What is food and drink handling license ?
Every year millions of people suffer from food poisoning. These are often caused by bacteria like E.coli, Salmonella, and Vibrio. The bacteria get into the food when there's a problem with the handling of that food. Any time you come in contact with food and drink, you have a risk of getting something like food poisoning. This is why it's important to know how to handle food safely. A food and drink handling license will teach you how to avoid getting sick when working with food. This can be anything from working in a fast food restaurant to being a manager at a grocery store or a cafe. Working with food and drinks is a risk, so it's important to be aware of how to handle it.
How to Get a Food and Drink Handling License
What is a Food and Drink Handling License?
A food and drink handling license is required to prepare, package, transport, or serve any type of food. This includes packaged goods and raw ingredients that are being served in a restaurant. A food handler training course needs to be completed before you apply for a food and drink handling license with your county health department. You will also need to pass an exam at the end of the course and present a certificate of completion. The steps for obtaining a food and drink handling license are as follows- 1) Attend a Food Handler Training Course 2) Pass an Exam at the End of The Course 3) Present a Certificate of Completion
Where to Apply for a Food and Drink Handling License
When you're ready to apply for a food and drink handling license, you will need to contact your local government office. They will be able to tell you who is the appropriate board or organization that handles licenses. You will also need to complete an application form and submit it with the required fee, any other documentation they may ask for, and provide them with a list of establishments where you intend to handle food.
You might be wondering, “How do I get a food and drink handling license?”
You probably have a ton of questions about the process. What are the steps involved? How much does it cost? Will I need any special training?
In-Person Application
The quickest and easiest way to obtain a food license is in person. You'll need to visit your state's regulatory agency website and download the application form. Fill it out, then head to your state's regulatory agency office with the appropriate documentation and fees. You'll want to bring a few things with you- Proof of a physical address (you don't need an actual address, just a PO Box will do) Proof of identification (you'll need two forms of ID) A check for applicable fees You'll also have to fill out some paperwork when you go in, which will include the details about your business such as what type of food or drink you plan on handling and what type of establishment you are.
Apply Online
You can apply for your food and drink handling license online. All you need is your social security number, date of birth, and contact information. You'll also need to upload a copy of your driver's license (or other state ID), or a passport. Once you've submitted these documents and provided payment, you should receive your license in the mail within five days. The application fee is only $150.
Find Out If You're Eligible for a License
In order to obtain a license, you must take a course and pass an exam. You can find out if you're eligible for a license by going through the requirements here.
You have to have a food and drink handling license before you can start handling food.
You don’t want to break the law, but you also want to stay in business.
Make an Outreach Effort to Get a License
The first step to getting a food and drink handling license is contacting the local health department. Once you've got your contact situated, it's time to make an outreach effort. This means going into your local government offices and asking for a food and drink handling license. You'll need to provide certain information about your business that will be used in the application process. Some of this information will include how long you've been in operation, what type of food you serve, the size of your establishment, and more. Once you submit the necessary paperwork, you should get an answer within four weeks. If not, contact the health department again to inquire as to why they haven't responded yet. It could be that there are some kinks in your application or they simply haven't had time to process it yet. Either way, don't forgot to follow up!
Apply for a License
In order to obtain a food and drink handling license, you will need to fill out the application form from your area's local council. Once you've filled out the form and submitted it, your application will be assessed. You will then either be granted permission to handle food or you won't.
Conclusion
A food and drink handling license is the first step towards your business going live. It not only protects your customers from potential harm, it also gives you the opportunity to start your business. If you're wondering how to get a food and drink handling license, join this webinar for a step-by-step process on how to get licensed and what to expect when you do.
You’ve been in the business for a while now, but you’ve never had to handle food or drink before. You want to be in compliance with the law, but you have no idea how to go about it.
You don’t want to break the law and get shut down. You also don’t want to spend a lot of time and money on getting your license.
Are You Following US Labor Laws in Your Restaurant?
How to Design High End Restaurant Loyalty Programs
The Essential Steps Involved in Sales Forecasting for Restaurants
The 6 Types of Inventory Management Reports for Restaurants
Essential CCP Food Handling Procedures Every Restaurant Must Follow
The Complete Guide to Efficient Employee Scheduling for Restaurants
The Different Methods of Sales Forecasting for Restaurants
What are the four types of inventory management for restaurants?
Daily Cash Control Checklist for Restaurant Owners
Top Inventory Management Strategies for Restaurants
Food Safety Standards Every Restaurant Owner Must Know in 2025
How to Build a Restaurant Inventory Management Process from Scratch
The Complete Guide to Restaurant Waste Management for Owners
5 Signs Your Hotel Needs to Upgrade Its Payment Processing System
The Ultimate Daily Checklist for Restaurant Owners
Are You Over-complicating Your Restaurants Payroll Process?
How Can Smart Scheduling Transform Your Restaurant's Efficiency?
What Are the Best Email Marketing Campaign Ideas for Restaurants in 2025?
How Can You Maintain Brand Consistency Across Multiple Franchise Locations?
How Can Restaurants Prevent Scheduling Conflicts and Last-Minute Absences?
What's the Most Efficient Way to Manage Tasks in a Busy Restaurant?
What Should You Look for When Interviewing Restaurant Staff?
What Is a Dram Shop Law and How Does It Affect Your Restaurant?
What Features Should Every Restaurant Ordering System Have in 2025?
What Are the Most Cost-Effective Ways to Reduce Waste in a Restaurant?
Are Your Menu Items Costing You More Than They're Worth?
How Do You Handle Overtime and Tip Credit in Restaurant Payroll?
Are You Spending Too Much Time on Payroll? Here's How to Fix it
How Can I Implement an Effective Inventory Management System in my Restaurant?
What Are the Main Inventory Costing Methods for Restaurants?
How to Optimize Order Fulfillment in Your Restaurant
How to Design an Effective Employee Training Program for Restaurants
9 Essential Workforce Management Tools Every Restaurant Needs
How to Read and Use Your Restaurants Profit and Loss Statement
How to Organize Your Restaurant's Financial Records Efficiently
Restaurant Billing 101 - Simplify Your Finances and Boost Efficiency
The Ultimate Guide to Accounts Payable Automation for Restaurant Owners
Benefits of Accounts Receivable Automation for Restaurants
Restaurant Bookkeeping 101 - A Beginner's Guide for Restaurant Owners
Invoice Management 101 - A Simple Guide for Restaurant Owners
What Are Par Levels and Why Every Restaurant Owner Should Care
5 Simple Ways to Speed Up Accounts Receivables Collections in Your Restaurant
Which Inventory Method is Best for Your Restaurant?
Setting Up an Employee Loan Program in Your Restaurant
The Ultimate Employee Onboarding Checklist for Restaurant Owners
Top 7 Payroll Mistakes Restaurant Owners Should Avoid
How to Calculate Food Cost Variance in Your Restaurant
A Guide to Understanding Customer Behavior in Restaurants
Top 10 California Employment Laws Every Restaurant Owner Must Know
How to Create Custom Recipe Templates for Your Restaurant Kitchen
10 Smart Ways To Use Food Handling Gloves To Ensure Kitchen Safety
What to Look for When Selecting a Bluetooth Wireless Meat Thermometer
Essential Food Safety Regulations Every Restaurant Must Follow in 2025
5 Practical Strategies to Cut Food Waste in Your Restaurant
Understanding Restaurant Food Cost Percentage in 2025 - Strategies for Profitability
Top 7 Food Safety Organizations You Need to Know About in 2025
The Restaurant Owner's Guide to Streamlining Supply Chain Processes
How to Efficiently Calculate and Manage Labor Cost in Restaurants
Key Elements of a Successful Restaurant Scheduling System
How to Reduce Labor Costs in Your Restaurant Without Sacrificing Service
5 Best Practices for Food Inventory Management to Reduce Waste
Understanding California Overtime Laws for Restaurants
Top Features to Look for in an Electronic Time Clock for Restaurants
The Best Employee Rewards Programs for Restaurants
How a Restaurant Scheduling App Helps You Avoid Common Scheduling Mistakes
Features to Look for in a Clock-In Machine for Restaurants
How to Improve Time and Attendance Tracking in Your Restaurant
How California Work Week Laws Affect Restaurant Scheduling
Best Practices for Calculating Payroll Hours in Restaurants
How Technology Can Improve Employee Management in Restaurants
California Employment Laws Every Hotel Owner Should Know in 2025
California's Updated Overtime and Break Laws for Restaurants
10 Essential Work Schedules for Running a Smooth Restaurant Operation
How to Accurately Calculate Work Hours for Your Restaurant Staff
Best Practices for Managing Employee Time and Attendance in Restaurants
How to Create an Efficient Restaurant Weekly Schedule That Boosts Productivity
Top 5 Benefits of Automating Your Business Workflows
The Power of API Integrations - Connecting Your Business Tools Seamlessly
The Importance of Seamless Integrations in Today's Business Landscape
How Workflow Automation Can Save Small Businesses Thousands of Dollars
How Any Connector Simplifies API Integrations for Your Business
Empowering Your Employees with Automation- A Win-Win Strategy
Building a Business Case for Automation in Your Organization
Automation in Hospitality - Streamlining Guest Experiences
5 Ways Restaurants Can Leverage Automation for Operational Success
The Ultimate Guide to Accurate Inventory Counting in Restaurants
How to Effectively Reduce Expenses and Increase Staff Engagement in Your Restaurant
How to make sure you will always meet labor goals before you run payroll
How to reduce labor costs without retraining your management team.
How to clone a proven employee scheduling system your managers will love without hiring expensive consultants.
3 top reasons your managers should always earn their bonuses
How to guarantee your franchise technology rollout will be a success
How to reduce labor costs by 3-5% without ever using an excel spreadsheet again
Why your IT team has to provide better mobile apps for you to stay competitive
How to streamline your business operations test for maximum efficiency
How to make sure your technology projects are on time and on budget
Why employee engagement and retention are the keys to improving profitability
The easy way to write great employee schedules
How to manage your restaurant inventory planning to ensure you're never caught short
5 Basic Inventory Management Tips That Can Save You Money
Top 3 Reasons Why You Need Cloud-Based Inventory Management Software
The Best Food Service Management Companies in the Industry
7 Tips for Choosing the Best Restaurant Directory Software
Top 11 Types of Food Safety Labels- Know the Difference to Protect Yourself
10 Inventory Management Stock Control Tips For Your Business
The Benefits of HR Software Reporting For Professionals
5 Top HR Software Solutions To Consider For Your Business
Tips for Retaining Hourly Restaurant Employees
Hurdles That Keep Restaurant Chains From Becoming The Employer Of Choice
Why You Should Start Using Restaurant Payroll Software
How To Make The Most Out Of Your Simple Inventory Management Software
Food Waste Management- 6 Strategies to Reduce the Impact of Food Waste
The Average Restaurant Food Cost Percentage & What You Can Do About It
Inventory Management Best Practices- A Guide to Controlling Your Inventory
How to Choose the Right Restaurant Dashboard Software for Your Needs
Five Ways That Food And Safety Come Together For Great Benefits
5 Free Inventory Management Tools for Small Businesses
3 Ways You Can Get Your Employees to Love Cloud-based HR and Payroll Software
5 Ways to Improve Your Multi Channel Inventory Management
5 Tips for Food Safety and Sanitation- What You Need to Know
What You Need to Know About Food Safety Issues and How To Prevent Them
The Best Restaurant Point of Sale Software for Your Business
The Best Restaurant Loyalty Programs- Which One Is Right for You?
9 Loyalty Program Ideas for Restaurants That Will Make Your Customers Come Back
The Best Inventory Management Software- The Ultimate Guide
Top 5 Best Bluetooth Meat Thermometers- Powering Up Grilling and Smoking
The Best Free Employee Scheduling Apps to Help Your Business Run Smoothly
Food Safety Temperature Chart- Safe Temperatures for Cooking and Storing Food?
Danger Zone Food Safety and How to Keep Your Food From Spoilage
5 Tips for Choosing the Best Kitchen Equipment Supplier
Mobile Device Inventory Management- A Guide to Help You Do It Right
Food Safety Rules You Should Always Follow to Keep Your Family Safe
4 Steps to Food Safety - How to Stay Safe and Avoid Food Poisoning
What To Eat? The FDA Food Safety Reforms You Need To Know About
Top Free Inventory Management Software for Small Businesses
4 Types of Inventory Management Systems and How They Affect Your Business
HR Recruitment Software- Why Restaurant Chains Fail To Become Preferred Choice
Food Waste Management Solutions- The Ultimate Guide to Eliminating Food Waste
HR Software Solutions- Tips For Retaining Hourly Restaurant Employees
How Restaurant Food Suppliers Are Important To A Business
What Are The Best Restaurant Paper Goods Suppliers?
The Ultimate Guide to Inventory Management Techniques
5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Hiring a Food Service Management Company
Ordering Management System- Issues Faced by Multi-Chain Restaurants In 2022
The Food Safety System Management- How To Optimize Your Process
The Best Employee Time Clock Machines for Your Business
The Top 5 Reasons to Switch to Cloud Based HR Software
Our Top 5 Best Employee Scheduling Apps For Small Businesses
Food Manual Handling- What You Need to Know and Why It Matters
Best POS System For Restaurant- What To Look Out For and Things To Consider
8 Tips for Successful Financial Management In Food Service
5 Tips for Improving Your Data Integration Software
America's Fastest Growing Restaurant Chains That You Probably Haven't Heard Of
The Best Employee Shift Planning Manager | Employee Scheduling & Shift Planning
Free Employee Time Clock to Give Your Business a Competitive Edge
HR Timesheet Software- What To Look For and How It Works
Tracking Time Effectively- The Best HR Time Tracking Software
Supply And Demand Management- The Best Ways To Manage Your Supply Chain.
Employee Data Technology- How This Trend is Transforming Your Organization.