Lancaster, CA Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

40, adopted by Ordinance 740 in 1998, requires every food service operation, defined to include restaurants, markets, bakeries, mobile food preparation units, commissaries and food processing establishments that prepare potentially hazardous food on the premises, to keep at least one certified food handler present at all times during operating hours (Sec. 020). A certified food handler must be at least 18 years old, supervise the food service operations, and train employees in the subjects covered by the training course, though the director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services may waive the age requirement for good cause (Sec.

010). To become certified, an applicant files an application and application fee with the department and either submits proof of completing an approved four-hour training course covering microorganisms, foodborne illness, food contamination, personal hygiene, and proper utensil and equipment sanitizing, or passes a written examination administered by the department after paying an examination fee, scoring at least 75 percent (Sec. 040). The resulting certificate must be posted in a conspicuous place within the operation (Sec. 070) and remains valid for four years before renewal is required under the same application procedure (Sec.

100). A certified handler who changes employers may carry the certificate to a new food service operation, but an operation that loses its certified handler must replace that person within 30 days (Sec. 080). Operators running more than one food service location must have a certified handler at each site during operating hours (Sec. 050). Operations dealing exclusively in nonpotentially hazardous prepackaged food, or those holding only temporary operating permits, are exempt (Sec. 060).