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

47 of the Orange Municipal Code requires certification for the person managing food safety at covered restaurants. 010 defines a 'food service operation' as any restaurant with five or more employees preparing and offering food for sale to the public, excluding school cafeterias and temporary food operations; a 'qualified food service manager' must work at least 20 hours per week at that location. 040 requires the manager to apply on a department form providing name, address, date of birth, driver's license or photo ID, and the food service operation's name and location, along with an application fee; the resulting application receipt is valid for three months to allow attendance at an approved food sanitation course and the official certification exam.

A manager who fails the exam gets one additional month to retest before having to repeat the course. 050 requires the course to provide at least four hours of instruction in food sanitation and safety. 070 requires at least one certified manager's certificate to be conspicuously displayed on the premises; photocopies are not acceptable. 080, a manager who changes jobs may keep displaying the original certificate for 30 days at the new location before notifying the department, and a food service operation cannot run more than four months without a certified manager on staff.

140 sets the certificate to expire three years after issuance, renewable for one additional three-year term by paying the current fee and repassing the exam; every second renewal also requires retaking the sanitation course.