In Texas, every food employee at a food establishment, except the certified food protection manager, completes an accredited food handler training course within 30 days of starting, under the Texas Food Establishment Rules, 25 TAC 228.31. The course can be accredited by the Department of State Health Services or by ANSI, can be taken online, and the certificate is valid for 2 years and recognized statewide. A city or county can't charge a fee or demand its own card from someone with an accredited certificate. The establishment keeps each employee's certificate on the premises. Alongside it, a certified food protection manager must be on site during all hours of operation, unless the establishment is low-risk, such as one selling only prepackaged food. Temporary event booths are outside both rules. In the example below, a kolache shop checks six people. Below are the rules, the manager rule, the example, and a free roster.
The short version
- Every food employee completes accredited food handler training within 30 days of employment.
- Accredited by DSHS or by ANSI; online courses count.
- Certificates are valid for 2 years and recognized statewide.
- A local health department can't charge a fee or require its own card for an accredited certificate.
- The establishment keeps a certificate for each food employee on the premises.
- A certified food protection manager is on site during all hours of operation, unless the place is low-risk.
- The manager doesn't need a food handler certificate as well.
- Temporary food establishments are exempt from the food handler rule.
- TaroStack keeps the batch records and sign-offs an inspector reads; it doesn't track certificates. More below.
The rules
| Rule | What Texas says |
|---|---|
| Who | All food employees, except the certified food protection manager |
| When | Within 30 days of employment |
| The course | Accredited by DSHS and on its registry, or accredited by ANSI |
| Valid | 2 years from issue |
| Where | Recognized statewide; no local fee or local card for an accredited certificate |
| Records | A certificate of completion for each food employee, kept on the premises |
| Not covered | Temporary food establishments |
| The manager | A certified food protection manager present during all hours of operation; the original certificate posted where customers can see it |
| Manager exemption | Low-risk places: only prepackaged food, no exposed TCS food, or temporary establishments |
The food handler and manager rules are 25 TAC 228.31; the 2-year certificate is in 25 TAC 229.178; the local fee ban is Health and Safety Code 438.046; and DSHS describes the 30 days on its food handler page. This is general information, not legal advice.
The manager rule
The food handler card is for everyone; the food manager certificate is for the person in charge. A shop open from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the owner there until noon needs a second certified manager for the last two hours. A food establishment here means a retail place that prepares food on site for sale to the public; a cottage food operation at home isn't one, as Texas cottage food law explains. Texas also requires a food allergen awareness poster where food employees can see it (25 TAC 228.33).
An example: a kolache shop
Blanco River Kolache, a made-up kolache shop in Wimberley, Texas, I use in these examples, opens at 5 a.m., and sells from a booth at a spring festival:
| Person | Covered? | Hired | Certificate | Status on October 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | No: certified food protection manager | Not needed | ||
| Shift lead | No: certified food protection manager | Not needed | ||
| Morning baker | Yes | February 5, 2024 | February 20, 2024 | Expired February 20, 2026 |
| Counter | Yes | January 12, 2026 | January 30, 2026 | Current to January 30, 2028 |
| Counter, new | Yes | October 1, 2026 | Due by October 31 | |
| Festival helper, booth only | No: temporary food establishment | Not needed |
The morning baker's certificate ran out in February without anyone noticing, because two years comes around fast. The baker took a course online that week, and the shop put every expiry date in one list. How a bakery's costs look is in bakery business plan, and how a kitchen logs temperatures in temperature log template.
Get the roster
Download the Texas food handler roster. One sheet: each person, whether the rule covers them, the hire date and certificate date; the 30-day due date, the 2-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
Two-year certificates turn over fast, and a shop with early and late shifts has to cover the manager rule every hour too. An inspector can ask for every employee's certificate at any visit.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack doesn't track food handler 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 the sausage kolache 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 the new counter hire sees orders, not costs.
Lots and expiry. Each batch gets a lot with its production and best-before dates, and one recall report shows which customers got it.
| 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 |
| Where a batch went | 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.