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Do I need a food manager certification in California?

If your California food business prepares, handles or serves nonprepackaged potentially hazardous food, state law says it needs a certified owner or employee, unless it's a temporary food facility. You earn the certificate by passing an exam from an ANSI accredited certifying body. The state health department doesn't provide the courses, so pick a provider before you pay.

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The rule, fact by fact

Who needs it
Food facilities serving nonprepackaged potentially hazardous food, except temporary onesEach one needs at least one certified owner or employee, who needn't be there during all hours of operation.
Archived copy (Internet Archive, Nov 2025) (opens external website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Accepted exams
Pass an exam from an ANSI accredited food protection certifying bodyThe certifying body issues the certificate once you pass an approved exam.
Verified. leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Online accepted
At least one accredited exam is offered online, proctored under secure conditionsThe same rule covers an exam given with an in-person trainer-led class.
Same source and date as above
Valid for
Five years from the date you pass the examA replacement or duplicate certificate keeps the original expiration date.
Same source and date as above
Deadline to comply
60 days to comply after opening, a change of ownership or losing the certified personThe deadline falls on the place, not on one person.
Archived copy (Internet Archive, Nov 2025) (opens external website) · checked Nov 13, 2026

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check whether you are covered. The law applies to food facilities that prepare, handle or serve nonprepackaged potentially hazardous food, except temporary ones. A covered site needs an owner or employee who passed an approved and accredited food safety exam, and at least one such person at each site. A certified person can't be the required person at a second site. A place that opens, changes owners or loses its certified person has 60 days to comply.

  2. Step 2. Choose an ANSI accredited provider. The law says you pass an exam from an accredited certifying body for food protection managers. CDPH says courses that satisfy the California Retail Food Code must come from an ANSI accredited training provider. It points to ANSI's website for links to the companies that offer certified training, and says each company's page lists its prices. CDPH doesn't provide food manager courses itself. Start with the ANSI directory of food protection manager providers.

  3. Step 3. Take the exam. The law says at least one accredited exam must be offered online. An exam given online, or with an in-person trainer-led class, must be proctored securely. Ask your provider how it proctors an online exam before you book.

  4. Step 4. Keep your certificate where inspectors can ask for it. The certifying body issues it, and its issue date is the day you pass the exam. It is valid for five years. The site must keep the certificate on file at all times and make it available for inspection by the enforcement officer.

Before you pay

Check that the provider is ANSI accredited. CDPH says courses that satisfy the California Retail Food Code must come from an ANSI accredited training provider.

Look at each provider's own page for the price. CDPH says those pages list what the trainings cost.

Don't mix this up with a food handler card. CDPH says the Health and Safety Code also requires food handlers to get a food handler card, which is valid for three years.

Ask how the exam is proctored before you pay for an online one. The law requires secure proctoring.

The rules on who needs a certified person, the 60-day deadline and keeping the certificate on file come from an archived copy of the law, so read the legislature's current text before you rely on them.

Questions

Do I need the certificate if I serve only food that isn't potentially hazardous?

Not necessarily. A place that prepares, handles or serves nonprepackaged, nonpotentially hazardous food has two options. It can have an owner or employee pass an approved and accredited food safety exam. Or it can show the enforcement officer that its employees have adequate knowledge of food safety principles for their assigned duties. Temporary food facilities are covered separately.

What about a temporary food facility?

Since July 1, 2007, a temporary food facility that prepares, handles or serves nonprepackaged food needs an owner or person in charge who can show the enforcement officer adequate knowledge of food safety principles for that site.

Can my city or county ask for another certificate?

Except as California Health and Safety Code 113947.5 provides, no. A city or county can't require a food seller or a certified person to get an extra food safety certificate, to keep the certificate in a different way than state law sets, or to pay a fee to have the certificate verified, validated or processed.

How much does the exam cost?

The law says at least one accredited exam must cost no more than $60, certificate included. The department may adjust that to reflect actual costs. If no exam is available at the price it sets, that section's exam rules for getting certified and recertified don't apply.

What to do next

Start with CDPH's retail food safety training page, which points to ANSI's list of providers. Pick a provider before you pay, and keep the certificate on file at the site.

www.cdph.ca.gov

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