Maryland Food Handler Card: What’s Actually Required (2026)

Last verified: August 2026. Every requirement below is sourced to the Code of Maryland Regulations, the Maryland Annotated Code, or the county health department named. Links are at the foot of the page.

State requirement: No statewide requirement

Law: No state law  ·  Authority: Maryland DHMH  ·  Verified: August 2026

No Maryland county requires a worker card. Five require a certified manager at the establishment; see yours below.

Maryland is unusual twice over. There is no statewide food handler card — which is common enough — and there is also no statewide food manager requirement, which is rare and which most pages on this subject get wrong. Maryland regulates the establishment and leaves credentials to its counties.

All 24 Maryland jurisdictions were checked for this guide. Not one requires a food handler card from an ordinary worker. Five require a certified manager. Nineteen require neither.

What Maryland actually requires

Maryland has no statewide food handler card — and no county requires one either. But five jurisdictions go further than the state on manager certification, and that distinction catches people off guard. Whether you need anything at all depends entirely on which county you work in. Here’s the full breakdown by jurisdiction.

What it’s called: a Maryland food handlers card, food handlers permit, food handler certificate, food handler certification and food handlers license all lead to the same answer — Maryland issues individual food workers no credential under any of those names. What does exist is a manager certification in five jurisdictions, plus whatever training your own employer requires of you.

So what should you actually do? By law, nothing — Maryland asks nothing of individual food workers, and there is no card for you to buy. Employers commonly ask for proof of training anyway, and an ANSI-accredited online food handler course satisfies most of those requests. What that involves ↓

For comparison, Kansas food handler card covers a state with a true statewide worker card requirement.

Do you need a food handler card in Maryland?

No. There is nothing to hold, at state level or in any county.

Maryland’s licensing statute attaches to the business. Health-General § 21-305(a): “Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, a person may not operate a food establishment unless the person is licensed by the Department.” The regulation that carries it, COMAR 10.15.03, runs to 40 sections and contains no worker-level card, permit, registration or mandatory training anywhere in it.

One point of confusion worth clearing up: COMAR 10.15.03.14 does use the phrase “a food handler,” but only as a disease-exclusion category — a person who must not handle food while ill. It is not a credential, and “food handler” is not even defined in the regulation. Pages selling Maryland “food handler cards” lean on that wording.

What it costs you: nothing

Maryland charges individual food workers nothing, because there is no worker credential to charge for. Health-General § 21-308 covers establishments and processing operations only, and the state fee schedule at COMAR 10.01.17.02 contains no fee for a worker card or a manager certification.

Facility licence fees are set by each county rather than by the state, so there is no statewide figure to quote. Those are your employer’s, for the premises.

The one training rule that does apply to you

Maryland has exactly one worker-training requirement, and it is worth reading closely because it is not what course sellers imply. COMAR 10.15.03.14 makes the person in charge responsible for ensuring that:

(K) An employee receives training in proper food handling and sanitation as it relates to assigned duties.

Note what that is and is not. It is a duty on your employer, not on you. It names no curriculum, no accreditation, no examination, no card, no number of hours, no renewal and no documentation. On-the-job training by your manager satisfies it. It cannot be met only by buying a course, and it does not create a requirement to buy one.

An employer may still require a course as their own policy. That is a workplace rule, not Maryland law, and they cannot point to a regulation to justify it.

Maryland does not require a person in charge to be present, either

A genuine Maryland peculiarity, and a consequence of the state never having adopted the FDA Food Code. COMAR 10.15.03 defines the person in charge — “The licensee; or Another person responsible for the operation of a food service facility” — but imposes no requirement that one be present during operating hours, and contains no demonstration-of-knowledge provision. Most states have both. Maryland has neither, at state level.

Not sure you know the rules? Take our free 15-question food handler practice test — covers temperature zones, cooking temps, cross-contamination, and hygiene. Full answer key with an explanation for every question.

Why Maryland works this way

Two provisions of the Health-General Article explain the whole page.

§ 21-304(b) sets a floor, not a ceiling: “a political subdivision may not adopt a law, ordinance, rule, or regulation that establishes a standard that is less stringent than rules and regulations adopted under this subtitle.” It forbids counties from doing less. It says nothing about doing more.

§ 21-304(c) then grants the power outright: this subtitle “does not limit the power of a home rule or charter county or Baltimore City to adopt and enforce laws, ordinances, and regulations that are consistent with the purposes of this subtitle, including the power to adopt local licensing and enforcement procedures.”

So five jurisdictions built manager certification programmes the state never required, and nineteen did not. Maryland tried to nationalise this once — a 1999 bill would have created a state manager certification programme and expressly superseded the local ones. It did not pass, and the county patchwork it would have replaced is still what governs.

The five counties that certify managers

If you run shifts in one of these five, this is the credential that matters — and the five requirements are not the same. The difference between “employ a certified manager” and “have one on-site during all hours of operation” is a real difference in staffing.

See Maryland Food Manager Certification for the full requirement, cost, and how to get certified.

Jurisdiction	What it requires	Applies to	Cost	Valid for
Baltimore City	Facility must employ a certified manager — no on-site requirement in the Code	High and moderate priority facilities	Not published	3 years
Baltimore County	Certified manager on-site during all hours of operation	Medium and high priority facilities	$35 · replacement $21	3 years from the exam date
Montgomery	Facility must be under the immediate control of a certified manager	All food service facilities	Not published	County pages say 5 years; the county regulation says 3 — see below
Prince George’s	Certified manager on duty at all times	Restaurants and Class III mobile units	$73 plus additional charges	Not published
Howard	Certified manager required	Not published	$37	3 years from issuance

All five issue their own county card, and all five accept a nationally accredited exam and then issue that card administratively — in person, with ID and a fee. None of them adds a second, county-specific test on local rules.

Baltimore City

Health Code § 6-301: “Each high priority or moderate priority food service facility must employ a food service manager.” Note the verb — Baltimore City is the only one of the five with no physical-presence language at all.

§ 6-302 supplies a grace period: a manager must, “within 90 days of becoming employed by the facility, be certified by the Commissioner of Health.” That covers both a new opening and replacing a manager who has left.

§ 6-305 — expiration and what follows: The certificate expires on the 3rd anniversary of its effective date — but that clock starts from the effective date, not the exam date, and what you have to do before that anniversary (and whether your certification from another Maryland jurisdiction carries over) is governed by separate sections. § 6-303 allows reciprocity only for certifications from other Maryland jurisdictions; out-of-state credentials have no reciprocity route in the Code. And if the certificate lapses, § 6-302’s 90-day grace period does not restart — that window applies only to newly employed managers, not renewals.

On reciprocity, § 6-303 directs the Commissioner to adopt rules including reciprocity for certifications from “a political subdivision of this State.” On its face that reaches Maryland jurisdictions only — an out-of-state certificate has no reciprocity route in the Code.

One practical warning: the city’s health website was reorganised and its manager-certification pages, including the application and the Commissioner’s regulations, now return errors. The Code sections are intact and are currently the only reachable authority, so call the health department rather than relying on what you can find online.

Baltimore County

The strictest of the five: the county “requires the operators of each medium and high priority food service facility to have a Certified Food Manager on-site during all hours of operation.”

The card costs $35, replacements $21, and payment cannot be made in cash. It is “only valid in Baltimore County for three years from the date of the examination” — worth noting, because the clock starts when you sit the exam, not when the county issues the card, so any delay in applying comes out of your three years.

Baltimore County does not accept accreditation as such. It names ten approved certifying organisations and expects your certificate to come from one of them: 1 AAA Food Handler; APS Culinary Dynamics (World Food Safety Organization); Certus/StateFoodSafety; Learn2Serve; My Food Service License; National Registry of Food Safety Professionals; National Restaurant Association (ServSafe); Relish Works (Trust20); Responsible Training/Safeway Certifications; The Always Food Safe Company. Check the county’s own list before you buy anything — a course that is accredited but not on that list is not obviously enough here.

Montgomery County

County Code § 15-8(b)(2): a licensee “must not operate a food service facility unless the facility is under the immediate control of a Certified Food Service Manager.”

Montgomery will not accept an online exam. In the county’s own words: “Online test certificates will not be accepted,” and “The exam must be taken at a proctored location.” You must apply in person. If you are buying a course for Montgomery County, this is the detail that decides whether your money is wasted.

The county accepts an approved ANSI course, or a certificate from the Maryland Department of Health for a food service manager sanitation course. Cards from other jurisdictions “will be considered for transfer on a case-by-case basis.”

Montgomery contradicts itself on validity. Its health department page says a card is “valid for a maximum of five (5) years from the initial completion date”; its own county regulation, COMCOR 15.00.01.03, says “3 years from completion of coursework.” Both are current official sources. Confirm with the county before relying on either figure.

Montgomery also has the one worker-facing provision in Maryland — § 15-9(d): “The licensee must also establish a program to train food service personnel in sanitary food handling procedures.” Again, a duty on the employer, carried out by the certified manager. No card, no exam, nothing an individual worker obtains.

Prince George’s County

“Any operator of a restaurant or Class III mobile unit must have a Prince George’s County Certified Food Service Manager on duty at all times.” Note the narrower scope — restaurants and Class III mobile units, rather than all food service facilities.

The county’s criterion is accreditation rather than a named list: an exam “approved by the Conference for Food Protection.” The fee is $73 plus additional charges, and you will need an accredited test certificate, government-issued ID and a passport photo.

One change worth knowing: Prince George’s no longer issues a physical card. “The ID card will be available through Momentum. A physical card will no longer be provided.”

Howard County

Howard issues its own Food Service Manager card at a published fee of $37, accepts a certified manager certificate “for 3 years from the date of issuance,” and requires you to “apply in person with original certificate and valid identification.”

Howard publishes less than the other four — its presence wording, accepted exam list and renewal terms are not stated on its public pages. Contact the health department directly rather than assuming another county’s rule applies.

The other nineteen jurisdictions

Allegany, Anne Arundel, Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Garrett, Harford, Kent, Queen Anne’s, St. Mary’s, Somerset, Talbot, Washington, Wicomico and Worcester require no certification of any kind — not of workers, not of managers. Each enforces COMAR 10.15.03 as written, through facility licensing and inspection.

Two say so in their own words, which is worth having if anyone tells you otherwise:

• Frederick County health department: “At the present time, a certified food manager is not required at food service facilities licensed in Frederick County.”
• Anne Arundel County — a charter county with the legal power to impose certification, which has chosen not to. Its guidance for food service professionals covers licensing and COMAR compliance and mandates no training at all; the FDA videos it links are offered as resources.

Two counties offer voluntary training that is easy to mistake for a requirement. St. Mary’s runs “a FREE class on the basics of food safety – Open to both food service facilities and the community.” Worcester offers a free certified operator course where “Successful completion of the course allows operators to pay a reduced fee” — a discount on temporary-event permits, not a credential anyone is obliged to hold.

A statewide manager rule is coming — but it is not here yet

This is the most important thing on this page to get right, because Maryland’s own published fact sheet is easy to read as current law when it is not.

In October 2025 the Maryland Department of Health published “Maryland is Adopting the FDA Food Code: What You Need to Know.” It states:

Each retail food service establishment must have at least one person in charge (PIC) who is a Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) on-site during all hours of operation.

CFPM certification must come from a program accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board (ANAB).

Neither sentence is Maryland law today. They describe the FDA 2022 Model Food Code, which Maryland plans to adopt in place of COMAR 10.15.03. The same document concedes that the Department “has not established a date for adopting the FDA Food Code,” and that requirements “will change following Maryland’s adoption.”

As of late August 2026, no amendment to COMAR 10.15.03 was pending before the Maryland General Assembly — the Register’s table of pending proposals, current to 21 August 2026, lists nothing under Subtitle 15.

So: if you operate in one of the nineteen counties with no manager requirement, you are not currently non-compliant, whatever that fact sheet appears to say. When adoption lands it will change the answer for all 24 jurisdictions at once, and it is worth checking periodically.

Maryland does not currently follow the FDA Food Code at all

Worth stating plainly, because it is widely misreported — including on earlier versions of this page, which said Maryland’s rules were “based on the 2009 FDA Food Code.”

Maryland adopts no edition of the FDA Food Code. COMAR 10.15.03.03 incorporates by reference exactly three documents: “(1) 21 CFR, as amended; (2) 9 CFR, as amended; and (3) 21 U.S.C. §343, as amended.” No Food Code, no edition, no date. Maryland instead writes its own requirements out in full across COMAR 10.15.03.04 to .27.

That single fact explains every peculiarity on this page — no state manager rule, no person-in-charge presence requirement, no demonstration of knowledge, and no signed employee health agreement. Maryland is not behind on the Food Code. It is outside it, and about to join.

The chapter itself is current, not neglected: COMAR 10.15.03 was last amended on 28 April 2025.

Employee health and allergens

Maryland requires no signed employee health agreement. Several states make every new food worker sign a reporting form on day one; Maryland does not, and has no equivalent of the FDA’s Form 1-B.

What COMAR 10.15.03.14 requires instead is that the person in charge ensures “An employee who has a disease that may be transmissible through food reports the condition to the person-in-charge,” and that “The approving authority is notified when an employee of a food service facility is known to have or is suspected of having a disease that is transmissible by food.” The exclusion list — covering diarrhoea, cholera, E. coli O157:H7, Hepatitis A, salmonellosis, shigellosis and typhoid — sits in COMAR 10.06.01.06E. So the duty is to tell your manager, verbally, not to sign anything.

Allergens: a poster, not a course

Maryland’s allergen rule is a posting requirement and nothing more. COMAR 10.15.03.32 requires “a poster related to food allergy awareness that includes information regarding the risk of an allergic reaction,” displayed prominently in the staff area — the Department publishes the poster itself. The same section requires a choking-maneuver diagram in facilities with patron seating.

There is no allergen training requirement in Maryland, at state level. Worth knowing, because “Maryland allergen certification” is sold, and because neighbouring states do require allergen training.

If your employer asks for a card anyway

Maryland issues no statewide worker card, and its five certifying counties certify managers rather than workers. For individual staff, an ANSI-accredited online food handler course costs $7–$15 and covers most employer requests.

Maryland at a glance

Statewide worker card?	No — Maryland licenses establishments, not workers
County worker card?	No — none of the 23 counties or Baltimore City requires one
Statewide manager certification?	No — Maryland is one of the few states with neither
Counties that certify managers	Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Montgomery, Howard, Prince George’s. The other 19 require nothing
Cost to a worker	Nothing. No state fee, no state credential
Manager card costs	Baltimore County $35 · Howard $37 · Prince George’s $73 · Baltimore City and Montgomery not published
Your training obligation	None personally. Your employer must train you for your duties (COMAR 10.15.03.14K)
Person in charge	No state requirement that one be present, and no demonstration-of-knowledge rule
Allergens	A poster in the staff area. No training requirement
Food Code	Maryland adopts no FDA Food Code edition. Adoption of the 2022 edition is announced but undated
Governing rules	COMAR 10.15.03 (last amended 28 April 2025); Health-General §§ 21-304, 21-305
Regulator	Maryland Department of Health, with licensing delegated to the 24 local health departments

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a food handler card to work in a restaurant in Maryland?

No. Maryland issues no food handler card and requires none, and neither does any of its 24 local jurisdictions. Your employer may ask you to do training as a condition of the job, but that is their policy rather than Maryland law.

How much does a Maryland food handler card cost?

Nothing, because there isn’t one to buy. If a site is quoting you a price for a “Maryland food handler card,” what they are selling is a voluntary course certificate with no standing in Maryland law.

Under Baltimore City ordinance § 6-305, when does a food service manager certificate expire?

The certificate expires on the 3rd anniversary of its effective date — but that date is the effective date of the certificate, not the date of the exam. What that means for renewal timing, reciprocity from other Maryland jurisdictions, and what happens if the certificate lapses before renewal are each covered by separate sections of the ordinance. See the Baltimore City section above for the full breakdown of §§ 6-302, 6-303, and 6-305 together.

Does Maryland require a certified food manager?

Not at state level — which surprises most people. Five jurisdictions require one under their own local law: Baltimore City, Baltimore County, Montgomery, Howard and Prince George’s. In the other nineteen, no certification is required at all. A statewide requirement will arrive with the FDA 2022 Food Code, which Maryland has announced but not yet adopted.

Does Maryland require allergen training?

No. Maryland requires a food allergy awareness poster displayed in the staff area, and nothing more. There is no allergen training or certification requirement in Maryland law.

Who do I contact about my own situation?

Your county health department — licensing and inspection are delegated to all 24 local jurisdictions, and they are the ones who will inspect you. The Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Food Protection handles state-level questions and the forthcoming Food Code adoption.

Official sources

• COMAR 10.15.03 — Food Service Facilities (the operative regulation)
• COMAR 10.15.03.03 — Incorporation by Reference (what Maryland actually adopts)
• COMAR 10.15.03.14 — Personnel Health and Sanitation (the employee training and reporting duties)
• COMAR 10.15.03.32 — Required Postings (allergen and choking posters)
• Health-General § 21-304 (why counties may go further)
• Health-General § 21-305 (facility licensing)
• Maryland Department of Health — Office of Food Protection
• MDH — “Maryland is Adopting the FDA Food Code” fact sheet (PDF — describes future requirements, not current law)
• Baltimore City Health Code § 6-301 et seq. — Food Service Managers
• Baltimore County — Certified Food Manager (fees and the list of ten approved organisations)
• Montgomery County — Food Service Facility License and manager certification
• Prince George’s County — Food Service Manager Certification
• Howard County — Food Service Manager Card application
• Frederick County — Food Control (a county that requires no certification)
• Anne Arundel County — Food Service Professionals

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The Maryland Department of Health and your county health department are the final word.

Managing or supervising a Maryland food establishment? See Maryland Food Manager Certification.