Tennessee doesn't require a food handlers card, and its food service rules, Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-23-01, don't make every establishment employ a certified food protection manager either. What they require is a person in charge who knows food safety, shown at each inspection in one of three ways: no priority violations during the inspection, being a certified food protection manager, or answering the inspector's questions about the operation correctly. The person in charge also makes sure employees are properly trained in food safety, including food allergy awareness, as it relates to their duties. So a certificate isn't mandatory, but it's the simplest way for a person in charge to show knowledge on a bad inspection day, and training records show the staff side. In the example below, a Nashville hot chicken shop checks five people. Below are the rules, the three ways to show knowledge, the example, and a free roster.
The short version
- No food handlers card in Tennessee.
- No rule that every establishment employ a certified food protection manager.
- The person in charge shows food safety knowledge at inspection.
- Three ways: no priority violations, a manager certification, or correct answers to the inspector's questions.
- A certification from a Conference for Food Protection-accredited program counts.
- The person in charge makes sure employees are trained in food safety and food allergy awareness.
- TaroStack keeps the batch records and sign-offs an inspector reads; it doesn't track certificates. More below.
The rules
| Rule | What 1200-23-01-.02 says |
|---|---|
| Food handler card | None required |
| Certified manager | Not required for every establishment; one way to show knowledge |
| Showing knowledge | No priority violations; a certified food protection manager; or correct answers to the inspector's questions |
| The certification | A program listed by a Conference for Food Protection-recognized accrediting agency |
| Training | Employees properly trained in food safety, including food allergy awareness, for their duties |
| Illness reporting | Food employees informed of their duty to report illness to the person in charge |
The rule is Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1200-23-01-.02. Your county health department, or the state's, permits and inspects. This is general information, not legal advice.
The three ways to show knowledge
| Way | What it takes | When it fails |
|---|---|---|
| No priority violations | A clean inspection on the day | One priority violation, and this way is gone |
| A manager certification | Passing an accredited exam | Only if it has expired |
| Correct answers | Answering the inspector on hygiene, illness, temperatures, cross-contamination, cleaning, allergens | A person in charge who freezes on the questions |
The certification is the only one that doesn't depend on how the day goes. That's the case for certifying everyone who runs a shift, even though the rules don't require it. How a home kitchen sells in Tennessee instead is in Tennessee cottage food laws.
An example: a hot chicken shop
Germantown Hot Chicken, a made-up hot chicken shop in Nashville, Tennessee, I use in these examples, fries from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends:
| Person | Role | Certificate or training | Date | Status on October 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Person in charge, days | Certified food protection manager | August 14, 2023 | Current to August 14, 2028 |
| Night lead | Person in charge, nights | Food handler course | March 3, 2025 | Current to March 3, 2028 |
| Fry cook | Food employee | Employer training | June 10, 2024 | On file |
| Fry cook, new | Food employee | None | None on file | |
| Cashier | Food employee, packs orders | Employer training | February 23, 2026 | On file |
The owner's certification covers the day shift on any inspection. The night lead has a food handler course but no manager certification, so a late inspection with a priority violation would come down to their answers; they sit the manager exam next month. The new fry cook learns the allergy questions first, because the breading has wheat and the chicken soaks in buttermilk. How the fryer and cooling temperatures are logged is in temperature log template, and allergens in allergen matrix template.
Get the roster
Download the Tennessee food safety roster. One sheet: each person, their role, the certificate or training they hold and the date; the expiry, 5 years for the manager certificate and 3 for a food handler course, 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
Each person in charge has to show knowledge on the day of the inspection, and every new hire needs food safety and allergy training for their job. A list of names doesn't show who was trained, or on what.
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 spice paste, and who made it, is on the record.
Recipes with their ingredients. Each item is a recipe with its sub-recipes, the breading and the spice paste, so what's in it is written down, not remembered.
Lots and expiry. Each delivery of chicken is received with its lot and date, and first-expired-first-out is the default.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Who made a batch | Initials on paper | A sign-off on the batch record |
| What's in the breading | Remembered | The recipe and its sub-recipes |
| Which chicken 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.