Maricopa County requires every food employee to hold a food handler card within 30 days of doing any food work. That covers Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Glendale, Gilbert, Tempe, Peoria and Surprise. The card is valid for 3 years, and you earn it by completing an accredited course. The county does not sell its own.
Quick answer
- Required in Maricopa County: yes, for every food employee
- Deadline: within 30 days of performing any food employee activity. For a temporary or seasonal event, before the event starts
- Valid for: 3 years from the date of issue
- Cost: the county charges nothing. An accredited online course runs about $7 to $15
- Where to take it: any of the 24 ANSI-accredited providers on Maricopa County’s list
- Languages: 11 of the 24 providers teach in Spanish. ServSafe and 123 Premier also offer Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese
- Rules set by: Maricopa County Environmental Health Code, Chapter VII
Who needs a card in Maricopa County
The county code defines a food employee as anyone who “handles, prepares, serves, sells or gives away food for consumption by persons other than his or her immediate family.” That is deliberately wide. Servers, bartenders, baristas, bussers, dishwashers, line cooks, prep cooks, food truck staff and grocery deli workers are all covered. If food or food-contact equipment passes through your hands, you need the card.
The 30-day deadline
Chapter VII gives you 30 days from performing any food employee activity. The clock starts the first time you do the work, not when your paperwork is processed and not at your first paycheck.
Temporary and seasonal events are different. The training must be completed “prior to the start of the event,” so there is no 30-day window at a fair, a festival or a stadium stand. Many Phoenix employers also ask for the card before your first shift. They are allowed to, and it is usually simpler to arrive with it.
What Maricopa County accepts
The county’s rules list exactly three acceptable documents:
- A valid food employee certificate or ID card issued by another Arizona county
- A certificate from a course given by the Department
- A certificate from a third-party food handler training course that meets all State of Arizona statutory requirements, including compliance with ANSI/ASTM International Standard E2659-09
Almost everyone uses the third option, which is why an accredited online course works in Phoenix. Your employer must keep a separate file of food employee training documentation on the premises, which is why they will ask you for a copy.
Fee waivers and the $5 limited-use certificate
Two Maricopa provisions that few sites mention:
- Fee-waived certificates for people working under a board fee waiver, including charitable organization volunteers and students in a K-12 culinary arts school program
- A Limited Use Food Employee Certificate, $5 per employee, valid 3 years, for individuals with disabilities performing specific low-risk activities under the direct supervision of the certified manager at all times
Working outside Maricopa County
Arizona has no statewide food handler card, so the rule changes by county. The City of Maricopa is in Pinal County, not Maricopa County. Tucson and Pima County do not require a worker card. See the county-by-county table on our full Arizona food handler card page.