Food Protection Certificate
Food protection course for restaurant managers, operators and other staff. This class is available to everyone.
The Health Code requires food service establishments to have a supervisor of food operations with a Food Protection Certificate on duty during all hours of operation to supervise food preparation and processing. The NYC Health Academy trains individuals in food protection practices to ensure the safety of the food served in New York City's food establishments.
There are two options to take the Food Protection Course:
- In-person at the NYC Health Academy (registration can be done online or in person): there is a $114 fee to take this course and take the final exam. To register click here. (Check the box next Health Academy Training Courses, hit Continue at the bottom of the page. When prompted, select the "Food Protection Course".)
- Online: the online course is free and there is $24 fee to take the final exam which must be taken in person.
In-person class
Frequency and Duration: The in-person class is 15 hours long and is given over five days and each daily session is three hours long. The course starts on Monday and ends on Friday. When Monday is a City holiday, classes will then begin on Tuesday and end on Friday, each daily session will then be three hours and 45 minutes long. When you pass the final exam, you will be issued a temporary Food Protection Certificate. This class is provided in English, Bangla and Spanish. Final exams are available in 37 languages. The cost is $114.
Online Course
The free online course is offered in English, Spanish and Chinese. The course is self-paced and consists of 15 lessons. You must complete each lesson and pass a quiz before moving on to the next lesson. The final exam, which includes a Food Protection Course Review, must be taken in person. When you pass the online course you will be prompted to register and pay for the final exam, which will be in person. When you pass the final exam, you will be issued a temporary Food Protection Certificate. Final exams and exam study guides are provided in 37 languages. The cost of the final exam is $24.
To avoid gaps in supervision and possible fines, the Health Department recommends that restaurants encourage more staff to obtain a Food Protection Certificate to ensure more staff are certified in the safe preparation, storage, and handling of food.
This course is open to the public.
There are two options to take the Food Protection Course:
-
- In-person at the NYC Health Academy (registration can be done online or in person): there is a $114 fee to take this course and take the final exam. To register click here. (Check the box next Health Academy Training Courses, hit Continue at the bottom of the page. When prompted, select the "Food Protection Course".)
- Online: the online course is free and there is $24 fee to take the final exam which must be taken in person.
List of accepted payment methods.
- Certified Check (made payable to NYC DOHMHM (accepted only when registering in person))
- Money Order (made payable to NYC DOHMH) (accepted only when registering in person))
- American Express
- Discover
- MasterCard
- Visa
- E-Check ( (Accepted only when registering online; must have bank routing number and account number))
If you registered for the In-Person (classroom) food protection course, or if you scheduled your in-person final exam after successfully completing the online course, you will report to:
The NYC Health Academy
Riverside Health Center
160 West 100th Street
Manhattan
You must bring a government-issued photo ID.
Replacement Requests
You can schedule an appointment to replace a food protection certificate here: Scroll down to "Health Academy Training Courses" and select the box, then scroll down to the bottom and hit Continue.
The cost is $16.00.
On the date of your appointment, you will go to:
NYC Health Academy
Riverside Health Center, 2nd floor
160 West 100th Street
Manhattan
To register for the in-person class at the NYC Health Academy, click here.
- Then, check the box next "Health Academy Training Courses".
- Scroll down and click on Continue at the bottom of the page.
- Register your information. When prompted, select the "Food Protection Course".
- Continue and pay by credit or debit card, or by e-check.
In-person registration is available for the classroom course is by appointment only.
You must call or email the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) to schedule an appointment at their Manhattan or Queens locations. After you apply for the course DCWP will issue you a receipt that will include the date and time of the class for which you registered.