Editorial policy

Accuracy is this site's entire product. This page describes how we source, verify, and correct the information we publish.

Sourcing hierarchy

  1. Statutes and administrative codes — state legislature and code databases (for example, Texas Health & Safety Code, Washington's RCW/WAC, Oregon's ORS/OAR).
  2. State and county health department publications — program pages, official FAQs, fee schedules, approved-provider registries.
  3. Accreditation bodies — ANAB directories, Conference for Food Protection listings — for provider accreditation status only.
  4. Everything else — training provider marketing, news coverage, and third-party summaries are used only as leads, never as the basis for a requirements claim.

Verification process

Every requirements claim on a state or county page — whether a card is required, the deadline, the fee, the validity period, which courses count — must trace to a source in tiers 1–3 above. Each page lists its sources and displays the date the page was last verified against them. Where we could not confirm a detail from an official source, we say "check with your local health department" rather than guessing.

Authorship

Content is researched and written by the site's editorial team. We do not use invented author personas or claim credentials we don't hold.

Corrections

If you find an error, contact us with the state or county and, ideally, a link to the official source. Confirmed corrections are published promptly and the page's verification date is updated. Requirements change — a page's "last verified" date tells you exactly how fresh its information is.

Independence

Advertising and affiliate relationships (described on ourabout page) have no influence on requirement information. We state when a card is not required, even though saying so earns nothing.