Can I track one certificate per employee?

Yes. Each handler card or manager certificate is its own item with its own holder and expiry date, so when someone leaves you can see exactly which certificate leaves with them.

Does it know my county's rules?

It tracks the dates on the documents you upload, whoever issued them. It does not maintain a database of local health codes; confirm renewal cycles with your health department.

Do I have to type the dates in by hand?

Only if you want to. Upload the certificate as a PDF or a photo and the dates, issuer and number are extracted for you to confirm. You can also add a deadline by hand — a bid due date, a renewal you have not received the paper for yet — and it joins the same reminder schedule.

Are the renewal cycles on this page exact for my state?

No. Cycles differ by state, county and issuer, and they change. The values here are the common federal or typical ones, quoted to show how many separate clocks a business runs on. Lapseline tracks whatever date is on the document you upload; confirm the rule itself with the issuer.

Does Lapseline guarantee I will never lapse?

No, and be wary of anyone who says otherwise. Lapseline is an assistant: it reads your documents, shows you every date with a confidence score, tracks what you confirm, and reminds you on a schedule. Renewing is still your job, and you should verify renewals with the issuer.

For restaurants, caterers, food producers and bars

An expired permit doesn't close you slowly. The inspector does it on the spot.

Lunch rush. The health inspector asks for the certified food protection manager on file. That certificate expired three weeks ago — and the person on it left in the spring. What was a routine visit is now a violation, a re-inspection fee and, depending on your county, a notice taped to the front door where the lunch line can read it.

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What runs out, and on what clock

Health / food service permit: Issued by the city or county, renewed yearly in most places. Operating without a current one is the violation that closes a kitchen fastest.
Certified food protection manager: Many states and counties require a certified manager on staff. The ANSI-accredited certificate (ServSafe Manager and its peers) is typically valid five years — and it walks out the door when that employee does.
Food handler cards: Two or three years depending on the state or county, one per employee. With turnover, some card is always about to expire.
Liquor license: Annual or biennial renewal inside a strict window. Miss it and in many jurisdictions you are not renewing, you are re-applying — and selling in the meantime is a criminal matter in most states.
FDA food facility registration: Manufacturers, processors and packers must renew between October 1 and December 31 of every even-numbered year. Products from an unregistered facility can be refused.
Hood and fire-suppression inspections, pest control, supplier documents: Kitchen hood systems are inspected on a semiannual cycle under the fire code in most jurisdictions. Pest control and grease service have contract dates. Your suppliers' insurance and certifications have dates you are asked for at audit.

What it costs when one of them lapses

Closure or a posted notice on the door the same day the inspector finds it — and the re-inspection fee to get it removed.
Liquor sales stopped until the license is restored, with a fresh application and a fresh wait if the renewal window was missed.
A violation on the public inspection record that reviewers and delivery platforms surface to customers.
Products refused or held when a facility registration lapses.

What Lapseline does about it

Drop in the PDF or a phone photo; Lapseline reads the dates: Expiry date, issue date, issuer, holder and the certificate number are extracted from the document. Scans are OCR'd on our own servers and sensitive numbers are redacted before any AI model sees the text.
You confirm, then it reminds you — at 90, 60, 30 and 7 days, and once more if it lapses: Every extracted date carries a confidence score and is tracked only after you confirm it. Renew a document and the whole reminder cycle re-arms for the new date.
Your suppliers upload their own documents through a private link: No account, no software to learn on their side: they open the link, upload a PDF or photo, and you see a live rollup of who is compliant, who is expiring, and who has not sent anything.
Every Federal Register document is checked against your profile: About a hundred documents a day. Describe your business once — industry, keywords, the agencies and CFR parts that regulate you — and the rules, proposed rules and notices that match it appear on your Regulations page with a one-line reason.

An assistant, not a guarantee: every date is shown with a confidence score and tracked only after you confirm it, and renewals are still verified with the issuer.

Questions people in this trade ask

Can I track one certificate per employee?: Yes. Each handler card or manager certificate is its own item with its own holder and expiry date, so when someone leaves you can see exactly which certificate leaves with them.
Does it know my county's rules?: It tracks the dates on the documents you upload, whoever issued them. It does not maintain a database of local health codes; confirm renewal cycles with your health department.
Do I have to type the dates in by hand?: Only if you want to. Upload the certificate as a PDF or a photo and the dates, issuer and number are extracted for you to confirm. You can also add a deadline by hand — a bid due date, a renewal you have not received the paper for yet — and it joins the same reminder schedule.
Are the renewal cycles on this page exact for my state?: No. Cycles differ by state, county and issuer, and they change. The values here are the common federal or typical ones, quoted to show how many separate clocks a business runs on. Lapseline tracks whatever date is on the document you upload; confirm the rule itself with the issuer.
Does Lapseline guarantee I will never lapse?: No, and be wary of anyone who says otherwise. Lapseline is an assistant: it reads your documents, shows you every date with a confidence score, tracks what you confirm, and reminds you on a schedule. Renewing is still your job, and you should verify renewals with the issuer.

Find out which of yours expires first.

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