Skip to main content
CityRuleLookup

Public Health Rules in Fort Worth, TX (2026)

4 verified public health rules for Fort Worth, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.

Verified from official government sources

Restaurant Grade Cards

Fort Worth Public Health and Code Compliance inspect food establishments under City Code Chapter 16 and post numerical scores online. Unlike Los Angeles or New York, Fort Worth does not require posted letter grades at the restaurant entrance.

Restaurant Inspection Scores: Numerical, Not Letter Grades

Some Restrictions

Rodent Control

Fort Worth Code Compliance requires property owners to control rats, mice, and other vermin under City Code property maintenance provisions. Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 343 supplies parallel state nuisance authority to abate rodent harborage on private land.

Rodent and Vector Control on Private Property

Some Restrictions

Tex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 343.011(c)(3)

Sec. 343.011. PUBLIC NUISANCE. ... (c) A public nuisance is: ... (3) maintaining premises in a manner that creates an unsanitary condition likely to attract or harbor mosquitoes, rodents, vermin, or other disease-carrying pests;(4) allowing weeds to grow on premises in a neighborhood if the weeds are located within 300 feet of another residence or commercial establishment;

Syringe Disposal

Fort Worth follows Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 728 and Tarrant County Public Health guidance for safe sharps disposal. Used syringes must go in approved sharps containers, never loose in household trash or recycling bins.

Syringe Disposal Rules: State Sharps Law Controls

Some Restrictions

Tex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 481.125

Sec. 481.125. OFFENSE: POSSESSION OR DELIVERY OF DRUG PARAPHERNALIA. (a) A person commits an offense if the person knowingly or intentionally uses or possesses with intent to use drug paraphernalia to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, or conceal a controlled substance in violati...

Food Handler Certification

Texas Food Handler Education Act requires anyone who handles unpackaged food to complete an accredited food handler training course within sixty days of hire. Fort Worth restaurants must keep certificates on file for inspection by Consumer Health.

Food Handler Certification Required for Workers

Some Restrictions

Tex. Health & Safety Code Sec. 438.041-.042

Sec. 438.041. DEFINITION. In this subchapter: ... (2) "Food handler" means a food service employee who works with unpackaged food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces. Sec. 438.042. DUTIES OF EXECUTIVE COMMISSIONER.

Looking for Tarrant County county-wide rules?

County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Fort Worth city rules.

Public Health Rules in Tarrant County