Texas Food Handler Card: 2-Year Validity, Provider-Issued

Texas requires a Food Handler Card (provider-issued). Every figure below is verified against the official source and dated.

What it’s called

Texas requires a Food Handler Card — a training card, not a license. “Food handler license,” “food handlers permit,” “food safety certificate” and “food workers card” are common informal names for the same card. It is not the food-MANAGER credential: under 25 TAC 228, the Certified Food Protection Manager is expressly excepted from the handler-card requirement — that manager certification (often ServSafe Manager) is separate and higher. Texas’s card is issued by an ANSI-accredited training program.

Quick facts

• Requirement level: State-mandated — provider-issued
• Valid for: 2 years
• Cost: 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.
• Who needs it & when: 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.
• Who issues it: 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.

Who does NOT need this — 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.

OUTSIDE 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).

ADDITIONAL 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).

TWO 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.”

IN-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.

COMMONLY 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.

Approved training providers

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)).