California Food Handler Card examination (Health and Safety Code § 113948) — exam facts
California
Every source below was read on 2026-09-03
| Administering body | California runs no food handler exam of its own. Health and Safety Code § 113948(b)(2) requires the card to come from an ANSI-accredited training provider meeting ASTM E2659-09, and CDPH states that it does not provide food handler courses. Local enforcement agencies enforce the requirement; counties that ran their own programme before 2009 are exempted by § 113948(f). What we read and found nothing in: CDPH Food and Drug Branch — Retail Food Safety Training (PDF, rev. 11/2024) (2026-09-03) · California Health and Safety Code § 113948 (California Retail Food Code) — leginfo (2026-09-03) |
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| Questions | At least 40 questions This is the statutory floor in § 113948(b)(3)(C), not the length of any particular exam. Each accredited provider sets its own count, and it may be higher. Source: California Health and Safety Code § 113948 (California Retail Food Code) — leginfo (2026-09-03) |
| Time limit | Not published by State of California California law sets no time limit on the examination. What § 113948(b)(3)(B) sets is a design target for the COURSE AND EXAMINATION TOGETHER — approximately two and one-half hours — and the statute's own word is “approximately”. What we read and found nothing in: California Health and Safety Code § 113948 (California Retail Food Code) — leginfo (2026-09-03) · CDPH Food and Drug Branch — Retail Food Safety Training (PDF, rev. 11/2024) (2026-09-03) |
| Passing score | 70% § 113948(b)(3)(D) requires a “minimum score of 70 percent”. It is a legal floor: an individual accredited provider may set a higher bar. Source: California Health and Safety Code § 113948 (California Retail Food Code) — leginfo (2026-09-03) |
| Fees |
No fee is paid to CDPH or to the State of California. § 113948(h)(2) requires that at least one compliant course, examination and card be available for no more than $15; every provider sets its own price and CDPH confirms that pricing is listed on each company's own page. The $15 is therefore a ceiling on the cheapest compliant option, not a price. Source: California Health and Safety Code § 113948 (California Retail Food Code) — leginfo (2026-09-03) |
| Languages offered | Not published by State of California § 113948 imposes no language requirement and CDPH publishes no language list, because the state runs no course. Which languages are available depends entirely on the accredited provider a candidate buys from. What we read and found nothing in: California Health and Safety Code § 113948 (California Retail Food Code) — leginfo (2026-09-03) · CDPH Food and Drug Branch — Retail Food Safety Training (PDF, rev. 11/2024) (2026-09-03) |
Change log
- 2026-09-03Fact sheet created. The “40 questions”, “70%”, “$15” and “2.5 hours” figures were re-read in the statute and re-labelled as what they legally are: a minimum, a floor, a ceiling, and a course-plus-exam design target.