Colorado Food Handler Practice Test

Colorado has no statewide food handler card, but its retail food rules still expect trained staff, and since March 1, 2025 the person in charge at most establishments must be a Certified Food Protection Manager. This free practice test mixes questions on Colorado's rules (what's required, who must be certified, and the duties added in 2024) with the food safety questions every accredited course covers.

Want to review away from the screen? "Food Handler Card Audio Cram," our own roughly 57-minute audio session from Kanti Press, walks through the same topics as this test, so you can study on the bus or the walk to work.

Colorado questions and answers

Take the test first: this section gives the answers away. Here is every Colorado-specific question in the test, with the rule behind it. The rest of the test comes from our core bank, and Food Handler Test Questions and Answers lists all of those.

1. 1Does Colorado law require food workers to hold a state food handler card?

   1. Yes, renewed every 2 years
   2. No; training is recommended, and employers decide what they want
   3. Only food truck workers
   4. Yes, within 30 days of hire

   Answer: B. No; training is recommended, and employers decide what they want

   Colorado has no food handler card law and no state agency issues one. County health departments such as Mesa and Boulder call a course recommended but not required, and the rules make the establishment responsible for training its staff. Review this in the Colorado guide

2. 2Which rules govern Colorado restaurants and other retail food establishments?

   1. Federal USDA meat inspection rules
   2. Each restaurant’s own written policies
   3. The Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules (6 CCR 1010-2), based on the 2022 FDA Food Code
   4. The 1999 FDA Food Code

   Answer: C. The Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules (6 CCR 1010-2), based on the 2022 FDA Food Code

   6 CCR 1010-2 adopts the 2022 FDA Food Code. The rules took effect March 16, 2024, with the person-in-charge certification rule following on March 1, 2025. Review this in the Colorado guide

3. 3Since March 1, 2025, what must be true of the person in charge at most Colorado establishments outside Denver?

   1. They must be the owner
   2. They must hold a state food handler card
   3. They must have 5 years of kitchen experience
   4. They must be a Certified Food Protection Manager

   Answer: D. They must be a Certified Food Protection Manager

   Most establishments have needed at least one Certified Food Protection Manager since 2019. Since March 1, 2025, the person in charge on duty must hold that certificate. Denver has its own food regulations. Review this in the Colorado guide

4. 4A Colorado restaurant has one shift lead running lunch and another running dinner. Under the 2025 rule, who needs a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate?

   1. Neither, if the cooks hold food handler certificates
   2. Only the owner
   3. Only one of them; one per establishment is enough
   4. Both shift leads, since the person in charge on duty must be certified

   Answer: D. Both shift leads, since the person in charge on duty must be certified

   The rule applies to the person in charge on each shift, so an establishment with different shift leads needs several certified managers. It still doesn’t require every employee to be certified. Review this in the Colorado guide

5. 5Which of these is an exception where Colorado doesn’t require the person in charge to be a certified manager?

   1. A catering job serving raw oysters
   2. A busy Saturday dinner service
   3. A bar serving only drinks and low-risk food while its kitchen is closed
   4. A food truck grilling burgers at a festival

   Answer: C. A bar serving only drinks and low-risk food while its kitchen is closed

   The rule has limited exceptions for low-risk hours, such as a bar with the kitchen closed or a bakery prepping before it opens. Review this in the Colorado guide

6. 6Which credential makes someone a Certified Food Protection Manager in Colorado?

   1. Passing an employer’s in-house quiz
   2. Passing an ANAB-accredited food protection manager exam, such as ServSafe Manager
   3. Getting a county food handler card
   4. Finishing any online food handler course

   Answer: B. Passing an ANAB-accredited food protection manager exam, such as ServSafe Manager

   A Certified Food Protection Manager has passed an accredited manager exam. That is a bigger, proctored exam than a food handler course. Review this in the Colorado guide

7. 7How can a Colorado person in charge demonstrate food safety knowledge to an inspector?

   1. Only by showing a state food handler card
   2. Only by showing 2 years of work history
   3. Only by passing a written test at the health department
   4. Any of these: no priority violations, a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate, or correct answers to the inspector’s questions

   Answer: D. Any of these: no priority violations, a Certified Food Protection Manager certificate, or correct answers to the inspector’s questions

   The Food Code accepts any one of the three: compliance (no priority violations), certification, or correct answers to the inspector’s questions. Review this in the Colorado guide

8. 8Colorado’s rules require food employees to be trained in food safety, including which topic as it relates to their duties?

   1. Wine service
   2. Menu pricing
   3. Cash handling
   4. Food allergy awareness

   Answer: D. Food allergy awareness

   Every establishment must make sure its food employees are trained in food safety, including food allergy awareness, as it relates to their duties. Review this in the Colorado guide

9. 9Under Colorado’s 2024 rules, what must every establishment have written procedures for?

   1. Customer seating charts
   2. Employee parking
   3. Cleaning up vomit and diarrhea
   4. Ordering staff uniforms

   Answer: C. Cleaning up vomit and diarrhea

   The 2024 rules require written procedures for responding to vomiting and diarrheal events, so staff clean up without spreading illness. Review this in the Colorado guide

10. 10What do Colorado’s rules require establishments to tell customers about major food allergens?

    1. Only what is printed on packaged retail foods
    2. Nothing unless a customer asks
    3. Which major allergens are used as ingredients, for example on the menu or a placard
    4. Nothing; Colorado has no allergen rule

    Answer: C. Which major allergens are used as ingredients, for example on the menu or a placard

    Since the 2024 rules, establishments must notify customers which major food allergens are used as ingredients. Under the 2022 Food Code, sesame is the ninth major allergen. Review this in the Colorado guide

How the real Colorado exam works

Colorado has no state food handler exam. If your employer wants a certificate, you take an ANAB-accredited food handler course, and the provider's exam and certificate are what count. Shift leads face a bigger test: the Certified Food Protection Manager exam, a proctored, accredited exam such as ServSafe Manager. Our Colorado Food Handler Card: What the State Actually Requires walks through each step, with sources.

Want more practice away from the screen? The Food Handler Practice Exam Pack has 100 questions on the core food safety rules every state tests, as four printable exams of 25 with an answer key at the back. It doesn't cover state-specific rules; this page's test does.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this the official Colorado food handler test?

No. Colorado has no state food handler exam or card. This practice test covers Colorado's rules and the food safety topics accredited courses teach.

Will this prepare me for the Certified Food Protection Manager exam?

It covers the basics, but the manager exam goes deeper, into topics like HACCP plans, facility design, and training staff. Use this test as a warm-up, then study manager-level material.