Reference
Ohio food code rules, and what each one governs
Ohio’s food code is Chapter 3717-1 of the Administrative Code, and it is the same in all eighty-eight counties. Who enforces it changes with your address; what it says does not. This is every rule in the chapter, what it covers, and where we have written a plain-English guide.
31 of 44 rules have a guide behind them.
The rest are listed anyway, linked to the rule text. We would rather you see the gap than assume a subject has no rule because we have not covered it yet. If one of the blanks is costing you time, tell us and it moves up the list.
Chapter 3717-1 — the state food code
| Rule | What it governs | Effective | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3717-1-01 | State of Ohio Uniform Food Safety Code and definitions | September 5, 2024 | Commissary requirements Dogs on patios |
| 3717-1-02 | Determination of the primary business of a facility for purpose of licensure | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-02.1 | Management and personnel: employee health | September 5, 2024 | Employee illness |
| 3717-1-02.2 | Management and personnel: personal cleanliness | September 5, 2024 | Employee illness Inspection checklist Occupancy & restrooms Outdoor dining & patios Dogs on patios |
| 3717-1-02.3 | Management and personnel: hygienic practices | September 5, 2024 | Employee illness |
| 3717-1-02.4 | Management and personnel: supervision | September 5, 2024 | Time & temperature Employee illness Certification & ServSafe Inspection checklist |
| 3717-1-03 | Food - safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-03.1 | Food: sources, specifications, and original containers | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-03.2 | Food: protection from contamination after receiving | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-03.3 | Food: destruction of organisms of public health concern | September 5, 2024 | Time & temperature |
| 3717-1-03.4 | Food: limitation of growth of organisms of public health concern | September 5, 2024 | Time & temperature |
| 3717-1-03.5 | Food: food identity, presentation, and on premises labeling | September 5, 2024 | Time & temperature |
| 3717-1-03.6 | Food: discarding or reconditioning unsafe, adulterated or contaminated food | June 19, 2023 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-03.7 | Food: special requirements for highly susceptible populations | September 5, 2024 | Time & temperature |
| 3717-1-04 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: materials for construction and repair | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-04.1 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: design and construction | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Warewashing Build-out costs |
| 3717-1-04.2 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: numbers and capacities | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Inspection checklist Warewashing |
| 3717-1-04.3 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: location and installation | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout |
| 3717-1-04.4 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: maintenance and operation | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Inspection checklist Warewashing |
| 3717-1-04.5 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: cleaning of equipment and utensils | September 5, 2024 | Warewashing |
| 3717-1-04.6 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: sanitizing of equipment and utensils | September 5, 2024 | Warewashing |
| 3717-1-04.7 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: laundering | September 5, 2024 | Inspection checklist |
| 3717-1-04.8 | Equipment, utensils, and linens: protection of clean items | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-05 | Water, plumbing, and waste: water | September 5, 2024 | Warewashing |
| 3717-1-05.1 | Water, plumbing, and waste: plumbing system | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Occupancy & restrooms Warewashing |
| 3717-1-05.2 | Mobile water tanks | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-05.3 | Water, plumbing, and waste: sewage, other liquid waste, and rainwater | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Warewashing Commissary requirements |
| 3717-1-05.4 | Water, plumbing, and waste: refuse, recyclables, and returnables | September 5, 2024 | Outside the building |
| 3717-1-06 | Physical facilities: materials for construction and repair | June 19, 2023 | Build-out costs Commissary requirements |
| 3717-1-06.1 | Physical facilities: design, construction, and installation | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Outside the building Commissary requirements |
| 3717-1-06.2 | Physical facilities: numbers and capacities | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Occupancy & restrooms Outside the building Warewashing |
| 3717-1-06.3 | Physical facilities: location and placement | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Outside the building |
| 3717-1-06.4 | Physical facilities: maintenance and operation | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-07 | Poisonous or toxic materials: labeling and identification | June 19, 2023 | Inspection checklist |
| 3717-1-07.1 | Poisonous or toxic materials: operational supplies and applications | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-07.2 | Poisonous or toxic materials: storage and display - separation | June 19, 2023 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-08 | Special requirements: fresh juice production | September 5, 2024 | Special processes |
| 3717-1-08.1 | Special requirements: heat treatment dispensing freezers | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-08.2 | Special requirements: custom processing | September 5, 2024 | Special processes |
| 3717-1-08.3 | Special requirements: bulk water machine criteria | September 5, 2024 | Not written yet |
| 3717-1-08.4 | Special requirements: acidified white rice preparation criteria | September 5, 2024 | Special processes |
| 3717-1-08.5 | Dogs in outdoor dining areas of food service operations and retail food establishments | September 5, 2024 | Outdoor dining & patios Dogs on patios |
| 3717-1-09 | Criteria for reviewing facility layout and equipment specifications | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout Build-out costs |
| 3717-1-20 | Existing facilities and equipment | September 5, 2024 | Kitchen layout |
The rules that are not the food code
These catch people precisely because they sit outside the chapter your health inspector works from. Nobody arrives to check them at a pre-licensing inspection, and every one of them still applies.
| Authority | What it governs | Enforced by | Our guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| OAC 4301:1-1-28 | Cleaning and sterilising dispensing apparatus — beer lines, bar glassware | Division of Liquor Control | Draft lines & glassware |
| ORC 3717.43 | Licence expiration and the March 1 renewal deadline | Ohio Revised Code | Food service licence |
| ORC 3717.42 | Day-count exemption for churches and volunteer organisations | Ohio Revised Code | Church & nonprofit kitchens |
| 17 U.S.C. 110(5) | The small-business exemption for broadcast radio and TV | Federal copyright law | Music, TV & sports licensing |
| 47 CFR 9.16 | Direct 911 dialling and dispatchable location — Kari's Law | Federal Communications Commission | Technology & compliance |
Which agency enforces it where you are
The code is statewide; the licensor is not. In Ohio it follows your municipality, not your county — the City of Cleveland licenses separately from Cuyahoga County, Kent separately from Portage, and Vermilion is served by Erie rather than Lorain. Work out which applies to your address with the jurisdiction lookup before you rely on anything here.
Two dates, and they mean different things. The effective date in each row is the rule’s own, printed on the authenticated text — that is what tells you whether a rule is current. The most recent one in this chapter is September 5, 2024. Separately, we last compared this page against codes.ohio.gov on August 10, 2026 — which is a claim about our work, not about the code. Rules change between our checks; the linked rule text is always the authority and this page is a map to it. Nothing here is legal advice.