If you prepare or serve food in a Maricopa County restaurant, including Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and Tempe, you need food handler training within 30 days of starting food work, and the certificate is good for three years. A certificate from an ANSI-accredited online course counts, and so does a card issued by any other Arizona county. Both rules are written into the Maricopa County Environmental Health Code, Chapter VII (revised August 19, 2026).
Arizona handles food handler training county by county, so the county where the restaurant operates sets the rule. For states with a single statewide card law, see our food handler card requirements by state.
What Maricopa County’s code requires
- Who needs training: anyone who handles, prepares, serves, sells or gives away food, or handles the utensils and equipment used for it (Regulation 1). Workers who only handle food in sealed packages, cartons or bottles are outside the definition.
- Deadline: within 30 days of first doing food employee work (Regulation 2a).
- Temporary, seasonal and special event booths: before the event starts (Regulation 2b).
- Proof: the restaurant keeps a separate file of each worker’s training document on the premises (Regulation 2d).
- How long it lasts: three years from the date of issue (Regulation 4b).
- Manager: at least one Certified Food Protection Manager on staff, replaced within 90 days if that person leaves (Regulation 2e–f).
Which food handler cards Maricopa County accepts
Regulation 4 lists three kinds of training documentation:
- A valid food employee certificate or card issued by another Arizona county.
- A certificate from a food handler course taught by the Maricopa County Environmental Services Department.
- A certificate from a third-party course that meets Arizona law and the ANSI/ASTM E2659 standard, the accreditation standard for food handler courses.
The three-year limit in the code covers the second and third kinds. A card from another county has to be valid under that county’s own terms. Before paying for an online course, look for the provider in the ANAB directory of accredited food handler certificate issuers; prices are set by each provider.
Events, workers with disabilities and nonprofit programs
- Event food: for a temporary, seasonal or special event food establishment, the person in charge makes sure every food employee is trained before the event, with no 30-day window.
- Limited Use Food Employee Certificate: issued by the county to accommodate a person with a disability for specific low-risk tasks. The restaurant’s certified manager requests a county onsite visit, and the holder works under that manager’s direct supervision (Regulation 3a).
- Fee Waived Food Employee Certificate: for workers at charities or nonprofits whose fees the Maricopa County Board of Health waived, and for students in K-12 culinary arts programs (Regulation 3b).
The Maricopa food manager certificate is a separate rule
Every food establishment needs at least one Certified Food Protection Manager, and a manager certificate expires five years after the exam (Regulation 2g). A food handler card doesn’t meet this requirement. Establishments that serve only foods that need no time or temperature control for safety are exempt from the manager rule (Regulation 6). How other states set the manager requirement is in our food manager certification comparison.
Mohave County and other Arizona counties
Mohave County Environmental Health accepts the same three kinds of proof: its own food handler certificate, a current ANSI-accredited card, or a current card from any Arizona county. It also runs in-person food handler classes on a published 2026 schedule and offers free proctoring for the StateFoodSafety manager exam.
In Pima County (Tucson), Pinal, Coconino and the other counties, ask the county environmental health office which cards it accepts before a new hire’s first food shift. Our inspection guides list each office: Pima County and Tucson, Pinal County, Coconino County and Mohave County.
Where training shows up in a Phoenix-area inspection
The training file has to stay on the premises, where the county inspector can ask for it during a routine visit. To find and read a Maricopa County inspection report, see our Phoenix restaurant inspection search guide.
Checklist before a new hire’s first food shift in Arizona
- Confirm which county the restaurant operates in.
- In Maricopa County, plan training within 30 days of the first food shift, or before the event for a temporary booth.
- Check that the course provider is in the ANAB directory, or that a card from another Arizona county is still valid.
- Put a copy in the restaurant’s separate training file.
- Note the expiration date, three years after issue for a course certificate.
- Confirm the restaurant’s Certified Food Protection Manager certificate is under five years old.
Maricopa County Environmental Health Code Chapter VII and Mohave County food handler pages checked October 24, 2026.