Illinois requires paid food handlers to complete food handler training within 30 days of hire. If you work in a restaurant, the course must be ANSI-accredited (or run by an IDPH-approved local health department program), the certificate lasts three years, and it goes with you to your next restaurant job. If you work in a grocery store, school, hospital or other “non-restaurant,” the rules on which course counts and whether it transfers are different (IDPH food handler FAQ).
The course provider issues the certificate, not the state, your employer isn’t required to pay for it, and Chicago and other cities can’t add their own card: the law makes food handler training an exclusive state function (Public Act 98-0566, 410 ILCS 625/3.06(h)). IDPH pages checked October 24, 2026.
Is your workplace a restaurant under Illinois law?
For this rule, a restaurant is a business where ready-to-eat food for immediate or on-site consumption makes up at least 51% of sales, not counting liquor. That includes concessions. IDPH’s FAQ settles the common gray areas:
- Grocery store with a deli, bakery or salad bar: a non-restaurant, as long as the store runs those counters itself. A counter run by a separate company inside the store counts as a restaurant.
- Gas station convenience store: a non-restaurant. A store without gas that sells roller-grill food may be a restaurant; the local health department decides.
- Food truck or mobile stand: training required. Workers at temporary events are exempt.
- Nursing homes, day cares, hospitals, schools and long-term care: non-restaurants, but their food handlers must retrain every three years.
Illinois food handler rules: restaurant vs non-restaurant
| Rule | Restaurant | Non-restaurant |
|---|---|---|
| Deadline | 30 days after hire | 30 days after hire |
| Course that counts | ANSI-accredited, an IDPH-approved local health department program, or a few employers’ in-house programs registered with IDPH since 2013 | Any course registered and approved by IDPH, including an employer’s own |
| Renewal | Every 3 years | Only when you change employers; every 3 years in nursing homes, day cares, hospitals, schools and long-term care |
| Moves to a new employer | Yes, statewide (except training from an employer’s in-house program) | No |
Source for the table: IDPH Food Handler FAQ and IDPH Food Handler Training.
Who is exempt from Illinois food handler training
- Holders of a valid Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) certificate.
- Unpaid volunteers, including at churches and clubs.
- Workers at temporary food events.
- Staff who never touch unpackaged food, food equipment or food-contact surfaces. Nursing and therapy staff who deliver trays fall here, though IDPH encourages training.
Someone who only fills in on the line when the kitchen is short still needs the training.
What it costs and who pays
Illinois sets no fee. The law requires at least one approved course to be available for $15 or less, and IDPH says several ANSI-accredited online courses meet that price. Unlike California, where employers now pay, IDPH says an Illinois employer isn’t responsible for paying because the certificate belongs to the worker.
How to get an Illinois food handler certificate
- Decide whether your job is at a restaurant or a non-restaurant, using the list above.
- For a restaurant, pick a course from the ANSI National Accreditation Board directory of accredited food handler programs. ANSI-accredited courses are approved automatically.
- Pass the course assessment. IDPH sets no minimum score; each program sets its own. ANSI courses let you print the certificate right away.
- Give your employer a copy within 30 days of your start date. The restaurant must show proof on request, as a certificate or a list with your name, the training and its date.
- Note the date three years out and retake the course before then.
How often Chicago inspectors cite missing training
In Chicago, inspectors check training as violation item 57, “All food employees have food handler training.” From October 1, 2025 to September 30, 2026 it was cited on 542 of 4,788 routine restaurant inspections, or 11%, by our count from the Chicago Data Portal. For what those routine visits found by neighborhood, see Chicago inspection results by ZIP code; to look up one restaurant, use our Chicago inspection lookup guide. Outside Chicago, county reports use the status codes explained in Illinois food inspection report status codes.
Rules in other states, including Florida’s 60-day window and Washington’s state-run $10 card, are compared in food handler card requirements by state. Questions for IDPH go to DPH.Food@illinois.gov (Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act, 410 ILCS 625).