Mobile County, AL Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

23, added by Act 2018-229, lets an intermittent food service establishment, meaning any entity with a physical address in Mobile County that does not normally serve food but does so on an intermittent basis of no more than three consecutive days a week, seek an exemption from routine food-service permitting for a temporary exempt event: a community-wide occasion tied to a local or regional celebration, tradition or cultural event. To claim it, the operator files a free online application on the Mobile County Health Department's web page at least five business days before the event, listing the event site, each food vendor's name and a general description of the foods sold.

The exemption never covers low-acid foods in hermetically sealed containers, such as home-canned vegetables, made outside a permitted establishment. To actually operate under the exemption, subsection (b)(4) requires the operator to hold a food handlers card issued by the Mobile County Health Department, provide a handwashing facility, and have a plan for adequate garbage and waste containment. The same location can only draw this exemption up to four times a calendar year for a recurring event. Tax-exempt churches selling food for fundraisers on their own premises are excused from Health Department regulation entirely under subsection (c), and permitted establishments, including beverage-only bars, may get a similar exemption to boil crawfish outdoors under subsection (d) if the vendor-listing and food-handler-card requirements are met.