Massachusetts doesn't require a food handlers card for food employees. Its food code, 105 CMR 590, sets three other rules. Every food establishment employs at least one person in charge who is a certified food protection manager, an on-site manager or supervisor, 18 or older, who passed an accredited exam; proof is posted next to the food establishment permit, and a person in charge is present at all hours. Places that cook or serve food for immediate eating also have a certified manager with the Massachusetts allergen awareness certificate, valid 5 years and posted, who makes sure employees are trained in food allergy awareness for their duties. And those places put an allergy notice on every menu and an allergen poster in the work area. A business that loses its certified person in charge tells the board of health and has 60 days to replace them. In the example below, a Gloucester chowder shack checks six records. Below are the rules, allergens, the example, and a free roster.
The short version
- No food handlers card for food employees in Massachusetts.
- At least one person in charge is a certified food protection manager: an on-site manager or supervisor, 18 or older.
- Post the proof next to the food establishment permit; take it down when they leave.
- A person in charge is present at all hours, with a trained alternate named for when they can't be.
- Places serving food for immediate eating have a certified manager with the state's allergen awareness certificate.
- The allergen awareness certificate lasts 5 years and is posted.
- Menus carry the allergy notice; an allergen poster hangs in the work area.
- Lose the certified person in charge: tell the board of health, and replace them within 60 days.
- TaroStack keeps the batch records and sign-offs an inspector reads; it doesn't track certificates. More below.
The rules
| Rule | What 105 CMR 590 says |
|---|---|
| Food handler card | None required |
| Person in charge | Present during all hours; an alternate named and trained for when they can't be |
| Certified manager | At least one person in charge who is an on-site manager or supervisor, 18 or older, and a certified food protection manager |
| Posting | Proof posted next to the food establishment permit, removed when that person leaves |
| Two failed exams | After a training program, the permit holder can ask for a variance if the place is in full compliance |
| Turnover | Notify the board of health in writing; 60 days to replace, with up to 60 more if granted |
| Not covered by the manager rule | Nonprofit temporary events, daycares serving only snacks, prepackaged-only places, satellite feeding sites, some elderly meal sites |
The rules are 105 CMR 590.002, which adopts the 2013 Food Code's management chapter with Massachusetts changes, and 105 CMR 590.011 for allergens. Your board of health permits and inspects. This is general information, not legal advice.
Allergens
| Allergen rule | What 105 CMR 590.011(C) says |
|---|---|
| Who | Food establishments that cook, prepare or serve food for immediate consumption, on or off the premises |
| Poster | A Department-approved poster, at least 8.5 by 11 inches, in the employee work area |
| Menu notice | "Before placing your order, please inform your server if a person in your party has a food allergy." on printed menus and menu boards, or posted at the point of ordering |
| Certified manager | A certified food protection manager with a Massachusetts allergen awareness training certificate, valid 5 years |
| The manager's job | Post the certificate, and make sure employees are trained in food allergy awareness for their duties |
| Exempt | Nonprofit temporary food establishments, and some schools and institutions with written allergy procedures |
How allergens are tracked across recipes is in allergen matrix template, and how a home kitchen sells in Massachusetts instead in Massachusetts cottage food laws.
An example: a chowder shack
Gloucester Chowder Shack, a made-up chowder shack in Gloucester, Massachusetts, I use in these examples, serves clam chowder, fish and chips and lobster rolls at a counter:
| Person | Role | Certificate or training | Date | Status on October 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Person in charge, certified manager | Certified food protection manager | May 2, 2022 | Current to May 2, 2027 |
| Owner | Allergen awareness, posted | Massachusetts allergen awareness certificate | May 9, 2022 | Current to May 9, 2027 |
| Kitchen manager | Alternate person in charge | Certified food protection manager | November 15, 2021 | Expires November 15, 2026 |
| Cook | Food employee | Employer training | May 12, 2025 | On file |
| Counter | Food employee, takes orders | Employer training | April 6, 2026 | On file |
| Counter, new | Food employee | None | None on file |
Chowder has milk and wheat, the fish is fish, and the lobster is shellfish, so the counter gets allergy questions every day. The new counter hire learns the shack's allergy procedure before taking orders: ask, check the recipe, tell the kitchen. The kitchen manager renews before November 15 so the alternate is still certified. How the chowder's cooling is logged is in temperature log template.
Get the roster
Download the Massachusetts food safety roster. One sheet: each certificate or training, whose it is and the date; the expiry, 5 years for the manager and allergen certificates, and the status fill in, red when expired, with a count of current certified managers. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
Two certificates per manager, each with its own date, a trained alternate for every absence, and allergy questions at the counter every day. A frame by the permit doesn't show which recipe has milk in it.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack doesn't track food safety certificates. It keeps the records an inspector reads alongside them, and the recipes your counter checks.
Recipes with their ingredients. Each dish is a recipe with its sub-recipes, the chowder base and the tartar sauce, so what's in it is written down, not remembered.
Batch records with sign-off. Printable batch-record forms carry your own checklist fields and a sign-off, so a batch of chowder's cooling check, and who did it, is on the record.
Lots and expiry. Each delivery of clams is received with its lot and date, and first-expired-first-out is the default.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What's in the chowder | Remembered | The recipe and its sub-recipes |
| Who signed off a batch | Initials on paper | A sign-off on the batch record |
| Which clams 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.