Tippecanoe County, IN Public Health Rules: Food Handler Certification (2026)
Key Facts
- Trigger 1
- immediate closure by Health Officer
- Trigger 2
- hearing on chapter violations
- Trigger 3
- repeat uncorrected violations
- Class fee
- $200 flat, billed to establishment
- Governing section
- §110.085
- Blanket certification mandate
- None found
Summary
Tippecanoe County does not require every food-service worker to hold a certification before starting work. Instead, § 110.085 lets the Health Officer order a food safety education class for an establishment's staff after a closure, a violation hearing, or repeated failed corrections, billed at a flat $200 to the establishment.
(A) Every person who is employed, or is about to be employed in a food establishment, shall be familiar with the requirements of 410 IAC 7-24. A copy of 410 IAC 7-24 shall be kept on the premises at all times. All food establishment personnel employed by a food establishment may be required to attend a food safety education program given by the Department for any of the following reasons: (1) If the establishment is subjected to immediate closure by the Health Officer and the education program is deemed necessary by the Health Officer. (2) If the Health Officer determines the necessity of a food safety education program as a result of a hearing dealing with violations of this chapter. (3) If upon inspection it is determined that remedial efforts have not been made to correct prior violations of this chapter. (B) The Department shall charge a flat fee of $200 to each food establishment for conducting the food education program required by this section.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-17: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2025-25-CM, passed 8-1-25; and State legislation current through 2025 Acts, Pamphlet No. 3).
Full Breakdown
C. 2-4 as someone holding a certificate from an accreditation exam recognized by the Conference for Food Protection or an equivalent nationally recognized program, but that definition sits in the definitions section rather than an operative mandate requiring every worker to hold one. 085 FOOD SAFETY: every person employed, or about to be employed, at a food establishment must be familiar with the requirements of 410 IAC 7-24, and a copy of that regulation must stay on the premises at all times. Food establishment personnel are ordered into a Department-run food safety education program in three circumstances: the establishment is subjected to immediate closure by the Health Officer and the class is deemed necessary; a hearing on chapter violations leads the Health Officer to require it; or an inspection shows remedial efforts were not made to correct prior violations.
The Health Department charges a flat fee of $200 to the food establishment for conducting that program. This is an enforcement tool triggered by an establishment's violation history rather than a blanket pre-employment certification mandate; nothing in Chapter 110 requires individual workers to obtain and carry a food handler card before working in unincorporated Tippecanoe County.
Violations & Fines
Section 110.999 sets civil fines keyed to repeat 'critical item' violations within a year (no fine first time, $50 second, $100 third, $200 fourth or later), and food-handling violations under I.C. 16-42-5.2 draw the civil penalties set in I.C. 16-42-5.2-12, on top of any § 110.085 training order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Tippecanoe County require every food worker to be a certified food handler?
What triggers the mandatory food safety class?
Who pays for the required training?
What happens if an ordered class is skipped?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tippecanoe County
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