Newark, NJ Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

Section 13:2-25, originally adopted in 1966 and amended by Ordinance 6 PSF-E in 2009 and Ordinance 6PSF-A in 2016, bars anyone from engaging in or employing another person in the business of handling foodstuffs suited for human consumption in the City unless that person has previously obtained a certificate from the Department of Health and Community Wellness. The certificate is not automatic: the applicant must successfully complete a prescribed course of instruction supervised by the Department, and pay a $20 fee per application to take the course, deposited with the City Treasurer.

Once issued, a Food Handler's Certificate is valid for two years from the date of issuance. Newark built in a transition rule when the 2016 amendment took effect: anyone already holding a certificate more than two years old at that point had 60 days to apply for renewal, while anyone holding a certificate less than two years old had to recertify by completing the course again within 60 days of the certificate's expiration date. The requirement sits alongside a separate, tougher rule in Section 13:2-26 for anyone handling unwrapped foodstuffs: those workers must submit annually to the Health Officer a physician's certification that they are not ill or infected with a communicable disease transmissible through food, and Section 13:2-21 lets the Health Officer close an establishment or exclude an infected employee entirely if there is reasonable cause to believe a food-borne infection risk exists.