For Nevada fairs, festivals and one-time events
Your event booth, permitted and on record for the weekend.
The temporary permit first. Then the ice, the hand sink and the cooler readings your crew taps in between customers, ready if the inspector stops by the booth.
Start your 25 days free See it work
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Saturday, 12:40 pm
Why does the booth
get away from you?
- The permit
Food for the public at a fair or festival needs a temporary permit from your food safety authority. In Clark County, SNHD can deny one whose application is not in at least one business day before the event.
- The booth
You are flipping burgers with one hand and taking cards with the other. The cooler thermometer under the ice and the water in the hand sink are the first things nobody looks at.
- The point
You came to feed a crowd, not to chase a clipboard across a field.
Watch a sample booth's day before you fill in a single form.
First things first
Which permit,
and how early?
Selling or giving food to the public at an event? In Nevada you need a temporary permit from your food safety authority. It lasts up to 14 days (NRS 580.400). A nonprofit selling food now and then on its own premises to raise money needs no permit; off its premises, it does (NRS 580.900(5)).
In Clark County, apply to the Southern Nevada Health District at least one business day before the event starts, or SNHD can deny it. A booth serving higher-risk food is at most 200 square feet; one serving only low-risk food, 400 (SNHD 14-201). In Washoe County, ask Northern Nevada Public Health; we have not read its event rules line by line. In most other counties, the Nevada Department of Agriculture issues temporary event permits.
The permit question comes first, and the answer costs nothing.
What the inspector checks at a booth
Which rules apply
under a tent?
Here are Nevada's rules behind a booth once the permit is on the table, hand sink first. Each one says where it comes from, and where your county differs.
Temporary food event permit
A booth at a fair, festival or similar event needs a temporary permit from the health authority. It lasts up to 14 days.
NRS 580.110, 580.400(2), (4)
Guide: Temporary events, potlucks and fundraisersDoes your county differ? 1 of Nevada's 5 health departments do
Nevada law: a temporary permit lasts up to 14 days. SNHD: apply at least one business day before the event; a booth is at most 200 square feet with higher-risk food (400 with low-risk food only). SNHD 2023 Food Regulations 14-201(B), (C)(1)
Handwashing
The FDA Food Code (model) says: Wash hands and forearms 20 seconds at a handwashing sink only; double wash after the restroom; sanitizer never replaces washing. Here the law differs: lists when to wash, including after the restroom; no double wash (NAC 446.063).
Nevada: NAC 446.062, NAC 446.063, NAC 446.064, NAC 446.066, NAC 446.423
Guide: HandwashingHot and cold holding
Hot 135°F or above and cold 41°F or below, except a whole roast cooked on the roast chart (130°F or above, not on a food truck), raw shell eggs (the air around them 45°F or below) and food marked under time control (Food Code 3-501.19, 4 hours, not on a food truck). Food carried to an event is probed at loading and on arrival.
Nevada: NAC 446.178, NAC 446.182
Guide: Hot and cold holdingCooking temperatures
The FDA Food Code (model) says: Poultry 165°F, ground meat 155°F for 17 s (protocol 160°F), steaks/chops/fish 145°F, microwave 165°F and stand 2 minutes. Here the law differs: ground (comminuted) meat and fish: 155°F for 15 seconds, not 17 (NAC 446.164).
Nevada: NAC 446.164, NAC 446.166
Guide: Cooking temperatures
What else can the inspector check? 5 more rules
No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food
Use tongs, deli tissue, waxed paper or gloves; single-use gloves for one task; bare-hand contact only with county approval and records.
Nevada: NAC 446.076, NAC 446.149, NAC 446.056
Guide: Gloves and no bare hands on ready-to-eat foodIce: drinking water, clean scoop, clean machine
Ice is made from drinking water or bought bagged from a supplier that follows the law. The scoop is kept clean and protected (we say out of the ice, handle up, never a cup or glass). The ice machine and bin are cleaned at the maker's stated frequency; the Code sets no number of days.
Nevada: NAC 446.136, NAC 446.395, NAC 446.101, NAC 446.144, NAC 446.353; docs/source/research/menu-items.md IC1-IC7
Employee health: report, exclude, restrict
The FDA Food Code (model) says: Food workers report vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, pus-filled sores, Big 6 diagnoses and exposures; the person in charge excludes or restricts. Here the law differs: the person in charge tells the health authority within 24 hours (NAC 446.056(1)(c)); no sore throat with fever and no exclusion or restriction for exposure (NAC 446.056).
Nevada: NAC 446.056(1)(c), NAC 446.057
Guide: Sick workers: report it and stay homeFood handler card
Nevada has no statewide food handler card. Your health district can require one.
NRS 580; NAC 446 (no card requirement found)
Guide: Food handler cards and food safety managersDoes your county differ? 1 of Nevada's 5 health departments do
Nevada law: no statewide food handler card. SNHD: every food handler needs an SNHD Food Handler Safety Training Card before starting work; it lasts 3 years. SNHD 2023 Food Regulations 2-601(A)
Accurate thermometers
Food thermometers accurate to ±2°F; calibrate by ice point (32°F).
Nevada: NAC 446.234, NAC 446.233
Guide: Thermometers and calibration
See the same rules as taps on the phone your crew carries.
Set up
How do I get my crew on it
before Saturday?
Three steps on Thursday night.
Pick Event booth
The app starts you with a grill menu (burgers and fries) and the temporary event permit as your first step, and you edit the list.
Text your crew a link
They open it in their phone's browser and check in before they touch food. Your phone sends the text. We don't.
Every reading is saved
Each cooler and grill reading has the time and who took it. The binder is one PDF.
A booth is billed like a community kitchen: $19 a month for the location, any number of helpers. The 25 free days cover your first event.
A festival Saturday
What does the day
look like?
One crew, one tent, one phone.
Check in
Each person answers the health questions. The answer is
OK to work
orNo food work today
. Nobody with a stomach bug serves the crowd.Sink and ice
Water, soap and towels at the hand sink; the thermometer in with the ice. The rule for each is printed beside it.
Hold it right
Hot at 135°F or above, cold at 41°F or below (NAC 446.178). Type the cooler reading; a warm one asks what you did before it saves.
Close the day
The last cooler reading. Today shows anything still open.
Every line here is on your list from the first screen, and the permit step comes first.
The cost of a gap
What if the permit
comes late?
In Clark County, an application that is not in at least one business day before the event can be denied (SNHD 14-201).
A booth with the permit on the table and the cooler readings on the phone is a calm booth. A booth without them spends Saturday morning on the phone with the health district.
After the weekend
Feed the crowd.
The readings are on your phone.
Try it on one event within the 25 days.
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Questions? Call or text (415) 640-1667.
Set up the booth on Thursday, run Saturday, and see the binder fill.
Questions
Before you
start.
Do I need a permit for a one-day event in Nevada?
Yes, if the food is offered to the public. It is a temporary permit from your food safety authority, good for up to 14 days (NRS 580.110, 580.400). In Clark County that is the Southern Nevada Health District. In Washoe County, Northern Nevada Public Health. In most other counties, the Nevada Department of Agriculture.
How early do I apply?
In Clark County, at least one business day before the event starts; SNHD can deny a later application (SNHD 14-201). We found no late-fee rule in what we read. Elsewhere in Nevada, ask your office; we have not read Washoe County's event rules line by line.
How big can the booth be?
In Clark County, a booth serving higher-risk food is at most 200 square feet (SNHD 14-201). One serving only low-risk food is at most 400. Other counties: ask your office.
Does someone at the booth need a food handler card?
Nevada has no statewide card. In Clark County, SNHD requires its Food Handler Safety Training Card before a person starts work. Its regulation lists exceptions. Two of them: people who handle only packaged food that needs no temperature control, and supervised volunteers for a school or a 501(c)(3). Ask SNHD which applies to your booth. The app keeps each card on file.
Can I prep the food at home?
Nevada law says food made in a private home may not be sold without a permit for that purpose (NRS 580.900). Ask your health district where you may prep.
Will the app remind us to take the cooler reading?
Not by text. In a browser, yes, once you say yes when the app asks. Open the app and the list shows what is due and what is late.
What does a booth pay?
An event booth is billed like a church or community kitchen: $19 a month for the location, with any number of helpers. The 25 free days start when you add a card on Stripe's page. Cancel before they end and you pay nothing. 25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Your binder is ready when the inspector is.
Pick your place. Start with one shift.
Start your 25 days free See it work
25 days free. Cancel anytime.
Questions? Call or text (415) 640-1667