Who needs an Alaska food worker card?

Anyone who works with unpackaged food, potentially hazardous food or food-contact surfaces, such as cooks, servers, bartenders, meat cutters and dishwashers. You must have the card within 30 days of hire.

How do I get an Alaska food worker card?

Study the DEC handbook, then take the test online with your myAlaska account or in person at a DEC Food Safety and Sanitation office. When you pass, you print your card.

What score do I need to pass?

You need 15 correct answers out of 20. You can retake the test with the same test ID while it is still valid.

I work in Anchorage. Which card do I need?

Facilities regulated by the Municipality of Anchorage need an Anchorage food worker card. They do not accept state cards.

Alaska Food Worker Card Practice Test 2026

Q: How long is the card good for?

Three years from the date it is issued.

Question 1 of 24

Under the Alaska Food Code, how soon after being hired must a food worker get an Alaska Food Worker Card?

Within 90 days of hire
Within 1 year of hire
Within 30 days of hire
Before the first shift

Show answer

Answer: C. Within 30 days of hire

18 AAC 31.330 says each food worker must hold a valid food worker card within 30 days of hire.

Question 2 of 24

Which Alaska regulation sets the food worker card rule?

18 AAC 31.330
AS 04.21.025
20 AAC 25.005
13 AAC 08.020

Show answer

Answer: A. 18 AAC 31.330

The food worker card rule is 18 AAC 31.330, part of the Alaska Food Code.

Question 3 of 24

Under Alaska's rule, who is a food worker who needs a card?

Anyone who works in the building, even in the office
Only the owner of the business
Someone who handles unpackaged food, potentially hazardous food or food-contact surfaces
Only people who cook meat

Show answer

Answer: C. Someone who handles unpackaged food, potentially hazardous food or food-contact surfaces

Alaska defines a food worker as a person who works with unpackaged food, potentially hazardous food or food-contact surfaces.

Question 4 of 24

Which of these Alaska restaurant workers needs a food worker card?

The cashier who only takes payment
A volunteer at a charity event
The greeter who seats guests
The dishwasher

Show answer

Answer: D. The dishwasher

Dishwashers handle food-contact surfaces, so they need a card. DEC lists greeters, cashiers and volunteers as not needing one.

Question 5 of 24

Which Alaska worker does NOT need a food worker card?

A worker who handles only prepackaged food
A bartender
A meat cutter
A server

Show answer

Answer: A. A worker who handles only prepackaged food

DEC says staff who handle only prepackaged food do not need a card. Bartenders, meat cutters and servers do.

Question 6 of 24

A 16-year-old student helps serve lunch in a school kitchen. Does the student need an Alaska food worker card for that work?

Yes, on the first day
Yes, within 7 days
Only if the school is in Anchorage
No, students under 18 helping with school meal service are not food workers under the rule

Show answer

Answer: D. No, students under 18 helping with school meal service are not food workers under the rule

DEC and 18 AAC 31.330 leave out children under 18 who help with school meal service in a school kitchen.

Question 7 of 24

Who must make sure each food worker has a valid card within 30 days of hire?

The local fire department or fire marshal
The customer
The food worker's family
The food establishment operator

Show answer

Answer: D. The food establishment operator

The rule places the duty on the operator of the food establishment.

Question 8 of 24

What must an Alaska food establishment operator keep to show the food worker card rule is being followed?

A photo of each customer
Records that show compliance
Copies of every menu from the past year
Nothing at all

Show answer

Answer: B. Records that show compliance

18 AAC 31.330 requires operators to keep records showing compliance, as set out in 18 AAC 31.335.

Question 9 of 24

How many questions are on the Alaska food worker card test?

40
50
10
20

Show answer

Answer: D. 20

DEC's test has 20 questions drawn at random from a question pool.

Question 10 of 24

How many correct answers do you need to pass the Alaska food worker card test?

15 of 20
10 of 20
18 of 20
12 of 20

Show answer

Answer: A. 15 of 20

DEC requires 15 correct answers out of 20 to pass.

Question 11 of 24

You fail the Alaska food worker card test online. What can you do?

Retake it with the same test ID while the ID is still valid
Wait one year before trying again
Ask your manager to pass it for you
Take a different state's food worker test instead and send in the score

Show answer

Answer: A. Retake it with the same test ID while the ID is still valid

DEC lets you retake the test with your original test ID while that ID is still valid.

Question 12 of 24

How long is an Alaska food worker card test ID good for after you buy it?

5 years
24 hours
1 year
30 days

Show answer

Answer: C. 1 year

DEC says a test ID expires one year after purchase.

Question 13 of 24

How long is an Alaska Food Worker Card valid?

1 year
For life
3 years
2 years

Show answer

Answer: C. 3 years

A food worker card is valid for three years from the date it is issued.

Question 14 of 24

A cook in a DEC-regulated restaurant holds a current Certified Food Protection Manager certificate. Does the cook also need a food worker card?

No, a current CFPM certificate means no food worker card is required
Only if the cook works nights
Yes, both are always required
Yes, but only in winter

Show answer

Answer: A. No, a current CFPM certificate means no food worker card is required

DEC says a current, valid Certified Food Protection Manager certificate replaces the food worker card.

Question 15 of 24

You have a food worker card from the Municipality of Anchorage and take a job in Fairbanks, in a DEC-regulated restaurant. Is your card accepted?

Only for the first week
No, you must always test again
Yes, DEC-regulated facilities accept Anchorage-issued cards
Only if you lived and worked in Anchorage for at least a year

Show answer

Answer: C. Yes, DEC-regulated facilities accept Anchorage-issued cards

DEC says facilities it regulates accept food worker cards issued by Anchorage.

Question 16 of 24

You have a state card from DEC and take a job at a restaurant regulated by the Municipality of Anchorage. Is your state card accepted there?

No, Anchorage-regulated facilities do not accept state-issued cards
Only on weekends
Yes, if the card is less than a month old and you show it to a manager
Yes, everywhere in Alaska

Show answer

Answer: A. No, Anchorage-regulated facilities do not accept state-issued cards

DEC notes that Anchorage-regulated facilities do not accept state cards, so you need an Anchorage card there.

Question 17 of 24

How do you take the DEC food worker card test online?

Call a phone number and answer out loud
Log in with your myAlaska account, buy a test ID, take the test and print your card
Mail a paper form to Juneau
Ask your employer to fill it in

Show answer

Answer: B. Log in with your myAlaska account, buy a test ID, take the test and print your card

DEC's online system uses myAlaska credentials. You buy a test ID, take the test and print your card.

Question 18 of 24

Besides testing online, where else can you take the DEC food worker card test?

At any post office
At a grocery store checkout counter that sells hunting licenses
At the DMV
At a DEC Food Safety and Sanitation office, on a printed test

Show answer

Answer: D. At a DEC Food Safety and Sanitation office, on a printed test

DEC offices give a printed test, and staff print your card after you pass.

Question 19 of 24

A worker with a disability has trouble with the written test. What may DEC do under the Alaska rule?

Let a friend take the test for them
Refuse to issue any card
Waive the test if the worker shows enough food safety understanding for the job, listing approved activities on the card
Require the worker to wait three years

Show answer

Answer: C. Waive the test if the worker shows enough food safety understanding for the job, listing approved activities on the card

To comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, 18 AAC 31.330 says DEC will waive the test in that case and list each approved activity on the card.

Question 20 of 24

Which topic is one of the areas covered by the Alaska food worker card test?

How to use a cash register and give correct change
Washing and sanitizing food-contact surfaces
Liquor license fees
Driving a delivery van

Show answer

Answer: B. Washing and sanitizing food-contact surfaces

The rule lists six test areas, including warewashing and chemical sanitizing, handwashing and time and temperature control.

Question 21 of 24

While your Alaska food worker card is valid, how many extra copies may you print?

Up to 10
Up to 3
None
As many as you want

Show answer

Answer: B. Up to 3

DEC lets you print up to three additional copies while the card is valid.

Question 22 of 24

A hunter offers a cafe some moose meat and sport-caught salmon. What does the DEC food worker handbook say?

Serve them only to friends of the owner
Freeze them for a week, then serve
Serve them if they look fresh
Never serve wild game meat or sport-caught fish in a food establishment

Show answer

Answer: D. Never serve wild game meat or sport-caught fish in a food establishment

The handbook says food must come from an approved source and tells workers never to serve home-canned food, wild game meat or sport-caught fish.

Question 23 of 24

The DEC handbook explains how to check a thermometer in boiling water. Why does the boiling point change in parts of Alaska?

Water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations, about 1°F lower for each 550 feet
Salt in the air raises the boiling point
Cold weather makes water boil at a higher temperature
Daylight hours change the boiling point

Show answer

Answer: A. Water boils at a lower temperature at higher elevations, about 1°F lower for each 550 feet

The handbook says water boils at 212°F at sea level, minus about 1°F for each 550 feet of elevation.

Question 24 of 24

Which Alaska state agency issues food worker cards outside Anchorage?

The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)
The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
The Department of Fish and Game
The Division of Motor Vehicles

Show answer

Answer: A. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)

DEC's Food Safety and Sanitation Program runs the state food worker card program.

Alaska Food Worker Card Practice Test 2026

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