Clovis, CA Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)
Key Facts
- Card fee
- $1.00 per card
- Card term
- 1 year from issuance
- Grace period
- 30 working days without a card
- Course provider
- County Health Department, free
- Issuing authority
- City Health Officer
- Business permit
- Separate operating permit, § 6.2.01
Summary
Clovis requires anyone who handles, serves, prepares, or stores food or drink in a bakery, restaurant, hotel, tavern, or similar eating establishment, or who sanitizes utensils there, for more than thirty working days to hold a food handler's card issued by the Health Officer. Employers cannot keep an uncertified worker in that role past the thirty-day window, and the food establishment itself must separately carry a Health Officer operating permit.
It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in the handling, serving, preparation, or storage of food or drink in any bakery, butcher shop, restaurant, hotel, fountain, tavern, or other eating or drinking place in the City, or in the sanitizing of utensils in any of such establishments, for a period of time longer than thirty (30) working days, or for any food establishment operator to employ or permit any person to engage in such activities therein for longer than thirty (30) working days, unless such person holds a food handler's card issued by the Health Officer.
Full Breakdown
Municipal Code Chapter 6.2 layers two permits. First, § 6.2.01 requires any business that stores, handles, processes, manufactures, vends, transports, sells, or offers food for human consumption to hold an operating permit from the Health Officer. Under § 6.2.02, the Health Officer inspects the premises before issuing that permit and must state any denial in writing; § 6.2.03 requires the permit to be posted in a conspicuous frame on site, and § 6.2.04 lets the Health Officer revoke it for cause, again stating reasons in writing. Operators must also keep an accurate, current employee list and hand it to the Health Officer on request under § 6.2.05.
Second, individual workers need their own card. Section 6.2.06 makes it unlawful to handle, serve, prepare, or store food or drink, or sanitize utensils, in a bakery, butcher shop, restaurant, hotel, fountain, tavern or similar eating or drinking place for more than thirty working days without a food handler's card, and bars the operator from keeping such a worker on staff past that window. Section 6.2.07 sets a one-year term from issuance, and § 6.2.08 fixes the fee at $1.00 per card. Section 6.2.09 conditions issuance on completing a free course of instruction through the County Health Department, and lets the Health Officer impose additional physical tests where needed for public health protection; the County Health Department bears no responsibility for treatment costs revealed by such testing.
Violations & Fines
Chapter 6.2 carries no standalone penalty clause, so violations fall under the Code's general penalty at § 1.2.01: a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $1,000 fine, up to six months in jail, or both, with each day of noncompliance charged as a separate offense unless the City Attorney elects to prosecute as an infraction. Separately, the Health Officer can revoke a food establishment's operating permit for cause under § 6.2.04, cutting off the business's ability to legally operate.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can I work in a Clovis restaurant before I need a food handler's card?
How much does a Clovis food handler's card cost and how long does it last?
Where do I take the required food handler course in Clovis?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Clovis
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