- Built by Registered Dietitians and Certified Dietary Managers
Texas food manager certification and food handler requirements for nursing homes
Two separate rules apply to your dietary department, and they sit in different sections of the Texas code — which is why most facilities only know about one of them.
Train, test, and certify online — no testing center. Questions about what your facility needs? Call 800.426.1344.
Food manager certification
A certified food protection manager must be present during all hours of operation — not simply on staff.
- Accepted by Texas health departments
- A CDM or RD credential does not satisfy this
Food handler training
Every other food employee must be trained within 30 days of hire, with a certificate kept on premises for each one.
- Meets the Texas accredited-training requirement
- Cooks, dietary aides, anyone handling food
Accreditation is the national standard health departments recognize — it’s what makes a certificate acceptable in Texas and in every other state your staff might work in.
The short version
Two things are required in your kitchen
One is about who’s in charge. The other is about everyone else.
Someone certified has to be in the kitchen whenever it’s running
Not just someone on the payroll who holds a certificate. A certified food protection manager has to be present — from early prep through the last tray of the night.
Texas Food Establishment Rules, 25 TAC §228.31(b)Which is why most facilities certify two or three people rather than one.
Everyone else has 30 days from their hire date
Each one completes an accredited food handler course, and you keep their certificate on site where an inspector can see it.
With normal dietary turnover, this is the requirement most likely to be out of date right now.
Texas Food Establishment Rules, 25 TAC §228.31(d)–(e)Your food handler certificates are part of what an inspector asks to see.
“We’re a nursing home, not a restaurant. Does this really apply to us?”
It does. Texas defines a food establishment to include institutions, and nursing homes aren’t on the exemption list. You don’t need a retail food permit the way a restaurant does — but that exemption covers permits and fees only, not the rules themselves.
If a city or county health department inspects your kitchen, they enforce the same requirements, usually far more often than your HHSC survey comes around.
25 TAC §228.2(14) · §229.371 · 26 TAC §554.1111(g)The most common mix-up in long-term care
A CDM doesn’t cover the kitchen requirement
Texas asks two different questions about your dietary department, and they’re answered by two different credentials. Most facilities only know about the first one.
| Credential | Can they direct food and nutrition services? The HHSC licensing rule | Do they meet the kitchen certification rule? The Texas food code |
|---|---|---|
| Certified Dietary ManagerCDM, CFPP | Still needs certification | |
| Registered DietitianRD or RDN, Texas licensed | When employed full time | Still needs certification |
| Degree in food service managementAssociate’s or higher, or hospitality | Still needs certification | |
| Food protection manager certificationCFPM, accredited under national standards | ? Not addressed in the rule |
Whatever your director holds, the kitchen requirement is separate. A CDM, a dietitian, or a food service degree qualifies someone to run your dietary department. None of them puts a certified food protection manager in the kitchen — and that’s required whenever you’re operating. Adding the certification is faster and less expensive than most people expect.
Director qualifications are set by 26 TAC §554.1102, which accepts a certified dietary manager, a certified food service manager, similar national certification in food service management and safety from a national certifying body, or an associate’s or higher degree in food service management or hospitality. Neither CMS nor HHSC has published a definition of “certified food service manager,” so whether a food protection manager certification satisfies that pathway is not settled — confirm with your state agency before relying on it as your director qualification. The kitchen certification requirement at 25 TAC §228.31(b) is separate and applies either way.
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.
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 Texas administrators
Frequently asked questions
Our dietary manager holds a CDM. Do we still need food manager certification?
Yes. A CDM satisfies the HHSC standard for who may direct food and nutrition services. It doesn’t satisfy the Texas food code, which requires a certified food protection manager in the kitchen. Two separate rules, and holding one doesn’t exempt you from the other.
How many certified managers does our facility actually need?
Enough to have one present during all hours of operation. One certified person working a single shift leaves the rest of your service day uncovered. Most facilities running early prep through evening service certify two or three staff, plus a margin for PTO, turnover, and call-offs.
25 TAC §228.31(b)Do our cooks and dietary aides need food handler training too?
Yes. Every food employee other than the certified food protection manager must complete an accredited food handler course within 30 days of employment, and you must keep a certificate of completion on premises for each of them.
25 TAC §228.31(d)–(e)HHSC inspects us, not the health department. Aren’t we exempt from the food code?
No. Texas defines a food establishment to include institutions, and nursing homes aren’t on the exclusion list. There is a nursing home provision in the retail food rules, but it applies for purposes of obtaining a permit and paying fees only — it removes the permit, not the standards.
Separately, HHSC requires the facility and all food service personnel to meet local, state, and federal codes regarding food and food handling, which brings the food code into your survey.
25 TAC §228.2(14) · §229.371 · 26 TAC §554.1111(g)What will a surveyor or inspector actually ask to see?
Current certificates. A valid food protection manager certification for whoever is in charge of the kitchen, and a food handler certificate on file for each food employee. Expired credentials are the most common gap, because certifications are valid for five years and nobody is tracking the date.
Can our staff train and test without leaving the facility?
Yes. Training is video-based and self-paced, and most people finish in about five hours. The certification exam is taken from any quiet, private room with a live remote proctor — no testing center, and no scheduling around someone else’s calendar.
What happens if someone doesn’t pass?
Two attempts are included. There’s a 48-hour wait before retesting, and the retake is issued on a different version of the exam.
Can we buy seats now and assign them later?
Yes. Buy the number you need in one transaction and assign staff by email whenever you’re ready. If someone leaves before using their seat, you can reassign it.
How long is certification valid, and what does renewal involve?
Five years. Renewal means retaking and passing the exam — there’s no shorter refresher course that extends it. An experienced manager recertifying can take the exam on its own without repeating the training.
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 Texas requirements as of July 2026 and is provided for general information, not as legal or compliance advice. Requirements are set by 25 TAC Chapter 228, 26 TAC Chapter 554, and applicable local ordinances, and your city or county health authority may impose additional standards. Certifying for a restaurant or retail food establishment instead? See our Texas food manager certification page.