04A — Food Protection Certificate not held by supervisor on duty
At least one supervisor with a valid NYC Food Protection Certificate (FPC) must be on the premises during all operating hours, with the certificate available. If no certified supervisor is present, it's a 10-point Critical violation — and because an A requires 13 points or fewer, that single hit plus almost any other finding pushes you to a B. The certificate itself doesn't expire, so this is purely a scheduling/coverage problem: the certified person simply isn't there. It shows up in many closures as a sign of a weak management system, which makes inspectors look harder everywhere else.
What the inspector looks for
Ask whoever is running the shift to hand you their NYC Food Protection Certificate right now. It must be a physical certificate (original or copy) and the holder must be on-site. If the shift supervisor cannot produce one in 30 seconds, that is the violation.
Points & grade impact
Cited at 10 points — Cited at 10 (condition V). NYC adds every cited violation’s points into one inspection score: 0–13 = A, 14–27 = B, 28+ = C.
How to fix it
Get a certificate-holding supervisor on duty and produce the certificate. This is a supervision/training gap — resolve by scheduling, not a same-shift repair.
How to prevent it
Have a supervisor complete the NYC Health Academy Food Protection Course and exam; schedule so a certificate-holder is on duty during all operating hours.
- ✓Cross-train and certify 2-3 supervisors per location so a call-out never leaves a shift uncovered (the course is about $24 online).
- ✓Confirm a certificate-holder is on the schedule for every single shift, including early-open and late-close.
- ✓Keep copies of all certificates in a binder at the manager station, not locked in a back office.
- ✓Make "who holds the FPC today?" part of the opening checklist before you unlock the doors.
Reference: Health Code §81.15(a)
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