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About the exam
NYC Food Protection Certificate Exam
New York City requires every food service establishment to have a supervisor with a Food Protection Certificate on the premises during all hours of operation. The certificate comes from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) after you complete the Food Protection Course, free online in 15 lessons or in person at the Health Academy, and pass the Department's final exam in person.
The course manual states that it includes the information needed to pass the final exam, and the legal source behind it is Article 81 of the NYC Health Code. Where the older manual and the current Article 81 differ, this bank follows Article 81 or leaves the point out, and the dossier for this quiz records every such case.
Expect questions on foodborne illness, pathogens and contamination; time and temperature control (receiving, storage, cooking, cooling, reheating and holding temperatures); personal hygiene and handwashing; cleaning, sanitizing and pest control; and the Health Code itself, including inspections, letter grades, HACCP and the local laws the manual covers.
Exam format
NYC Food Protection Certificate: questions, time and pass mark
| Item | Official exam | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Course | Free online course of 15 lessons (each with a quiz to pass), or a 15-hour in-person course over five sessions | Verified Oct 2026 (DOHMH FAQ; nyc.gov) |
| Final exam | In person, scheduled after all 15 lessons are complete | Verified Oct 2026 (DOHMH FAQ) |
| Questions | Not stated on any NYC page | Unpublished; practice test uses 50 |
| Pass mark | Not stated for this exam (70% applies to the separate mobile vendor exam) | Unpublished; practice test uses 70 |
| Time limit | Not stated | Unpublished; practice test uses 60 minutes |
| Exam fee | $24 for the online course route, plus a card fee; the in-person course fee ($114) includes the exam | Verified Oct 2026 (nyc.gov Health Academy) |
| Retakes | No limit, but the entire course must be repeated and the fee paid again each time | Verified Oct 2026 (DOHMH FAQ) |
| Validity | The certificate does not expire | Verified Oct 2026 (DOHMH FAQ; Art. 81 §81.15) |
The practice test above draws 50 questions with a 60-minute timer and a 70% pass mark. Practice mode lets you work one topic at a time with explanations after every answer, and the cheat sheet view lists every question and answer for review.
Cost and booking
Fees, where to take it and retakes
The online course is free at nyc.gov (Health Academy, Food Protection Online Course) and is offered in several languages. After the 15 lessons you schedule the in-person final exam and pay the $24 exam fee (as of 2026, plus a small card fee) at the Health Academy in Manhattan or at the College of Staten Island. The in-person classroom course costs $114 and includes the exam. Bring photo ID; the certificate is mailed about two to six weeks after you pass.
There is no limit on retakes, but a failed exam means repeating the whole course and paying the exam fee again, which is why it pays to prepare. The certificate never expires, although the Department may require a retake in special circumstances. Supervisors must keep the original certificate posted at the establishment.
What’s covered
250+ practice questions, by topic
Written from NYC DOHMH Food Protection Training Manual and NYC Health Code Article 81. Every explanation cites its section.
- Foodborne illness, pathogens and contamination54
- Time and temperature control65
- Personal hygiene and handwashing36
- Cleaning, sanitizing and pest control38
- NYC Health Code Article 81, inspections and HACCP62
Why people fail
The mistakes that cost people the NYC Food Protection Certificate
- Mixing up temperatures. The exam is full of them: 41°F and 140°F holding, 165°F for poultry and reheating, 158°F for ground meat, 145°F for the whole roast and fish, and the two-stage cooling rule (140 to 70°F in 2 hours, then to 41°F in 4 more).
- Knowing the symptoms but not the source. Questions pair an illness with the food that typically causes it (scombroid with tuna, botulism with home-canned food, trichinosis with pork) and the control that prevents it.
- Forgetting the rules that are specific to New York City: no sulfites added on site, MSG disclosure, letter-grade scoring bands, what a public health hazard is on the inspection worksheet, and the local laws on resuscitation equipment and smoking.
- Treating handwashing and glove rules as obvious. The exam asks when gloves must be changed and when hands must be washed, in the manual's exact terms.
- Not reviewing the manual's self-inspection worksheet, which the exam references by item.
A study plan that works
- Complete the free online course from nyc.gov first; each lesson's quiz has to be passed to move on, and the lessons are the official preparation.
- Download the Food Protection Training Manual PDF and read the time and temperature chapter twice; it is the largest category here and on the exam.
- Practice here one category at a time and build a temperature chart as you go. Say each number out loud with its food.
- Take a 50-question timed test, review the explanations and star anything about Article 81, inspections and local laws.
- The night before the exam, reread the manual's cooling and reheating pages and the inspection worksheet, then re-run your starred questions.
Try a few
Sample NYC Food Protection Certificate practice questions
Six questions pulled straight from the bank, with the answer shown. For the timed, no-peeking version, use the quiz above.
Why: Home canned and home jarred products are a known source of Clostridium botulinum, which causes botulism. Only commercially processed canned foods may be used in a food service establishment.
Source: NYC DOHMH Food Protection Training Manual, pp. 6, 19
Why: Hot foods removed from required hot holding may be kept at ambient temperature for no more than 4 hours, and must then be served or discarded.
Source: NYC Health Code Art. 81 §81.10(a)(3); NYC DOHMH Food Protection Training Manual, p. 30
Why: Disposable gloves must be changed when contaminated, torn or when the worker leaves the food preparation area, and after handling raw foods, garbage or other tasks that may soil them.
Source: NYC DOHMH Food Protection Training Manual, p. 25; NYC Health Code Art. 81 §81.07(j)
Why: The manual says that, contrary to belief, glue boards have the lowest success rate, because adult rodents' whiskers detect the sticky substance and avoid it. Snap traps are the most useful.
Source: NYC DOHMH Food Protection Training Manual, p. 46
Why: No live animal may be kept or permitted in a food service establishment except edible fish, crustacea and mollusks, fish in aquariums, service animals and working police dogs.
Source: NYC Health Code Art. 81 §81.25; NYC DOHMH Food Protection Training Manual, p. 71
Why: Trichinella spiralis, which causes trichinosis, is associated with pork. Cooking pork to the required temperature destroys it.
Source: NYC DOHMH Food Protection Training Manual, pp. 16, 21
FAQ
NYC Food Protection Certificate questions, answered
How many questions are on the NYC Food Protection exam?
The Health Department does not publish the number of questions, the time limit or the pass mark for this exam. This practice test uses 50 questions in 60 minutes with 70 percent to pass, which matches what course providers commonly report, but confirm with the Health Academy.
Is the NYC Food Protection course free?
The online course is free. The in-person final exam costs $24 as of 2026 (plus a small card fee). The classroom version of the course is $114 and includes the exam.
Can I take the Food Protection final exam online?
No. The 15 lessons are online, but the final exam must be taken in person at the Health Academy in Manhattan or at the College of Staten Island, scheduled after you finish the course.
Does the NYC Food Protection Certificate expire?
No. Once issued it does not expire and does not need renewal, although the Department can require a supervisor to retake the course in special circumstances.
What happens if I fail the exam?
You can take it again as many times as needed, but you must complete the entire course again and pay the exam fee each time.
Who needs the Food Protection Certificate?
Every food service establishment in NYC must have at least one supervisor holding the certificate on the premises during all hours of operation. Food handlers who are not supervisors do not need it, but many employers require it anyway.
Is this the official DOHMH exam?
No. These are original practice questions written from the Department's Food Protection Training Manual and Article 81 of the Health Code, with the source cited on every explanation. Only the Health Department gives the certificate exam.