Olympia, WA Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)

The City of Olympia, in Thurston County, Washington, does not print a food handler card program in its municipal code. What Chapter 8.08 (Restaurants) prints is a single compulsory-attendance rule in section 8.08.030: all food handlers must attend any instruction courses for food handlers that are provided by the health officer. The duty attaches to the person handling food, and the section sets no certificate, test score, renewal period or course fee.

Who counts as a food handler in a restaurant comes from the definition of "employee" in OMC 8.08.010. An employee is any person working in a restaurant, including the operator, who handles food or drink during preparation or serving, who comes in contact with any eating or cooking utensils, or who is employed at any time in a room in which food or drink is prepared or served. That definition applies whether or not the person is paid and regardless of who pays the compensation. The "operator" is every person, firm, or corporation conducting the business of a restaurant, whether or not it owns the premises.

A second, older health rule sits in Chapter 8.12 (Sanitation). Section 8.12.080 requires any person, firm or corporation operating a business where food products are bought, stored and sold, and employing one or more employees, to cause each employee to undergo a medical examination for the detection of infectious diseases, plus any blood or other tests the city health officer deems necessary. The examination is conducted by a physician or laboratory the city health officer designates. On a satisfactory test the city health officer furnishes a health certificate. A person who does not pass is barred from handling foodstuffs. Reasonable fees are collected from the person examined at rates the city health officer designates.

Under OMC 8.12.090, the city health officer, or an agent or inspector, can enter a building or premises between the hours of nine a.m. and five p.m. on any day, after announcing the purpose of the visit, to ascertain compliance with that chapter.