Utah Administrative Code R392-103 says that all people who work with food must finish an approved training program and get a certificate within 14 days of starting work. The certificate is accepted as a temporary card, but it is only good for 30 days while you wait for your county’s health department to give you your official food handler’s license.
Anyone who works in the food business and handles unpackaged food, ingredients, tools, or utensils that come into contact with food must have a permit.
And this is true for every sector that works with food in some way, whether in the hotel, restaurant, production, transport, packaging, etc. All of them must possess the right certificate authorizing them to do so.
Read further to learn how to get your license and what the state requires for food handler training.
Who Is Required to Have a Food Handler's Permit Card?
Every food worker in Utah is required by state law to undergo food handler training within 14 days of beginning employment. If you need to renew your license, you must finish the course within seven days of when your current license expires.
This rule still applies to you even if you only work at a temporary food service establishment, like an event booth. There are only two exceptions: if you work at a restaurant in the backcountry and have a license to handle food in the backcountry, or if you are a certified food manager.
How Can You Get a Utah Food Handler’s Permit?
The food handler training and test can be taken in one of two ways:
1. Complete a Course Online
This option usually gives you more scheduling flexibility and doesn’t involve traveling. Many organizations, such as Easy Food Handlers, provide online food handlers training.
2. Attend a Class In Person
For this option, you’ll have to go to a classroom and engage directly with a teacher to learn what you need to know. Based on the instructor’s availability and the demand for in-person training, there may not be many options for class days and times.
Whatever choice you make, ensure the trainer(s) has Utah state approval. Utah has a list of strict regulations for Salt Lake City food handlers, and it carefully considers each provider before determining whether to authorize them or not.
Easy Food Handlers has an approved 75-minute course that you can take to get your Utah food handlers’ permit. You can access our course on any device because it’s mobile-friendly. Both the training and the test are done online, and your progress is automatically saved so that you can stop and start them as needed.
As soon as you pass the test, you can print out your temporary food handler certificate from your Easy Food Handlers account. According to Utah state law, you will get your official food handlers’ permit via email from your local health authority 30 days after taking our course.
Utah is one of the states that charges a health department fee. Utah’s charge covers the costs of creating and mailing your official permit. If you get your training from Easy Food Handlers, we’ll collect the fee and send it to the health department, so you can focus on getting your permit.
How Do You Renew Your Food Handlers' Permit?
The validity period of the Utah food handler permits is three years. If you’re still employed in the food sector when your license expires, you must renew it within seven days of the time of expiry.
If you took the Easy Food Handlers training and chose to receive emails, we will send you a reminder of when it is time to renew your permit.
As you’ll discover when you go through it, the process for renewing your permit is similar to applying for one for the first time. You’ll have to pay for a new Utah food handler’s course, complete the training, and successfully pass the test.
After you finish the training and pass the test, you can log in to your account and download a temporary food handler’s certificate. Your new permit will be mailed to you within 30 days by your local health department. And the following three years will be covered!
What Happens to Your Work Permit If You Change Jobs?
The Utah food handler permit is good everywhere in Utah and is not limited to a certain type of business. So, if you move from one restaurant to another, you don’t need to get a new license as long as the one you have is still valid.
If you are given the opportunity to advance to a managerial position, that could be an exception. According to Utah law, every organization must hire at least one employee with a Food Protection Manager Certification. If you want to be a manager, ask your boss if you need to get this certification.
Your food handlers’ permit won’t be recognized if you switch to a job outside of Utah. If you move, you might have to go through a different training program to get a food handler’s card. If you are unsure about the training requirements for your new position, ask your supervisor.
In conclusion, obtaining a food handlers’ permit in Utah is EASY! All you need to do is complete a state-approved training provider’s in-person or online course and successfully pass the test.
After passing the test, the approved provider you took the training with should issue you a temporary certificate. and you will receive your official permit in the mail shortly after that.
Looking to Get the Utah Food Handlers Permit? Easy Food Handlers is Your Best Bet!
Easy Food Handlers is a Salt Lake County, Utah-based company. We have extensive knowledge of the state’s restaurant and food safety regulations. We use this knowledge to give you the easiest and most straightforward online food handler training course you can find for your Utah food handler permit.
Our course uses examples from real-life restaurants combined with instructors well-versed in the field. After completing the training course, Easy Food Handlers will handle the rest until your official Food Handler’s License is mailed to you by the Utah Department of Health. It’s that simple!
