Last verified: August 2026. Alabama’s worker rules are set by two county health departments, so confirm with the one that covers your workplace before paying.
State requirement: No statewide requirement
Law: No state law · Authority: Alabama Dept of Public Health · Verified: August 2026
No statewide card, but Jefferson County and Mobile County each require their own. Find yours below.
Alabama has no statewide food handler card. Two counties require one — Jefferson (Birmingham) and Mobile — and each runs its own program with its own price, its own deadline and its own expiry date. Everywhere else in the state, no worker card is required at all. The one thing almost nobody tells you: a card from one of those two counties does not work in the other.
Quick answer
- Jefferson County (Birmingham): card required within 21 days of your hire date. $20 online or $15 for the in-person class.
- Mobile County: card required before you start your first shift — there is no grace period. $23 online, valid one year.
- The other 65 counties: no food handler card, license or permit is required of ordinary food workers.
- Cards are not interchangeable. Mobile County will not accept a Jefferson County card, and vice versa — even though both counties use the same training company.
- National online cards don’t count in either county. Both name a single approved provider.
If you have been searching for an “Alabama food handlers license,” that is the short version: there isn’t a state one, and the two that exist are county-issued and not portable.
Jefferson County (Birmingham): the short version
The Jefferson County Department of Health requires all food employees to complete food safety training, within 21 days of the hire date. The card costs $20 online or $15 for the classroom course, and a replacement is $5. Training may be completed in person, online, or through a Certified Food Safety Manager who is on duty at all times. JCDH names one exclusive approved provider for online training, so a card from any other website is not accepted. Cards transfer between establishments in the county, volunteers need their own card, and JCDH does not publish an expiry date (the provider says two years).
Languages, the on-the-job training route, the volunteer card and the full list of what JCDH says are in our Jefferson County food handler card guide.
Mobile County — and why your Jefferson card won’t work there
Mobile County Health Department requires a food handler card for “all employees working in food establishments and day care centers without a current, approved Food Safety Manager certification.” That carve-out matters: if you already hold an approved manager certification, you do not separately need the handler card.
- Cost: $23 for the online card — $8 for the course plus a $15 health department fee.
- Valid: one year. “All food handler certifications are valid for one year and must be renewed annually.” This is half the life of a Jefferson card.
- Deadline: there isn’t a grace period. “Cards should be obtained before being placed on a shift and starting work.”
- Serving alcohol? Upgrading to a Food & Beverage Handler card costs a further $7. Employers running TIPS or other ABC-approved training may have other options.
Now the part that catches people out. Mobile County’s rule, in its own words:
“Cards issued by State Food Safety for other counties or by other food handler training providers are not valid in Mobile County and will not be recognized.”
Both Jefferson and Mobile deliver their courses through the same training company, on county-branded portals. That makes it very easy to assume one card covers both. It does not. If you move from a Birmingham restaurant to a Mobile one, you buy the Mobile card and start again — and if you work in both, you need both.
The rest of Alabama — no card required
Outside Jefferson and Mobile counties, Alabama does not require food workers to hold a card, license or permit. Not in Huntsville, not in Montgomery, not in Tuscaloosa, Auburn, Baldwin County or anywhere else.
There is a structural reason the list is exactly two, and it is worth understanding rather than taking on trust. Jefferson and Mobile are Alabama’s only two independent county health departments. Every other county is run directly by the Alabama Department of Public Health, which enforces the state’s food establishment rules as written — and those rules contain no worker card requirement anywhere. Two independent departments, two local programs; 65 ADPH counties, none.
Madison County (Huntsville) — you may have found the wrong state
If you searched for a “Madison County food handlers card” and found a health department page saying one is required, check which state it belongs to. Madison County, Kentucky requires a food handler card and its health department ranks well for that search. Madison County, Alabama — Huntsville — does not require one. The Kentucky card is, in that department’s own words, valid in Madison County, Kentucky only.
Even where nothing is legally required, employers frequently ask for food safety training, and it is a reasonable thing to have. Just don’t buy a card because a website told you your state requires one — outside those two counties, Alabama doesn’t.
What Alabama requires statewide
Alabama’s food establishment rules adopt the 2013 FDA Food Code. There is no statewide worker card in them. There is a manager-level requirement, but it is narrower than it is usually described.
It applies to Priority Category 3 and 4 establishments only: “For Priority Category 3 and 4 establishments the permit holder or their designee shall possess a valid certification from an accredited program or shall have verification of attendance from an accredited program.” Since 1 January 2020 such a person must “be present during all hours of operation.”
Two details are routinely got wrong elsewhere:
- It is not every establishment. “Priority category 1 and 2 establishments and temporary food establishments are exempt.” Roughly: Priority 1 sells only prepackaged food needing temperature control; Priority 2 uses no raw animal foods, doesn’t cool cooked food and doesn’t reuse tableware. A full-service restaurant is Priority 3; a convenience store or a smoothie counter may well not be.
- Attendance can be enough. The rule accepts certification or verification of attendance at an accredited program. Passing the exam is not always strictly necessary — which makes Alabama’s manager rule notably lighter than most states’.
Where several permitted establishments share one building under the same ownership — departments inside a grocery store, for instance — one person with supervisory authority over any department can serve as the designee.
Selling cottage foods
If you make and sell cottage foods in Alabama, you must complete “a food safety course approved by the Health Department.” ADPH points to the Alabama Cooperative Extension System course written for cottage food operations, currently $25, with a certificate valid three years. Other courses are accepted too, including any taken through an ANSI-accredited food safety program — but department approval is the standard, not accreditation on its own. There is no permit; your county health department issues written confirmation once it has reviewed your certificate and labels, for a fee that varies by county.
What to do, by location
- Birmingham / Jefferson County: take the JCDH class ($15), the county’s approved online course ($20), or be trained on the job by a Certified Food Safety Manager — within 21 days of being hired.
- Mobile County: buy the county’s own online card ($23) before your first shift, and renew it every year. Add $7 if you’ll be serving alcohol.
- Working in both counties: you need both cards. Neither county recognizes the other’s.
- Anywhere else in Alabama: nothing is legally required. If your employer asks for training, that’s their policy, not state law.
- Managers at Priority 3 or 4 establishments: make sure someone with accredited certification — or verified attendance — is present during all hours of operation.
Food handler card by Alabama city and county
Only two Alabama counties require a food handler card — Jefferson and Mobile. Everywhere else in the state, no card is required by law. Here is where the major cities fall:
Birmingham, Hoover, Bessemer (Jefferson County)
Jefferson County requires a food handler card for all food service workers. This covers Birmingham, Hoover, Bessemer, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, and every other municipality in the county. See the Jefferson County section above — only one online provider is accepted, and a card from a national website will not make you compliant.
Mobile and Prichard (Mobile County)
Mobile County runs its own separate food handler card program. A Jefferson County card does not work in Mobile, and a Mobile card does not work in Jefferson. If you work in both counties, you need both cards.
Montgomery (Montgomery County)
No food handler card is required. Montgomery County is not one of the two counties with a card program. The Alabama Department of Public Health licenses establishments, and the state-level certified food protection manager rule applies to the business, not to individual workers.
Huntsville and Madison (Madison County)
No food handler card is required in Huntsville. This is a frequent point of confusion because Huntsville’s rapid growth draws workers from states that do require cards. Madison County has no card program — see the Madison County note above.
Tuscaloosa (Tuscaloosa County)
No food handler card is required. Tuscaloosa’s large student-driven food service industry around the University of Alabama operates under state rules only. Employers may require training independently.
Auburn and Opelika (Lee County)
No county food handler card is required. Lee County follows state rules. As in Tuscaloosa, the university-driven restaurant market means many employers require internal food safety training regardless.
Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Fairhope (Baldwin County)
No food handler card is required. Baldwin County is adjacent to Mobile County but does not share its card requirement — a common mistake for Gulf Coast seasonal workers who assume the Mobile rule extends along the coast. It does not.
Dothan (Houston County), Decatur (Morgan County), Florence (Lauderdale County)
None of these cities require a food handler card. All operate under the standard Alabama Department of Public Health framework — establishment permits plus a certified food protection manager for the business.
Gadsden (Etowah County) and Anniston (Calhoun County)
No food handler card is required in either city. Neither county operates a card program.
Outside Jefferson and Mobile counties
If you work outside Jefferson and Mobile counties, no Alabama card is required and employers often ask for training instead — an ANSI-accredited online food handler course costs $7–$15. Inside Jefferson or Mobile, you must use that county’s own program; a national online card will not make you compliant there.
Alabama at a glance
| Statewide worker card? | No — none in the state food establishment rules (2013 FDA Food Code adopted) |
| Jefferson County (Birmingham) | Required; $20 online / $15 in person; 21 days from hire; replacement card $5 |
| Mobile County | Required; $23 online; valid 1 year; needed before your first shift |
| Are the two interchangeable? | No. Mobile does not recognize cards issued for other counties |
| National ANAB/ANSI cards | Not accepted in either county — each names one approved provider |
| Madison County (Huntsville) | Not required. The requirement you may have found is Madison County, Kentucky |
| All other counties | No worker card required; employer policy may still apply |
| Manager rule | Priority Category 3 and 4 only; certification or verification of attendance; present during all hours |
| Cottage food | Health-department-approved food safety course required (ACES course $25, valid 3 years) |
Work across a state line?
Food handler rules follow the establishment’s location, not where you live. If you work in a neighbouring state, its requirements may be different:
- Florida — card required
- Georgia — no card required
- Tennessee — no card required
- Mississippi — no card required
Common questions
How much is a food handlers card in Alabama?
It depends which of the two counties you work in. Jefferson County is $20 online or $15 for the classroom course. Mobile County is $23 online, plus $7 if you need the alcohol-service upgrade. Everywhere else in Alabama there is nothing to buy, because no card is required.
Does Alabama have a state food handlers license?
No. There is no Alabama food handlers license, card or permit issued at state level. People often search for one because other states have them — in Alabama the only worker requirements are county-level, in Jefferson and Mobile.
How long do I have after being hired?
In Jefferson County, 21 days from your hire date. In Mobile County there is no grace period at all — the card should be obtained before you are placed on a shift.
Will an online food handlers card from a national website work in Alabama?
Not in Jefferson or Mobile. Jefferson names one “exclusive approved provider” for online training, and Mobile says cards from other providers “are not valid in Mobile County and will not be recognized.” In the rest of Alabama the question doesn’t arise, because no card is required.
Can I use my Jefferson County card in Mobile County?
No. Mobile County explicitly does not recognize cards issued for other counties, even ones from the same training company. If you work in both, you need both.
How long is an Alabama food handler card valid?
Mobile County cards are valid one year and must be renewed annually — that figure is published by the health department. Jefferson County does not publish a validity period; its approved online provider says two years. Confirm with JCDH if the expiry date matters to you.
Do volunteers need a food handler card in Alabama?
In Jefferson County, yes — there is a separate volunteer food handler card with its own video-based training and registration. Outside the two counties, no card is required of anyone.
Official sources
- Jefferson County Department of Health — Food Handler Classes
- JCDH — Certified Food Safety Manager
- Mobile County Health Department — Permits
- MCHD — Food and Beverage Handler Training (PDF)
- Ala. Admin. Code ch. 420-3-22 — Food Establishment Sanitation
- ADPH — Cottage Food
- ADPH — county and district roster
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Your county health department — Jefferson or Mobile — and ADPH are the final word.
Running a Priority Category 3 or 4 establishment? See Alabama Food Manager Certification.