Utah has two steps. A food handler finishes an approved food handler training program within 14 days of starting work, then takes the certificate to the local health department and gets a food handler permit within 30 days, under Utah Code 26B-7-413. The course runs at least 75 minutes, ends with a 40-question exam passed at 75%, and can be taken online. The certificate of completion is good for 30 days to apply with. The permit costs a fee set by the local health department, is valid for 3 years, and works anywhere in Utah; a new one is due within 7 days of the old one expiring. A food handler is anyone who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces for a food service establishment. In the example below, an Ogden bagel shop checks five people. Below are the rules, the example, and a free roster.
The short version
- Food handler: anyone working with unpackaged food, food equipment, utensils or food-contact surfaces.
- An approved training program within 14 days of starting.
- The food handler permit from the local health department within 30 days of starting.
- Training: at least 75 minutes, a 40-question exam, 75% to pass; in a class, online, or both.
- The certificate of completion lasts 30 days for applying for the permit.
- The permit is valid for 3 years and statewide.
- A new permit within 7 days of the old one expiring.
- Volunteers at a charity's free meal for a disadvantaged group are exempt, under the department's rules.
- TaroStack keeps the batch records and sign-offs an inspector reads; it doesn't track permits. More below.
The rules
| Rule | What Utah Code 26B-7-413 says |
|---|---|
| Who | A food handler: a person who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces for a food service establishment |
| Training | An approved food handler training program within 14 days of starting food handler work |
| Permit | From a local health department within 30 days of starting; before handling food; within 7 days of an expired permit |
| The course | At least 75 minutes; an exam of 40 multiple-choice questions; 75% to pass |
| Certificate | Valid with any local health department for 30 days after it's issued |
| Fee | The local health department's permit fee, capped by state rule; the provider's course fee |
| Valid | 3 years from issue; anywhere in Utah |
| Exempt | Food handling at a charity's event giving food free to a disadvantaged group |
The law is Utah Code 26B-7-413, part of the food safety part that also covers certified food safety managers and microenterprise home kitchens. This is general information, not legal advice.
Two steps, two deadlines
The course and the permit are separate. A provider approved by the state teaches the course and issues a certificate of completion; the local health department issues the permit. Finish the course in the first two weeks, and apply for the permit before the certificate's 30 days run out and before your own 30 days are up. How Utah's home kitchen rules work is in Utah cottage food law.
An example: a bagel shop
Wasatch Bagel Works, a made-up bagel shop in Ogden, Utah, I use in these examples, has five people:
| Person | Covered? | Hired | Permit | Status on October 16, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Owner | Yes | May 6, 2024 | Current to May 6, 2027 | |
| Baker | Yes | August 14, 2023 | August 30, 2023 | Expired August 30, 2026 |
| Counter | Yes | February 2, 2026 | February 20, 2026 | Current |
| Counter, new | Yes; training done October 12 | October 6, 2026 | Permit due by November 5 | |
| Delivery driver | No: carries sealed boxes only | Not needed |
The baker's permit expired at the end of August, and the 7 days to replace it passed without anyone noticing. The baker retook the course and got a new permit that week. The new counter hire finished the course in six days and has until November 5 for the permit. What a bakery's costs look like is in bakery business plan, and how a kitchen logs temperatures in temperature log template.
Get the roster
Download the Utah food handler permit roster. One sheet: each person, whether the rule covers them, the hire date and permit date; the 30-day due date, the 3-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 deadlines for every new hire, a 7-day window when a permit expires, and a different date for everyone. A drawer of permits doesn't show who's due this week.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack doesn't track food handler permits. 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 cream cheese spread'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.