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State Cert Guide

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Do I need a food manager certification in Minnesota?

If you hold a Minnesota food establishment license, you must employ a certified food protection manager (CFPM) for each place, unless the rule exempts it. The state accepts only exams listed by an accrediting agency that the Conference for Food Protection recognizes.

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The rule, fact by fact

Who needs it
A licensee shall employ a CFPM for each establishment, except as item B providesThis covers each place you run, including one that reheats ready-to-eat TCS foods for hot holding.
Verified. www.revisor.mn.gov (opens state website) · checked Nov 13, 2026
Accepted exams
Only exams listed by a Conference for Food Protection recognized accrediting agencyAsk your exam provider which accrediting agency lists its exam.
Same source and date as above
Renewal hours
Renewal takes at least 4 contact hours of continuing educationThose hours must fall within the effective dates of your certificate.
Same source and date as above

How to get it done

  1. Step 1. Check whether you need one. The rule says a food establishment licensee shall employ a CFPM for each establishment, except as item B provides. Item B leaves out low-risk food places, special event food stands, retail food vehicles, portable structures and carts. It also leaves out places that only prepare or package non-TCS foods made from non-TCS ingredients, process raw meat, poultry, fish or game for the customer to cook, or heat or serve precooked hot dogs, sausages, popcorn, nachos, pretzels or frozen pizza.

  2. Step 2. Pick an exam the state accepts. The commissioner accepts only exams that a Conference for Food Protection recognized accrediting agency evaluates and lists. Ask the provider to show you that listing before you pay.

  3. Step 3. Take the course and pass the exam. To get certified the first time, you complete a training course and pass an exam the state accepts on the day you take it.

  4. Step 4. Apply to the state, then display your certificate. To get certified the first time, you send the commissioner a completed form, papers that show you qualify and the fee. A licensee that must employ a CFPM displays a current original or a current duplicate CFPM certificate in the place.

Before you pay

Ask the exam provider whether a Conference for Food Protection recognized accrediting agency lists its exam. The state accepts only those exams.

Ask what the course, the exam and the certificate cost. We haven’t confirmed a price.

If your place may be exempt, check the list in the first step before you pay.

Questions

What if our certified manager leaves?

A food establishment licensee that ceases to employ a CFPM shall employ a new CFPM within 60 days.

How recent must my exam be when I apply?

For initial certification, the exam must have been taken within 6 months directly preceding your application to the commissioner.

Can a new place open before it has a certified manager?

Yes, for a short time. Only when a place opens or reopens, the licensee may employ 1 full-time employee who has already taken the training course and passed the exam that first-time certification needs. Within 60 days of opening or reopening, that employee must count as the place’s CFPM.

What to do next

Read the Minnesota rule on certified food managers. Check item B, then pick an exam the state accepts before you pay.

www.revisor.mn.gov

Sources we read