McHenry County, IL Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)
Key Facts
- Baseline standard
- Illinois Food Service Sanitation Code, 77 Ill. Adm. Code 750
- Certified manager required for
- Temporary food establishments, outdoor grilling
- Manager coverage
- Onsite entire time of operation
- Inspection substitute
- HACCP or sanitation training program
- Penalty
- $100-$1,000 fine per day
Summary
McHenry County doesn't certify every food worker individually, but its Public Health Ordinance requires a certified food service sanitation manager to directly supervise temporary food establishments and any outdoor grilling event, and it adopts the state's food service sanitation code as the baseline training standard.
§ 8.04.120 INCORPORATED MATERIALS. The Illinois Food Service Sanitation Code, 77, Illinois Administrative Code, 750, et seq., effective July 29, 2016, is adopted and incorporated by reference with the following additions, insertions, deletions and changes as approved by the McHenry County Board. ... B.1. The temporary food establishment shall be under the operational supervision of a certified food service sanitation manager during all times that the temporary food establishment is operating. ... I. A certified food service sanitation manager shall be onsite at all times that foods are being grilled or cooked.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-5: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. A25-0037, passed 8-19-2025 | State legislation current through ALS 2025 Pamphlet No. 1).
Full Breakdown
The county's food ordinance is built on the Illinois Food Service Sanitation Code, 77 Ill. Adm. Code 750 et seq., which the McHenry County Board adopted and incorporated by reference at § 8.04.120, with local additions, deletions and changes layered on top. That state code sets the baseline sanitation and training standard every McHenry County food establishment has to follow.
On top of that baseline, the county's own ordinance calls out a certified food service sanitation manager by name in two specific settings. Under § 8.04.230(B)(1), any operator seeking to renew a temporary food permit, or get a seasonal temporary food permit for repeat events at one location, must keep the temporary food establishment under the operational supervision of a certified food service sanitation manager the entire time it's operating; skipping that supervision is grounds to deny the renewal. Under § 8.04.260(I), the same certified-manager-onsite requirement applies whenever a fixed food establishment is grilling or cooking outdoors under its Supplemental Outdoor Grilling Health Permit.
The Health Authority also accepts documented training as a substitute for one annual inspection: under § 8.04.150(B), a Category I or II facility can swap an inspection for having its food-operation employees complete a HACCP training exercise, other in-service food sanitation training, or a food safety conference, in the same permit year.
Violations & Fines
Operating a temporary food establishment or an outdoor grilling event without the required certified sanitation manager present is a violation of the Public Health Ordinance under § 8.04.050, a misdemeanor carrying a $100 to $1,000 fine per day, and can also be grounds under § 8.04.230(B) to deny renewal of a temporary or seasonal food permit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does every food worker in McHenry County need a food handler card?
Who needs a certified sanitation manager on site?
Can training substitute for a health inspection?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in McHenry County
Compare McHenry County to another location·View the Illinois public health rules overview
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