Alabama doesn't require a food handlers card for food employees. Its food establishment rules, Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.02, set one requirement on management instead, and only for the higher-risk places. In Priority Category 3 and 4 establishments, the permit holder or a designee holds a valid certification from an accredited program, or verification of attendance at one, and since January 1, 2020, a designated person in charge with that certification or attendance is present during all hours of operation. Priority Category 1 and 2 establishments and temporary food establishments are exempt. A grocery store with several permitted departments can use one person with supervisory authority over any department. Your county health department assigns the priority category with your permit. In the example below, a Mobile gumbo restaurant checks five people. Below are the rule, covering every hour, the example, and a free roster.
The short version
- No food handlers card in Alabama.
- Priority Category 3 and 4: a person in charge with an accredited certification, or verification of attendance, every hour.
- The rule has applied to all hours of operation since January 1, 2020.
- Priority Category 1 and 2, and temporary food establishments, are exempt.
- Several permitted departments in one store under one owner can share one qualified supervisor.
- Your county health department sets the priority category with the permit.
- TaroStack keeps the batch records and sign-offs an inspector reads; it doesn't track certificates. More below.
The rule
| Rule | What Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.02 says |
|---|---|
| Food handler card | None required |
| Who's covered | Priority Category 3 and 4 establishments |
| What counts | A valid certification from an accredited program, or verification of attendance from an accredited program |
| Every hour | Since January 1, 2020, a designated person in charge with it present during all hours of operation |
| One store, several departments | One person with supervisory authority over any department can cover them all |
| Exempt | Priority Category 1 and 2 establishments, and temporary food establishments |
| The Food Code | Alabama adopts the 2013 FDA Food Code with changes, and excludes parts of 2-102.11 |
The rule is Ala. Admin. Code r. 420-3-22-.02. This is general information, not legal advice.
Covering every hour
The rule follows the clock: from opening to close, the person in charge on duty holds the certification or the attendance verification. A restaurant open lunch, dinner and weekends needs one per shift, or one person who works them all. When the weekend manager's certification lapses, the weekend hours aren't covered until someone qualified is in charge. How a home kitchen sells in Alabama instead is in Alabama cottage food law.
An example: a gumbo restaurant
Mobile Bay Gumbo House, a made-up gumbo restaurant in Mobile, Alabama, I use in these examples, cooks gumbo and étouffée daily, a Priority Category 3 permit:
| Person | Role | Certificate or training | Date | Status on October 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Person in charge, lunch | Certification from an accredited program | July 11, 2022 | Current to July 11, 2027 |
| Evening manager | Person in charge, evenings | Verification of attendance | February 17, 2025 | On file |
| Weekend manager | Person in charge, weekends | Certification from an accredited program | October 4, 2021 | Expired October 4, 2026 |
| Cook | Food employee | Employer training | April 15, 2024 | On file |
| Server, new | Food employee | None | None on file |
The weekend manager's certification ran out twelve days ago, so last weekend had no qualified person in charge. This weekend the owner covers, and the weekend manager sits the exam on Tuesday. How the gumbo's cooling is logged is in temperature log template, and what a batch record holds in what is a batch record.
Get the roster
Download the Alabama food safety roster. One sheet: each person, their role, the certification or training they hold and the date; the expiry, 5 years for the certification in this example, and the status fill in, red when expired, with a count of current certifications. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Every shift needs a qualified person in charge, certifications expire on their own dates, and a lapse on one shift leaves those hours uncovered. A list of names doesn't show who's in charge on Saturday.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack doesn't track food safety certificates. It keeps the production records an inspector reads alongside them.
Batch records with sign-off. Printable batch-record forms carry your own checklist fields and a sign-off, so a batch of gumbo's cooling check, and who did it, is on the record.
People by role. Each person has a role, such as production, limited to the sites they work at, so a new server sees what they need, not costs.
Lots and expiry. Each batch of gumbo gets a lot with its production and best-before dates, and first-expired-first-out is the default, so yesterday's gumbo is used first.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Who signed off a batch | Initials on paper | A sign-off on the batch record |
| What a new server can see | Everything on the shared login | A role limited to their work |
| Which gumbo to use first | Remembered | First-expired-first-out |
Lots, batches and recipes are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.