California food handler card: the rules, the three county exceptions, and who can issue it
Checked Nov 15, 2026 against California Health and Safety Code §113948, the ANAB directory, and county environmental health pages.
The statewide rules (Health and Safety Code §113948)
- Deadline: a food handler must get a card within 30 days after the date of hire, and keep it valid while working as a food handler.
- Valid for 3 years from the date it was issued, even if you change employers.
- Who can issue it: only an ANSI (ANAB) accredited training provider that meets ASTM E2659. Online courses are allowed, and no proctor is required.
- The test: at least 40 questions, and you need 70% to pass. The course and exam are designed to take about 2½ hours.
- Price cap: at least one course and exam, including the card, must cost no more than $15.
- Employer pays (since Jan 1, 2024, SB 476): the training and exam time is paid "hours worked," the employer must reimburse the cost, and an employer may not require you to already have a card as a condition of hiring.
- Who is exempt: employees of certified farmers' markets, commissaries, grocery and convenience stores (except separately owned food businesses inside them), licensed health care facilities, mobile support units, public and private school cafeterias, restricted food service facilities, pharmacy-majority stores, some ticketed venues with snack bars, facilities with qualifying in-house training, facilities under a collective bargaining agreement, detention facilities, and elderly nutrition programs.
The three county exceptions
The statewide card isn't used in counties whose own food handler program took effect before January 1, 2009 (§113948(f)). Orange County's Health Care Agency names these as San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties.