Arizona has no statewide food handler card: each county decides whether to require one, and state law, A.R.S. 11-269.12, sets the rules for the course when it does. The course must meet the ASTM E2659-09 standard, can be taken online with no proctor, can be retried as often as needed, and a card from one county is valid in any other county that requires one until it expires. In Maricopa County, the Phoenix area, the person in charge makes sure every food employee is trained within 30 days of starting food work, or before the event at a temporary, seasonal or special event booth. The card is valid for 3 years, and the business keeps a file of everyone's training on the premises. Every establishment also has at least one certified food protection manager. In the example below, a Phoenix lumpia maker checks five people. Below are the state law, Maricopa's rules, the example, and a free roster.
The short version
- Arizona's counties decide; there's no state card.
- Where a county requires one, the course meets ASTM E2659-09 and can be online, with no proctor.
- A county card is valid in every county that requires one, until it expires.
- Maricopa County: trained within 30 days of starting food work.
- At a temporary, seasonal or special event booth: trained before the event.
- Maricopa's cards, its own or an accredited third party's, expire 3 years after issue.
- Keep a file of every food employee's training on the premises.
- At least one certified food protection manager per establishment, replaced within 90 days of leaving.
- Staff who handle only closed packages aren't food employees.
- TaroStack keeps the batch records and sign-offs an inspector reads; it doesn't track cards. More below.
The state law
| Rule | What A.R.S. 11-269.12 says |
|---|---|
| Who decides | The county: the law applies "if a county requires" training and a certificate |
| The course | Meets ASTM E2659-09 and covers time and temperature, hygiene, contamination, cleaning and sanitizing |
| How | Online, computer or classroom; no proctor required |
| Attempts | A county can't limit how many times a person tries |
| Deadline and renewal | Set by the county |
| Other counties | A county-issued card is valid in any county that requires one, until it expires |
The law is A.R.S. 11-269.12. Outside Maricopa, ask your county's environmental health department what it requires and when.
Maricopa County's rules
| Rule | What Chapter VII says |
|---|---|
| Who | Food employees: anyone who handles, prepares, serves, sells or gives away food, or handles the utensils and equipment |
| Not covered | People who handle food only in closed crates, cartons, packages or bottles |
| When | Within 30 days of performing any food employee activity |
| Events | Before the event, at temporary, seasonal and special event food establishments |
| What counts | Another Arizona county's card, the county's own course, or an accredited third-party course meeting ASTM E2659-09 |
| Valid | 3 years from issue |
| Records | A separate file of food employee training documentation on the premises |
| The manager | At least one certified food protection manager on staff, full time, replaced within 90 days of leaving; the certificate lasts 5 years |
| Manager exemption | Places serving only foods that don't need time or temperature control |
The rules are Chapter VII of the Maricopa County Environmental Health Code, revised August 19, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
Cottage food is different
A cottage food maker at home isn't a food establishment under the county code, but Arizona's cottage food program has a food handler requirement of its own: the preparer takes an accredited food handler course before registering with the state, as Arizona cottage food laws explains.
An example: a lumpia maker
Camelback Lumpia Co., the made-up lumpia maker in Phoenix, Arizona, I use in these examples, fries lumpia at three markets and sells frozen bags to Asian grocers:
| Person | Covered? | Hired | Card | Status on October 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Yes | April 8, 2024 | April 10, 2024 | Current to April 10, 2027 |
| Cook | Yes | May 1, 2023 | May 15, 2023 | Expired May 15, 2026 |
| Cook, new | Yes | October 5, 2026 | Due by November 4 | |
| Market helper, weekends | Yes | March 1, 2026 | February 25, 2026 | Current to February 25, 2029 |
| Driver, sealed frozen bags only | No: closed packages only | August 4, 2025 | Not needed |
The cook's card ran out in May, three years after it was issued, and nobody noticed until the list was made. The market helper took the course before the first market, because booths need it before the event, not within 30 days. How the business's numbers work is in lumpia business plan, and how a kitchen logs temperatures in temperature log template.
Get the roster
Download the Arizona food handler roster. One sheet: each person, whether the rule covers them, the hire date and card date; the 30-day due date, the 3-year expiry and the status fill in, red when overdue or expired. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Cards expire on their own dates, market helpers need theirs before the first event, and an inspector can ask for the training file at any visit, booths included.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack doesn't track food handler cards. 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 filling'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 market helper sees what they need, not costs.
Lots and expiry. Each batch of frozen lumpia gets a lot with its production and best-before dates, and one recall report shows which grocers got it.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Who signed off a batch | Initials on paper | A sign-off on the batch record |
| What a market helper can see | Everything on the shared login | A role limited to their work |
| Which grocers got a batch | Invoices | One recall report |
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.