Food Handler Card Requirements in Georgia
Georgia takes a different path: there is no individual food handler card here at all. This page explains what the state requires instead, and who actually needs a food safety certification — every fact checked against the official sources cited below.
Georgia Food Handler Card at a Glance
- Card required?
- Not required — no food handler card exists here
- Cost
- No state-set fee - there is no card to buy and no state registration to pay for. Optional commercial food handler courses are priced by the provider.
This table shows only facts we could verify from official pages or Georgia law. If a detail you need is missing, confirm it with the agency above before you rely on it.
FoodHandlerTest is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Restaurant Association (ServSafe) or any certifying organization.
Does Georgia Require a Food Handler Card?
Every state writes its own food safety rules. Of the 25 states we have published so far, 8 require food handler training statewide, 6 leave the decision to counties, and 11 require no individual card at all. Georgia sits in the last group: line employees need no card, and the state's training rules attach to supervisors and managers instead.
What Georgia Requires Instead
No food handler card or certificate is required of individual food employees in Georgia, so no training programme is mandated for line staff and no state list of approved food handler providers exists. What the rules require instead is training delivered by the establishment: DPH Rule 511-6-1-.03(3)(d) makes the Certified Food Safety Manager responsible for ensuring that all employees who handle, or have responsibility for handling, unpackaged food have sufficient knowledge of safe preparation and service, tailored as appropriate to each employee's duties, and requires the CFSM to 'offer a training program for all food service employees to satisfy employee proficiency in their job responsibilities for food safety.' Employers who want a course anyway commonly use an ANSI/ANAB-accredited food handler course, but nothing in Georgia law names or requires one.
FoodHandlerTest is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Restaurant Association (ServSafe) or any certifying organization.
Statewide vs. County Rules in Georgia
No Georgia county was found to mandate a food handler card, registration or local database entry. Chapter 511-6-1 applies uniformly statewide and is enforced by county boards of health, which issue food service establishment permits and inspect; several counties (for example Fulton) simply republish the state rules. Note for accuracy: a number of commercial sites publish very specific county mechanics - a Fulton County '90-day renewal window with an online portal', a DeKalb County '$5 processing fee payable only by money order or credit card', Gwinnett County 'group submissions from HR with an employee roster', and a claim that workers must keep a registration on file in each county they work in. None of this appears in any Georgia primary source reviewed, none of it is supported by the county health department pages checked, and it should be treated as vendor marketing rather than fact. The only county-level variation confirmed is administrative: Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale run their own inspection systems and are excluded from the state-wide inspection search on the DPH site.
Food Manager Certification in Georgia
Georgia does not issue food handler cards, but it does have a separate requirement for certified food protection managers:
Yes. DPH Rule 511-6-1-.03(3)(a)-(b): food service establishments 'shall have in its employ a Certified Food Safety Manager (CFSM)' and at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control food preparation and service must be a CFSM who has passed a test that is part of an accredited programme conforming to national standards. Rule -.01(16) defines a CFSM as an owner or manager who has completed a Department-approved food safety training programme and passed a professionally validated exam accredited by the Conference for Food Protection or an equivalent accrediting agency. Exemptions (-.03(3)(b)1): mobile food service units that do not process foods; establishments serving non-TCS food requiring limited preparation, or TCS foods previously prepared in a permitted establishment; and temporary food service establishments. An establishment has 60 days from initial permit issuance, change of ownership, or the CFSM's departure to employ a new one, and must notify the Health Authority within 30 days of ceasing to employ a CFSM. The original certificate must be posted in public view with a copy on file; an expired, revoked or suspended certificate must not be posted. Certificates expire on the credentialing organisation's date, and the CFSM must re-enrol, re-test and recertify within 90 days of expiry. Certification is not transferable between people and a CFSM may be designated to only one establishment.
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Free Food Manager Practice TestGeorgia Food Handler Card FAQs
Do you need a food handler card in Georgia?
No. Georgia has no individual food handler card requirement. The state's food safety training rules apply to the person in charge and managers instead.
What food safety training does Georgia require?
No food handler card or certificate is required of individual food employees in Georgia, so no training programme is mandated for line staff and no state list of approved food handler providers exists. What the rules require instead is training delivered by the establishment: DPH Rule 511-6-1-.03(3)(d) makes the Certified Food Safety Manager responsible for ensuring that all employees who handle, or have responsibility for handling, unpackaged food have sufficient knowledge of safe preparation and service, tailored as appropriate to each employee's duties, and requires the CFSM to 'offer a training program for all food service employees to satisfy employee proficiency in their job responsibilities for food safety.' Employers who want a course anyway commonly use an ANSI/ANAB-accredited food handler course, but nothing in Georgia law names or requires one.
Does Georgia require a certified food manager?
Yes. DPH Rule 511-6-1-.03(3)(a)-(b): food service establishments 'shall have in its employ a Certified Food Safety Manager (CFSM)' and at least one employee with supervisory and management responsibility and the authority to direct and control food preparation and service must be a CFSM who has passed a test that is part of an accredited programme conforming to national standards. Rule -.01(16) defines a CFSM as an owner or manager who has completed a Department-approved food safety training programme and passed a professionally validated exam accredited by the Conference for Food Protection or an equivalent accrediting agency. Exemptions (-.03(3)(b)1): mobile food service units that do not process foods; establishments serving non-TCS food requiring limited preparation, or TCS foods previously prepared in a permitted establishment; and temporary food service establishments. An establishment has 60 days from initial permit issuance, change of ownership, or the CFSM's departure to employ a new one, and must notify the Health Authority within 30 days of ceasing to employ a CFSM. The original certificate must be posted in public view with a copy on file; an expired, revoked or suspended certificate must not be posted. Certificates expire on the credentialing organisation's date, and the CFSM must re-enrol, re-test and recertify within 90 days of expiry. Certification is not transferable between people and a CFSM may be designated to only one establishment.
Sources
Last reviewed July 26, 2026. Every fact on this page was checked against the primary sources below on the dates shown.
- Georgia DPH Food Service Rules and Regulations, Chapter 511-6-1 (eff. 11/1/2015, revised 2/12/2025 adopting the 2022 FDA Food Code) Accessed July 26, 2026
- Georgia Department of Public Health - Food Service (rules, manuals, applications, inspections) Accessed July 26, 2026
- Fulton County Board of Health - Food Service (permitting and inspection; republishes state rules) Accessed July 26, 2026
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FoodHandlerTest is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the National Restaurant Association (ServSafe) or any certifying organization.