United States
Hong KongHow many questions are on the food manager exam?
Eighty questions in 120 minutes with National Registry, all of them scored. Other accredited providers run different formats - 75 questions is commonly reported elsewhere - so confirm with whichever provider you actually book.
Eighty, with National Registry, in two hours. Every one of them counts toward your score, alongside a handful of unmarked pilot questions whose number is not published.
That works out at ninety seconds a question, which is generous. Time is not what fails people on this exam.
It is not the same number everywhere
There is no single food manager exam. Several providers are accredited to the same standard, and they build their own papers.
| National Registry | Commonly reported elsewhere | |
|---|---|---|
| Questions | 80 | 75 |
| Time | 120 minutes | varies |
| Passing | Scaled score of 75 | often reported as 70% |
So "how many questions" has a provider-specific answer, and the honest version is: check the one you are booking. We publish National Registry's numbers because it is the provider that actually publishes a blueprint you can check.
How many you need to get right. National Registry scores on a scale where 75 passes, and the raw score that produces varies by exam form. Nobody publishes the conversion, so anyone telling you "get 60 of 80" has made it up.
How the 80 break down
Across eight content areas, weighted like this:
| Area | Questions |
|---|---|
| Preventing Contamination and Cross-Contamination | 15 |
| Ensuring Personal Hygiene and Employee Health | 14 |
| Actively Managing Controls in a Food Establishment | 13 |
| Ensuring Product Time and Temperature | 11 |
| Monitoring the Flow of Foods | 10 |
| Conducting Cleaning and Sanitizing | 9 |
| Managing the Physical Facility Design and Maintenance | 5 |
| Preventing and Controlling Pests | 3 |
The counts are the provider's own and they sum to exactly 80, which is rarer than it should be - plenty of awarding bodies publish weightings that do not reconcile.
Common questions
How many questions are on the food manager exam?
Eighty with National Registry, all scored, in 120 minutes, plus some unmarked pilot questions. Other accredited providers differ, with 75 questions commonly reported elsewhere, so confirm the format with the provider you book.
How long is the food manager exam?
Two hours with National Registry, which is ninety seconds a question. Most candidates finish comfortably inside the limit - time pressure is not the usual reason people fail this exam.
How many do I need to get right to pass?
There is no published figure. The exam is scaled-scored and requires a scaled score of 75, which converts to a different raw number depending on the form you sit. No provider publishes the conversion.
Are all the questions multiple choice?
Yes, and the exam is closed book and proctored, either at a test center or online with remote proctoring depending on the provider you choose.