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How to Pass the ServSafe Manager Exam: Critical Temperatures and Rules

October 17, 2026 · 8 min

Chapters

  1. The Short Answer
  2. The Exam Format
  3. Passing Score and Retests
  4. Cooking Temperatures
  5. Holding and the Danger Zone
  6. Cooling, Reheating and Receiving
  7. The Big Six and Handwashing
  8. Allergens and Sanitizing
  9. HACCP's Seven Principles
  10. Try a Question
  11. How to Study
  12. Recap

Audio from the Open Exam Hub video of the same name; the video shows the numbers and practice questions on screen.

How to pass the ServSafe Food Protection Manager exam: 90 questions (80 scored), a 70% passing score (56 of 80, per ServSafe as of October 2026), the retest rules, and every critical temperature you need: cooking, hot and cold holding, two-stage cooling, reheating and receiving. Plus the Big 6, handwashing, the 9 major allergens, cleaning vs sanitizing, HACCP's seven principles, a practice question and a one-week study plan.

Full guide
Free ServSafe Manager practice test
ServSafe Manager cheat sheet (all temperatures)
7-day ServSafe Manager study plan
Free practice questions, study guides and cheat sheets, no signup

Chapters
0:00 The Short Answer
0:46 The Exam Format
1:23 Passing Score and Retests
2:02 Cooking Temperatures
2:58 Holding and the Danger Zone
3:26 Cooling, Reheating and Receiving
4:17 The Big Six and Handwashing
5:08 Allergens and Sanitizing
5:50 HACCP's Seven Principles
6:28 Try a Question
7:08 How to Study
7:49 Recap

Exam facts are from the official ServSafe pages as of 2026-10-20. Fees and rules can change, so confirm on the official site before you enroll. Open Exam Hub is an independent study resource, not affiliated with ServSafe. Practice questions are not from a real exam. Narration is an AI-generated voice.

Music
"Carefree" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

"Fresh Air" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

"Reminiscing" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

"Friday Morning" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

"Almost Bliss" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

Sound effects: Kenney (kenney.nl), CC0.

#ServSafe #FoodSafety #RestaurantManager