A food handlers permit, also called a food handler card or certificate, shows that a food worker took a short food safety course and passed its test. There's no federal permit. The FDA Food Code, which most states adopt, asks for something different: a person in charge who is a certified food protection manager, which takes a longer exam. Whether every cook, server and dishwasher also needs a handler card is up to your state, and sometimes your county. Where it's required, the rules look alike: get the card within a set number of days of starting work, from a course your state accepts, and keep proof at work. Texas wants it within 30 days and the certificate lasts two years. Washington wants it within 14 days, charges a $10 fee, and the first card lasts two years. In the example below, an Austin taco truck sorts out who on its crew needs which certificate.
The short version
- A food handler card is a short course and test for food workers. A food manager certificate is a longer exam for the person in charge.
- No federal permit: your state or county decides whether handler cards are required.
- Where required, get it within the set number of days of starting work.
- Take a course your state accepts, often online, and keep proof at work.
- Texas: within 30 days, valid two years. Washington: within 14 days, $10, valid two years at first.
- Temporary event booths are often treated differently.
- TaroStack doesn't track cards, but it keeps the batch records an inspector reads alongside them. More below.
Food handler card or food manager certificate
| Food handler card | Food manager certificate | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Cooks, servers, dishwashers, anyone handling food | The person in charge |
| The test | A short course and test | A proctored exam from an accredited program |
| Required by | Some states and counties | The Food Code, as adopted by most states |
| How long it lasts | Two or three years, by state | Set by the certifying program |
In Texas, a certified food protection manager doesn't need a handler card as well. State-by-state rules are in Texas food handler card, California food handler card and Washington food worker card.
The rules, in two states
| Rule | Where |
|---|---|
| Manager | The person in charge is a certified food protection manager, except where the health department deems the operation minimal risk (Food Code 2022, 2-102.12) |
| Texas | A certified manager present during all hours, except minimal-risk and temporary establishments; every other food employee completes an accredited food handler course within 30 days of employment; certificates kept on the premises (25 TAC 228.31) |
| Texas | A food handler certificate is valid for two years (25 TAC 229.178) |
| Washington | A food worker card within 14 calendar days of starting work; a $10 fee; 80% to pass; initial cards valid two years, renewals three (WAC 246-217) |
This is general information, not legal advice. Your local health department has the last word, and some counties add their own card on top of the state's.
An example: an Austin taco truck's crew
Lavaca Street Tacos, a made-up taco truck in Austin, Texas, that rents space at an East Austin commissary, hired its fifth person in October 2026. The owner checked the whole crew against the Texas rule:
| Person | Needs a handler card? | Card | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | No: certified food protection manager | Not needed | |
| Night lead | No: certified food protection manager | Not needed | |
| Cook | Yes | Issued Nov 4, 2024 | Expires Nov 4, 2026, within 60 days |
| Cashier | Yes | Issued Mar 10, 2026 | Current |
| Cook, new, hired Oct 5, 2026 | Yes | Not yet | Due by Nov 4, 2026 |
| Cousin helping at a one-day festival booth | No: temporary food establishment | Not needed |
Two certified managers cover the truck's lunch and night service, since Texas wants one present whenever it's open. The cook's card runs out in early November, so the renewal course goes on the schedule now, and the new cook takes the course in their first week instead of waiting for day 29. Each certificate is printed and kept in a folder on the truck. What the commissary itself asks of the truck is in food truck commissary requirements.
Get the roster
Download the food handler roster. One sheet: each person, whether the rule covers them, when they were hired and when their card was issued; the due date, the expiry and the status fill in, red when a card is overdue or expired. It's set up for Texas's 30 days and two years. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The roster keeps the cards current. An inspector who checks the cards also asks how the food was cooled last night and which batch of salsa went out on Friday, and that's a different set of records.
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 salsa'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 the new cook sees the prep list, not your costs.
Lots and expiry. Each batch gets a lot with its production and best-before dates, and stock that's out of date stops counting as available.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Who signed off a batch | Initials on paper | A sign-off on the batch record |
| What a new hire can see | Everything on the shared login | A role limited to their work |
| Which salsa batch is oldest | Tape on the lid | Lots with dates, 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.