Personnel) and the Certification of Managers in Food Safety rule (216-RICR-50-10-2). The manager duty attaches only where TCS food is prepared (Sec. 2.3.1(A)); Sec. 2.5.1 sets out the exemptions — special events sponsored by town/nonprofit civic organisations, temporary food services with fewer than six events a year (conditional on registering with the Center where TCS food is prepared), itinerant vendors and establishments serving only commercially pre-packaged food, retail food stores/delicatessens preparing only cold foods, and private homes and bed and breakfast establishments — and exempts municipal/state food establishment managers from the renewal fee. No provision requires an individual food handler card.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"RI Certification of Managers in Food Safety, 216-RICR-50-10-2 (official RICR) — requires 1 full-time on-site certified manager per establishment (2 if 10+ FTE food-prep staff); no employee handler card\", \"url\": \"https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/216-50-10-2\"}, {\"label\": \"RI Food Code, 216-RICR-50-10-1 (official RICR) — Management & Personnel\", \"url\": \"https://rules.sos.ri.gov/regulations/part/216-50-10-1\"}, {\"label\": \"RI Department of Health — Food Safety Manager Training page — lists only manager/instructor certification, no handler-card requirement\", \"url\": \"https://health.ri.gov/food-safety-manager-training\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ri-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "sc-food-handler",
   "state": "South Carolina",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "no universal handler-card mandate for ordinary food employees; but Reg 61-25 §2-102.12(B) requires the person-in-charge on each shift to be a certified food handler or a certified food protection manager, and §2-102.12(A) requires at least one CFPM per establishment. Temporary food service establishments are exempt from the §2-102.12(B) training-certification requirement (Reg 61-25 §9-8(J)(1))",
   "who_must_get": "No statewide requirement that all food employees/handlers hold a food handler card. Under SC Regulation 61-25 §2-102.12: (A) at least one supervisory/management employee per establishment must be a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM); (B) at all times during operation the person in charge must be a certified food handler or a CFPM; (C) minimal-risk establishments designated by the Department are exempt. Reg 61-25 §9-8(J)(1) separately exempts temporary food service establishments from the training-certification requirements of §2-102.12(B). An ordinary food employee who is not serving as the person-in-charge is not required by state law to hold a food handler card.",
   "exemptions": "South Carolina imposes no universal handler-card duty on ordinary food employees, and the person-in-charge certificate duty it does impose has two express carve-outs plus a deemed-compliance route.\n\nExpress exemption — Reg 61-25 Sec. 2-102.12(C): \"This section does not apply to certain types of retail food establishments deemed by the Department to pose minimal risk of causing, or contributing to, foodborne illness based on the nature of the operation and the extent of food preparation.\" Because the carve-out is written at section level, a Department-designated minimal-risk establishment is exempt from both the certified-food-protection-manager duty in (A) and the certified-food-handler-or-CFPM person-in-charge duty in (B). The regulation delegates the designation to the Department and does not publish the list of minimal-risk operation types in the rule text.\n\nTemporary food service establishments — Reg 61-25 §9-8(J)(1): \"Temporary food service establishments are exempt from the requirements for training certification in 2-102.12(B).\" The regulation defines a temporary food service establishment as one that \"may be authorized by the Department to operate at a fixed location for a period of time not to exceed fourteen (14) consecutive days in connection with a fair, carnival, circus, trade show, movie or filming location, golf or other national sporting events, and other transitory gatherings organized by the community\" (§9-8), a standard that also reaches retail food service establishments operating in a declared-emergency disaster area. While operating under §9-8, the establishment's person-in-charge is exempt from the §2-102.12(B) certified-food-handler-or-CFPM duty. The exemption names only (B) — it does not touch the §2-102.12(A) one-CFPM-per-establishment requirement, which §2-102.12(C)'s minimal-risk carve-out governs instead.\n\nDeemed compliance — Reg 61-25 Sec. 2-102.20(B): \"A retail food establishment that has an employee that is certified by a food protection manager certification program that is evaluated and listed by a Conference for Food Protection recognized accrediting agency ... is deemed to comply with 2-102.12.\" A CFPM therefore satisfies the requirement outright — no one needs a separate entry-level food handler certificate.\n\nOutside the regulation entirely:\n- Private residences — Reg 61-25 Sec. 1-201.10(B)(91): \"A private residence is exempt from compliance with this regulation.\"\n- Home-based food production operations (cottage food) — S.C. Code Sec. 44-1-143(F): \"A home-based food production operation is not a retail food establishment and is not subject to regulation by the department pursuant to Regulation 61.25.\" These operate out of the operator's dwelling selling nonpotentially hazardous foods and must carry the statutory label; Sec. 44-1-143(G) provides the section does not apply to an operation with net earnings of less than $1,500 annually that would otherwise meet the definition.\n\nNot exempt (the trap on this page): an ordinary food employee needs no handler certificate, but whoever is acting as the person in charge at any time during operation must be a certified food handler or a CFPM (Sec. 2-102.12(B)). A shift-leading employee cannot rely on the \"no statewide handler card\" headline.\n\nSources checked: S.C. Code of Laws Title 44 Chapter 1 (Sec. 44-1-140 is rulemaking authority only and grants no food-establishment exemptions; Sec. 44-1-143 is the home-based/cottage-food exclusion); Regulation 61-25 (2024 digital edition, 112 pp., in full) — Chapter 1 definitions and applicability, Sec. 2-102.12, Sec. 2-102.20, and Chapter 8 compliance and enforcement; and the SC Department of Agriculture retail food safety pages. No county or municipal handler-card ordinance was found.",
   "issuing_authority": "Food handler certificates (and CFPM certifications) are issued by accredited private training programs, not by the state. Regulation 61-25 is enforced by the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA), which took over retail food safety oversight from SC DHEC (the regulation's \"Department\" definition names SCDA \"or agents thereof\").",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Food handler certificate must be earned by \"passing a test that is part of an accredited program\" (Reg 61-25 §2-102.12(B)). The regulation names a specific accreditor — a Conference for Food Protection–recognized accrediting agency — only for the food protection manager certification (§2-102.20); it does not name a specific accreditor for the entry-level handler certificate.",
   "cost_range": "No state-set fee; the food handler certificate is provider-priced — Reg 61-25 §2-102.12(B) requires only that it be earned by passing a test that is part of an accredited program and sets no price.",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "South Carolina Regulation 61-25 (Retail Food Establishments, 2024 digital edition), Sec. 2-102.12 \"Certified Food Protection Manager Certification and Food Handler Certificate\" — (A) at least one supervisory/management employee must be a CFPM; (B) the person in charge must at all times during operation be a certified food handler or a CFPM; (C) the section does not apply to retail food establishments deemed by the Department to pose minimal risk. Sec. 2-102.20(B) deems an establishment with a CFPM-certified employee to comply with Sec. 2-102.12; Sec. 2-102.20(A) sets the Conference for Food Protection accreditation standard for the manager certification. Sec. 1-201.10(B)(91) exempts a private residence from the regulation. S.C. Code Sec. 44-1-143(F) places home-based food production operations outside Regulation 61-25 entirely. Sec. 9-8(J)(1) exempts temporary food service establishments (authorized to operate at a fixed location for not more than fourteen consecutive days in connection with a fair, carnival, or other transitory gathering, Sec. 9-8) from the training-certification requirements of Sec. 2-102.12(B). Enforced by the SC Department of Agriculture.",
   "last_verified": "2026-08-01",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"SC Regulation 61-25, Retail Food Establishments (2024 digital ed., §2-102.12 & §2-102.20) — SC Dept. of Agriculture [operative regulation]\", \"url\": \"https://agriculture.sc.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Regulation61-25_RetailFoodEstablishments_2024_digital.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"SC Dept. of Agriculture — Retail Food Safety (administers Reg 61-25, issues establishment permits)\", \"url\": \"https://agriculture.sc.gov/permits-and-inspections/retail-food-safety/\"}, {\"label\": \"S.C. Code of Laws Title 44, Chapter 1 (official SC Legislature) — Sec. 44-1-143(F): a home-based food production operation \\\"is not a retail food establishment and is not subject to regulation by the department pursuant to Regulation 61.25\\\"; Sec. 44-1-140 is rulemaking authority only and grants no exemptions\", \"url\": \"https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t44c001.php\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/sc-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "sd-food-handler",
   "state": "South Dakota",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "state mandates a certified food service manager per establishment (see the food manager page), not individual employee handler cards",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food handler card is required in South Dakota. The state's food-safety duty falls on the establishment: under ARSD 44:02:07:03 every food service establishment and mobile food service establishment must designate a person in charge for each work shift, and at least one person in charge per establishment must be a certified food service manager. That is a manager certification, not an employee card -- who must hold it, the approved course, recertification, grace periods and exemptions are on the [South Dakota food manager certification page](/food-manager/sd-food-manager/).",
   "exemptions": "South Dakota issues no food handler card, so no employee has a card duty to be exempted from. The exemptions from the certified-manager rule itself are stated on the [South Dakota food manager certification page](/food-manager/sd-food-manager/). Several operations sit outside the licensing chapter (SDCL ch. 34-18) that the manager rule is built on:\n\nOutside the licensing chapter (SDCL ch. 34-18), on whose license-holder duty ARSD 44:02:07:03 is built:\n- Nonprofit organizations — SDCL 34-18-20: \"Nonprofit organizations shall be exempt from the licensing and license fee provisions of this chapter.\"\n- Establishments serving alcoholic beverages (as defined in ch. 35-1) \"who do not otherwise come within the definition of a food service establishment, temporary food service establishment, or mobile food service establishment\" — SDCL 34-18-20.\n- Bed and breakfast establishments — SDCL 34-18-9.2: \"No bed and breakfast establishment as defined in Sec. 34-18-9.1 is subject to be licensed under the provisions of this chapter\" (they register instead, SDCL 34-18-9.3).\n- Farmers markets / roadside stands selling whole, intact fresh fruits or vegetables — SDCL 34-18-34: no such seller \"is required to be licensed pursuant to this chapter.\"\n- Low-frequency no-cost food -- SDCL 34-18-17: a business that offers food at no cost or consideration not more than three times in any calendar year and no more than three consecutive days at a time, in conjunction with a grand opening, promotion, or special product showing, is exempt from the licensing and license-fee provisions of this chapter.\n- Home-prepared (cottage) food — SDCL 34-18-35 and 34-18-38: a person selling food prepared at their primary residence is \"exempt from the licensing and license fee provisions of this chapter\" when the statutory conditions are met (food meets Sec. 34-18-37, sold in the seller's physical presence at the residence, a farmer's market, a roadside stand or other temporary sale venue, and personally delivered).\n- Fairs and nonprofit organisations operating a temporary food service establishment are exempt from the temporary license FEE — SDCL 34-18-18.\n\nTwo limits on those exemptions, stated in the statutes themselves — do not overread them: (1) exemption from licensing \"does not release the owner of such establishments from compliance with the public health requirements of this chapter and the rules and regulations of the department\" (SDCL 34-18-20; the same saver appears in SDCL 34-18-18); and (2) the department may still enter and inspect an exempt establishment upon receipt of a complaint (SDCL 34-18-25.3).\n\nNot exempt: a licensed restaurant that changes ownership, or that loses its certified food service manager, does not become exempt -- the manager rule's grace periods are stated on the [South Dakota food manager certification page](/food-manager/sd-food-manager/).",
   "issuing_authority": "No food handler card is issued in South Dakota (none exists statewide). Food service safety is regulated by the South Dakota Department of Health, Office of Food & Lodging, which issues food service licenses and enforces ARSD 44:02:07. The state's only mandated food-safety credential is the certified food service manager -- covered on the [South Dakota food manager certification page](/food-manager/sd-food-manager/).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "ARSD 44:02:07:03 (Person in charge -- the establishment-level manager duty; detail on the food manager page) and ARSD chapter 44:02:07 (South Dakota Food Service Code: no provision requires individual food handlers/employees to hold a card); enabling statute SDCL 34-18-22. Exemptions from the underlying licensing chapter: SDCL 34-18-20 (nonprofit organizations; certain alcoholic-beverage establishments -- public health requirements still apply), SDCL 34-18-9.2 (bed and breakfast establishments), SDCL 34-18-34 (farmers-market/roadside whole fresh fruits and vegetables), SDCL 34-18-35 and 34-18-38 (home-prepared/cottage food), SDCL 34-18-18 (fairs and nonprofit temporary food service -- license fee), and SDCL 34-18-25.3 (exempt establishments remain inspectable on complaint).",
   "last_verified": "2026-09-05",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"ARSD 44:02:07:03 — Person in charge (SD Legislature, verbatim rule text)\", \"url\": \"https://sdlegislature.gov/Rules/Administrative/44:02:07:03\"}, {\"label\": \"ARSD 44:02:07:98 — Food service manager certification (SD Legislature, verbatim rule text)\", \"url\": \"https://sdlegislature.gov/Rules/Administrative/44:02:07:98\"}, {\"label\": \"SD Dept. of Health — Food Service Licensure and Codes (cites ARSD 44:02:07:03 manager requirement)\", \"url\": \"https://doh.sd.gov/topics/food-lodging-safety/licensure-and-codes/food-service/\"}, {\"label\": \"SD Dept. of Health — Food Service Manager Training (8-hr manager cert, approved providers)\", \"url\": \"https://doh.sd.gov/topics/food-lodging-safety/licensure-and-codes/food-service-manager-training/\"}, {\"label\": \"SDCL Chapter 34-18 — Lodging and Food Service Establishments (SD Legislature, official): Sec. 34-18-20 nonprofit organizations exempt from licensing/fees (public health requirements still apply); Sec. 34-18-9.2 bed and breakfast; Sec. 34-18-34 farmers-market produce; Secs. 34-18-35/34-18-38 home-prepared food; Sec. 34-18-18 fair/nonprofit temporary fee exemption; Sec. 34-18-25.3 exempt establishments still inspectable on complaint\", \"url\": \"https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/34-18\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/sd-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "tn-food-handler",
   "state": "Tennessee",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "only a per-establishment Person-in-Charge / food protection manager provision applies — not an individual handler card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food employee is required to hold a food handler card statewide. Rule 1200-23-01-.02 (Management and Personnel) instead requires each food establishment to have a Person in Charge present during all hours of operation who can demonstrate food-safety knowledge to the department. One accepted way to demonstrate that knowledge is being a food protection manager certified by a Conference for Food Protection-accredited program — a per-establishment manager credential, not an individual employee handler card, and not the only compliance path.",
   "exemptions": "No statewide food handler card exists, so no individual is required to hold one and there is nothing to be exempt from. Sources checked (as of Jul 11, 2026): the statute (Tennessee Food Safety Act, T.C.A. 68-14-701 through 68-14-729, as published by the Tennessee Dept. of Health); the administrative rule (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 1200-23-01, June 2026 revision -- full-text scan finds no food-handler-card provision); and the agency pages (TDH Environmental Health / Food Service Establishments). No handler-card exemption is stated anywhere, because no handler-card requirement exists.\n\nWho falls outside the food service establishment regime entirely -- T.C.A. 68-14-703, the \"food service establishment\" definition, which expressly does not include: (C) private homes where food is prepared or served and not offered for sale, retail food store operations, food service establishments located within a retail food store, the location of vending machines, and supply vehicles; (D) churches, temples, synagogues or other religious institutions, and civic, fraternal or veterans' organizations where food is prepared, served, transported or stored by volunteer personnel only on non-consecutive days (the carve-out does not reach the storage of unopened commercially canned food, non-potentially-hazardous packaged bulk food, and dry goods); (E) grocery stores making incidental, infrequent casual sales of uncooked food for on-premises consumption, and any establishment whose primary business is not food service that makes infrequent casual sales of coffee or prepackaged food (\"infrequent casual sales\" = sales not in excess of $150 per day); (F) a location conducting casual, occasional food sales solely in connection with youth amateur athletic/recreational activities or primary or secondary school-related clubs, by volunteer personnel, operating 24 consecutive hours or less; (G) a catering business with no regular full-time employees whose food preparation happens solely in the proprietor's principal residence and which makes only occasional sales in any 30-day period; and (H) a house or residential structure providing temporary accommodations to seriously ill or injured children and their families near their treatment hospital, where food is handled by volunteer personnel and the house is supported by a 501(c)(3) organization.\n\nNo license or permit needed to sell bakery goods / SOFT drinks -- T.C.A. 68-14-722, as rewritten by 2026 Public Chapter 754 (HB 2020 / SB 1821, signed Apr. 16, 2026, effective on becoming law): (1) a person eighteen (18) years of age or younger does not need a license or permit to sell bakery goods, homemade or otherwise, soft drinks, or other similar food commodities at public events; and (2) a person nineteen (19) or older does not need a license or permit to sell such goods if the person is supporting a 501(c)(3) organization a component of whose mission is to provide temporary accommodations for children in relationship to their placement in the custody of the Dept. of Children's Services.\n\nPermit-fee exemption (fees only, not the rules) -- T.C.A. 68-14-714(a): churches, schools, and civic, fraternal or veterans' organizations serving food are exempt from paying food service establishment permit fees, provided food is served on no more than 52 separate days in one fiscal year. The statute states the exemption \"is expressly limited to the payment of fees and shall not exempt these organizations from any other provisions of this part.\"\n\nEven the manager credential is optional. The one statewide personnel duty -- a Person in Charge present during all hours of operation who can demonstrate food-safety knowledge (Rule 1200-23-01-.02(1)) -- has three alternative compliance paths: (I) complying with the rules by having no Priority Item violations at the current inspection; (II) being a certified food protection manager who passed a test that is part of an Accredited Program; or (III) responding correctly to the inspector's questions. A certified food protection manager is therefore one option, not a mandate.\n\nSource caveat (freshness): TDH's posted copy of the Act is a 2015-vintage consolidation in which the \"food service establishment\" definition sits at subdivision (9); later acts renumbered it to (11) (2025 Public Chapter 400 replaced subdivision (10) and deleted (16); it did not touch the exclusions). The exclusion text above is quoted from TDH's published Act.",
   "issuing_authority": "None — no statewide food handler card exists or is issued in Tennessee. Food service establishments are regulated by the Tennessee Department of Health under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. Ch. 1200-23-01 (retail food stores fall under the Tennessee Dept. of Agriculture); neither issues an individual food handler card.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-23-01-.02 (Management and Personnel), Chapter 1200-23-01 \"Food Service Establishment\" (adopting the FDA Food Code), promulgated under T.C.A. §§ 68-14-701 through 68-14-729 (Tennessee Food Service Establishments Act). The chapter contains no food-handler-card provision; the operative statewide personnel requirement is a Person in Charge who demonstrates food-safety knowledge (optionally via a Conference for Food Protection-accredited food protection manager certification). Exemption sources checked: T.C.A. 68-14-703 (\"food service establishment\" does not include private homes, retail food store operations, vending machine locations, supply vehicles, religious/civic/fraternal/veterans organizations using volunteer personnel on non-consecutive days, grocery stores making infrequent casual sales, youth-athletic/school-club volunteer sales of 24 hours or less, home-based catering with no full-time employees, and 501(c)(3)-supported hospital-accommodation houses); T.C.A. 68-14-722 (as rewritten by 2026 Pub. Ch. 754 -- no license/permit for bakery-goods/soft-drink sales by persons 18 and under, or by persons 19+ supporting a qualifying 501(c)(3)); T.C.A. 68-14-714(a) (permit-FEE exemption only); Rule 1200-23-01-.02(1) (Person in Charge knowledge -- three alternative demonstration paths, so even a certified food protection manager is optional).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. ch. 1200-23-01 Food Service Establishment (June 2026 revision, 133 pp.) - official TN Secretary of State rule PDF\", \"url\": \"https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/rules/1200/1200-23/1200-23-01.20260614.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Metro Nashville (Davidson County) Public Health Dept. — Food Protection Services: describes establishment permits/inspections only; no individual food handler card program mentioned (checked to test secondary-source county-permit claims)\", \"url\": \"https://www.nashville.gov/departments/health/environmental-health/food-and-public-facilities/food-protection-services\"}, {\"label\": \"Tennessee Food Safety Act, T.C.A. 68-14-701 et seq. -- official TN Dept. of Health published text (68-14-703 \\\"food service establishment\\\" exclusions (C)-(H); 68-14-714(a) permit-fee exemption for churches/schools/civic/fraternal/veterans orgs)\", \"url\": \"https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/health/documents/Tennessee_Food_Safety_Act.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"2026 Public Chapter 754 (HB 2020 / SB 1821), signed Apr. 16 2026 -- rewrites T.C.A. 68-14-722: no license/permit to sell bakery goods, soft drinks or similar commodities (persons 18 and under at public events; persons 19+ supporting a qualifying 501(c)(3))\", \"url\": \"https://publications.tnsosfiles.com/acts/114/pub/pc0754.pdf\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/tn-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "tx-food-handler",
   "state": "Texas",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "provider-issued",
   "who_must_get": "All food employees at retail food establishments, except the Certified Food Protection Manager, must successfully complete an accredited food handler training course within 30 days of employment (25 TAC 228.31). \"Food handler\" = a food service employee who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces (HSC 438.041). Requirement does not apply to temporary food establishments; the establishment must keep each employee's certificate of completion on premises (hard copy or electronic) and available to the regulatory authority. Separate establishment-level mandate (same rule section, different subsections) -- 25 TAC 228.31(b): \"Except as specified in subsection (c) of this section, a certified food protection manager shall be present at the food establishment during all hours of operation as required in Food Code, sec. 2-101.11 and sec. 2-102.12.\" And 228.31(a): \"The original food manager certificate shall be posted in the food establishment in a location that is conspicuous to consumers.\" So a Texas establishment needs a CFPM present whenever it operates, in addition to the handler cards its employees hold.",
   "exemptions": "Exempt from the food handler training requirement (rule text, 25 TAC 228.31(d), adopted eff. Aug. 8, 2021, 46 TexReg 4686): \"All food employees, EXCEPT for the certified food protection manager, shall successfully complete an accredited food handler training course, within 30 days of employment. This requirement does not apply to temporary food establishments.\" So the rule itself exempts exactly two things: (1) the certified food protection manager (CFPM), and (2) temporary food establishments.\n\nOutside the definition that triggers the duty. The duty runs only to a \"food employee\" (an individual working with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces) at a \"food establishment.\" 25 TAC 228.2(14)(C) excludes from \"food establishment\" entirely: (i) an establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not TCS foods; (ii) a produce stand that only offers whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; (iii) a food processing plant, including one located on the premises of a food establishment; (iv) a cottage food production operation; (v) a bed and breakfast limited (25 TAC 228.2(5): seven or fewer rooms for rent, serves breakfast to overnight guests, not a retail food establishment); and (vi) a private home that receives catered or home-delivered food. The statute adds parallel carve-outs from \"food service establishment\": a cottage food production operation (Tex. Health & Safety Code 437.0191(a)); a honey production operation (HSC 437.0197); and a bed and breakfast with seven or fewer rooms serving only breakfast to overnight guests (HSC 437.019(a) -- but its owner or manager must complete a department-accredited food manager certification course).\n\nAdditional exemptions stated by DSHS (official Food Handler Program FAQ). Exempt outright: a Certified Food Manager; a food establishment that only serves pre-packaged items; a temporary food establishment in DSHS jurisdiction. Exempt so long as supervised by a person holding either an accredited food handler certificate or a Certified Food Manager certificate: individuals with an intellectual disability; persons in a rehabilitation or correctional facility who work with food or food-related items as part of their rehabilitation; persons who aid in activities of daily living (e.g., certified nurse assistants, nurses); persons who distribute pre-portioned food items in settings such as classrooms and daycare; and volunteers (individuals who work with food or food-related items but are not employed by the food establishment).\n\nTwo official sources differ in scope -- both stated as published: the rule (25 TAC 228.2(14)(C)(i)) excludes only establishments offering prepackaged foods that are NOT TCS foods, while the DSHS FAQ states the broader \"food establishment that only serves pre-packaged items.\"\n\nIn-house / single-entity alternative (not an exemption from training): HSC 438.046(b) -- a food service worker trained in a course for the employees of a single entity is considered to have met a local health jurisdiction's training, testing and permitting requirements only as to food service performed for that entity. HSC 438.046(c) bars a local health jurisdiction from charging a fee or requiring/issuing a local food handler card for a worker who shows proof of an accredited course.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: managers other than the CFPM (only the certified food protection manager is named in 228.31(d)); workers at permanent establishments operating at events (the carve-out is for temporary food establishments, not for events generally); and holders of an out-of-state card from a program that is not ANSI-accredited -- DSHS grants reciprocity to out-of-state cards only where the training program is ANSI-accredited. The CFPM-presence mandate (228.31(b)) carries its own exemption list -- 228.31(c): food establishments deemed by the regulatory authority to pose minimal risk of causing, or contributing to, foodborne illness based on the nature of the operation and extent of food preparation, \"such as but not limited to\": (A) establishments that handle only prepackaged food and do not package food; (B) establishments that do not prepare or handle exposed Time/Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) food; or (C) temporary food establishments.",
   "issuing_authority": "Card/certificate is issued by the food handler training program (an ANSI-accredited program or a Texas DSHS-accredited program). The state role is the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), which accredits programs and maintains the official registry (Tex. Health & Safety Code 438.046(a); 25 TAC 229.178). The state and counties do not issue individual handler cards directly.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Training must be from a food handler course accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) OR accredited by Texas DSHS and listed on the DSHS registry (HSC 438.046(b-1); 25 TAC 229.178). A certificate from such a program satisfies local training/testing/permitting requirements statewide, and a local health jurisdiction may not charge a fee or require/issue a separate local food handler card for a worker who shows proof of an accredited course (HSC 438.046(c)).",
   "cost_range": "No statutory cap on the food handler course/certificate price; each accredited provider sets its own fee (unlike California's $15 cap). Texas statutorily caps only the food manager certificate at $35 (HSC 438.106) — that cap does not apply to the handler card. Trainee price is not a state-set figure.",
   "validity_years": "2",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Tex. Health & Safety Code ch. 438, subch. D (esp. 438.041, 438.046) — with 438.041 in place since 1989 (Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678) and 438.046 amended by SB 1089, 85th Leg. (2017); Texas Food Establishment Rules, 25 Tex. Admin. Code 228.31 (statewide food-handler training mandate + 30-day rule); 25 Tex. Admin. Code 229.178 (accreditation of food handler programs; 2-year certificate validity in 229.178(d)(1)). Exemptions: 25 TAC 228.31(d) (certified food protection manager; temporary food establishments); 25 TAC 228.2(14)(C) (exclusions from the definition of \"food establishment\": prepackaged non-TCS only, produce stand, food processing plant, cottage food production operation, bed and breakfast limited, private home receiving catered food) and 228.2(5) (\"bed and breakfast limited\"); Tex. Health & Safety Code 437.019, 437.0191, 437.0197 (statutory carve-outs from \"food service establishment\"); HSC 438.046(b)-(c) (single-entity in-house course; local-card preemption); Texas DSHS Food Handler Program FAQ (further exemptions, incl. supervised categories and volunteers). Establishment-level mandate in the same section: 25 TAC 228.31(a) (food manager certificate posted conspicuously), 228.31(b) (CFPM present during all hours of operation, as required in Food Code 2-101.11 and 2-102.12), 228.31(c) (minimal-risk exemptions: prepackaged-only non-packaging; no exposed TCS preparation/handling; temporary establishments) -- read verbatim from DSHS's consolidated TFER publication (TFER-2021, 25 TAC ch. 228, effective Aug. 8, 2021).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Tex. Health & Safety Code ch. 438 (esp. 438.046 — accredited-course recognition & local-card preemption; 438.041 definition; 438.106 $35 manager cap)\", \"url\": \"https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/HS/htm/HS.438.htm\"}, {\"label\": \"Texas DSHS — Laws and Regulations, Food Handlers (cites HSC ch. 438 + 25 TAC 229.178)\", \"url\": \"https://www.dshs.texas.gov/licensing-food-handler-training-programs/laws-regulations-food-handlers\"}, {\"label\": \"Texas DSHS — Food Handler Training Programs FAQ (30-day rule, 2-year validity, on-premises recordkeeping, exemptions)\", \"url\": \"https://www.dshs.texas.gov/licensing-food-handler-training-programs/frequently-asked-questions-food-handler-education-or-training-programs\"}, {\"label\": \"Texas Food Establishment Rules (25 TAC ch. 228) — official DSHS PDF\", \"url\": \"https://www.dshs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/foodestablishments/pdf/GuidanceDocs/TFER-2021_TAC-228_August-2021.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Official Texas Administrative Code viewer - 25 TAC Part 1 Chapter 228 (Retail Food Establishments)\", \"url\": \"https://texas-sos.appianportalsgov.com/rules-and-meetings?interface=VIEW_TAC&title=25&part=1&chapter=228\"}, {\"label\": \"Tex. Health & Safety Code ch. 437 (food service establishment carve-outs: 437.019 bed & breakfast, 437.0191 cottage food production operation, 437.0197 honey production operation)\", \"url\": \"https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/HS/htm/HS.437.htm\"}, {\"label\": \"Texas DSHS -- consolidated Texas Food Establishment Rules (TFER-2021, 25 TAC ch. 228, eff. Aug. 8, 2021): sec. 228.31(a)-(c) certificate posting + CFPM present during all hours + minimal-risk exemptions (agency publication, as of 2026-07-17)\", \"url\": \"https://www.dshs.texas.gov/sites/default/files/foodestablishments/pdf/GuidanceDocs/TFER-2021_TAC-228_August-2021.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Texas DSHS -- Certified Food Manager (CFM) Program FAQ (states the accredited-program qualification standard for the certified food protection manager)\", \"url\": \"https://www.dshs.texas.gov/licensing-certified-food-manager-training-programs/frequently-asked-questions-certified-food-manager-cfm-program\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/tx-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "ut-food-handler",
   "state": "Utah",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "county-issued",
   "who_must_get": "Any food handler — defined as \"a person who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces for a food establishment or food truck\" — must obtain a certificate within 14 days and a food handler permit within 30 days after the day employment as a food handler begins (Utah Admin. Code R392-103-4(1)). A person who has met the requirements of Rule R392-101 to become a certified food safety manager is exempt from obtaining a food handler permit (R392-103-4). Separate establishment-level mandate -- the certified food safety manager is not merely an exemption route from the handler permit; Utah independently requires one per food establishment. Utah Admin. Code R392-100-4 incorporates the 2022 FDA Food Code (with the December 2024 Supplement) by reference and amends its Paragraph 2-102.12(A) to read: \"At least one employee who has supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control food preparation and service shall be a certified food safety manager who has completed training and obtained certification as required under Section 26B-7-412 and Rule R392-101.\" The handler-training duty itself sits in the same structure: R392-100-4 adds a new Food Code section 2-102.13 (Food Employee Training) pointing to Section 26B-7-413 and Rule R392-103.",
   "exemptions": "One exemption from the permit itself -- Utah Admin. Code R392-103-4(15): \"A person who has met the requirements of Rule R392-101 to become certified as a food safety manager shall be exempt from the requirement to obtain a food handler permit under this section.\" That is the only exemption stated anywhere in R392-103.\n\nAlternative permit accepted (back country only) -- R392-103-4(14): the local health officer shall accept a food handler permit issued to a back country outfitter by the U.S. Department of the Interior, or by a public health authority in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada or Wyoming; this applies only to food handling done at a back country food establishment meeting the exemption requirements of Utah Code 26B-7-401(5) (a federally or state licensed back country guiding or outfitting business that provides food services and meets department-recognized federal or state food-service safety regulations for food handlers).\n\nOutside the definition: the duty attaches only to a \"food handler\" -- \"a person who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces for a food establishment or food truck\" (R392-103-3(6)) -- working for a food service establishment or temporary event (R392-103-4(1)). A worker who never handles unpackaged food, food equipment/utensils or food-contact surfaces is not a food handler. \"Food service establishment\" is limited by Utah Code 26B-7-401(13) to places where potentially hazardous foods are prepared and intended for individual portion service and consumption by the general public.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not -- Utah deliberately closes the usual escape hatches. R392-100-3(1) exempts five categories from the main Food Service Sanitation rule (mobile food businesses; certified/licensed child care facilities caring for 16 or fewer children; residential treatment programs, residential support programs and recovery residences serving 4-16 unrelated individuals; agritourism food establishments; and microenterprise home kitchens) -- but every one of them is pulled back into the food handler permit requirement by its own rule: mobile food business (food truck/cart) employees \"shall be trained in food safety as required by Rule R392-103, and shall hold a valid food handler's permit issued by a local health department\" (R392-102-4(14)(a)); a microenterprise home kitchen employee who works with unpackaged food \"is a food handler and shall meet the requirements of Rule R392-103\" (R392-106-4(3)); an agritourism food establishment employee likewise \"is a food handler and shall meet the requirements of Rule R392-103\" (R392-105-4(4)); and in child care and residential care facilities, each caregiver or client who works as a food handler must have \"a copy of a current food handler permit on file at the facility\" (R392-110-5(o)).\n\nTemporary events are not exempt: R392-103-4(1) applies to a person working as a food handler \"for a food service establishment or temporary event.\" R392-103-4(12) relaxes only the person in charge's recordkeeping at temporary events (copies of every permit need not be kept on site, but at least one person present must be able to show that person's current food handler permit) -- it does not excuse individual food handlers from holding a permit.\n\nR392-103 states no exemption for volunteers, minors, short-term or seasonal employees. The certified food safety manager is the only person excused. Separate from the permit: the establishment-level certified-food-safety-manager requirement (R392-100-4, amending Food Code 2-102.12(A)) is its own mandate under R392-100 (Food Service Sanitation), not an exemption from anything -- holding CFSM status additionally exempts that individual from the handler permit (R392-103-4(15)).",
   "issuing_authority": "Local health department / local health officer, issued under the statewide rule (Utah Admin. Code R392-103); the permit is valid statewide for the full 3 years. Training certificate is issued by a Utah DHHS-approved training provider; local health officers also recognize permits from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, or Wyoming for back-country outfitters (R392-103-4).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Handler must complete an approved training course and pass an exam from a training provider approved by (on the approved-provider list of) the Utah Department of Health and Human Services; Utah local health departments will only accept training and issue permits from providers on the DHHS approved food handler training provider list (R392-103-3 definition of \"Training Provider\"; R392-103-4; Utah DHHS page).",
   "cost_range": "No more than $15, uniform statewide (Utah Admin. Code R392-103-4); the $15 permit fee is collected by the approved training provider per agreement with local health departments (Utah DHHS). Utah DHHS confirms the fee is $15.00.",
   "validity_years": "3",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Utah Administrative Code R392-103 (Food Handler Training and Certificate), authorized by Utah Code Sections 26B-7-413 and 26B-1-202. Exemptions: Utah Admin. Code R392-103-4(15) (certified food safety manager under R392-101 -- the only exemption from the permit) and R392-103-4(14) (back-country outfitter permit reciprocity, keyed to Utah Code 26B-7-401(5)). Related scope rules showing who is not exempt: R392-100-3(1) (categories exempt from the sanitation rule only), R392-102-4(14)(a) (food trucks), R392-106-4(3) (microenterprise home kitchens), R392-105-4(4) (agritourism), R392-110-5(o) (child care / residential care), and R392-103-4(1),(12) (temporary events are covered; only PIC recordkeeping is relaxed). Establishment-level mandate: Utah Admin. Code R392-100-4 -- incorporates the 2022 FDA Food Code (Chapters 1-8 plus listed Annex 1 parts) and the December 2024 Supplement by reference; amends Food Code 2-102.12(A) to require at least one certified food safety manager per establishment (certified under Utah Code 26B-7-412 and Rule R392-101); adds Food Code 2-102.13 tying food-employee training to 26B-7-413 and Rule R392-103.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Utah Administrative Code R392-103 — Food Handler Training and Certificate (official, Utah Office of Administrative Rules)\", \"url\": \"https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R392-103/Current%20Rules\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah DHHS — Food Handler Training / Approved Training Providers (official .gov: all food handlers must obtain a permit from a local health department; $15 fee; approved-provider list requirement)\", \"url\": \"https://epi.utah.gov/food-handler-training-providers/\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah Admin. Code R392-100 (Food Service Sanitation) -- R392-100-3(1): the five categories exempt from this rule (mobile food businesses, small child care facilities, residential treatment/support/recovery residences, agritourism food establishments, microenterprise home kitchens)\", \"url\": \"https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R392-100/Current%20Rules\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah Admin. Code R392-102 (Food Trucks) -- R392-102-4(14)(a): mobile food business employees must hold a valid food handler permit under R392-103 (i.e., food trucks are not exempt)\", \"url\": \"https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R392-102/Current%20Rules\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah Admin. Code R392-105 (Agritourism Food Establishments) -- R392-105-4(4): agritourism employees working with unpackaged food are food handlers and must meet R392-103\", \"url\": \"https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R392-105/Current%20Rules\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah Admin. Code R392-106 (Microenterprise Home Kitchens) -- R392-106-4(3): MHK employees working with unpackaged food are food handlers and must meet R392-103\", \"url\": \"https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R392-106/Current%20Rules\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah Admin. Code R392-110 (Food Safety in Child Care and Residential Care Facilities) -- R392-110-5(o): each caregiver or client working as a food handler must keep a current food handler permit on file\", \"url\": \"https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R392-110/Current%20Rules\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah Code 26B-7-401 (definitions) -- (5) \\\"back country food service establishment\\\" (referenced by the R392-103-4(14) reciprocity clause) and (13) \\\"food service establishment\\\" (limited to places preparing potentially hazardous food for individual portion service to the public)\", \"url\": \"https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title26B/Chapter7/26B-7-S401.html\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah Admin. Code R392-100 (Food Service Sanitation), current rules -- R392-100-4 incorporates the 2022 FDA Food Code + Dec 2024 Supplement and amends 2-102.12(A): at least one certified food safety manager per establishment (as of 2026-07-17)\", \"url\": \"https://adminrules.utah.gov/public/rule/R392-100/Current%20Rules\"}, {\"label\": \"Utah DHHS -- Food Safety Manager Certification program page (exam/recertification mechanics under Utah Code 26B-7-412 and R392-101)\", \"url\": \"https://epi.utah.gov/food-safety-manager-certification/\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/ut-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "va-food-handler",
   "state": "Virginia",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "No statewide handler-card law; Virginia's statewide rule requires only a Certified Food Protection Manager — a per-establishment manager cert, not an employee handler card — while a cluster of Hampton Roads/Tidewater localities mandate an employee food handler's card by local ordinance",
   "who_must_get": "No one statewide must hold an employee handler card. Where locally required — e.g., Newport News (City Code §17-46): it is unlawful for any owner, employee, operator, assistant, or helper to work or serve in a food establishment without first obtaining a food handler's card issued by the health officer, and employers may not keep unlicensed workers; the health director may waive the card for nonmanagerial employees of establishments maintaining a high level of sanitation. Statewide, every food establishment must instead have at least one Certified Food Protection Manager on staff (12VAC5-421-55).",
   "exemptions": "Statewide: there is no employee food handler card in Virginia, so no one statewide is required to hold one -- and therefore no exemption from one exists. The statewide credential is the per-establishment Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM), and it has real exemptions:\n\nCFPM EXEMPTIONS (rule) -- 12VAC5-421-55(B) (eff. Nov. 23, 2022): \"This section does not apply to food establishments that serve only non-time/temperature control for safety food and food establishments that store and prepare food only to the extent that they reheat or cold hold commercially processed, fully cooked time/temperature control for safety foods. Food establishments exempt from the certified food protection manager requirement may not cool time/temperature control for safety foods.\"\n\nCFPM EXEMPTIONS (statute) -- Va. Code 35.1-25(B): \"No regulation issued by the Board shall require any restaurant that is operated by (i) a nonprofit civic service organization, (ii) a volunteer fire department, or (iii) a volunteer emergency medical services agency to employ a certified food protection manager.\"\n\nOutside the restaurant regime entirely -- Va. Code 35.1-25(A): the title's restaurant provisions do not apply to (1) boardinghouses that do not accommodate transients; (2) cafeterias operated by industrial plants for employees only; (3) churches, fraternal or school organizations, 501(c)(3) organizations, volunteer fire departments and volunteer emergency medical services agencies that hold or participate in occasional dinners, bazaars and other fundraisers of one or two days' duration; (4) grocery stores, including the delicatessen portion selling exclusively for off-premises consumption, and places manufacturing or selling packaged or canned goods; (5) churches serving meals to their members or invited guests; (6) convenience stores or gas stations subject to VDACS retail food regulations that have 15 or fewer seats and are not associated with a national or regional restaurant chain; (7) concession stands at youth athletic activities promoted or sponsored by a youth athletic association or a charitable nonprofit organization recognized as part of the locality's recreational program; (8) owner-occupied or owner-agent-occupied bed-and-breakfast operations serving transient guests only, no more than 18 guests on any single day, with disclosure that the kitchen is not licensed as a restaurant; and (9) facilities or programs providing custodial care to 12 or fewer adults or children in a home (family day homes; adult day centers, assisted living facilities, children's residential facilities and child-caring institutions; group homes, recovery residences and residential services).\n\nOutside the definition -- 12VAC5-421-10: \"food establishment\" does not include (1) an establishment that offers only prepackaged food that is not time/temperature control for safety food; (2) a produce stand that only offers whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; or (3) a food processing plant.\n\nLocal card exemptions (where a card is required): Newport News City Code 17-46(c) -- \"The food handler's card requirement may be waived by the health director for nonmanagerial employees of food establishments which maintain a high level of sanitation as determined by the health officer.\" Newport News City Code 17-18(a) separately exempts from the city health permit a person who sells only non-potentially-hazardous food that has been pre-packaged and sealed in an approved food establishment, or who sells only fresh fruits and vegetables.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not: in Newport News the card duty reaches \"any person, whether owner, employee, operator, assistant or helper\" (17-46(a)) -- owners and operators are not exempt, and 17-46(b) makes it unlawful for an employer to keep an uncarded person employed; 17-46(d) additionally requires each food establishment to provide at least one certified manager. No exemption is published on the Norfolk Dept. of Public Health food handler class page (checked Jul 11, 2026).",
   "issuing_authority": "No statewide handler-card issuer. In the localities that require a card, it is issued by the local health department / health officer (VDH local health districts) — e.g., the Newport News / Hampton & Peninsula Health District and the Norfolk Department of Public Health. (The statewide CFPM is not \"issued\" by the state either; it is earned via an accredited exam program.)",
   "approved_provider_rule": "No statewide approved-provider scheme for an employee handler card. Where a card is locally required, it is issued by the local health department after its own class/test — e.g., Newport News City Code §17-49 (passing the health officer's oral or written test plus roughly one hour of classroom instruction in personal hygiene and food protection); Norfolk (an in-person ~90-minute VDH class). This differs from the statewide Certified Food Protection Manager, which must come from a Conference for Food Protection / ANAB-accredited program (12VAC5-421-55; VDH CFPM page).",
   "cost_range": "No state-set fee (no statewide card). Locality-set: Newport News — $5.00 per food handler's card issued or renewed (Newport News City Code §17-48); Norfolk — $15.00 administrative/class fee (Norfolk Dept. of Public Health)",
   "validity_years": "Set per locality (no statewide card): Newport News — up to 3 years (Newport News City Code §17-50, \"not more than three (3) years\"); Norfolk — 2 years (Norfolk Dept. of Public Health)",
   "county_exceptions": "Employee food handler's cards are mandated only at the local level, concentrated in Hampton Roads/Tidewater. Verified by official code/agency source: City of Newport News (City Code Ch. 17 §§17-46–17-51) and City of Norfolk (Norfolk Dept. of Public Health food handler class). The Hampton & Peninsula Health District (Cities of Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg; Counties of James City and York) and additional Tidewater localities (e.g., Portsmouth, Suffolk, Franklin, Southampton, Isle of Wight) are reported to require food handler training/cards by local ordinance — each should be confirmed against that locality's city/county code before citing. By contrast, Northern Virginia (Fairfax County; City of Alexandria) does not require a handler card and, since 2021, dropped its former Northern Virginia Food Manager's card in favor of the statewide CFPM rule.",
   "legal_basis": "Statewide: 12VAC5-421-55 (Virginia Food Regulations, Chapter 421) requires a Certified Food Protection Manager, not an employee handler card; the chapter is promulgated under Title 35.1 of the Code of Virginia (§§35.1-11 and 35.1-14 per 12VAC5-421-80; the CFPM exemption also cites §35.1-25). No statewide handler-card statute exists. Handler-card requirements rest entirely on local ordinances — e.g., Newport News City Code §§17-46 through 17-51. Exemptions: 12VAC5-421-55(B) (CFPM requirement does not apply to establishments serving only non-TCS food, or that only reheat/cold hold commercially processed fully cooked TCS foods -- and such exempt establishments may not cool TCS foods); Va. Code 35.1-25(B) (no CFPM may be required of restaurants operated by a nonprofit civic service organization, volunteer fire department, or volunteer EMS agency); Va. Code 35.1-25(A) (nine categories outside the title's restaurant provisions); 12VAC5-421-10 (exclusions from \"food establishment\"). Locally: Newport News City Code 17-46(c) (health director may waive the card for nonmanagerial employees of high-sanitation establishments) and 17-18(a) (health-permit exemption for prepackaged non-PHF or fresh-produce-only sellers).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Virginia Administrative Code 12VAC5-421-55 — Certified Food Protection Manager (statewide rule: requires one manager cert per establishment, not an employee handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title12/agency5/chapter421/section55/\"}, {\"label\": \"VDH — Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) Certification (confirms the statewide requirement is a manager cert; no statewide employee handler card)\", \"url\": \"https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/environmental-health/food-safety-in-virginia/cfpm/\"}, {\"label\": \"Newport News, VA City Code, Chapter 17 (Food and Food Establishments), §§17-46–17-51 — Local food handler's card mandate: unlawful to work without card (§17-46), $5.00 fee (§17-48), issued by health officer after test + ~1 hr class (§17-49), term up to 3 years (§17-50)\", \"url\": \"https://library.municode.com/va/newport_news/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CD_ORD_CH17FOFOES\"}, {\"label\": \"Norfolk Department of Public Health — Food Handler Class (local card: $15.00 fee, valid 2 years, issued after an in-person class)\", \"url\": \"https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/norfolk/food-handler-class/\"}, {\"label\": \"Virginia Administrative Code 12VAC5-421-80 — Responsibility of permit holder/PIC/employees (establishes chapter's authorizing statutes, Code of Virginia Title 35.1 §§35.1-11, 35.1-14)\", \"url\": \"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title12/agency5/chapter421/section80/\"}, {\"label\": \"Va. Code 35.1-25 (Exemptions) -- (A) the restaurant provisions do not apply to boardinghouses, industrial-plant employee cafeterias, church/fraternal/school/501(c)(3)/volunteer-fire/EMS fundraisers of one or two days, grocery stores and packaged-goods sellers, church meals for members, small non-chain convenience stores/gas stations (15 or fewer seats), youth-athletic concession stands, small owner-occupied bed-and-breakfasts (18 or fewer guests/day), and small custodial-care homes (12 or fewer); (B) no regulation may require a CFPM at a restaurant run by a nonprofit civic service organization, volunteer fire department, or volunteer EMS agency\", \"url\": \"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title35.1/chapter4/section35.1-25/\"}, {\"label\": \"12VAC5-421-10 (Definitions) -- \\\"food establishment\\\" does not include prepackaged non-TCS-only establishments, whole-uncut produce stands, or food processing plants\", \"url\": \"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/admincode/title12/agency5/chapter421/section10/\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/va-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "vt-food-handler",
   "state": "Vermont",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "no statewide employee food-handler card exists; the rule requires only a Person in Charge who can demonstrate food-safety knowledge — and even manager certification is just one of three optional ways to demonstrate it",
   "who_must_get": "No one. Vermont does not require individual food handlers/employees to hold a food handler card or complete any state-mandated training or exam. Each establishment must have a Person in Charge present during all hours of operation (§ 5-222 B) who can demonstrate food-safety knowledge to inspectors (§ 5-222 C). Employers may voluntarily require training.",
   "exemptions": "None. Vermont imposes no food handler credential on any individual, so there is nobody to exempt. Sources checked (as of Jul 11, 2026): (1) the statute, 18 V.S.A. ch. 85 -- 4301 (definitions), 4302 (general requirements), 4303 (rulemaking), 4304 (Employees, which reaches only disease exclusion and medical testing), and 4358 (Exemptions, as amended by 2025 Act 42, eff. July 1, 2025); (2) the administrative rule, Vermont Health Regulations for Food Service Establishments (13-140-018) -- a full-text search of 5-222 and the whole rule finds no employee food-handler-card provision; and (3) the AGENCY FAQ, Vt. Dept. of Health, Retail Food Service Establishments, which asks \"Do I need a food handler's certificate to work in a restaurant in Vermont?\" and answers only that a food service worker must be able to demonstrate knowledge of food safety and sanitation, and that it is recommended (not required) that the Person In Charge receive food safety training. No exemption is stated because no requirement exists.\n\nEven the manager credential is optional: under rule 5-222(C) a certified food protection manager (accredited program) is only one of three ways the Person in Charge may demonstrate food-safety knowledge -- the others being compliance with the regulations, or correctly answering the inspector's questions. So no one in a Vermont food establishment is legally obliged to hold any food-safety certificate.\n\nRelated exclusions from the regime (not handler exemptions, but they mark who is outside it): the rule's definition of \"food service establishment\" \"does not include a private home where food is prepared for individual family consumption, and it does not include the location of food vending machines.\" On licensing (not personnel), 18 V.S.A. 4358 provides that the licensing subchapter \"shall apply only to those hotels, inns, restaurants, tourist camps, and other places that solicit the patronage of the public by advertising,\" and that the obligation to obtain a license and pay licensure fees does not apply to a cottage food operation or other food manufacturing establishment whose average gross retail sales fall below the 18 V.S.A. 4353 thresholds (such an establishment must instead file an annual licensing-exemption filing attesting to any training required by rule).",
   "issuing_authority": "None — Vermont issues no state food handler card. Food service establishments are licensed and inspected by the Vermont Department of Health, Food & Lodging Program (the \"regulatory authority\" under the Food Service Establishment Regulations); no individual-employee credential is issued.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "No state food-handler-card mandate. Governing rule: Vermont Health Regulations for Food Service Establishments § 5-222(B)–(C) (Person in Charge; Demonstration of Knowledge), officially cited 13-018 Code Vt. R. 13-140-018-X (eff. Dec 1, 2003). Enabling statute: 18 V.S.A. ch. 85 (§§ 4301–4304); § 4303 delegates food-safety standards to Health Dept. rulemaking, and § 4304 (Employees) covers only disease/health exclusion — neither imposes a handler-card requirement. Exemptions searched and none found (no requirement exists to be exempt from): 18 V.S.A. 4301-4304 and 4358 (the only exemptions in ch. 85 are licensing exemptions -- advertising-based applicability and the cottage-food / below-threshold license-fee exemption); Food Service Establishment Regulations 5-222 (Person in Charge; knowledge may be demonstrated three ways, so even the certified food protection manager is optional); Vt. Dept. of Health Retail Food Service Establishments FAQ (no food handler certificate required; PIC training only recommended).",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Vermont Health Regulations for Food Service Establishments (official PDF, eff. Dec 1 2003) — § 5-222(B)–(C) Person in Charge / Demonstration of Knowledge; full-text search found no employee food-handler-card provision\", \"url\": \"https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/document/reg-food-service-establishments.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Vermont Dept. of Health — Retail Food Service Establishments (practical page; states no employee food handler card is required, PIC training only recommended)\", \"url\": \"https://www.healthvermont.gov/environment/food-lodging-program/retail-food-service-establishments\"}, {\"label\": \"18 V.S.A. Chapter 85 — Food, Lodging, and Short-Term Rentals (enabling statute; delegates food-safety standards to Health Dept. rulemaking)\", \"url\": \"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/fullchapter/18/085\"}, {\"label\": \"18 V.S.A. § 4304 — Employees (disease/health exclusion only; no food handler card requirement)\", \"url\": \"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/18/085/04304\"}, {\"label\": \"18 V.S.A. 4358 (Exemptions; amended 2025, No. 42, eff. July 1 2025) -- licensing exemptions only: subchapter applies only to places soliciting public patronage by advertising; cottage food operations and food manufacturing establishments below the 4353 gross-sales thresholds owe no license or license fee. No personnel/handler-credential exemption exists because no such requirement exists\", \"url\": \"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/18/085/04358\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/vt-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "wa-food-handler",
   "state": "Washington",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "state-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "county-issued",
   "who_must_get": "All food service workers must obtain a food worker card within 14 calendar days from the beginning of employment at a food service establishment (WAC 246-217-015(1)). A \"food service worker\" is an individual who handles unwrapped/unpackaged food or who may contribute to transmission of infectious disease through contact with food (WAC 246-217-010). Separate establishment-level mandate -- Washington requires both credentials at once: every food service worker needs the food worker card, and, under WAC 246-215-02107 (titled \"Certified food protection manager (FDA Food Code 2-102.12)\"): \"By March 1, 2023, food establishments must have at least one certified food protection manager on staff as evidenced by a valid certificate available from an accredited program. The certificate must be available upon request. If the certified food protection manager leaves employment for any reason, the food establishment must have another certified food protection manager on staff within sixty days.\" (Part of the ch. 246-215 WAC revision incorporating the 2017 FDA Food Code; WSR 21-01-122, filed 12/15/2020, effective 3/1/2022, with the CFPM compliance date of March 1, 2023.)",
   "exemptions": "Adult family home workers -- the one true exemption, stated in both sources. Statute, RCW 69.06.080: \"Except for the food safety training standards adopted by the state board of health under RCW 69.06.010, the provisions of this chapter do not apply to persons who work in adult family homes and successfully complete training and continuing education as required by RCW 70.128.250.\" Rule, WAC 246-217-015(4): a food service worker in an adult family home is exempt from possessing a food worker card if the worker (a) began working in an adult family home after June 30, 2005, has successfully completed basic or modified-basic caregiver training, and has documentation of receiving safe-food-handling information or training from the employer before providing food handling or service; or (b) held a valid food worker card before June 30, 2005 and has obtained 0.5 hours of continuing education in food handling safety per year since June 30, 2005.\n\nOutside the definition of \"FOOD SERVICE WORKER\" -- WAC 246-217-010(5) expressly excludes \"persons who simply assist residents or patients in institutional facilities with meals, or students in K-12 schools who periodically assist with school meal service.\"\n\nOutside the definition of \"FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT\" (so no card duty attaches) -- WAC 246-217-010(4)(b): (i) private homes where food is prepared or served for consumption by household members and/or their guests; (ii) establishments offering only commercially prepackaged nonpotentially hazardous foods; (iii) commercial food processing establishments licensed and regulated by the USDA, FDA or WSDA; and (iv) farmers exempt from licensure under RCW 36.71.090.\n\nAlternative permit, not an exemption -- RCW 69.06.070: \"The local health officer may issue a limited duty permit when necessary to reasonably accommodate a person with a disability. The limited duty permit must specify the activities that the permit holder may perform, and must include only activities having low public health risk.\" Test accommodations must also be made under the ADA (WAC 246-217-025(10)).\n\nGrace period, not an exemption -- a new worker may work up to 14 calendar days before obtaining the card (WAC 246-217-015(1)), but only if the employer first provides safe-food-handling information or training and documents it on file for inspection (WAC 246-217-015(3)).\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but not -- unpaid volunteers. WAC 246-217-010(5) defines a food service worker as an individual who works \"(or intends to work) WITH OR WITHOUT PAY in a food service establishment\" and handles unwrapped or unpackaged food (or may contribute to disease transmission through contact with food, equipment and facilities). Volunteers who handle unwrapped food therefore need a food worker card. Temporary events are also not exempt: WAC 246-217-015(2) sets a floor -- at a minimum the operator or person in charge each shift must hold a valid food worker card obtained before the event -- while subsection (1)'s requirement that all food service workers obtain a card still runs, with subsection (4) (adult family homes) as the only stated exception. Grocery, supermarket, retail meat/fish market, retail bakery and delicatessen staff; school, hospital, jail, prison, nursing home, assisted living and child care food staff; caterers and central preparation sites; satellite servicing and remote feeding sites; bed and breakfast operations; mobile food units; and adult family homes are all inside the definition of \"food service establishment\" (WAC 246-217-010(4)(a)). The establishment CFPM mandate carries its own carve-out -- WAC 246-215-02107(2): \"This section does not apply to certain types of food establishments deemed by the regulatory authority to pose minimal risk of causing, or contributing to, foodborne illness based on the nature of the operation and extent of food preparation\" -- a risk determination made by the regulatory authority, not an enumerated list.",
   "issuing_authority": "Local health jurisdiction / local health officer, under the Washington State Department of Health rule (Chapter 246-217 WAC). Cards must be issued and signed by the local health officer; the exam is uniform statewide and prepared/approved by the Department of Health.",
   "approved_provider_rule": "Card must be issued and signed by the local health officer (WAC 246-217-025); the examination is uniform statewide and prepared/approved by the WA Dept. of Health, and any local exam variant must be department-approved before use. Local health jurisdictions may contract out training/testing. Per DOH, the only authorized online training/testing program is the state's own foodworkercard.wa.gov.",
   "cost_range": "$10 flat statewide fee — \"Each applicant for a food worker card must pay a fee in the amount of ten dollars\" (WAC 246-217-025). Paid to the local health jurisdiction.",
   "validity_years": "2 (initial); renewals 3; up to 5 if applicant documents \"additional food safety training\" within the prior 2 years (WAC 246-217-035)",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "Chapter 246-217 WAC (Food Worker Cards) — key sections: 246-217-015 (requirement/14-day timing), 246-217-025 ($10 fee, issuance), 246-217-035 (validity). Statutory authority: Chapter 69.06 RCW (esp. RCW 69.06.010) and RCW 43.20.050. Exemptions: RCW 69.06.080 and WAC 246-217-015(4) (adult family home workers meeting the stated training conditions -- the only exemption from possessing a card); WAC 246-217-010(5) (persons who simply assist residents/patients in institutional facilities with meals, and K-12 students who periodically assist with school meal service, are not \"food service workers\"; volunteers are, since the definition covers work \"with or without pay\"); WAC 246-217-010(4)(b) (exclusions from \"food service establishment\"); RCW 69.06.070 (limited duty permit for disability accommodation -- an alternative permit, not an exemption); WAC 246-217-015(1),(3) (14-day grace period conditioned on documented employer training). Establishment-level mandate: WAC 246-215-02107 (certified food protection manager -- at least one on staff since March 1, 2023; certificate available upon request; 60-day replacement window; minimal-risk carve-out at subsection (2); authority RCW 43.20.050 and 43.20.145; WSR 21-01-122, filed 12/15/20, effective 3/1/22). WA DOH's Food Code Rule Revision page lists the CFPM requirement as effective March 1, 2023.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Chapter 246-217 WAC (full) — Food Worker Cards (statute; requirement, fee, validity, authority)\", \"url\": \"https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-217&full=true\"}, {\"label\": \"WAC 246-217-035 — Validity and form of food worker cards (2yr initial / 3yr renewal / 5yr)\", \"url\": \"https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-217-035\"}, {\"label\": \"WAC 246-217-025 — $10 fee, local-health-officer issuance, statewide exam\", \"url\": \"https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-217-025\"}, {\"label\": \"WA Dept. of Health — Food Worker Card page (who must get, cost, validity, authorized online program)\", \"url\": \"https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/food/food-worker-and-industry/food-worker-card\"}, {\"label\": \"RCW 69.06.080 -- chapter does not apply to persons who work in adult family homes and complete the training/continuing education required by RCW 70.128.250 (except the state board of health food safety training standards)\", \"url\": \"https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.06.080\"}, {\"label\": \"RCW 69.06.070 -- limited duty permit: the local health officer may issue one to reasonably accommodate a person with a disability (alternative permit, not an exemption)\", \"url\": \"https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=69.06.070\"}, {\"label\": \"WAC 246-217-010 (Definitions) -- (4)(b) exclusions from \\\"food service establishment\\\" (private homes, prepackaged non-PHF-only establishments, USDA/FDA/WSDA-regulated processors, farmers exempt under RCW 36.71.090); (5) \\\"food service worker\\\" covers workers with or without pay (volunteers included) but excludes persons who simply assist residents/patients with meals and K-12 students who periodically assist with meal service\", \"url\": \"https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-217-010\"}, {\"label\": \"WAC 246-217-015 (Applicability) -- (2) temporary establishments: operator/PIC each shift must hold a card obtained before the event; (3) employer must train/document workers who do not yet hold a card; (4) the adult family home exemption and its conditions\", \"url\": \"https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-217-015\"}, {\"label\": \"WAC 246-215-02107 -- Certified food protection manager (FDA Food Code 2-102.12): at least one CFPM on staff by March 1, 2023; 60-day replacement; minimal-risk carve-out (official app.leg.wa.gov, read in full on July 17, 2026)\", \"url\": \"https://app.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=246-215-02107\"}, {\"label\": \"WA DOH -- Food Code Rule Revision (chapter 246-215 WAC): Certified Food Protection Manager requirement effective March 1, 2023\", \"url\": \"https://doh.wa.gov/community-and-environment/food/food-worker-and-industry/food-safety-rules/food-code-rule-revision\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/wa-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "wi-food-handler",
   "state": "Wisconsin",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "manager certification only -- each restaurant's operator or manager must hold a Certificate of Food Protection Practices (see the food manager page); no employee card",
   "who_must_get": "No individual employee needs a food handler card -- Wisconsin has no statewide handler-card law. Instead, Wis. Stat. s. 97.33(1r) requires that the operator or manager of each restaurant be a certificate holder (a certified food protection manager); s. 97.33(1m) applies the same duty to a school lunchroom participating in the National School Lunch Program with school-provided food service, where the operator or manager \"or his or her designee\" may hold it -- the designee option exists only for those school lunchrooms, not for restaurants. That is a one-per-establishment credential, not a per-employee card. The five-year term, the two renewal routes, the small-operator license, posting and the 90-day windows are on the [Wisconsin food manager certification page](/food-manager/wi-food-manager/).",
   "exemptions": "No one needs a food handler card in Wisconsin: no such credential exists in state law, so the question of who is exempt from it is moot statewide. The only personnel credential Wisconsin law creates is the certified food protection manager (Certificate of Food Protection Practices), covered on the [Wisconsin food manager certification page](/food-manager/wi-food-manager/), and its duty is narrow: Wis. Stat. s. 97.33(1r) requires only that the \"operator or manager\" of a restaurant be a certificate holder, and \"restaurant\" is defined at Wis. Stat. s. 97.01(14g), which expressly provides that \"'Restaurant' does not include\": (a) taverns that serve free lunches consisting of popcorn, cheese, crackers, pretzels, cold sausage, cured fish or bread and butter; (b) \"churches, religious, fraternal, youths' or patriotic organizations, service clubs and civic organizations which occasionally prepare, serve or sell meals to transients or the general public\"; (c) any public or private school lunchroom for which food service is directly provided by the school, or a private individual selling foods from a movable or temporary stand at public farm sales; (d) any bed and breakfast establishment that serves breakfasts only to its lodgers; (e) the serving of food or beverage through a licensed vending machine; (f) any college campus, institution or technical college that serves meals only to its enrolled students (or to authorized elderly persons under s. 36.51 or 38.36); (g) \"a concession stand at a locally sponsored sporting event, such as a little league game\"; (h) \"a potluck event\"; and (i) the serving of food or beverage through a licensed micro market. An operation outside that definition carries no s. 97.33 manager-certificate duty at all.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but is not: a school lunchroom is excluded from \"restaurant\" by s. 97.01(14g)(c), yet s. 97.33(1m) pulls it back in — no person may operate a school lunchroom in a school participating in the National School Lunch Program (42 USC 1751 to 1769j) for which the school directly provides food service unless the lunchroom's operator or manager, or his or her designee, is a certificate holder. One certificate holder per school or school district satisfies this.\n\nRule-level exemption: Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 75 Appendix (Wisconsin Food Code) para. 2-102.12(B) provides that the certified-food-protection-manager requirement \"does not apply to certain types of FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS deemed by the DEPARTMENT to pose minimal risk of causing, or contributing to, foodborne illness based on the nature of the operation and extent of FOOD preparation.\"\n\nFee/training waivers (they waive cost or coursework, not the requirement): s. 97.33(6)(a) bars DATCP from imposing a certification fee on an individual eligible for the veterans fee waiver program under s. 45.44; s. 97.33(3m) requires DATCP to count substantially equivalent military education, training or experience toward the certificate.\n\nSources checked: the statute (Wis. Stat. ch. 97, ss. 97.01(14g) and 97.33, 2023-24 Wis. Stats.), the administrative rule (Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 75 and its Appendix / Wisconsin Food Code, Register November 2024 No. 827), and the agency pages (DATCP Food Manager Requirements + CFMRequirements.pdf). No individual food-handler-card requirement, and therefore no exemption from one, exists at any level.",
   "issuing_authority": "",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "",
   "legal_basis": "No Wisconsin statute or rule requires an individual food handler card. The operative food-safety personnel requirement is Wis. Stat. s. 97.33 (Certificate of food protection practices): the operator or manager of a restaurant must be a certificate holder (s. 97.33(1r)); the \"or his or her designee\" option appears only in s. 97.33(1m) for school lunchrooms -- term, renewal routes and the small-operator license are on the food manager page; food establishments are otherwise governed by Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 75 (Wisconsin Food Code). Exemption layer: the s. 97.33 manager duty reaches only a \"restaurant,\" and Wis. Stat. s. 97.01(14g)(a)-(i) expressly excludes taverns serving free lunches, churches/religious/fraternal/youth/patriotic organizations, service clubs and civic organizations serving meals occasionally, school-run school lunchrooms, bed-and-breakfasts serving only lodgers, licensed vending machines, college/technical-college dining serving only enrolled students, locally-sponsored sporting-event concession stands, potluck events, and licensed micro markets; s. 97.33(1m) separately re-imposes the certificate on National School Lunch Program lunchrooms with school-provided food service.",
   "last_verified": "2026-09-05",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Wis. Stat. s. 97.33 — Certificate of food protection practices: only the restaurant operator/manager must be a certificate holder (the designee option is in s. 97.33(1m), school lunchrooms only); valid 5 years; approved exam. No individual handler card\", \"url\": \"https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/97/ii/33\"}, {\"label\": \"Wisconsin DATCP (official) — Food Manager Requirements: licensed establishments must have a certified food protection manager, renewed every 5 years; no mention of any employee food handler card\", \"url\": \"https://datcp.wi.gov/Pages/Programs_Services/foodmanager.aspx\"}, {\"label\": \"Wisconsin DATCP (official PDF, CFMRequirements.pdf = \\\"Certificates of Food Protection for Small Operators\\\"): restaurants with 5 or fewer food handlers are exempt from renewing the food-manager certification; cites s. 97.33 Stats. + ATCP 75, 5-year validity, accredited exam; requirement is on the establishment's manager, not on individual food handlers\", \"url\": \"https://datcp.wi.gov/Documents/CFMRequirements.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 75 — Wisconsin Food Code (governing food-safety rule; contains no individual food-handler-card mandate)\", \"url\": \"https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/code/admin_code/atcp/055/75_.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Wis. Stat. s. 97.01(14g) - definition of \\\"Restaurant\\\" and its nine express exclusions (taverns/free lunch, churches & civic orgs serving occasionally, school-run lunchrooms, B&Bs, vending machines, college campuses, little-league concession stands, potluck events, micro markets). This definition is what bounds the s. 97.33 manager-certificate duty\", \"url\": \"https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/97/i/01\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/wi-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "wv-food-handler",
   "state": "West Virginia",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "county-mandated",
   "mandate_detail": "W. Va. Code §16-2-16 sets statewide card terms, but the requirement to hold a card is imposed by local county health departments",
   "who_must_get": "Where a county requires it, food workers in restaurants and other applicable food establishments must obtain the card within 30 days of being hired (§16-2-16). Example (Kanawha-Charleston): anyone who handles, prepares, serves, sells, or gives away food — including bussing tables or washing dishes — within 30 days of starting work.",
   "exemptions": "The statute grants no exemption — and imposes no statewide duty either. W. Va. Code §16-2-16 (as of 2026-07-11) contains no exemption clause of any kind. What it does is decline to require the card itself: it sets the terms of a card \"issued pursuant to the procedures put in place by a local county health department\" and says \"IF REQUIRED, a permit or card shall be obtained within thirty days of a person being hired in a restaurant or other applicable food establishment.\" So in any West Virginia county whose health department has not adopted a food-handler-card rule, no food worker needs a card at all. That — not a list of exempt persons — is the operative exemption for most of the state, and it must be checked county by county.\n\nWhere a county does require it, no exemption is published. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department (verified example, state capital) states the duty in deliberately broad terms: \"If you handle, prepare, serve, sell, or give away food for human consumption, even if you bus tables or wash dishes, you are a food worker and need this training within 30 days of starting work.\" It carves out no category — volunteers, seasonal, part-time and non-profit workers are not excepted on its face.\n\nOuter boundary of the duty: the card attaches only to a person hired in \"a restaurant or other applicable food establishment.\" \"Food establishment\" is defined by the Food Establishments legislative rule, W. Va. C.S.R. §64-17 (active version, filed 3/30/2023, effective April 1, 2023), whose §4.3 provides that \"Food establishment does not include\": 4.3.a. an establishment that offers only prepackaged foods that are not time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food and does not provide reusable tableware to the consumer; 4.3.b. a produce stand that only offers whole, uncut fresh fruits and vegetables; 4.3.c. a food processing plant; 4.3.d. a kitchen in a private home where the food is non-TCS and prepared for sale or service at a function \"such as a religious or charitable organization's bake sale,\" provided a clearly visible placard informs the consumer that the food is prepared in a kitchen not subject to regulation and inspection; 4.3.e. an area where such food is sold; 4.3.f. a kitchen in a family child care home; and 4.3.g. a private home that receives catered or home-delivered food. Workers in operations outside the \"food establishment\" definition fall outside the card duty.\n\nSeparate credential, separate exemption (not the handler card): §64-17-3.1.c. displaces FDA Food Code ¶2-102.12(B) and substitutes — \"This section does not apply to: (1) retail food facilities where only commercially prepackaged food is handled and sold, and (2) temporary food establishments.\" That exempts those operations from the certified food protection manager requirement, not from any handler card.\n\nSources checked: the statute (W. Va. Code §16-2-16), the administrative rule (W. Va. C.S.R. §64-17, active version effective 4/1/2023, from the WV Secretary of State Code of State Rules), and the county agency page that actually imposes the card (Kanawha-Charleston Health Department). None of them states an exemption to the handler card itself.",
   "issuing_authority": "Local county health departments (e.g., Kanawha-Charleston Health Department), operating under W. Va. Code §16-2-16 and minimum training guidelines developed by the WV Bureau for Public Health",
   "approved_provider_rule": "No single mandated provider. Under §16-2-16 the WV Bureau for Public Health develops minimum training guidelines that counties may adopt; \"in lieu of state guidelines a local health department may use training courses developed by the American National Standards Institute [ANSI] or other nationally recognized entities for food safety training.\" (Example: Kanawha-Charleston partners with StateFoodSafety.com.)",
   "cost_range": "No state-set base exam/card fee — pricing is left to the local county health department or its approved training provider. The only fee fixed by statute is \"an additional fee not to exceed $10\" to make a card valid in all counties statewide (W. Va. Code §16-2-16). Note: the widely-repeated \"$15 statewide cap\" is not in the statute and must not be presented as a state-set price.",
   "validity_years": "1–3 (statute caps the range at \"at least one year but not longer than three years,\" §16-2-16; each county sets its own within it — e.g., Kanawha-Charleston issues a 1-year card)",
   "county_exceptions": "Not a uniform statewide mandate — whether a card is required and its specifics (validity within the 1–3 yr range, renewal cadence, approved provider) are set county-by-county. Confirmed required in Kanawha County (Kanawha-Charleston Health Department, state capital, 1-yr card). Check the specific county health department for its rule. The Certified Food Protection Manager requirement (one per establishment, from 64 CSR 17 / 2013 FDA Food Code) is a separate credential and is not this handler card.",
   "legal_basis": "W. Va. Code §16-2-16 (Food handler examinations and cards) — sets statewide card terms (validity 1–3 yrs; $10 max multi-county portability fee; 30-day window; ANSI/nationally-recognized training) but leaves the requirement to local county health departments. Separate: Food Establishments rule W. Va. C.S.R. §64-17, which incorporates the 2013 FDA Food Code, requires a Certified Food Protection Manager per establishment — the manager credential, not the employee handler card. Exemption layer: §16-2-16 states no exemption and imposes no statewide duty (the card is owed only \"if required\" by a county). The duty's outer boundary is the term \"applicable food establishment\": W. Va. C.S.R. §64-17 (active rule, effective April 1, 2023), §4.3, excludes prepackaged-only (non-TCS) operations, whole-produce stands, food processing plants, private-home kitchens producing non-TCS food for religious/charitable bake sales (with placard), family child care home kitchens, and private homes receiving catered food. §64-17-3.1.c exempts prepackaged-only retail food facilities and temporary food establishments from the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement.",
   "last_verified": "2026-07-22",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"W. Va. Code §16-2-16 — Food handler examinations and cards (official statute; verbatim operative text)\", \"url\": \"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/16-2-16/\"}, {\"label\": \"Kanawha-Charleston Health Department — Food Handler / Manager Requirements (official .gov county page; example of a county imposing the handler-card requirement and, separately, the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement)\", \"url\": \"https://kchd.wv.gov/environmental/Food/Pages/Food_Handler_Requirements.aspx\"}, {\"label\": \"WV Secretary of State — Code of State Rules 64-17 Food Establishments (rule that incorporates the 2013 FDA Food Code / Certified Food Protection Manager — the separate manager credential)\", \"url\": \"https://apps.sos.wv.gov/adlaw/csr/rule.aspx?rule=64-17\"}, {\"label\": \"W. Va. C.S.R. §64-17 Food Establishments - active legislative rule, filed 3/30/2023, effective 4/1/2023 (WV Secretary of State, Code of State Rules). §4.3 excludes prepackaged-only operations, whole-produce stands, food processing plants, private-home/bake-sale kitchens, family child care home kitchens and homes receiving catered food from \\\"food establishment\\\"; §3.1.c exempts prepackaged-only retail and temporary food establishments from the Certified Food Protection Manager requirement\", \"url\": \"https://apps.sos.wv.gov/adlaw/csr/ruleview.aspx?document=17806\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/wv-food-handler/"
  },
  {
   "page_id": "wy-food-handler",
   "state": "Wyoming",
   "certification": "Food Handler Card",
   "cluster": "food-handler",
   "mandate_level": "none",
   "mandate_detail": "only the person in charge must be able to demonstrate food-safety knowledge to the inspector; a certified food protection manager is required only by two county rules (see the food manager page)",
   "who_must_get": "No individual food employee is required to hold a food handler card. Under the Wyoming Food Safety Rule (Ch. 1 Sec. 10) only the person in charge must be able to demonstrate food-safety knowledge to the regulatory authority, and holding a certified food protection manager credential is one voluntary way to do that. Two county rules go further and require a certified manager; which counties, and what each requires, is on the [Wyoming food manager certification page](/food-manager/wy-food-manager/). There is no employee food-handler card mandate.",
   "exemptions": "No food handler card exists in Wyoming, so no food employee needs one and no exemption is required to avoid it. Wyoming imposes only a person-in-charge duty, and the certified food protection manager credential is optional statewide (Wyoming Food Safety Rule Ch. 1 Sec. 10(a)); the counties that do require a certified manager, and their carve-outs, are on the [Wyoming food manager certification page](/food-manager/wy-food-manager/).\n\nWhole operations fall outside the rule. \"Establishment\" is defined at Wyoming Food Safety Rule Ch.1 §8(a)(lv), and §8(a)(lv)(C) provides that \"'Establishment' does not include\": (I) a kitchen in a private home if only food that is not potentially hazardous is prepared for sale or use at farmers' markets, roadside stands, private homes or functions; (II) an area where food prepared as specified in (C)(I) is sold; (III) a kitchen in a private home, such as a small family day-care provider; (IV) a private home that receives catered or home-delivered food; (V) a home kitchen where food is prepared and stored for family consumption; and (VI) \"any other place equipped for the preparation, consumption and storage of food on the premise by employees or nonpaying guests.\" People working in these are not subject to the food rule's personnel provisions at all.\n\nStatutory exemption — The Wyoming Food Freedom Act (W.S. 11-49-101 through 11-49-104): W.S. 11-49-103(b) provides that \"homemade food products produced, sold and consumed in compliance with the Wyoming Food Freedom Act shall be exempt from state licensure, permitting, inspection, packaging and labeling requirements,\" for producer-to-informed-end-consumer transactions at farmers markets, farms, ranches, producers' homes or offices and other agreed locations (§11-49-103(c),(vi)). W.S. 11-49-103(e) requires the producer to inform the end consumer that the food \"is not certified, labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated or inspected.\" Limits: transactions must occur only in Wyoming and must not involve interstate commerce (§11-49-103(c)(iii),(iv)); and homemade or uninspected food \"shall not be served or utilized as an ingredient in a commercial food establishment\" (§11-49-103(d)). Note also that the Act's producer meat-sale provision, §11-49-103(n), is not in force — §11-49-103(o) makes it effective only upon the governor's certification to the secretary of state that such direct-to-consumer uninspected meat sales have been legalized under federal law.\n\nCommonly ASSUMED exempt but is not: because the state requires nothing, readers assume no Wyoming jurisdiction does. Some do — Teton County requires at least one certified food protection manager per establishment (Teton County Rules for Food Safety, Ch.1 §11), and Cheyenne/Laramie County are reported to as well. That is a manager certification, not an individual handler card.\n\nSources checked: the statute (Wyoming Food, Drug and Cosmetic Safety Act, W.S. 35-7-110 through 35-7-127; Wyoming Food Freedom Act, W.S. 11-49-101 through 11-49-104), the administrative rule (Wyoming Food Safety Rule Ch.1, from the Wyoming Secretary of State's official Administrative Rules repository), and the agency pages/FAQ (Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Consumer Health Services — Food Safety page and CHS FAQ, both silent on any handler card). FRESHNESS: the Wyoming Food Safety Rule Ch.1 relied on here is stamped \"Effective Date: 12/10/2012 to Current\" / \"Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations\" in the Secretary of State's repository (agency 010, program 0003 \"Food Safety, Wyoming\", reference number 010.0003.1), generated 07/11/2026 — i.e. the 2012 rule is verified as the current rule, not a superseded one.",
   "issuing_authority": "None — Wyoming issues no employee food-handler card. Statewide food-safety regulator: Wyoming Department of Agriculture, Consumer Health Services (administers the Wyoming Food Safety Rule).",
   "approved_provider_rule": "",
   "cost_range": "",
   "validity_years": "",
   "county_exceptions": "No Wyoming county requires an employee food-handler card. Two county boards of health instead require a certified food protection manager under their own food safety rules -- Teton County (food rule 2026, adopted May 19, 2026) and Casper-Natrona County (Food Safety Rule 2023) -- a manager certification, not a handler card. Who must hold it in each county, the replacement window and the carve-outs are stated on the [Wyoming food manager certification page](/food-manager/wy-food-manager/).",
   "legal_basis": "Wyoming Food Safety Rule, Chapter 1, §9 (Person in Charge Requirement) and §10 (Demonstration of Food Safety Knowledge); promulgated by the Wyoming Department of Agriculture under W.S. 35-7-120, 35-7-123(a)(iii), and 35-7-127 (Wyoming Food, Drug and Cosmetic Safety Act, W.S. 35-7-110 through 35-7-127). No provision creates an individual food-handler card. Exemption layer: Wyoming Food Safety Rule Ch.1 §8(a)(lv)(C) excludes private-home kitchens producing non-potentially-hazardous food for farmers' markets/roadside stands, the areas where such food is sold, family day-care home kitchens, private homes receiving catered or home-delivered food, home kitchens used for family consumption, and places serving only employees or nonpaying guests, from the definition of \"Establishment.\" Separately, the Wyoming Food Freedom Act, W.S. 11-49-101 through 11-49-104 (esp. §11-49-103(b)), exempts compliant homemade-food producers from state licensure, permitting, inspection, packaging and labeling requirements. Ch.1 §10(a) makes certified-food-protection-manager status expressly voluntary.",
   "last_verified": "2026-09-05",
   "source_urls": "[{\"label\": \"Wyoming Food Safety Rule (2012 Food Rule) — WY Dept. of Agriculture; Ch.1 §1 Authority, §9 Person in Charge Requirement, §10 Demonstration of Food Safety Knowledge (no handler-card mandate; CFPM voluntary statewide)\", \"url\": \"https://agriculture.wy.gov/corecode/uploads/document6/uploaded_pdfs/corecode/2012foodrule_939.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Wyoming Department of Agriculture — Food Safety program page (links the Food Safety Rule; no handler-card requirement stated)\", \"url\": \"https://agriculture.wy.gov/index.php?section=food-safety\"}, {\"label\": \"Teton County Rules for Food Safety — Food rule 2026, adopted by the Teton County Board of Health May 19, 2026; Ch.1 §9 Person in Charge Requirement and §11 Certified Food Protection Manager (a manager cert, not a handler card). Supersedes the 2014/Oct-2017 edition previously cited here.\", \"url\": \"https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/DocumentCenter/View/41690/Teton-County-Rules-for-Food-Safety-2026\"}, {\"label\": \"Wyoming Secretary of State - Administrative Rules repository, Agriculture (010) / Food Safety, Wyoming (0003): official chapter listing with effective dates. Confirms Wyoming Food Safety Rule Ch.1 is \\\"Effective Date: 12/10/2012 to Current\\\" (Rule Type: Current Rules & Regulations) as of 2026-07-11, confirming the 2012 rule is still in force\", \"url\": \"https://rules.wyo.gov/Search.aspx?Agency=010&Program=0003\"}, {\"label\": \"Wyoming Food Freedom Act, W.S. 11-49-101 through 11-49-104 (official Wyoming Legislature statutes, Title 11). §11-49-103(b): homemade food products sold producer-to-informed-end-consumer \\\"shall be exempt from state licensure, permitting, inspection, packaging and labeling requirements\\\"; §11-49-103(e) requires disclosure that the food is \\\"not certified, labeled, licensed, packaged, regulated or inspected\\\"; §11-49-103(d) bars homemade food from commercial food establishments; §11-49-103(o) leaves the meat provision (n) inoperative pending federal legalization\", \"url\": \"https://www.wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title11.pdf\"}, {\"label\": \"Teton County Environmental Health — Regulations index, which links the current edition of the county food rule. Cited because the rule document's own address is tied to one edition: the superseded 2014/Oct-2017 PDF is still served, unchanged, at the address it always had, so this index is the only official page on which a new edition becomes visible.\", \"url\": \"https://www.tetoncountywy.gov/2708/Regulations\"}]",
   "page_url": "https://licensingatlas.com/food-handler/wy-food-handler/"
  }
 ]
}