Getting your card
How do you get a California food handler card?
Thirty days after your hire date, California expects you to hold a food handler card from a provider accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The card is good for three years (California Health and Safety Code (HSC) §113948, as of October 2026). NEHA's course, the Professional Food Handler (PFH) from the National Environmental Health Association, qualifies.
- ExamPFH
- UpdatedOct 14, 2026
On this page 6 sections
What section 113948 says
The statute is short. Hired on or after June 1, 2011? Get a card within 30 days of your hire date, then keep it valid for as long as you work as a food handler. It lasts three years from the day it's issued, and it stays valid when you change employers (as of October 2026). Think of it like your knife kit: it goes with you from job to job.
Since 2012 the card can come only from an ANSI-accredited training provider that meets ASTM International's E2659-09 standard. The law also sets a floor for every provider's course: designed to take about two and a half hours for course and exam together, an exam of at least 40 questions, and a 70% minimum score. Those are California's requirements for any California card. For the clock side, see how long the food handler test takes.
Open the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) directory of accredited issuers and you'll find NEHA in its California scope. It's one accredited choice among several. To check any provider yourself, read what ANAB accreditation means for a food handler card.
Section 113948, boiled down
| State | What's required | Deadline | Good for | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | Card from an ANSI-accredited provider meeting ASTM E2659-09 | Within 30 days after the date of hire | 3 years from issue, even if you change employers | Cal. HSC §113948 |
Recognized statewide except where an older local program applies (subdivision (f)).
Before anyone pays for a California card
- Know who pays. Under §113948(i) your employer counts the training and exam time as paid hours worked, pays the necessary costs of getting the card, and can't make an existing card a condition of hiring you (as of October 2026). More on that in is a free food handler card real.
- The provider is on ANAB's list of accredited food handler programs. Check the directory, not the ad.
- Your county doesn't run its own older food handler program. Your manager or the county environmental health office can tell you.
- Your workplace isn't on the statute's exempt list (see the table below).
- You've got a computer handy. NEHA's handbook lists a desktop browser with audio for its online course.
Who the law leaves out
| Workplace | Card rule applies? |
|---|---|
| Restaurants and other food facilities not on the list | Yes |
| Grocery and convenience stores, including a deli, bakery or meat counter the store itself runs | No |
| A separately owned food business inside a grocery store | Yes |
| Certified farmers' markets | No |
| Commissaries | No |
| Licensed health care facilities | No |
| Public and private school cafeterias | No |
The statute lists more, including some in-house training setups and facilities with a collective bargaining agreement. Read the full text before you lean on an exemption.
California card, asked plainly
Is a California food handlers permit different from the card?
No. The statute says food handler card, and the legal test doesn't change with the name: an ANSI-accredited provider, within 30 days of hire, good for three years (Cal. HSC §113948, as of October 2026).
Why does my employer keep asking for a copy?
The law makes them. Each covered food facility has to keep records showing every food handler holds a valid card and show them to the local enforcement officer on request (§113948(g)). Hand over a copy and keep the original.
Do I need a new card when I switch restaurants?
No. It stays valid for three years from issue regardless of a change of employer. The exception is a move into a jurisdiction with its own pre-2009 program.
Is a food handler card enough to run the kitchen?
It's the front-line credential. Food manager certification (CFPM, certified food protection manager) is a separate credential with its own exam, and the handler card doesn't replace it.
Sources
- California Health and Safety Code §113948 — deadline, term, provider rule, exam floor, exemptions, (f), (g), (i) checked Oct 13, 2026
- ANAB directory of accredited certificate issuers — NEHA, ID 1031; California scope checked Oct 13, 2026
- NEHA PFH Online Course Handbook — device requirements checked Oct 13, 2026