All food workers who serve unpackaged food or beverages must have a valid Washington State Food Worker Card. To get a card, take the online food safety training course, pass the test, and pay a $10 fee. CAUTION: A FOOD WORKER CARD MUST BE ISSUED AT www.foodworkercard.wa.gov. Other websites (usually .com sites) do not issue valid Washington Food Worker cards, but they will take your $10.00.
To get a Food Worker Card, you must:
You have the choice to complete additional food safety training from a Washington State-approved training course. This training is optional and offers some benefits:
You can get more information about additional food safety training, including a list of approved training courses, from the Washington State Department of Health.
Food Workers Cards (DOH)
Any person who works in a grocery store, restaurant, school cafeteria, camp kitchen, deli, tavern, or other retail food establishment and anyone who handles unwrapped food products will need to obtain a food worker card.
If you have an unexpired Washington State Food Worker Card, bring your old card and the card you received online into your local Health Department within 5 days of passing the test and we will issue you a three year card. If your old card has expired, you will only be able to receive a two-year card. You can receive a five-year card if you have completed an approved advanced training course such as ServeSafe Food Managers Course within 2 years prior to taking the Food Worker test.
If you are having a problem, please email [email protected] or call 1-800-204-4418. When sending an email, please include your full name, phone number and a brief description of the problem you are having.
Yes, your training session is good for 30 days from the date you start the training. You can log back in and click on the "Complete" button to finish the training at any time during this 30 day period. After 30 days, your training session will expire and you will need to start over. If you stop during the test, you will need to retake the entire test.
The online training will time out after about 30 minutes of inactivity. Simply sign out and log back in to complete the training.
You can click the "Out of State" button when it displays the Washington state map for residence. You can then choose the county in which you will be working.
You can reprint your card for free from the online course. Go back to the beginning of the online course, select the "Login" button and sign back in. Be sure to use the exact same registration information you originally signed in with (information is case sensitive). If you wish to come into our office, there is a $5.00 charge for reprinting.
Your first Food Worker card is valid for two years. You may take the test and renew your card up to 60 days before the card expires and receive a renewal card that will be valid for three years.
The $10 fee is set in state regulation, Washington Administrative Code 246-217-025. Local health jurisdictions use the fee to cover the costs of food worker training and education, administration of the program, and testing of applicants.
Email
Phone: 360-778-6000
Fax: 360-778-6001
Address
509 Girard Street
Bellingham, WA 98225