United States
Hong KongTennessee: a certified food protection manager, plus local rules
Tennessee requires food service establishments to have a certified food protection manager holding an ANAB-accredited certificate, valid five years. Several metropolitan counties administer their own programs.
- Requirement
- A certified food protection manager
- Accreditation
- ANAB-accredited certificate
- Validity
- Five years
- Authority
- Tennessee Department of Health, and metropolitan health departments
- Local programs
- Nashville-Davidson, Knox, Shelby, Hamilton, Madison and Sullivan
Six counties run their own
Tennessee has a small number of metropolitan and county health departments that administer food service regulation locally rather than through the state.
Nashville-Davidson, Knox, Shelby, Hamilton, Madison and Sullivan are the ones to check. Between them they cover Nashville, Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga and Jackson.
Everywhere else, the state health department administers it.
What the certificate is
The standard ANAB-accredited manager certificate, valid five years. No state-specific exam.
Where a local health department administers the program, they may add registration or display requirements on top, without changing which exam you sit.
Almost everywhere, the exam is the same national accredited product and the local variation is in who has to hold it, how many, and what registration follows. Learning that pattern makes any state page easy to read.
Getting certified
- Choose any ANAB-accredited provider unless your state names an approval list.
- Prepare for eight to fifteen hours, weighted to contamination and employee health.
- Sit the 80-question proctored exam, at a test center or under remote proctoring.
- File the certificate with your employer for the health department record.
- Schedule the five-year expiry the day you receive it.
State rules change, and counties and cities routinely impose requirements the state does not. Treat this page as a starting point and confirm with your state or local health department before booking anything.
Common questions
Does Tennessee require a certified food manager?
Yes. Food service establishments must have a certified food protection manager holding an ANAB-accredited certificate, valid for five years.
Which counties run their own programs?
Nashville-Davidson, Knox, Shelby, Hamilton, Madison and Sullivan administer food service regulation locally. Everywhere else, the state health department does.
Is there a Tennessee-specific exam?
No. The standard ANAB-accredited manager exam applies. Local departments may add registration or display requirements without changing which exam you sit.
Does a certificate from another state work?
Generally yes, because accreditation rather than state issuance is what is accepted. Where a metropolitan health department administers the program, confirm any local registration step.
How long is it valid?
Five years from the exam date, renewed by sitting the exam again with any accredited provider.