Find the answers to your questions right here

The ServeWell Food Handler Certificate course is currently accepted and approved in:

  • Alberta
  • British Columbia
  • Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Nova Scotia
  • Nunavut
  • Ontario
  • Prince Edward Island
  • Quebec
  • Saskatchewan
  • Yukon

Yes, the Food Handler Certificate course is 100% online and accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

All of the lessons and quizzes are completed online. The final assessment is an online exam which is supervised by a certified proctor via webcam.

There is no need to visit a classroom or exam centre for any part of the ServeWell course.

No, there are no other fees. The fee of $74.95 (plus GST/HST) includes everything you need to get certified. This includes:

  • the course
  • the final exam
  • exam proctoring
  • an unlimited number of exam retakes
  • the official ServeWell Food Handler Certificate
  • all required course material and learning resources
  • plus, a free Food Safety resource kit for download

The online lessons and multiple choice quizzes take most students 8 hours to complete.

How long it takes you to complete the course will vary depending on your food handling experience, English language skills and computer literacy. Remember, you don’t need to complete the course all at once. Start and stop as often as you need.

The final exam takes up to an hour. A certified proctor will supervise your exam remotely via a webcam on your computer. There’s no need to book your exam in advance as sessions are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You have 30 days from the date of enrolment to complete the course, including the final exam (and any exam retakes required). After 30 days, your course and course access will expire.

Yes — you have 30 days from your date of enrolment to complete your final exam. To view your course expiry date, please navigate to the ‘My Courses’ tab on your dashboard.

Once your course expires, you will not be able to request an exam, so make sure you give yourself enough time to complete the course and exam within 30 days.

The course is comprised of 4 units and each unit contains a series of lessons. At the end of each lesson, you’ll complete a multiple choice quiz consisting of 10 multiple choice questions. You need to score 100% on each quiz to unlock the next lesson, but don’t worry — you have an unlimited number of attempts for each quiz and quizzes don’t count toward your final grade. You can even use course notes or any other resource when attempting the quizzes.

Once all units and quizzes are complete, you will be able to write the final exam.

As soon as you pass your final exam, you can request your certificate. Students typically receive their certificate by email within an hour after making the request.

Whether you print out your certificate or not, we recommend that you save a copy of your digital certificate so that it's easily accessible in the future. Your course will expire after 30 days, so ensure you have a saved copy before this date.

To write the exam you will need:

  • a computer equipped with a webcam
  • a quiet room with no people nearby
  • no headphones, cell phones, notebooks or papers
  • a piece of government-issued photo ID

When you click on 'Begin Final Exam' you will be connected to a proctor. Once your identity is validated, you may begin the exam.

The proctor will observe you through a webcam while you take the exam. Headphones, headsets, cell phones, notes, papers and external monitors are not permitted during the exam. You are not allowed to talk to others, leave the room or take notes. Any of these actions can constitute cheating and your exam being canceled.

At the end of each lesson, you’ll complete a multiple choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. You need to score 100% on each quiz to unlock the next lesson. Once you've completed all the lessons and quizzes, you will be able to write the final exam.

When you begin your exam, you will be connected to a certified proctor who will supervise your exam remotely via a webcam on your computer. There’s no need to book in advance as sessions are available 7 days/week.

The final exam consists of 50 questions and you must score at least 70% to pass. You’ll have 60 minutes to complete the test and it’s a closed-book assessment. This means that you can’t refer to the course, course notes or any other resources during the exam.

If you do not pass the exam during your first try, as long as you are still within your 30-day course access period and have not been suspected of cheating, you will be able to retake your exam for free. You can retake the exam as many times as necessary. If your 30-day course access has expired, you will be required to purchase the course in full. For more details on retaking the exam, please contact us.

Once you’ve passed the exam, you can request your certificate immediately.

If you’re suspected of cheating, your exam will be canceled. If you still need to complete the exam, you will have to repurchase the course again in full.

To dispel any suspicions of cheating, make sure:

  • you remain at your computer for the duration of the exam
  • you are in a quiet area with no people around
  • you do not interact or get help from others
  • all electronic devices are stowed away and cannot be accessed
  • you are not wearing headphones or a headset
  • there are no notes or papers in the vicinity

You will need to take the exam in a quiet place with no one around. If your family or co-workers are within the vicinity of where you are taking the exam, let them know that you’re engaged in a proctored exam beforehand and cannot be distracted or disturbed.

If you interact with anyone or if the proctor sees someone in the background, you can be suspected of cheating and your exam will be canceled.

If you are unable to pass the final exam on your first try, you will be able to retake the exam as many times as needed for free as long as:

  • your 30-day course access period has not expired
  • you have not been suspected of cheating during any of your exam attempts  

If you need to write the exam after the your 30-day course access has expired, you will need to repurchase the course in full. Please contact us for more details.

We’ve designed our course to try and accommodate for as many requirements as possible.

The course is delivered via interactive lessons, is fully-narrated and comes with a bonus downloadable resource kit with course notes. We’ve done this to try and make the course as accessible for students with disabilities, or with special language or literacy needs.

Once enrolled in the course, students are also able to interact with a food safety trainer via email. Please contact us with any concerns and we’ll do our best to accommodate any special requirements.

To complete the ServeWell course, you will need:

  1. Access to a computer or laptop (with internet access)
    Our lessons can be viewed on any device, including mobile and tablet devices; however, we recommend that the quizzes at the end of each lesson are completed on a computer or laptop to help you view and select answers easily.

    The final exam must be completed on a computer or laptop with a built-in camera or webcam.

  2. A modern web browser
    We use the latest eLearning technologies to deliver the courses so you will need to have a modern web browser to view and complete the course with Javascript enabled.

  3. An email address
    During the registration process, you’ll be asked to supply an email address. This is a mandatory requirement for you to be able to access our systems. Email addresses cannot be shared between students.

  4. Adobe PDF Reader or Adobe Acrobat
    As part of the course, you’re provided with a downloadable resource kit with course notes. To access these, you’ll need to have Adobe PDF Reader or Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer. Get a free download of the latest version of Adobe PDF Reader

If you have any technical issues with purchasing the course, accessing the course or course material or attempting the final exam, please contact us and we’ll be more than happy to assist.

We’ve tried to keep the course as simple as possible to accommodate for all types of learners. To complete the course, you'll only need basic skills in:

  1. English language, literacy and numeracy
    The course uses basic English that's easy for anyone to understand. There are some technical food safety terms that we do our best to explain as simply as possible. There are also some numerical skills required such as reading temperatures and performing simple calculations. As a general rule, if you can use an instant messenger tool, use email for work purposes, respond to customer complaints and follow a recipe, then you likely have the language, literacy and numeracy skills needed to complete the course. Please note, our course is currently only available in English.

  2. Using a computer/accessing email
    The online course requires a basic level of computer literacy. You will be required to log on to the course and navigate through the lessons on the online course page. You’ll also receive some information via email so you’ll need to be familiar with the email system you use. If you’re able to confidently browse the internet, and send and reply to emails, then you’re likely to have the computer skills required to complete the course.

  3. Independent study
    This course is an online self-paced course which means that you can study when and where you want – but you must complete the course within 30 days of enrolment. Generally, this type of course requires some planning and organization from the student as there are no scheduled times or sessions. You’ll need to make sure that you allocate enough time within the 30 days to complete the course and consider the best way to learn using the online tools.

If you have any questions or concerns about the skill levels required, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

ServeWell provides students access to qualified food safety trainers by email. If you have a question, please send it to us along with your personal contact details through the form on our contact us page.

All of our trainers hold qualifications in both food safety and adult education, and are happy to assist students throughout the course.

We accept most major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover card and more. All personal information and electronic payments are secured using industry standard 128 bit SSL technology.

Become a Food Handler for only $74.95

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You Save $25

"I enjoyed the practice tests and the video demonstrations. I found them helpful in further understanding the material."
- Shova from Calgary, AB
30 day unlimited course access

30 day unlimited course access

Certificates issued same-day

Certificates issued same-day

Includes the online exam

Online exam with unlimited attempts

Bonus: Food Safety Resource kit

Bonus: Food Safety Resource kit

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