Last verified: August 2026 against RCW 69.06, WAC 246-217 and WAC 246-215. Confirm with the Washington State Department of Health or your local health jurisdiction before paying.
| Required | Get it within | Valid for |
|---|---|---|
| Yes — food worker card | 14 days from hire | 2 years |
Law: WAC 246-217 · Authority: Washington DOH · Verified: August 2026
Required statewide within 14 days of starting, only through foodworkercard.wa.gov. No city or county card on top.
Washington requires a food worker card. Note the name — food worker card, not food handler card. Most people search for the second one, and the state uses the first, which is part of why the wrong products are so easy to buy here.
And Washington is the state where buying the wrong thing is easiest and most expensive. There is exactly one authorised website, cards from other states are not valid, and a national “food handler certificate” from a well-known brand is worth nothing as a Washington card.
Quick answer
- Required? Yes — within 14 days of starting.
- Cost: $10, set by rule and identical in every county.
- How long? First card 2 years. Renewal 3 years. Renewal with extra training 5 years.
- The only authorised online route is foodworkercard.wa.gov. DOH says so in terms.
- Out-of-state cards do not work. DOH: “You must have a Washington State food worker card to be employed as a food worker in our state.”
- Valid across Washington — and no city or county may demand a separate health certificate on top.
- Careful: an “alcohol handlers card” is a different thing entirely. See below.
⚠️ The one official site, and what does not count
This is the most valuable section on this page, because Washington’s rules make most of what is sold online useless here.
The card cannot be issued by a private company. WAC 246-217-025(9): “All food worker cards must be issued and signed by the local health officer.” The exam must be the state one — subsection (5): the examination “will be uniform statewide and will be prepared by and/or approved by the department,” and “an exam must be approved by the department prior to its use.”
DOH, verbatim: “The only authorized online training program is www.foodworkercard.wa.gov.” And: “Other websites that appear to offer a similar card online are not valid in Washington.”
King County adds the other half: “If you have a food worker card from another state, it is not valid in Washington.”
The nuance that catches people
ServSafe, Learn2Serve, NEHA and other national courses do appear on a DOH list — which makes them look approved. They are not approved as a substitute for the Washington card. They appear only as qualifying “additional food safety training” that can upgrade a renewal from three years to five.
DOH is explicit: “Even with this additional training, a food worker must also successfully complete the required food worker card training and exam to renew the card.”
So a national certificate is worth nothing on its own here, and something only if you already hold a Washington card and are renewing. If you bought one expecting it to be your card, it is not.
Your two legitimate routes
- Online at foodworkercard.wa.gov — the single authorised statewide system, operated for the local health jurisdictions by Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
- In person at your local health jurisdiction or one of its kiosks.
⚠️ An “alcohol handlers card” is not this
Washington has a separate permit for serving alcohol — a Mandatory Alcohol Server Training permit. It is a different credential, from a different agency, for a different purpose.
If you are told you need a “handlers card” for a bar job in Washington, establish which one is meant. You may well need both, and neither substitutes for the other.
The 2 / 3 / 5-year structure
Washington’s validity rules are unusual and worth getting right, because they reward renewing on time and quietly punish letting the card lapse.
| Card | Valid | How you qualify |
|---|---|---|
| First card | 2 years | Any first card — and any card obtained after your previous one has already expired |
| Renewal | 3 years | Retake the training and exam while your current card is still valid |
| Renewal plus | 5 years | As above, plus documented approved “additional food safety training” within the past 2 years |
WAC 246-217-035(4) lets you apply up to 60 days before your expiry date, and requires “proof of a valid card must be shown at the time of renewal application.”
That last clause is the catch. Renewal requires a card that is still valid. Let yours expire and you are not renewing — you are starting again, and your next card is a two-year one, not a three. Renewing early costs nothing extra and gains you a year.
What counts as “additional food safety training” for the 5-year card
WAC 246-217-010(1) defines it as a comprehensive food safety programme of at least four hours, and — critically — “approval of training programs must be obtained in advance” from the health department or DOH.
DOH: “An unapproved course can’t be used to get an extended 5-year food worker card.” Check that the specific course is on the approved list before you buy it for this purpose.
⚠️ A local page contradicts the state rule
Two things you may read on King County’s page do not match WAC 246-217-035:
- It presents a 5-year first card as possible. The rule and the statute both make the five-year term available only on a renewal.
- It describes a 30-day grace period after expiry for a 3-year renewal. No such grace appears anywhere in the rule, which allows application up to 60 days before expiry and requires a valid card.
That may well reflect local administrative practice, and King County may honour it. But it is not the statewide rule, and we would not plan around it.
Cost — $10, and nobody may charge more
WAC 246-217-025(2): “Each applicant for a food worker card must pay a fee in the amount of ten dollars.”
RCW 69.06.020 requires that “the cost of the permit shall be uniform throughout the state and shall be in that amount set by the state board of health,” and obliges the Board to ensure the fee “is not set at an amount that would prohibit low-income persons from obtaining permits.”
So the price is set centrally, not by each county. A local health jurisdiction cannot charge you a different amount for the card itself. Replacement cards may carry a separate charge.
The $10 figure has been unchanged in rule since 2003.
The 14-day rule — and the condition attached to it
RCW 69.06.050 gives you 14 days from starting work. But read the second half: you may work those 14 days without a card “provided that they receive information or training regarding safe food handling practices from the employer prior to commencement of employment,” and “documentation that the information or training has been provided to the individual must be kept on file by the employer.”
So the grace period is conditional on your employer having trained you first and kept a record. Content that says “you have 14 days” without that condition is incomplete — and if your employer skipped it, the shortfall is theirs, not yours.
Your employer also has to hold your card: WAC 246-215-02120 requires the permit holder to display or file a copy of every food employee’s card, available for inspection. RCW 69.06.010 requires it be “returned to the employee upon termination of employment” — it is yours.
The training and test
- 80% to pass — a higher bar than most states, which sit at 70–75%.
- At least 30 minutes of instruction is required before the exam, “including both audio and visual presentations,” covering foodborne illness, basic bacteriology, cooking, hot and cold holding, cooling, cross-contamination and handwashing.
- Food allergy awareness must be presented or distributed to every applicant — but is not tested.
- 13 languages — English, Spanish, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Russian, Vietnamese, Khmer, Burmese, Thai, Punjabi, Arabic and Tagalog, with closed captioning.
- The manual is free — DOH publishes the Washington State Food Worker Manual.
- Accommodations must be made under the ADA on request.
The limited duty card
Rarely mentioned and genuinely useful. Under RCW 69.06.070 a local health officer may issue a limited duty permit “when necessary to reasonably accommodate a person with a disability,” specifying low-risk activities — dishwashing, bussing tables, filling condiment containers. No written examination is required, and the fee and validity are the same as a standard card.
Where it works, and what your county cannot do
WAC 246-217-035(3): “Any legally issued food worker card shall be valid throughout Washington state.”
And RCW 69.06.020 goes further, pre-empting local add-ons: the permit “shall be valid in every city, town and county in the state… and no other health certificate shall be required of such employees by any municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state.”
So a Spokane card works in Seattle, and no city may require its own worker health certificate on top. What a local health jurisdiction may do is add local questions to the exam, contract out the training, issue and revoke cards, and adopt stricter rules for food establishments — but not for your card.
Your Washington card does not work outside Washington.
What else you owe
- Report to the person in charge — symptoms and diagnoses under WAC 246-215-02200.
- Exclusion for diarrhea or vomiting, jaundice, or a diagnosed infection with Salmonella Typhi, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, Norovirus or hepatitis A.
- Handwashing — WAC 246-215-02310 lists nine triggers, including switching between raw and ready-to-eat food and before donning gloves.
- No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food — WAC 246-215-03300. There is a narrow exception requiring written regulatory approval plus documented training and at least two additional control measures. It is not a default.
Your card can also be revoked — for repeated violations, communicable disease in an infectious state, or falsifying card information. You have ten days to appeal in writing, and revocation is stayed while the appeal is reviewed.
The manager certificate is a separate obligation
Since 1 March 2023, Washington food establishments must have at least one certified food protection manager on staff, evidenced by a valid certificate from an accredited programme, with 60 days to replace one who leaves.
Two things to be clear about. This is not your food worker card — different chapter, different requirement, different credential. And it requires a certified person on staff, not that whoever is running the shift be certified.
Washington’s food code is based on the 2017 FDA Food Code, adopted in October 2020 and phased in through March 2023. Sources describing Washington as on the 2013 or 2022 edition are wrong.
What to do
- Use foodworkercard.wa.gov, or go in person. Those are the only routes. Anything else online is not a Washington card.
- Do not pay more than $10 for the card itself.
- Renew before you expire — this is the one that actually costs people. Renewing while valid gets you three years; letting it lapse drops you back to two.
- Want the 5-year card? Get the extra training approved in advance, complete it within two years of renewing, and remember you still have to take the Washington exam.
- Moved here from another state? Your old card does not count, whatever it cost.
- Bar work? Check whether they mean the alcohol server permit — that is a different card.
Washington food worker card by city and county
Washington runs a single statewide food worker card program, but you obtain it through your local health jurisdiction. The card is valid statewide regardless of which county issued it. Here is where the major cities go:
Seattle and King County
Public Health — Seattle & King County issues the food worker card for Seattle, Bellevue, Kent, Renton, Federal Way, Auburn, and the rest of King County. Take the training and test online through the state portal, or in person at a King County location. The card costs $10 and is valid for two years on your first card.
Tacoma and Pierce County
Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department issues cards for Tacoma, Lakewood, Puyallup, and Federal Way’s Pierce County portion. Same $10 fee, same statewide validity.
Spokane and Spokane County
Spokane Regional Health District issues the card for Spokane, Spokane Valley, and Cheney. A card obtained in Spokane works anywhere in Washington — you do not need a new one if you move to Seattle.
Vancouver and Clark County
Clark County Public Health serves Vancouver, Camas, and Battle Ground. Note that a Washington food worker card does not transfer to Oregon — if you work across the river in Portland, Oregon requires its own card.
Everett and Snohomish County
Snohomish Health District issues cards for Everett, Lynnwood, Marysville, and Edmonds.
Yakima, Tri-Cities, and Central Washington
Yakima Health District serves Yakima and the surrounding valley. Benton-Franklin Health District covers Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. Both issue the standard statewide card.
Olympia and Thurston County
Thurston County Public Health issues the card for Olympia, Lacey, and Tumwater.
Bellingham and Whatcom County
Whatcom County Health Department serves Bellingham and Ferndale. A Whatcom-issued card is valid statewide.
Washington at a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Official name | Food worker card |
| Required? | Yes — within 14 days of starting |
| 14-day grace conditional on | Employer giving documented training first |
| Cost | $10, uniform statewide by rule |
| First card | 2 years |
| Renewal | 3 years — only if renewed while still valid |
| Renewal + approved extra training | 5 years |
| Renew from | Up to 60 days before expiry |
| Pass mark | 80% |
| Minimum instruction | 30 minutes, audio and visual |
| Languages | 13 |
| Only authorised online route | foodworkercard.wa.gov |
| Out-of-state cards | Not valid |
| National brand certificates | Only count toward the 5-year renewal upgrade |
| Valid statewide? | Yes, and local health certificates are pre-empted |
| Certified food protection manager | Separate requirement, on staff, since 1 Mar 2023 |
| Food Code | 2017 edition |
Sources: RCW 69.06 (sections 010, 020, 030, 045, 050, 060, 070 and 080); WAC 246-217 (sections 005, 010, 015, 025, 035, 045, 060 and 070); WAC 246-215 (sections 01110, 02105, 02107, 02120, 02200, 02220, 02310 and 03300); Washington State Department of Health food worker card, additional food safety training and manual pages; foodworkercard.wa.gov; Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department; and Public Health – Seattle & King County. Requirements were checked against statute and rule text, not against training providers.
Managing or supervising a Washington food establishment? See Washington Food Manager Certification.
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:
Frequently asked questions
Does Washington require a food handler card?
Yes — Washington requires a Food Worker Card. Note the name: Washington calls it a ‘food worker card,’ not a food handler card. Under WAC 246-217, most people who handle, prepare, or serve food must hold one.
How much does a Washington food handler card cost?
There is a flat state fee plus the cost of an accredited food safety training course. See the cost section on this page for current figures.
Is the Washington food worker card the same as a food handler card?
Yes — Washington uses the term ‘food worker card’ rather than ‘food handler card,’ but they are the same concept. The card is issued by the Washington State Department of Health after completing an accredited food safety training. A flat state fee is paid to the issuing health jurisdiction.
Does Washington also require a food manager certification?
Yes — but that’s a separate, facility-level certification. See our Washington Food Manager Certification page for the details.