New York City doesn't require a food handlers card for every worker, but it has a stricter rule for supervisors. Under the city's Health Code, section 81.15, anyone charged with managing or supervising a food service establishment, or a non-retail food processing establishment, holds a Food Protection Certificate issued by the city's Health Department after its food protection course and its exam. And a certificate holder is on the premises and supervising all food preparation during all hours of operation, so a restaurant open 14 hours, seven days, needs enough certificate holders to cover every one. The certificate is available for inspection at all times, mobile food vendors need one for their license, and the Department can make a holder retake the course after a hazard or an outbreak. Outside the city, county and state health offices apply their own rules. In the example below, a Brooklyn patty shop checks five people. Below are the rule, covering every hour, the example, and a free roster.
The short version
- No food handlers card for every worker in New York City.
- In New York City, managers and supervisors of food service establishments hold a Food Protection Certificate.
- The certificate comes from the Health Department after its food protection course and its exam.
- A certificate holder is on the premises supervising food preparation during all hours of operation.
- Keep the certificate available for inspection at all times.
- Mobile food vendors need the certificate for their license.
- The Department can require a holder to retake the course after a hazard or an outbreak.
- Outside New York City, check your county health department.
- TaroStack keeps the batch records and sign-offs an inspector reads; it doesn't track certificates. More below.
The rule
| Rule | What New York City Health Code 81.15 says |
|---|---|
| Who | Anyone charged with management or supervision of a food service establishment or a non-retail food processing establishment |
| The certificate | Issued by the Department after a course in food protection and the Department's exam |
| Every hour | A certificate holder on the premises, supervising all food preparation, during all hours of operation |
| Inspection | The certificate available at all times |
| Mobile vendors | No license without the certificate |
| Courses | Run by the Department or by others it approves; a fee, waived for supervisors of free charitable food programs |
| Retaking | Can be required after imminent health hazards, an outbreak, or to update a supervisor |
| Photographs | Taken at registration; one on the certificate |
The rule is section 81.15 of Article 81 of the New York City Health Code. This is general information, not legal advice.
Covering every hour
The rule is about the clock, not the headcount. A shop open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day can't rely on an owner who works weekdays; someone with a certificate supervises on Saturday morning and Sunday night too. That's why New York City kitchens put shift supervisors through the course, and why the schedule matters as much as the certificates. The other workers don't need a card under 81.15, but they still follow the code's food worker rules on handwashing, bare hands and illness, and the supervisor trains them. How a kitchen keeps temperature records is in temperature log template, and a cleaning program in sanitation SOP template.
An example: a patty shop
Flatbush Patty Shop, a made-up Jamaican patty shop in Brooklyn, New York, I use in these examples, bakes beef, chicken and vegetable patties and is open 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days:
| Person | Role | Certificate or training | Date | Status on October 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Certificate holder, weekday days | NYC Food Protection Certificate | May 14, 2019 | On file |
| Evening manager | Certificate holder, evenings | NYC Food Protection Certificate | September 26, 2023 | On file |
| Weekend supervisor | Supervises Saturdays and Sundays | None | None on file | |
| Baker | Food worker | Employer training | February 3, 2025 | On file |
| Counter | Food worker | Employer training | June 15, 2026 | On file |
Weekend days were the gap: the weekend supervisor runs the shop with no certificate holder on site. Until they pass the course and exam, the owner or the evening manager covers weekend hours, and the schedule now shows a certificate holder on every shift. How the patties' costs work is in frozen food profit margin.
Get the roster
Download the New York City food protection roster. One sheet: each person, their role, the certificate or training they hold and the date; the status fills in, with a count of certificate holders. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
A certificate holder has to be in the building every hour the doors are open, and the schedule changes every week. A list of certificates doesn't show who covers Sunday night.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack doesn't track food protection 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 beef filling's cooling check, and who supervised 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 counter hire sees what they need, not costs.
Lots and expiry. Each batch of patties gets a lot with its production and best-before dates, and first-expired-first-out is the default.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Who supervised 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 patties go 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.