# Delivery driver and pickup handoff checklist for cafés and restaurants

*Guides · Mays Team · September 26, 2026*

![Mays cover card: Delivery driver and pickup handoff checklist for cafés and restaurants — The right bag, sealed, to the right driver, still hot](https://mays-uploads.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/site/blog__delivery-driver-pickup-handoff-checklist__cover.3923301efe.png)

The last ten seconds of a delivery order happen at your counter. A driver walks in, says a name, picks up a bag and leaves. If it was the wrong bag, or the right bag that sat on a cold shelf for 25 minutes, the one-star review goes to you, not the app.

This checklist covers that handoff: how the pickup shelf is set up, how a bag is matched to a driver, how it's sealed, how long it may wait, and what gets written down when something goes wrong. What it costs to be on the apps, and the order-accuracy checks before the bag is sealed, are in [what delivery apps really cost a small restaurant](https://www.mays.app/blog/delivery-apps-cost-small-restaurant).

*This is general information, not legal advice. Your health department and each app's merchant terms have the final word.*

## Why the Food Code cares about the handoff

The FDA Food Code treats a delivery order as your food until the customer has it. Its definition of a food establishment includes an operation that *"Relinquishes possession of FOOD to a CONSUMER directly, or indirectly through a delivery service such as home delivery of grocery orders or restaurant takeout orders"* (§1-201.10(B), [2022 Food Code](https://www.fda.gov/media/164194/download)). Four lines follow from that:

- **Hot stays hot, cold stays cold.** Time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food is held at *"57°C (135°F) or above"* or at *"5°C (41°F) or less"* (§3-501.16(A)). A hot bowl on an unheated shelf is out of temperature control from the moment it lands there.
- **Protected from contamination.** *"FOOD shall be protected from contamination that may result from a factor or source not specified under Subparts 3-301 - 3-306"* (§3-307.11). A closed, sealed bag on a clean shelf, away from the trash and the mop sink, is the simple answer.
- **Drivers stay out of the kitchen.** The person in charge makes sure *"PERSONS unnecessary to the FOOD ESTABLISHMENT operation are not allowed in the FOOD preparation, FOOD storage, or WAREWASHING areas"* (§2-103.11(B)).
- **Allergens in writing.** A carry-out bag isn't "packaged" food in the Food Code's sense: the definition says "packaged" *"does not include wrapped or placed in a carry-out container to protect the food during service or delivery to the consumer, by a food employee, upon consumer request"* (§1-201.10(B)). So the rule for unpackaged food applies, and you *"shall notify CONSUMERS by written notification of the presence of MAJOR FOOD ALLERGENS"* (§3-602.12(C)). For delivery, that means allergen notes in each app's menu descriptions, from your [allergen matrix](https://www.mays.app/blog/restaurant-allergen-matrix-template).

The [2026 Food Code](https://www.fda.gov/food/fda-food-code/food-code-2026) adds a duty that fits the handoff: the person in charge makes sure employees *"are aware of FOOD DEFENSE, such as signs of intentional acts of ADULTERATION as it relates to their assigned duties, and report suspicious activity to the PERSON IN CHARGE"* (§2-103.11(R)). A torn seal or a bag that's been opened is that kind of sign. The 2026 edition's references (Annex 2) also point to the Conference for Food Protection's guidance on direct-to-consumer and third-party delivery.

No federal rule requires a seal on a restaurant's delivery bag. It's still the cheapest way to show the bag left you closed.

## The pickup shelf: set up once

| Setup | Done |
| --- | --- |
| A pickup shelf or rack **at the front**, where drivers can reach it without passing the line |  |
| Shelf wiped and sanitized at open and after spills; nothing else stored on it |  |
| Labeled zones: **Hot**, **Cold** and **Drinks**, or one slot per platform |  |
| A heated cabinet or hot box for hot orders that wait, if you do much delivery |  |
| Tamper-evident seals or stickers, bags, drink carriers and order labels stocked at the bagging station |  |
| A sign: "Drivers: please wait here. Tell us the order number." |  |
| The tablet for each app charged, volume up, at the bagging station |  |
| An allergy flag (a colored sticker) for orders with an allergy note |  |

## The handoff: every order

**At the bagging station:**

1. **Check the bag against the ticket**, item by item, including drinks, sauces and sides.
2. **Hot and cold in separate bags.** An iced drink next to a hot sandwich ruins both.
3. **Allergy order?** Put the allergy sticker on the outside and say it out loud to whoever bags it.
4. **Close and seal the bag.** The seal goes across the opening, so it tears if the bag is opened.
5. **Label it:** customer's first name, order number, platform, number of bags ("1 of 2").
6. **Mark the ready time** on the label or ticket.
7. **Shelf it in the right zone.** Hot orders go in the hot box if you have one.

**When the driver arrives:**

8. **Ask for the order number and the customer's name.** Don't read them out first. Match both to the label.
9. **Count the bags** ("1 of 2, 2 of 2") and hand over all of them together, drinks too.
10. **Mark it picked up** on the app's tablet.
11. **Driver says a name you don't have?** Check the other platforms' tablets before saying no. It's often the wrong app.

**Orders that wait:**

12. **Set a shelf time and stick to it.** For example: hot food on an unheated shelf for 15 minutes at most, then it's remade or the platform is told. In a hot box, check the box holds 135°F or above. Your rule, written on the sign.
13. **Unclaimed after the platform's cutoff?** Follow the platform's process for cancelled or unclaimed orders, then log it (below). Don't put a cold-held order back into stock.
14. **Seal broken or bag opened** before it left? Remake it. Don't re-seal.

**Customer pickup (your own app, phone or website orders):**

15. Same order-number check, and say the items as you hand over the bag: "Two lattes, one oat milk, and a croissant." It catches the wrong bag before the door closes.

## The daily handoff log

Fill this in at close. It's what you'll need when a platform's refund report or a customer's complaint arrives days later.

| Time | Platform | Order no. | What went wrong | Picked up at | Remade? | Refunded or disputed? | Initials |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
|  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |

**What counts as "went wrong":** wrong driver or wrong bag, missing item reported, driver late (shelf time passed), order unclaimed, seal broken, spill. Once a week, count the lines by type. The most common one tells you which step above to retrain. Our post on [order accuracy and remakes](https://www.mays.app/blog/cafe-order-accuracy-remakes) has a review routine and the cost math.

## Where Mays fits

Mays doesn't connect to DoorDash, Uber Eats or Grubhub, so orders stay on each app's tablet. What Mays runs is the station around them:

- **The setup and rush checks as a checklist.** Build the pickup shelf setup as an opening checklist under **Tasks → Templates**, with a **Photo** answer for the shelf and the seal stock. A second list for the rush, with a **Visibility Window** (say 11 to 2), shows only during lunch. See [Creating a checklist template](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/create-a-checklist-template).
- **The handoff log as a form.** Under **Tasks → Types**, build a *Delivery handoff log* form with **Repeatable rows** (**Single choice** for the platform and the problem, **Text** for the order number, **Yes / No** for remade), and add it to the closing checklist. The closer fills it in on the phone, and every row lands in **Task Data**, where **Export CSV** gives you the month for a dispute. See [Building custom forms](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types) and [Task Data](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/task-data-export).
- **The fix, assigned.** When the same miss keeps coming back, **Tasks → Tasks → Create Task** gives one person the fix. See [Creating one-off tasks](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/one-off-tasks).

What Mays doesn't do: it doesn't see delivery orders, ready times or pickup times, so it can't tell you which orders waited too long. That stays on the label and the log. And a staff member can't open the log form on their own mid-shift; it comes as a task, so the closing list is the natural place for it.

## Ten seconds, done right

A clean shelf by the door, a sealed and labeled bag, the driver says the number first, and a shelf time you stick to. Everything else is the log.

[**Start your free trial**](https://go.mays.app/register): 30 days, every module, no card needed. Or [book a walkthrough](https://www.mays.app/book?from=blog-delivery-driver-pickup-handoff-checklist) and we'll set up your delivery station checklist with you.

## Related help articles

- Tasks & checklists: [Creating a checklist template](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/create-a-checklist-template) — Build an opening, closing or cleaning checklist once as a template — groups, tasks and answer types — and Mays turns it into your team's task list in the app.
- Tasks & checklists: [Building custom forms (Task Types)](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/custom-form-task-types) — Build your own task forms, like a cash count, a temperature log or a waste log, under Tasks → Types. Staff fill them in the app, and every answer lands in Task Data, ready to export.
- Tasks & checklists: [Task Data: viewing and exporting form answers](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/task-data-export) — Tasks → Data lists every answer submitted on a custom form, like a cash count or temperature log, one row per submission, and downloads them as a CSV file.
- Tasks & checklists: [Task answer types](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/task-response-types) — Every task has an answer type that decides how staff complete it. Tick a box, take a photo, enter a number or text, pick an option, record a location, count stock or fill in a form.
- Tasks & checklists: [Creating one-off tasks](https://www.mays.app/help/tasks-checklists/one-off-tasks) — Need something done today that isn't on a checklist? Create a one-off task for one person or the whole location, on the web or in the app, or straight from a chat message.

Canonical: https://www.mays.app/blog/delivery-driver-pickup-handoff-checklist