- Built by Registered Dietitians and Certified Dietary Managers
Food manager certification and food handler card requirements for nursing homes, by state
Nearly every state requires certified or trained food safety staff in your kitchen — but who needs it, how many, and by when are different everywhere. Find your state, or certify staff across several at once.
Train, test, and certify online — no testing center. Operating in more than one state? Call 800.426.1344.
Food manager certification
Most states require this for the kitchen regardless of what else your dietary staff hold. Some require someone certified present whenever you’re operating.
- Recognized by health departments nationwide
- A CDM or RD credential is a separate thing
Food handler training
Required for cooks, dietary aides, and anyone else handling food — usually within a set number of days from hire.
- About 90 minutes, fully online
- Certificate issued the moment they finish
One credential travels. A nationally accredited certification is accepted across state lines, which matters when staff move between facilities or your organization operates in more than one state.
The short version
Two requirements. Both look different depending on where you are.
One covers whoever runs your kitchen. The other covers everyone else who touches food.
Does anyone need it if your director already holds a CDM or RD?
That’s the question, and the answer isn’t the same everywhere. In most states a food protection manager certification is required for the kitchen regardless of what other credentials your dietary staff hold — a CDM or an RD license doesn’t satisfy it.
A few states go further and name a second role, such as a cook, or require someone certified to be present whenever the kitchen is operating rather than simply on the payroll. That’s the difference between certifying one person and certifying three.
Your state page says which of these applies to you.
How long does everyone else have after they’re hired?
Most states require food handler training for the rest of your dietary staff within a set window after hire, with the certificate kept on site. The window differs — and so does whether the training has to come from a program the state accredits specifically.
With normal dietary turnover, this is the requirement most likely to be out of date in any given facility right now.
Windows range from a couple of weeks to a few months.
Find your state
Requirements where your facility is
Not sure which rules apply to your facility, or operating in more than one state? Call 800.426.1344.
For groups and management companies
Certify staff across every facility you run
One accredited credential, recognized in every state — so you’re not managing a different vendor and a different certificate format in each market.
Certify a group
Buy seats once for the whole organization and assign them as facilities need them. Volume pricing applies automatically across combined headcount, not per building.
- Food manager seatsAssign to any facility, any state Volume priced
- Food handler seatsFor dietary staff at every location Volume priced
- Combined headcountBoth products count toward the same tier 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. 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 binders.
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.
Start with your state
Find what your state requires, then certify the people who need it — without anyone leaving the building.
Operating in more than one state, or not sure how many people you need certified? Call 800.426.1344.
Requirements summarized on these pages are current as of publication and are provided for general information, not as legal or compliance advice. Food safety requirements are set by state rule and by local health authorities, which may impose additional standards. Certifying for a restaurant or retail food establishment instead? See our food manager certification pages.