Amarillo, TX Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

Section 8-5-18(a) of the Amarillo Code sets the baseline: a Certified Food Manager with a valid certification must be present at the food establishment during all hours of operation, as required by the Food Code. The City carves out one exception. Establishments the Environmental Health Department has assigned a risk level of one or two, its lowest-risk categories, are exempt from the presence requirement if at least one supervisory employee holds a current Food Manager certification and every other food employee completes an accredited food handler training course within 30 days of starting work, keeping that certification valid throughout employment.

Risk levels come from the inspection-frequency system in Sec. 8-5-15, which groups establishments into four categories under the risk assessment found at Texas Administrative Code, Title 25, Part I, Chapter 228, Subchapter A, Rule Sec. 1(b); the assigned category drives both a business's inspection frequency and whether it can use the low-risk staffing shortcut. Fees for the Certified Food Manager course and exam, and separately for the Certified Food Handler course and exam, are published on the Environmental Health Department's fee schedule under Sec. 8-5-15(b)(2)-(3) rather than fixed as a flat dollar figure in the ordinance text.

Sec. 8-5-18 also authorizes the Environmental Health Department to run its own Certified Pool Technician course, satisfying the operator training and certification standard in Texas Administrative Code Sec. 194, a separate track from the food-side certification. A permit holder that lets certification lapse, or that operates without the required manager present and without qualifying for the low-risk exception, exposes the food establishment's operating permit to the suspension and revocation process laid out in Sec. 8-5-17.