Being part of the restaurant industry has always been a blessing,
And I remember back in the days the fear that I use to have when thinking about all of those licenses and permits and paperwork…
I have always been taught that when you have to deal with official entities to obtain certain certifications and licenses,
It will be long and painful,
Yet,
With my current experience,
I have realized that it is not actually the case,
And obtaining any license or certificate is not complicated if the process is followed properly,
This little story reminded me of the first certificate that I obtain during my food & beverage journey,
Which was the food handlers permit,
In this article, we will learn how to get food handlers to permit online the easy way,
And here is what we will cover:
- What is a food handler certificate
- 5 steps to obtain it
- Topics included in the certificate
Without further due,
Let’s Rock!
What Is A Food Handlers Permit
In every industry,
Opening a business comes with a legal requirement,
Especially the requirement to obtain certain licenses and permits,
In the food & beverage industry,
There are a lot of licenses required to open and run a restaurant,
Some of them are mandatory and others are not,
But one permit that you absolutely need is the food handler certificate,
But what is it anyway?
The food handlers permit is a card that certifies that you have completed a food safety exam that covers:
It is basically mandatory for every restaurant,
As it promotes the health and well-being of the customers by making sure that every person working in the restaurants,
Have the proper knowledge to handle food properly,
Keep in mind that food handlers permits will have different requirements depending on the location that you are in,
What if I am running a restaurant without a food handler certificate?
Inspections happen frequently,
And if during an inspection food safety and sanitation measures are not respected as you do not have a food handlers certificate,
You could see yourself paying a fine or in the worst-case scenario,
You could see your restaurants shut down,
So take it seriously,
But who needs it?
I get this question frequently,
As most restaurants owners don’t know if they need it for the restaurant,
Or every staff member should have one,
The answer is we don’t know,
That will totally depend on the location that you are,
But here a the possibilities that you could expect:
- Every staff member should have one
- At least one person at the location at all times should have one
- Someone in the kitchen should have one
So now that you know what is a food handler permit,
Let’s see dive into a simple 5 step framework to obtain it,
How To Get A Food Handlers Permit Online In 5 Simple Steps
As previously mentioned,
Obtaining a food handlers certificate is a must in every restaurant,
And fortunately,
The process is extremely easy,
And the cost is extremely low,
And the knowledge you get is very valuable,
There are many ways to obtain a food handler card,
You could take the test online or in presential,
In this framework that I’ll share with you,
I’ll show you the simple way to obtain it online without losing too much time on it,
A. Check requirement
The first step to getting your handler to permit is to check the requirement that your state provides regarding food handler cards,
As previously mentioned,
There is no universal law about how food handlers’ certificates should be carried out,
It will depend on your local government’s specific requirements,
So the first thing you should do is,
Simply type “Food handlers certificate” + “Your Location”,
And check for the requirements outlined in the search,
You will find everything you need to know about it,
B. Register for a course
Once you have checked your local requirements,
Look for a course that matches your state’s requirements,
And make a list of the potential platform that provides the right course,
The course and exam are not hard,
ServSafe is a leader in this industry and it is accepted in all states in the US,
Note that it should be ANSI approved,
And you can check ANSI’s website where they provide a list of 25 approved organizations,
C. Pay the fee
You don’t have to worry at all about this part,
Taking a food handlers certificate is extremely cheap,
It will obviously depend on your location,
But you expect anything around 20$ to 50$,
D. Study and Pass the test
Once you have taken the course and studied for the certificate,
You are ready to pass the test,
And when I say ‘study”,
I really mean a small amount of your time that will be dedicated to understanding the basics,
It’s not rocket science,
If you decide to do it online,
It will depend on your state but you can expect something like:
- 30 to 40 questions
- No time limit
- 75%-80% to pass the test
It is super easy and quite interesting to understand various aspects of sanitation and hygiene in restaurants,
E. Print your certificate
Now you are done,
You have passed your exam,
And hopefully succeeded without any trouble,
Now you simply need to print your certificate and keep a copy with you at any time in your restaurant,
Note that the food handlers certificate will last between 2 to 5 years depending on your location,
So make sure that you keep up to date with the deadlines and renew it as soon as it expires,
You don’t want to realize that your food handlers permit is expired the day of an inspection,
And this was the simple framework to follow to obtain your food handlers permit,
I wanted to give you some extra information,
O in the next section I’ll briefly show you have you can expect to study during the course,
And what type of topics the test covers,
What Is Included In The Course
Here is what you can expect to study during the course that could potentially be in the exam:
Summary
You now know the simple way to get your food handlers permit online,
If there was one thing I want you to remember from this guide,
Is that you will have to go through all the paperwork and all the legal stuff to get your business running,
But you have seen,
It is not as complicated as it might sound,
There are many licenses that you can expect to obtain to open and run your restaurants,
We have a complete guide covering every single license you could expect to obtain,
That being said,
Stay safe and see you soon!
