- Built by Registered Dietitians and Certified Dietary Managers
South Dakota food manager certification and food handler requirements for nursing homes
South Dakota puts both requirements in one rule — and names a second person most facilities never certify.
Train, test, and certify online — no testing center. Questions about what your facility needs? Call 800.426.1344.
Food protection certificate
Your dietary manager and at least one cook must each hold a current certificate.
- The cook is the one facilities miss
- Separate from the dietary manager qualification
Dietary in-service training
Every dietary and food-handling employee, within 30 days of hire and every year after.
- Nine subjects named in the rule
- Annual, not one-and-done
Both requirements live in South Dakota’s nursing facility rules — Article 44:73, Chapter 07, Dietetic services.
The short version
Two requirements, one rule chapter
South Dakota is unusually direct about this. Both sit in the dietetic services rules for nursing facilities.
Your dietary manager and at least one cook
The rule requires both people to possess a current certificate from a ServSafe Manager Food Protection Program, the Certified Food Protection Professional’s Sanitation Course from the Association of Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals, or an equivalent program as determined by the department.
This sits separately from the dietary manager’s qualification. A facility can have a fully qualified dietary manager and still be short a certified cook.
SD Admin Rule 44:73:07:11A new dietary manager who doesn’t yet meet one of the four qualifications must enroll within 90 days of hire and qualify within 18 months.
Within 30 days of hire, then annually
All dietary and food-handling personnel need in-service training within thirty days of hire and every year after. The rule names nine subjects the training must cover — this isn’t a generic orientation.
Because it repeats annually, it’s the requirement most likely to have quietly lapsed somewhere in your department right now.
SD Admin Rule 44:73:07:16Nutrition and hydration is the subject standard food handler training usually leaves out.
Who needs what
Three different people, three different obligations
The qualification and the certificate are separate things in South Dakota — stated separately in the same rule.
| Who | Dietary manager qualification?One of four pathways | Food protection certificate?Current, per the same rule |
|---|---|---|
| Dietary managerFull-time, responsible to the administrator | CDM, certified food service manager, similar national certification, or a food service management degree | |
| At least one cookThe requirement facilities most often miss | Same certificate as the manager | |
| All other dietary staffCooks, aides, anyone handling food | In-service training instead — 30 days, then annually |
Most facilities certify the manager and stop. The rule names a cook too, in the same sentence, and that person turns over more often than the manager does. If your certified cook left last spring, you’ve been short since.
Certify both →Dietary manager qualifications and the food protection certificate requirement are both set by SD Admin Rule 44:73:07:11. A dietary manager who does not yet meet one of the four qualifications must enroll in a qualifying program within ninety days of hire and complete it within eighteen months. In-service training requirements are set by SD Admin Rule 44:73:07:16.
How to meet both requirements
Certify your dietary department without leaving the building
Training, the proctored exam, and food handler courses for the rest of your staff — one vendor, one invoice, no testing center.
Certify your team
Pick how many people you need certified and check out once. Volume pricing applies automatically as you add seats — no quote request, no waiting on a reply.
- Food manager seatsFor your dietary manager and shift coverage Volume priced
- Food handler seatsFor cooks, aides, and everyone else Volume priced
- Mixed orderBoth products discount on combined headcount Yes
Purchase orders and invoicing available · 800.426.1344
Train and certify
Instant access · Certified the moment you pass · Valid five years
- Full training covering every exam topic, self-paced
- 75-question practice exam with answers revealed
- Live online proctor included — no extra fee
- Two attempts included
Recertifying and don’t need the course? Exam only, $99
You buy the seats
One transaction for the whole department. You don’t need to know who’s taking what yet.
You assign them
Add staff by email and they get access immediately. Reassign a seat if someone leaves before using it.
They train on shift or at home
Self-paced on any device. You can see who’s finished and who hasn’t.
You get the certificates
Downloadable the moment they pass, with printed copies available for your survey binder.
Don’t forget the 30-day clock on new hires
Food handler training takes about 90 minutes and the certificate is issued on completion. Buy seats in advance and assign them the week someone starts, so the deadline never gets away from you. Food handler and food manager seats discount together on combined headcount — see South Dakota food handler training for course details.
Why facilities choose FoodSafePal
Accepted, passed, and easy to document
The four things that actually matter when you’re the one answering for it at survey.
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Your inspector will accept it
The program is accredited under Conference for Food Protection standards — the national framework health departments recognize. It’s the same accreditation behind the certifications your surveyors already expect to see.
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Your staff will pass
Training is self-paced with a full practice exam, and two exam attempts are included, so one bad morning doesn’t cost you a seat.
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Certificates verify online, years later
Every certificate carries a unique number that can be verified in seconds. When a surveyor asks about a credential issued three years ago, you’re not hunting through a filing cabinet or hoping a vendor still answers email.
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It was built for your setting
Developed by a registered dietitian nutritionist with senior living dietary experience, working with an advisory board of certified dietary managers who run food service in long-term care — not adapted from restaurant training.
Questions from South Dakota administrators
Frequently asked questions
Our dietary manager is certified. Isn’t that enough?
No. The rule requires the dietary manager and at least one cook to each hold a current food protection certificate. Those words sit in the same sentence. A facility with a fully credentialed dietary manager and no certified cook is short of the requirement.
SD Admin Rule 44:73:07:11Which cook? What happens if that person leaves?
The rule says at least one, without naming a position, so it’s your choice which cook holds it. But it has to be current — if your certified cook resigns, you’re short until someone else is certified. Facilities that certify two cooks rather than one rarely have this problem.
Our dietary manager just started and isn’t qualified yet. How long do we have?
A dietary manager who doesn’t already meet one of the four qualifications must enroll in a qualifying program within ninety days of the hire date and complete it within eighteen months.
SD Admin Rule 44:73:07:11What has to be in the annual dietary in-service?
Nine subjects: food safety, handwashing, food handling and preparation techniques, food-borne illnesses, serving and distribution procedures, leftover food handling policies, time and temperature controls, nutrition and hydration, and sanitation requirements. Training is due within thirty days of hire and annually after that, for all dietary and food-handling personnel.
SD Admin Rule 44:73:07:16Is FoodSafePal accepted in South Dakota?
The rule accepts a ServSafe Manager Food Protection Program certificate, the Certified Food Protection Professional’s Sanitation Course from the Association of Nutrition and Foodservice Professionals, or an equivalent program as determined by the department. FoodSafePal is accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board under Conference for Food Protection standards — the same accreditation ServSafe’s manager program holds, and the national benchmark for equivalence.
How long is the certificate good for?
Five years for a FoodSafePal certification. The rule requires the certificate to be current, so track the expiry for both your manager and your certified cook — a lapsed certificate is the same as no certificate.
Can our staff train and test without leaving the building?
Yes. Training is self-paced and most people finish in about five hours. The exam is proctored remotely from any quiet, private room — no testing center and no scheduling around someone else’s calendar.
Do you invoice, or can we use a purchase order?
Yes to both. Call 800.426.1344 and we’ll set it up for your facility or your whole group.
Get your dietary department compliant
Certify your managers, train your food employees, and keep the certificates your surveyor will ask for — in one place, without anyone leaving the building.
Not sure how many people you need certified? Call 800.426.1344 and we’ll work it out with you.
This page summarizes South Dakota requirements as of July 2026 and is provided for general information, not as legal or compliance advice. Requirements are set by South Dakota Administrative Rule Article 44:73, Chapter 07, and the South Dakota Food Service Code, and your local health authority may impose additional standards. Certifying for a restaurant or retail food establishment instead? See our South Dakota food manager certification page.