Oregon requires anyone who prepares or serves food in a licensed restaurant to get a food handler card within 30 days of being hired. The card costs no more than $10, lasts three years and works in every Oregon county. You earn it by passing an open-book test from your county health office or another provider on the Oregon Health Authority’s approved list. Cards from other states aren’t accepted.
The rules are in Oregon Administrative Rules chapter 333, division 175. For how Oregon compares with the other states that require a card, see our food handler card requirements by state.
Who needs an Oregon food handler card
OAR 333-175-0021 defines a food handler as anyone involved in supervising, preparing or serving food in a licensed restaurant or food service facility, and names managers, cooks, wait staff, dishwashers, bartenders and bus staff. Under OAR 333-175-0031, the 30-day deadline applies to food handlers in restaurants, bed and breakfasts, mobile units, commissaries, warehouses and vending operations, and the card has to stay current for as long as you work as a food handler.
Three settings work differently:
- Temporary restaurants such as fair or festival booths need at least one worker with a valid card present the whole time the booth operates (OAR 333-175-0031(4)).
- Benevolent organizations running a licensed facility, such as a club or church kitchen, need at least one card holder present during preparation and service, and that person supervises the other workers (OAR 333-175-0031(5)).
- Child care providers get their card through the Department of Early Learning and Care, which OHA links from its card page.
Oregon food handler card cost: $10 online, or $5 plus $5 at the Multnomah County office
OAR 333-175-0101 caps the fee at $10 per person, materials included. A provider may charge again each time you retake the test, and a duplicate card costs at most $5.
Multnomah County shows how that plays out in practice on its official food handler card site:
- Online: $10, paid by Visa or Mastercard after you pass. Reprinting the card from your account is free.
- At the office (847 NE 19th Ave., Suite 350B, Portland): $5 to take the test, pass or fail, and $5 for the card, cash only. Walk-in testing runs Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; the county asks you to call 503-988-5257 first to confirm it is open.
- Lost card from the office: $5 for a copy, with photo ID.
How to get an Oregon food handler card, step by step
- Pick a provider from OHA’s list. Most counties send you to orfoodhandlers.com, Multnomah County runs its own site, and efoodcard.com and the Oregon Restaurant & Lodging Association’s course are also listed. OHA warns that copycat sites claim Oregon approval, so start from the link for your county on OHA’s food handler page.
- Read the manual. Multnomah County posts its manual online and keeps copies at its office and at county libraries.
- Take the test. You need 75% to pass (OAR 333-175-0081), and you may look at the manual while you answer (OAR 333-175-0061(4)). Multnomah County’s online test takes 30 to 40 minutes, and an unfinished session starts over from the beginning when you log back in.
- Pay and save the card. Online cards are printed on any paper or kept on your phone, and they arrive only through your account, never by mail.
- Give your employer a copy. Under OAR 333-175-0111, the license holder must show every food handler’s card when an inspector asks, and photocopies are allowed.
Test languages and help for workers who have trouble reading
Multnomah County offers its online test in English, Spanish, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Mandarin and Cantonese. At the office, workers can watch a 40-minute video before testing, take a written test in six languages (about 30 minutes) or take an audio test (about 45 minutes). People with disabilities can ask the office for accommodations.
The state rules back this up. A provider may give the test orally for workers with special needs, and may issue a restricted card that lists the specific duties the worker can perform (OAR 333-175-0061(6) and (7)). The restriction comes off once the worker passes the full program.
Renewing, replacing or bringing a card from another state
- The card expires three years after it is issued. To renew, you take the test again and pay again. Multnomah County lets you retake it within 30 days before the expiration date.
- For a lost card, contact the local environmental health office where you tested (up to $5) or, if you tested online, the provider whose site you used.
- A card from Washington, California or any other state has to be replaced with an Oregon card. If you work on both sides of the Columbia River, you need both cards; Washington has its own food worker card with a 14-day deadline.
When a food manager certificate replaces the card, and the 2029 manager rule
A current certificate from an OHA-approved food manager course stands in for the food handler card, as does registration as an environmental health specialist or trainee (OAR 333-175-0091). To count, the manager certificate must be renewed every five years, and providers may not charge these workers the card fee. Your employer shows the manager certificate to the inspector in place of the card (OAR 333-175-0111(2)).
Manager certification is becoming mandatory. According to OHA’s food manager training page, Oregon will phase it in:
- By January 1, 2029: at least one certified food protection manager per food establishment.
- By January 1, 2031: at least one certified person in charge working each day, present during the hours that carry the highest food safety risk for that business.
OHA keeps a PDF list of approved food manager classes on the same page, and our food manager certification comparison shows how other states handle the same requirement. A certified manager acting as person in charge also meets the “demonstration of knowledge” requirement in the Oregon Food Sanitation Rules.
Where food handler training shows up in Oregon inspections
An inspector can ask to see every worker’s card (OAR 333-175-0111), so a missing card can show up during a routine visit. To read Oregon inspection reports, start with our guides to Portland and Multnomah County inspection scores and Marion County inspection scores.
Oregon Health Authority, OAR 333-175 and Multnomah County food handler pages checked October 24, 2026.